Seasons & episodes

S2 · E19The Drifter 1964-01-29＋

This episode recounts in flashback how the Virginian came to Shiloh Ranch. The Virginian comes to Medicine Bow and first works for Miles Peterson (Leif Erickson) whose spread is run by ranch foreman Hugh Stager (Michael Forest). Stager tries to gain control of the ranch by romancing Peterson's daughter Maria (Mariette Hartley) and plotting to remove Peterson and blame it on Judge Garth. However, he has not reckoned on the Virginian and his growing friendship with Judge Garth.

S2 · E20First to Thine Own Self 1964-02-12＋

A young drifter named Randy (Randy Boone) camps with Silas (Frank Maxwell) and his young daughter Melanie (Claire Wilcox) near Medicine Bow. Silas reveals he has been mining and that he found gold nuggets. Silas is murdered, the gold stolen and Randy is accused of the crime. He hides out with Melanie who knows him innocent and with help from Betsy Garth and the Virginian is eventually able to expose the real killers.

S2 · E21A Matter of Destiny 1964-02-19＋

Robert Gaynor (Peter Graves), a wealthy and somewhat ruthless Chicago meat packer, buys a local ranch and comes to Medicine Bow. He begins romancing, and wins the heart of, Janet Lawrence (Jean Hale) who had been seeing Trampas. Gaynor's methods bring him into conflict with local ranchers. In the end it is up to Trampas to resolve the conflict and save Gaynor from a hired assassin.

S2 · E22Smile of a Dragon 1964-02-26＋

Trampas is the sole survivor of a stagecoach robbery but he is wounded and wanders off in a daze. The local Sheriff (Richard Carlson) finds him and accuses him of being one of the robbers, hints the townspeople will lynch him and even tries to kill him. Trampas escapes and takes refuge with Kim Ho (Miyoshi Umeki) who learns of his innocence. Meanwhile Steve Hill heads for the area thinking Trampas is dead. Trampas tries to find the real guilty parties to clear himself and in the end is saved by the arrival of Steve Hill.

S2 · E23The Intruders 1964-03-04＋

Judge Garth is hosting a meeting at Shiloh Ranch between a US Army General and the Chief of the Sioux (Iron Eyes Cody) as someone is trying to stir up trouble between the Indians and Army. He manages to send most of the hands away to keep the meeting secret. Four men arrive including Trachsel (Darren McGavin) and the Utah Kid (David Carradine), and they take the remaining residents hostage intent on killing the Sioux Chief when he arrives. However, the criminals did not reckon on the abilities of Judge Garth and Betsy's visiting friend, young Chicago newspaper reporter Eddie Tighe (David Macklin).

S2 · E24Another's Footsteps 1964-03-11＋

The Virginian's friend, young Dan Grant (Paul Petersen), is killed in a bank robbery. The three robbers escape a posse but the Virginian is more persistent and tracks them to Montana. Two of the robbers are captured and the Virginian tracks the third (Johan Agar) to a farmstead occupied by a young boy and his mother (Sherree North), and suspects the absent husband is the third gunman. As he waits for the husband to return he bonds with the boy and becomes romantically involved with the wife. However, the robber returns and the inevitable showdown occurs.

S2 · E25Rope of Lies 1964-03-25＋

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).

S2 · E26The Secret of Brynmar Hall 1964-04-01 · 90 min＋

Betsy Garth is driven by Randy to Brynmar Hall, a large mansion, where she meets several other old acquaintances and invitees (Brooke Bundy, Tom Skerritt, Mark Goddard). All knew Mildred Brynmar, a young woman who was killed in a fire two years before, and have been invited to the house by Mildred's mother (Jane Wyman). A masked figure spies on the proceedings and several mysterious events occur which culminate in death.

S2 · E27The Long Quest 1964-04-08 · 90 min＋

The Virginian is friends with Mary Ann Martin (Patricia Breslin) and her young son Cricket (Casey Peters) who live near Shiloh ranch. A detective named Corbett (Joseph Campanella) and his client, Judith Holly (Ruta Lee), claim that Cricket is actually Holly's son and that she wants him back. The Virginian attempts to ferret out the truth of the situation in order for Mary Ann to retain custody of the boy. The affair culminates in a series of surprising events at a judicial hearing.

S2 · E28A Bride for Lars 1964-04-15＋

Lars Holstrum (Peter Whitney) is a middle-aged and wealthy rancher friend of Judge Garth's who is about to marry a 20 year old girl. Lars injures his back and Trampas is given the job of traveling to Laramie to pick up the girl, Katia Swenson (Katherine Crawford). On the return trip the two have a series of misadventures revolving around encounters with local Indians, a group of cowpokes, and a mysterious man who has been trailing them from Laramie.

S2 · E29Dark Destiny 1964-04-29＋

Steve, Randy and other hands capture two horse rustlers, Frank Conrad (Robert Wilke) and Striker (Edward Faulkner), and kill a third. They also find Conrad's daughter, Billie Jo (Brenda Scott) and she is taken to Shiloh until the court can decide her custody and the rustler's fate. There she nurses Randy Benton who has hurt his back and lost the feeling in his legs. Billie Jo is eventually forced to decide on her future by choosing between helping her father escape and returning to a life on the run, or accepting the kindnesses of the Shiloh crew which promise a better future.

S2 · E30A Man Called Kane 1964-05-06 · 90 min＋

Randy and Betsy explore a cave and find a number of gold coins and a human skeleton, a find which gets wide publicity in the newspapers. Kane (Jeremy Slate) shows up and begins working at Shiloh where he reveals to Randy that he is not only his long lost older brother but also that he is evading the law on charges he claims were false. The publicity also attracts a US Treasury agent, Duggan (Dick Foran), as the coins seem to be a small part of missing Confederate assets. A treasure hunt ensues in which Randy is ultimately forced to decide on his brother's fate.

A former law man and now hired gun, Emmett Ryker (Clu Gulager), heads to Medicine Bow at the request of Hagen (Leslie Nielsen). Hagen holds a mortgage on the ranch of Hale (Russ Conway), a friend of Judge Garth, and wants to run the rancher off the property. Being a man of some morals, Ryker refuses to become involved but when Hale is killed he is suspected of the crime. Ryker becomes friends with Trampas and agrees to help Hale's daughter Janet (Anne Helm) bring the guilty parties to justice

S3 · E2Dark Challenge 1964-09-23＋

Carl Hendricks (Victor Jory), with his son Arnie (Chris Robinson) and daughter Jenny (Katharine Ross), buys a local ranch. Trampas is embarrassed when he tries to get Jenny to dance at a local gathering without realizing she has a club foot. He apologizes, they become friends, and he begins setting up Jenny with his shy blacksmith friend Wally (Larry Pennell). Carl is subsequently murdered and Trampas is a suspect although he had no motive. It is left up to Deputy Emmett Ryker to solve the crime.

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.

Posing as a newspaper man, James Templeton (Steve Forrest) comes to Medicine Bow to interview Judge Garth who is a leading candidate for territorial senator. Betsy Garth is smitten with James who is just about perfect in everything he does whether it is riding or shooting and this makes Trampas suspicious. His suspicions turn out to be well-grounded.

Felicity Andrews (Katherine Crawford), the new Medicine Bow school teacher, lives with her older sister Kate (Mariette Hartley) and grandfather Jonah (Carl Benton Reid). Everyone raves about her and the Shiloh hands, including Steve Hill, are all smitten but Felicity's heart is won by the Virginian who proposes to her. However, Felicity's family protects some secrets which eventually brings an end to the Virginian's marriage plans.

Samantha Frye (Barbara Eden), who has been fired from many newspapers for her exaggerated stories, arrives in Medicine Bow where she begins working for the newspaper and becomes courted by the Virginian and Emmett Ryker. She begins a series of articles for the ""Police Gazette"" about a legendary but supposed dead outlaw called the Brazos Kid and her hints he is still alive bring a bounty hunter, a detective and a man seeking revenge on the outlaw, to Medicine Bow. Complicating matters even more are the facts the Kid is really alive and living incognito nearby and that the Virginian is his friend and is aware of his identity. Because Samantha's descriptions of the Kid resemble the Virginian, the Shiloh foreman becomes the target of the Kid's pursuers.

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.

At the Medicine Bow orphanage Toby Shea (Kurt Russell) makes up stories about his great father which none of the other boys believe, so he befriends Trampas and tells the other boys Trampas is his father. His real father, Jim Shea (Rory Calhoun), who has been released from prison, tries to find his son but is trailed by two former partners in crime seeking some lost loot. Jim Shea becomes a hand at Shiloh Ranch and manages to keep his identity secret until his former partners and his past catch up with him.

S3 · E9The Girl from Yesterday 1964-11-11 · 90 min＋

Steve Hill is asked to go under cover by a US Marshall (Don Collier) by renewing his relationship with a former girlfriend, Jane Carlisle (Ruta Lee),who is a new dance hall girl at the Medicine Bow saloon. The Marshall suspects Jane is part of a notorious robbery gang out to steal gold destined to pay for Indian land. Steve reluctantly agrees to do so and to gain the gang's confidence begins to act irresponsibly much to the chagrin of the Virginian and Shiloh hands who are unaware of his task. In the end Steve must face the robbery gang and its ruthless leader (Mark Richman) and his fate is in the hands of Jane.

S3 · E10Return a Stranger 1964-11-18＋

An old friend of Judge Garth named Charlie Ryan (Leif Erickson) revives the low grade silver Gloria Mine with help from his mining college-trained son Craig (Peter Brown) and a new partner Whit Parsons (Whit Bissell). They fall behind in their payments and may not make quotas specified in their contracts. A desperate Craig begins to alienate the locals including Judge Garth with his tactics to save the mine operations. Things come to a head when local cattle begin to die and contaminated mine water is suspected. This leads to conflict not only between the local ranchers and miners but eventually to conflict between Charlie, his son, and especially their business partner, Whit, who seemingly will stop at nothing to make the mine a success.

Victoria Greenley (Anne Francis) comes to Medicine Bow to set up a law practice but encounters resistance from those who do not think law a suitable profession for a woman. Although initially reluctant, the Virginian gets Victoria to represent him in a court dispute with a saddle-maker. She is successful and romance brews between the two. However, they soon find themselves on opposite sides when Victoria agrees to defend some men accused of trespassing on Shiloh land.

S3 · E12A Gallows for Sam Horn 1964-12-02＋

Widower Sam Horn (John Lupton) comes into conflict with the railway headed by Colonel John Briscoe (Edward Binns). Part of his land had been expropriated as a railway right of way and the compensation was based on much outmoded land values. The Colonel is also having conflicts with his son Scott (Buck Taylor) over an old girlfriend of Buck's called Peg Dineen (Laurel Goodwin) who also happens to be in town. Peg is a supposed widow with a young child and Sam Horn is smitten with her. When Buck is shot, Sam is put on trial for murder although he claims it was self-defense. In the courtroom it is up to Judge Garth to defend and save Sam Horn by uncovering the tangled and hidden motives behind the events.