The Hostage

"I have mixed feelings about this episode. We didn't see enough of the boys in it and I didn't particularly like the guest stars. There were some memorable moments, but I have had to go and look at my photobucket to remember them so they can't have been that memorable. The plot was not the most plausible and it is not one of those eps I make a point of watching again and again." - territell

"This is a great Ben episode - we see him scolding his captors, dispensing words of wisdom, playing mind games with them... and at the end we see some action as he rides hell-for-leather after the captors. As for the guest actors - I have always liked Jacqueline Scott, and we also get to see a bit of Buck Taylor, who played "Newly O'Brien" on Gunsmoke!" - ellen

"Not one of my favorite episodes, but it was nice to see Ben as the main character for a change! Although his sons were not prominent, the episode still highlighted the bond between the C's as opposed to the kidnapper's kin.

Harold J. Stone always played the bad guy well, he was in many things in the 60's!" - DonnaB

"Okay, maybe I'm just too shallow, but in my opinion, the only truly memorable thing about this episode is Joe's painted-on pants. Apart from that, the episode was okay, but nothing more." - pjb

"I have to agree with Terri on this one. It does appear to be sort of drawn out; would have liked to see more angst from the boys. One of my favorite parts is when they find Ben and Adam yells out 'Pa!" The emotions at that reunion seem to be the only ones present. I'm gonna give it a 2." - indyanna130

"I'll watch this episode every once in a while just because it shows how different Adam, Hoss, and Joe can be when their father is in danger instead of presumed dead as in The Legacy. In The Hostage, the spend a lot of time waiting around for clues to their father's whereabouts rather than actually trying to find him (at least it seems that way). The highlight of this episode is Ben riding Cochise--he looks way to big for the horse." - patina

"As a Ben fan, I enjoyed this episode. It showed off Ben's ability to play mind games with his captors, pitting them against each other." - michelebe1115

Bonanza Episode Guide by Julie-Ann Sanderson © 2008
Compiled for Bonanza Brand
All episodes are rated out of 5