The Magnificent Seven (TV)

(1998-1999)

‘Working Girls’

Episode Two, First series, aired 17th January 1998

Summary by Helen Chavez

Cast: Michael Biehn (Chris Larabee), Eric Close (Vin Tanner), Dale Midkiff (Buck Wilmington), Ron Perlman (Josiah Sanchez), Andy Kavovit (J.D. Dunne), Anthony Starke (Ezra Standish), Rick Worthy (Nathan Jackson)

Laurie Holden (Mary Travis), Barry Corbin (Wickes), Katy Boyer (Lydia), Boti Ann Bliss (Nora), Marisa Coughlan (Emily)

Plot Summary

Buck Wilmington, J.D. Dunne and Chris Larabee are visiting Wickes Town, a huddle of tents around a water tower and dirt road run by a shifty character called Wickes. The place is a haven for those seeking ‘relaxation’ in the way of drink, gambling and ‘easy’ women.

While JD begins – somewhat nervously – to be initiated into the ways of women, Buck discovers the women of Wickes Town are being mistreated, and the three peacekeepers save one of the ‘working girls’ from being beaten to death by Wickes.

They take her back to town to be treated by Nathan, and the rest of the women escape from Wickes Town under cover of darkness and follow in a wagon, eager to be free of their violent employer. The Seven protect them to the best of their abilities, despite Mary Travis’ initial hostility towards these ‘women of easy virtue’.

The Seven manage to sabotage Wickes’ attempts to retrieve his ‘property’, and Mary begins to understand a little about the reality of the reasons a woman becomes involved in prostitution. Ezra decides to earn himself a little money by teaching the ladies some social graces, instigating a ‘charm school’ where the ladies can become mail-order brides, and JD learns a little more about the mysteries of womankind.

But all good things come to an end as Wickes realises he’s been hoodwinked and kidnaps Mary, threatening to kill her if his ‘property’ is not returned.

The solution to the problem is somewhat risky, and involves an elegantly primped and preened Ezra in a very fetching purple dress …

Josiah Sanchez (Ron Perlman)

Josiah Sanchez maybe an erstwhile preacher, but he is very much a man of the world. He has seen and done a lot of things in his time, and he is certainly not impervious to the allure of an attractive lady.

When Josiah, JD and Buck are ensconced in the bath house after their return from Wickes Town, JD complains bitterly that because of their hasty exit they won’t be able to return to the shanty town, and he may not be able to continue his initiation into manhood.

"Now we can't go back to Wickes town. I really think that Emily and I could have had something. I mean, she said that she might not even charge me!" he complains.

Buck and Josiah can’t contain their laughter, and Josiah teases the youth.

"That's too bad, JD, 'cause from where I sit, that'd be right charitable of her".

One thing Josiah isn’t, is a prude. But when JD becomes exasperated, saying

"What do you know, preacher? Women never meant nothing to you,"

Josiah growls quietly in reply.

"What I don't know about women ain't worth knowing. Anyway - the important thing to remember is the act of love should be a truly spiritual experience".

JD is taken aback by Josiah’s enigmatic comment.

"Spiritual??"

Josiah patiently explains.

"Mm-hmm. See... Adam and Eve, they got thrown out of paradise for doing it. So when we do it, it better be right so their loss was not in vain".

Josiah gives the impression that this is certainly the voice of experience talking.

Later, when Wickes’ men come into town looking for the girls, Josiah does his part, and when two of the gunmen enter the church Josiah is standing behind his pulpit, looking for all the world like a man weighty with the Word of God and riven with the vengeance of the Lord.

The two gunmen falter.

"We’re looking for - "

"God, I hope!" Josiah interrupts, his face stern and doughty. "Join me in prayer, my brothers. Lord, forgive these sinners who enter your house with instruments of death. Please do not send them into a fiery ... agonizing grave where a thousand flames eat away at their flesh for all of eternity.Though thou art mighty and these men are lowly do not spite them, Lord!"

His voice increases in righteous fervour, the baritone becoming rich and mellifluous, the sulphurous hint of hellfire and brimstone oozing from every word. As his words ring through the empty church, the gunmen finally break under the verbal onslaught and exit hastily.

Josiah pauses for a moment, then looks beneath the pulpit to the two girls neatly hidden in the interior.

"How was that?" He asks them calmly.

Josiah protects these ‘fallen women’ without a qualm, never judging, just understanding their circumstances without question. As the eldest of the Seven, he is experienced enough in the hard reality of life to have accepted people for what they are, rather than what ‘polite society’ would prefer to label them.

Indeed, Josiah happily allows Ezra to hold his ‘Charm School’ in the church, hardly a situation acceptable to the decent citizens of the town. As Josiah patiently works away at scraping the worn wood of the neglected church, Ezra patiently tries to teach the girls some social graces – with the willing help of a smiling Buck Wilmington – the sound of the incessant scraping wearing thin on Ezra’s already frazzled nerves. Finally he snaps.

"Would you please stop that!"

Josiah halts his scraping for a few moments and turns to the irritated gambler.

"I got to get down to the grain. Things are most beautiful in their natural state".

And with that enigmatic and delightfully bawdy comment Josiah returns to his scraping. He does not interfere with Ezra’s blatantly mercenary plan, even when Nathan takes the southerner to task for ‘making profit off the back of another human being’, the preacher perhaps realising Ezra might just learn something if he’s left alone to figure out the consequences of his actions.

Later, Josiah establishes his non-judgemental stance when Buck sneaks off to listen to JD apparently entertain one of the ladies in the hayloft. Josiah tags along, although he is initially a little wary of ‘spying on the boy’, but is reasonably reassured when Buck informs him that he’s just checking that JD is ‘doing all right’.

"Oh, well, that’s different" he answers a little sarcastically.

The noises coming from the loft surprise both of them – apparently JD is doing more than ‘all right’, Buck and Josiah exchanging astounded grins as they hear what Josiah can only describe as ‘a howl’. These two grown men of the world depart, pleased that their youngest member had taken one more step towards being a man. But unbeknownst to Buck and Josiah, JD and Emily, the pretty young prostitute he met in Wickes Town, are sitting in the loft highly delighted at the trick they’ve played on them, JD declaring that the howl was a ‘nice touch’!

But when the Seven return to Wickes Town to rescue Mary, Josiah’s tolerance does not stretch to Wickes and his henchmen.

On meeting up with one of the men who gate-crashed the church looking for the missing girls, the preacher and the gunman stare at one another for a moment.

The gunman is puzzled.

"Ain’t you the …?"

Josiah looks at him grimly.

"You should have prayed when you had the chance."

The gunman is flattened with one, powerful punch.

Preacher he may be, but Josiah Sanchez is a force to be reckoned with when he’s riled ….

Trivia

Emmy Awards

Dan Moore won an Emmy for ‘Outstanding Costume Design for a Series’, for the episode ‘Working Girls’, 1998.