About this season
The Rifleman is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show was filmed in black-and-white, half-hour episodes. "The Rifleman" aired on ABC from September 30, 1958 to April 8, 1963 as a production of Four Star Television. It was one of the first prime time series to have a widowed parent raise a child.
Episodes (32)
1. The Vaqueros
Aired 2 October 1961 • 30 min
A bandit imprisons Lucas and Mark.
2. First Wages
Aired 9 October 1961 • 30 min
Lucas tries to find out why Mark has taken a job as a stableboy.
3. Sheer Terror
Aired 16 September 1961 • 30 min
Mark and Milly are held prisoner in her general store when two gunmen attempt a daring robbery.
4. The Stand-In
Aired 23 October 1961 • 30 min
Lucas is taken hostage by two prison wagon drivers angered that he won't give them more whiskey.
5. The Journey Back
Aired 30 October 1961 • 30 min
Mark goes to work for Will Temple, a badly scarred and very mysterious rancher.
6. The Decision
Aired 6 November 1961 • 30 min
Corey Hazlett insists he's innocent of murder, despite Lucas's eyewitness testimony.
7. Knight Errant
Aired 13 November 1961 • 30 min
Lucas tries to dissuade a latter-day knight from rushing into battle.
8. Honest Abe
Aired 20 November 1961 • 30 min
Able Lincoln's claim that he's the Great Emancipator himself amuses everyone except Matt Yorty.
9. The Long Goodbye
8.0Aired 27 November 1961 • 30 min
Stubborn Grandpa Fogarty is Lucas's main roadblock as he tries to get young Woody Fogarty to attend school.
10. The Shattered Idol
Aired 4 December 1961 • 30 min
Mark Twain visits Southfork, and quickly alienates the townspeople.
11. Long Gun From Tucson
Aired 11 December 1961 • 30 min
Lucas tries to stop embittered John Holliver from venting his wrath on the people who expelled him from town years before.
12. The High Country
Aired 18 December 1961 • 30 min
Lucas becomes the target of a vengeful mountaineer.
13. A Friend in Need
Aired 25 December 1961 • 30 min
Mark finds himself the unwilling companion of gunman Carl Avery.
14. Skull
Aired 1 January 1962 • 30 min
Lucas seeks an escape when he's captured by outlaws while seeking help for an injured Mark.
15. The Princess
Aired 8 January 1962 • 30 min
The Queen-to-be of France hides out in Northfork.
16. Gunfire
Aired 15 January 1962 • 30 min
When an expected lawman doesn't arrive from Denver, several gunfighters arrive in North Fork and cause trouble.
17. The Quiet Fear
Aired 22 January 1962 • 30 min
Lucas's old Army pal settles in North Fork with his deaf daughter.
18. Sporting Chance
Aired 29 January 1962 • 30 min
An Englishman arrives with a custom-made rifle—and a plan to kill Lucas.
19. A Young Man's Fancy
Aired 5 February 1962 • 30 min
The pangs of first love are painful for Mark: the object of his affections has eyes for another.
20. The Man from Salinas
Aired 12 February 1962 • 30 min
Banker Hamilton is closing up for the day when Rudy Gray persuades him to stay open for one more transaction - a withdrawal at gunpoint.
21. Two Ounces of Tin
Aired 19 February 1962 • 30 min
Sammy Davis Jr. stars as Tip Corey, son of a man allegedly murdered in North Fork.
22. Deadly Image
Aired 26 February 1962 • 30 min
A reliable eye-witness rides into North Fork and accuses Lucas McCain of cattle rustling and cold-blooded murder.
23. The Debt
Aired 5 March 1962 • 30 min
Mark learns that the prisoner Micah is escorting to the gallows is the man that saved his life three years previously.
24. The Tinhorn
Aired 12 March 1962 • 30 min
Mark is shocked when he discovers that his father is a poker player.
25. None So Blind
Aired 19 March 1962 • 30 min
Mark befriends singer-banjoist Lafayette Bly, a blind man with an acute sense of hearing—and a very strong grip.
26. Jealous Man
Aired 26 March 1962 • 30 min
27. Guilty Conscience
Aired 2 April 1962 • 30 min
No one's more surprised than Micah when newcomer Leota Carraway claims he's her long-lost husband and the father of her child.
28. Day of Reckoning
Aired 9 April 1962 • 30 min
Lucas is torn by conflicting emotions when he meets the town's new preacher—a former outlaw whom the Rifleman vowed to kill.
29. The Day the Town Slept
Aired 16 April 1962 • 30 min
The town of North Fork becomes a haven for outlaws when suave Ben Judson smooth-talks his way into the marshal's job.
30. Milly's Brother
Aired 23 April 1962 • 30 min
A veteran returns with tales of heroism and the fate of Milly's brother in the Civil War.
31. Outlaw's Shoes
Aired 30 April 1962 • 30 min
A head wound wipes out Lucas's memory, leaving him with only one clue: he's wearing an outlaw's gun.
32. The Executioner
Aired 7 May 1962 • 30 min