The Big Valley Town Of No Exit

Ever watch The Big Valley? Sure you have. Remember Stockton? That bustling hub where the Barkleys did...well, everything?

Okay, unpopular opinion time. Stockton wasn't bustling. It was... a trap. A gilded, gaslit trap.

Stockton: A One-Horse Town (With Fancy Saloons)

Think about it. Danger lurks around every corner in The Big Valley. Bank robberies! Feuds! Exploding stagecoaches!

Where do the Barkleys always end up? Back in Stockton. Like moths to a very dusty, dangerous flame.

It's like Stockton has some magnetic pull on that family. They can't escape! Is it the redwood trees? The suspiciously clean streets?

Barkley Family Magnetism (Or Just Bad Travel Agents?)

Victoria Barkley, bless her heart, is a powerhouse. A woman of steel and silk. But even she seems strangely tethered to this particular patch of California.

Heath arrives, a troubled soul looking for connection. Does he go find himself on a distant shore? Nope. He's instantly pulled into the Stockton vortex.

And don't even get me started on Jarrod. Mr. Lawyer-Man himself. He could litigate his way out of anything. Except, apparently, Stockton.

Nick, the hot-headed one, probably enjoys the constant brawls. It gives him something to do. But even he always finds himself back at the Barkley ranch, a stone's throw from...you guessed it, Stockton.

Even Audra, bless her fashion-forward soul, is stuck there. Surely, Europe beckoned! Paris! Rome! But no, she’s at the Stockton social, probably dodging another kidnapping attempt.

The Unseen Boundaries of The Big Valley

Maybe there's some kind of invisible force field around Stockton. Or a really persuasive real estate agent. "Great schools! Low crime rates! Occasional shootouts!"

The Barkleys own half the town, probably. And Barbara Stanwyck as Victoria Barkley is a force to be reckoned with.

But still! Couldn’t they have branched out? Maybe invested in a nice beachfront property? Started a new life in, say, San Francisco?

Imagine: "The Big Valley: San Francisco Nights." It has a ring to it, doesn't it?

Stockton: More Than Just a Town?

Okay, okay. Maybe I'm being harsh. Stockton is their home. It's where their roots are. It's where their redwood trees grow tallest.

But still, a girl can dream. A dream of a Big Valley where the Barkleys occasionally venture further than, say, Sacramento.

Or maybe the real treasure wasn't the gold mines or the vast ranch. Maybe it was the bonds they forged in the crucible of... always being in Stockton.

Perhaps I'm wrong. Perhaps Stockton's grip is something stronger than simple geography. Maybe it's family. Maybe it's fate.

But my unpopular opinion stands: Stockton, from The Big Valley, is the town you can check into, but you can never leave.

And I, for one, am slightly terrified of that prospect.