About this season
Bret Maverick is a 1981-82 American Western television series starring James Garner in the role that made him famous in the 1957 series Maverick: a professional poker player traveling alone year after year through the Old West from riverboat to saloon. In this sequel series, Maverick has settled down in Sweetwater, Arizona Territory, where he owns a ranch and is co-owner of the town's saloon. However, Maverick is still always on the lookout for his next big score, and continues to gamble and practice various con games whenever the chance arises. The series was developed by Gordon Dawson, and produced by Garner's company Cherokee Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.
Episodes (18)
1. The Lazy Ace (1)
Aired 1 December 1981 • 60 min
In what may very well be the last of the great poker games in the Old West, Bret wins ownership of the saloon and decides to settle down in the town of Sweetwater in the Arizona Territory. (Part 1 of 2)
2. The Lazy Ace (2)
Aired 1 December 1981 • 60 min
Former sheriff Tom Guthrie joins Bret as partner in the Red Ox saloon, to the dismay of the townspeople who just booted the old-fashioned lawman out of office.
3. Welcome to Sweetwater
Aired 8 December 1981 • 60 min
Maverick's reluctance to sell his ranch, the Lazy Ace, is the major stumbling block to bringing the railroad into Sweetwater.
4. Anything for a Friend
Aired 15 December 1981 • 60 min
A barn-raising celebration at Maverick's ranch helps him conceal Billy the Kid from authorities.
5. The Yellow Rose
Aired 22 December 1981 • 60 min
Women's suffrage catches fire in Sweetwater and no one feels the heat more than Maverick, who's just won a Chinese girl in a poker game.
6. Horse of Yet Another Color
Aired 5 January 1982 • 60 min
Teddy Roosevelt comes to town to present an Indian chief with a horse from the president, but Maverick ends up winning the stallion.
7. Dateline: Sweetwater
Aired 12 January 1982 • 60 min
Eastern financial interests attempt a takeover of Sweetwater businesses.
8. The Mayflower Women's Historical Society
Aired 2 February 1982 • 60 min
It looks like Maverick is going to be hanged, unless he agrees to sell his life story to an ambitious historian.
9. Hallie
Aired 9 February 1982 • 60 min
An old flame of Bret's shows up in Sweetwater, pursued by two homicidal brothers she swindled.
10. The Ballad of Bret Maverick
Aired 16 February 1982 • 60 min
A stranger arrives in town, claiming to be in the process of finishing an epic ballad on the life and death of Bret Maverick.
11. A Night at the Red Ox
Aired 23 February 1982 • 60 min
Vigilantes take over the Red Ox saloon and put former sheriff Tom Guthrie on trial for crimes he allegedly committed in the past.
12. The Not So Magnificent Six
Aired 2 March 1982 • 60 min
Six men who each want to gain a reputation as the one who killed the famous Bret Maverick have followed a western pulp writer to Sweetwater.
13. The Vulture Also Rises
Aired 16 March 1982 • 60 min
When a stagecoach is attacked by Apaches and a woman is killed, the angry townspeople want to call in the cavalry.
14. The Eight Swords of Dyrus and Other Illusions of Grandeur
Aired 23 March 1982 • 60 min
Bret exposes a crooked magician who is performing at the Red Ox.
15. Faith, Hope and Clarity (1)
Aired 13 April 1982 • 60 min
A religious charlatan dupes the townpeople so that he can obtain the rights to their land.
16. Faith, Hope and Clarity (2)
Aired 20 April 1982 • 60 min
Bret masterminds a con to get back the townsfolk's land, which was legally stolen by the clever leader of a religious cult.
17. The Rattlesnake Brigade
Aired 27 April 1982 • 60 min
Maverick and Guthrie are suckered into agreeing to protect a shipment of gold from a ruthless band of outlaws.
18. The Hidalgo Thing
Aired 4 May 1982 • 60 min
Tom Guthrie, who is trying to get re-elected as sheriff, tries to get Maverick to keep a low profile, but Bret is working on the biggest con of his life and isn't going to stop now.