We encounter another high-powered businessman here but this time he's not an arrogant bad guy, just a driven visionary played by Peter Graves who has under-estimated his hyper-efficient assistant. Terry, (Patricia Barry). They are working construction for the firm but an executive job is open. They are looking for a new face in the boardroom and Terry has selected Tod based on his Ivy League education. But Tod isn't interested. Instead Buz shows up and pretends to be him because he has his eye on Terry. She realizes he's not Tod but likes his potential anyway. He takes an aptitude test and aces it. She then uses him to feed her ideas to Graves, who is impressed.
The buddies actually agree to split up, Tod moving on to Denver while Buz remains in his new job. If you compare this with "Once to Every Man", Tod could have wound up running a shipyard in Boston, married to the rich owner while Buz could have been a rising executive with a big construction firm in Dallas. But then the series would have to have come to an end. Instead, they both gave up their big jobs to hit the road again. One wonders if this was supposed to be a Tod story but it was decided to switch it up to put a different spin on it. Or maybe George Maharis was tired of playing 'the guy from the streets' and wanted a more sophisticated role.
This episode is s step forward from "A Lance of Straw" and "Once to Every Man" in that it recognizes that a woman can be a good businessperson and she rejects Graves' offer of marriage to fill the executive position herself. He wants to marry her anyway but at least it's a step in the right direction.
The buddies actually agree to split up, Tod moving on to Denver while Buz remains in his new job. If you compare this with "Once to Every Man", Tod could have wound up running a shipyard in Boston, married to the rich owner while Buz could have been a rising executive with a big construction firm in Dallas. But then the series would have to have come to an end. Instead, they both gave up their big jobs to hit the road again. One wonders if this was supposed to be a Tod story but it was decided to switch it up to put a different spin on it. Or maybe George Maharis was tired of playing 'the guy from the streets' and wanted a more sophisticated role.
This episode is s step forward from "A Lance of Straw" and "Once to Every Man" in that it recognizes that a woman can be a good businessperson and she rejects Graves' offer of marriage to fill the executive position herself. He wants to marry her anyway but at least it's a step in the right direction.
