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 (26)
1. Waste (1)
Aired 1 October 1962 • 30 min
Marshal Torrance is heading home from a cattle sale with Lucas and Mark when the old lawman mysteriously disappears. They trace him to a nearby Mexican ghost town. (Part 1 of 2)
2. Waste (2)
Aired 8 October 1962 • 30 min
Conclusion. After Alphonso's wife gives birth, the bandits holding Marshal Torrance relax their guard, enabling Lucas and Mark to rescue the old man.
3. Lou Mallory
Aired 15 October 1962 • 30 min
Red-headed Lou Mallory arrives in North Fork and soon arouses the townpeople's suspicions.
4. Quiet Night, Deadly Night
Aired 22 October 1962 • 30 min
Townspeople brace for the worst when a new girl arrives—with symptoms of smallpox.
5. Death Never Rides Alone
Aired 29 October 1962 • 30 min
A gunslinger rides into North Fork for a meeting with Lucas.
6. I Take This Woman
Aired 5 November 1962 • 30 min
Lou looks for a way out when the man her dying father promised her to arrives.
7. The Assailants
Aired 12 November 1962 • 30 min
An assassination plot unfolds as four gunmen disguised as cavalrymen enter North Fork. Their target: Sen. Jim Borden. Their weapon: a Gatling gun.
8. Mark's Rifle
Aired 19 November 1962 • 30 min
Sharpshooter Marty Blair tries to persuade Lucas to buy Mark a rifle.
9. The Most Amazing Man
Aired 26 November 1962 • 30 min
Fast-draw artist Wade Randall is less than anxious to display his prowess.
10. Squeeze Play
Aired 3 December 1962 • 30 min
A speculator will stop at nothing to grab Lucas's land.
11. Gun Shy
Aired 10 December 1962 • 30 min
Mark blames himself for a friend's accidental death.
12. The Anvil Chorus
Aired 17 December 1962 • 30 min
A blacksmith-turned-deputy sets the stage for trouble when he demands that all townspeople turn in their weapons.
13. Conflict
Aired 24 December 1962 • 30 min
Lucas's self-confidence begins to slip away when he misses an easy shot.
14. Incident at Line Shack Six
Aired 7 January 1963 • 30 min
A railroad gang boss frames an Apache.
15. Suspicion
Aired 14 January 1963 • 30 min
A peddler is implicated in a series of murders.
16. The Sidewinder
Aired 21 January 1963 • 30 min
Gridley Mau is gunning for Lucas, who killed his father during an attempted robbery.
17. The Sixteenth Cousin
Aired 28 January 1962 • 30 min
A Japanese nobleman seeks revenge when his servant is insulted.
18. Hostages to Fortune
Aired 4 February 1963 • 30 min
At Halloween, rustlers take advantage of the seasonal disguises to raid a cattle ranch.
19. And the Devil Makes Five
Aired 11 February 1963 • 30 min
A snake crawls into Lucas's bed, and Mark must lure it away before it strikes.
20. End of the Hunt
Aired 18 February 1963 • 30 min
Lucas is thrown into jail to stop him from murdering an old enemy.
21. The Bullet
Aired 25 February 1963 • 30 min
Lucas is baffled when the marshal of a neighboring town refuses to hold a gambler who just attempted murder.
22. Requiem at Mission Springs
Aired 4 March 1963 • 30 min
Lucas begins a trek to find a cure for Mark, who is paralyzed after a bad fall.
23. The Guest
Aired 11 March 1963 • 30 min
New arrival Mario Arsatti becomes very friendly with Lucas, but this turns out to be merely pleasure before business: he's been hired to kill Lucas.
24. Old Man Running (aka The Wanted Man)
Aired 18 March 1963 • 30 min
Lucas, who blames his wife's death on his father-in-law, refuses to help the old man elude gunmen.
25. Which Way'd They Go?
Aired 1 April 1963 • 30 min
The notoriously lazy Jackman brothers discover their mortgage has been foreclosed.
26. Old Tony
Aired 8 April 1963 • 30 min
Mark and his girlfriend Laurie discover that an old hermit is very lonely.