The BEST episodes of The Virginian
Every episode of The Virginian ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Virginian!
The Virginian was the very first 90 minute western on prime-time television, and is about a man, only known as "the Virginian" who served as foreman on the Shiloh Ranch (owned in sequence by Judge Garth, the Grainger brothers, and Col. MacKenzie) in 19th century Medicine Bow, Wyoming. James Drury starred as the title character with the likes of Doug McClure, Lee J. Cobb, John McIntire, and Clu Gulager co-starring. It is in these settings that a variety of stories, much more based on character and relationships than the usual westerns, take place.
#1 - Strangers at Sundown
Season 1 - Episode 27 - Aired 4/3/1963
Judge Garth and Betsy are among the passengers on an overcrowded stage which is waylaid by an outlaw gang led by Pauk (Paul Richards). The passengers are trapped in a way station and the outlaws demand that one of the male passengers, a George Wilson who is traveling incognito, be given to them. Wilson is a former outlaw who had betrayed the gang. The various passengers must decide whether to live with their consciences and hand Wilson over, or risk their own lives in a gun battle with the desperate gang.
#2 - To Make This Place Remember
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/25/1963
Judge Garth is convinced to go to Arapaho, Wyoming, by Roseanna Dobie (Joan Blondell), an old friend. Her son is dead and although it is claimed he had died when thrown off a horse, actually, an old friend of the Judge's, rancher/lawyer Frank Sturgis (John Dehner), had led a group of 13 men who had lynched John Dobie for allegedly beating to death a young woman who had rejected his advances. Roseanna (Joan Blondell) claims her son's innocence and demands his name be cleared by an "after the fact" trial. To clear their names and consciences, the Judge manages to get Sturgis to be the prosecutor and to participate in a "trial" with the 12 others involved in the lynching, including the dead girl's father, as the jury and the Judge as defense attorney.
#3 - Ride a Dark Trail
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/18/1963
The Virginian accidentally comes upon, and is held at gunpoint by, young Lon Mortison (Buzz Martin). The boy had been searching for a gambler who he thinks is responsible for his father's suicide and had already shot and wounded a man who interfered. In order to convince the boy to give himself up, the Virginian recounts in flashback how Trampas first came to Shiloh Ranch. He came seeking revenge on Judge Garth who had been forced to kill Trampas' father (Sonny Tufts) in self-defence. This object lesson serves to get Lon to realize the error of his actions and convince him to surrender to the Sheriff.
#4 - Fifty Days to Moose Jaw
Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/12/1962
Older cowhand Slim Jessup (James Gregory) is accussed of killing a man in Idaho and escapes east. He signs on with a Shiloh Ranch cattle drive to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. On the way the drovers are joined by a young man, James Cafferty (Bandon de Wilde), who wishes a different life than dirt farming with his widowed step-father (Frank Overton). The older Slim takes James under his wing and teaches him lessons in life before his past catches up with him.
#5 - Johnny Moon
Season 6 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/11/1967
The Virginian rescues a man who has been shot. As he recovers at Shiloh he and the Grainger kids realize the man is a bit different as well as being from England. A private detective looking for him provides a clue to his background.
#6 - The Invaders
Season 2 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/1/1964
Rancher Mike Tyrone (Ed Begley) purhases a ranch near Medicine Bow, and moves there with his daughter Margaret (Beverly Owen), and his two sons (Rees Vaughan and James McMullen). Tyrone tries to force surrounding ranchers to sell their spreads, eventually cutting off the water from a local river that the other ranchers use to water their stocks. However, the conflict is ended by an unexpected decision of Margaret Tyrone.
#7 - The Mountain of the Sun
Season 1 - Episode 28 - Aired 4/17/1963
While delivering a prize bull to New Mexico, the Virginian meets a young woman, Kathy (Dolores Hart), and two older companions, whom he learns are missionaries who want to travel to Mexico to minister to the Yaqui Indians. He later learns they had hired a dishonest guide who plans to rob them so he sets off in pursuit and manages to save them. However, they refuse to give up their quest to the Yaqui's who it turns out had murdered their husbands the year before. He accompanies them on their quest and along the way finds himself falling in love with Kathy.
#8 - Reckoning
Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/13/1967
The Virginian, John and Elizabeth go to Texas where The Virginian is seen by members of a gang whose leader thinks The Virginian is responsible for the death of his brother seven years earlier. Elizabeth is kidnapped to trap him.
#9 - Paid in Full
Season 6 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/22/1967
Frank returns from prison to find his father crippled after saving Trampas and working at a low level job for Clay Grainger. Frank accepts a job but his attitude toward Trampas and Grainger push him toward getting revenge via rustling.
#10 - The Crooked Path
Season 6 - Episode 22 - Aired 2/21/1968
Kiley Cheever's father, the sheriff, is fed up with his son's bratty behavior. After publicly humiliating him, Kiley decides to leave Texas and find his old friend Trampas and ask for a job at Shiloh. His personality trait of embellishing his abilities creates tension with the hands at Shiloh. Melissa, niece of the Graingers, visiting Shiloh takes a shine to Kiley while still seeing his flaws and letting him know it. An old hand, Charlie, who knows Kiley's dad takes a shine to Kiley but loses his job when Kiley lets him take the blame for starting a fire in the stable.
#11 - Big Image... Little Man
Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/28/1964
Millionaire Paul Leland (Linden Chiles) treats everyone like dirt and ends up in the desert after getting shoved off a train by a disgruntled employee. He is found and taken on by the Virginian and Shiloh crew who are driving a herd of cattle to Seattle. Leland has several run-ins with the crew as well as former employees met along the way but in the end becomes a better man for his tribulations.
#12 - Impasse
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/14/1962
The Virginian and crew collect wild horses in the mountains which they are to take to Shiloh Ranch to sell to the army. However, tough widower Pa Kroeger (Eddie Albert) lives in the mountains with his four sons and a daughter and believes he owns the horses. When the Virginian refuses to turn them over, Kroeger goes to great lengths to try and stop the Shiloh crew from taking the animals. Complicating matters are the facts the Kroeger sons think there may be a more reasonable way to deal with the situation and the daughter is attracted to Trampas.
#13 - Stacey
Season 6 - Episode 23 - Aired 2/28/1968
Stacey breaks his arm and injures a nerve in his shoulder during an accident with a girl friend. When his recovery is questionable, she abandons him due to family induced emotional constraints, putting Stacey into a deeper depression.
#14 - Seth
Season 6 - Episode 26 - Aired 3/20/1968
While hunting a cougar, Trampas encounters a lost and sick teenager who calls himself Seth. Trampas tends to him and adopts him as an assistant on the rest of the hunt. Although Seth stays with Trampas, he occasionally takes side trips unknown to Trampas. Seth continues to work at Shiloh until the sheriff tracks down his family. Although reluctant to go with his uncle, Seth does. The sheriff learns that the uncle is an outlaw resulting in him and Trampas tracking down Seth and his uncle and learning the truth.
#15 - Bitter Autumn
Season 6 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/1/1967
Clay and Holly Grainger take over for John as a herd from Texas is brought in by Kyle Jackson and his brothers. However, things turn tragic when Trampas discovers the herd is sick and a brother accidentally kills the wife of an ex-lawman.
#16 - The Stallion
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/30/1964
A wild stallion escapes its owner, John Slaughter (Don ""Red"" Barry), killing a handler in the process. The animal injures itself and is found by Randy Benton who takes him to the nearby ranch of alcoholic horse trainer Charlie Orwell (Robert Culp) who nurses it back to health. Most believe the horse bad and wish to have it destroyed but Randy gets Charlie to help him save the animal and with the help of Jodie Wingate (Jenna Engstrom), they save Charlie too.
#17 - Echo of Another Day
Season 1 - Episode 26 - Aired 3/27/1963
Sam Harter (Bradford Dillman) is released from prison and in Medicine Bow encounters Trampas, an old friend. Harter and Bleek (John Dehner) had robbed some gold bullion. Bleek had escaped and Harter was captured but not before he had hidden the gold. Trampas had refused to participate in the robbery and Harter had protected him from Bleek who was afraid Trampas would reveal their plan. Harter takes a job at Shiloh but he knows Bleek will inevitably appear. He does and a showdown ensues.
#18 - No Tears for Savannah
Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/2/1963
In Santa Rita the Virginian meets an old flame, Savannah (Gena Rowlands), who has been seeing a local man, a very jealous Gordie Madden (Robert Colbert). Savannah is accussed of murdering Madden and the Virginian gets Judge Garth to come and defend her. However, the cards are stacked against them as Madden's wealthy father (Everett Sloan) controls the town, including the Sheriff (Stephen McNally), and wants revenge.
#19 - Nobility of Kings
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/10/1965
New area rancher Ben Justin (Charles Bronson) is branding a calf when Trampas and Randy Benton and nearby rancher Tom Suchette (George Kennedy) arrive. Trampas politely informs the newcomer that following Stockmen's Association rules no calf should be branded until roundup but Ben says he will brand any calf found on his own land. Tom is less polite and threatens Ben if he does it again. Trampas tells the Virginian what happened so the Virginian visits the Justin ranch. On the way he notices some of Ben's cattle have broken through Justin's fence so Ben rides off when informed by the Virginian. The Virginian tells Ben's wife Mary (Lois Nettleton) that if her husband does not follow Stockmen's rules he will be denied access to the railhead to get his cattle to market and Mary tells him that Ben's young son Will (Bob Random) is her stepson. Ben returns to his ranch in the evening and has a hard time stopping himself from drinking. We learn he thinks he can not trust anyone because back E
#20 - Show Me a Hero
Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/17/1965
In Denver, Midge Conway (Lee Patterson) visits Paul Leland (Ken Lynch), head of Leland Enterprises. Leland sends him to Eagle Rock, Wyoming. He wants that town just as he has taken others in the past and tells Midge he will have to muscle in on local Frank Colter. Trampas meanwhile is riding back to Medicine Bow when he comes upon a runaway freight wagon which he manages to stop but injures his horse in the process. The wagon driver reveals himself to be Frank Colter (John Beymer) who tells Trampas to come with him to Eagle Rock where they can get the horse treated. Trampas is surprised because Eagle Rock had long been a ghost town. At Eagle Rock the blacksmith, Bert Devlin (Mort Mills) deduces the horse has a strained tendon but with treatment it can be healed in four or five days. Attorney Keith Bentley (Leonard Nimoy) arrives and he and Frank discuss the small amount of supplies Colter has brought back. The townspeople can not get more credit and some people are leaving. Trampas ask
#21 - The Executioners
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/19/1962
Ne'er-do-well Tom Newcombe is publicly hanged for murdering a woman because the local school teacher, Celia Ames (Colleen Dewhurst), refuses to alibi him. A mysterious man, Paul Taylor (Hugh O'Brien), comes to town, signs on to work as a Shiloh Ranch hand and begins romancing Celia. However, his odd behaviour begins to raise the suspicions of Judge Garth and the local Sheriff who wonder about the motives of the stranger.
#22 - Brother Thaddeus
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/30/1963
Former n'er do well Willie Caine (Albert Salmi) is now a monk, Brother Thaddeus. He is involved in establishing a mission and boy's school on property owned by Judge Garth and Trampas and Steve Hill are helping to build the mission. A gang, including a former crony of Thaddeus', robs the train and Sheriff Abbott (Ross Elliott) locks him up as an accomplice. Thaddeus manages to escape and with the help of Trampas sets out to track down the gang and exonnerate himself.
#23 - Rope of Lies
Season 2 - Episode 25 - Aired 3/25/1964
A beautiful woman, Alva Lowell (Diana Millay), arrives in Medicine Bow having just bought the Lazy K Ranch and manages to hire a reluctant Steve Hill to be her foreman. A former business partner of Alva's, Jess Carver (Peter Breck), arrives and is killed by Steve, apparently in self-defence. However, Steve is arrested and must go to trial defended by Judge Garth's friend, lawyer Ebberly Packis (Paul Fix).
#24 - The Devil's Children
Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/5/1962
Uncontrollable 16 year old Tabby McCallum (Joan Freeman) is chastised by the Virginian for shooting a shiloh steer. In retaliation she tries to burn down the Shiloh barn but is accidentally shot by a Shiloh hand, Sam Hicks (Charles Aidman). Tabby's brother Bruce McCallum (Carl Reindell), who is from the same mould as Tabby, claims she was deliberately shot while her father, Tucker (Charles Bickford), thinks her boy friend, Dan Flood (Bert Brinckerhof), started the fire. The result is a spiralling series of events which eventually lead to murder.
#25 - Throw a Long Rope
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/3/1962
A homesteader (Jack Warden) accused of rustling narrowly escapes hanging by local ranchers led by Major Cass (John Anderson), an event that is observed by Shiloh hands including the Virginian. However, the homesteader is severely injured, and the Virginian helps him work his farm during off hours. After some investigation into the rash of cattle rustling, the Virginian decides to defend the man against the Major and the other ranchers including Judge Garth.