Beau Bridges

The Teacher and The Creature study acting and life within a larger conversation with three generations of The Bridges Family.

Today's Dave's birthday, and it all kicks off with a stampede of cows to outrun! An impactful blow to a singularly sensitive area leaves Dave reeling over the presence of a cattle driver who hopes to drive his prices up exorbitantly. Once he's had time to regather himself, Dave workshops an idea to run a cattle drive himself, forgoing any need for a third-party driver at all. In order to uphold the Sholo way, the Harts must deliver a herd to Carson...

R.O. is zapped by lightning and develops many personalities, one of which is Dave's late father. Meanwhile, Zane disobeys his dad by accompanying some new friends to Dead Man's Leap, where he's challenged to jump across a daunting gap.

Sheriff R.O. looks for clues leading to a suspect in the murder of Garral's most beloved bovine, Irene, who dropped dead while Garral was painting her portrait. Alison gets the urge to work, while Duke's more interested in being a cowboy than an 'A' student.

As Auggie turns 60, he announces that he's going to die... on the Harts' property, where his late wife is buried. However, Dave needs him to stick around in order to help Duke win a sheep-shearing competition.

Marcus sends a troubled inner-city teen, Evan, to stay at the Tumbleweed in order to instill a sense of discipline in him, and he's immediately put to work. As Evan spends time on the ranch, it becomes clear to the Harts that the kid's more misunderstood than miscreant.

Jake's too old to enter the annual bull riding competition, but don't let Jake know. Dave makes the mistake of expressing worry about Jake's poor back, entangling him in a guilt trip that leads to him entering the competition himself, in Jake's stead. Hoping to reclaim some forgotten acclaim for Sholo, Dave see-saws and mounts barrels in preparation for his bull riding debut. As Dave is strewn while training for a boon, L'Amour swoons, falling...

The Hart family eagerly awaits the delivery of their "stuff" from Chicago. Meanwhile, a champion rodeo clown whom Dave hired to help break wild Mustangs winds up charming Alison and the kids instead.

The events of that small-town summer forever alter David Hayden's view of his family: his self-effacing father, a sheriff who never wears his badge; his clear sighted mother; his uncle, a charming war hero and respected doctor; and the Hayden's lively, statuesque Sioux housekeeper, Marie Little Soldier, whose revelations are at the heart of the story. It is a tale of love and courage, of power abused, and of the terrible choice between family loyalty...

Chase, a woman recovering from a nervous breakdown is cared for by a younger woman, Elizabeth. At first they're enemies, then slowly they become friends. When Chase's husband fears that the two women's relationship has gone beyond friendship, he sends Elizabeth away, leaving Chase feeling lonely.