Best Episodes of The Virginian
Click here for a list of all The Virginian episodes.
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11. Duel At Shiloh (S1Ep15)
(Flashback) Steve's Introduction: Steve is thrown off a train
as a stowaway, but a man named Wade helps him back on the
train. Steve befriends Wade and they both go to a ranch near
Shiloh and get jobs there. He teaches Steve how to shoot a gun
and be a ranch hand, but their friendship starts to come to an
end over a ranch fued. Angry about Judge Garth's barbed wire
fences, Wade gets even angrier when Steve disagrees with him,
quits, and joins Judge Garth at Shiloh. Wade, promising to kill
Steve if he ever confronts him again, gets into a duel with him,
and it is up to the one who can draw the fastest.
Steve Episode
Guest Stars: Brian Keith, Geraldine Brooks, DeForest Kelley
Special Guest Appearance: Jon Drury
12. Brother Thaddeus (S2Ep7)
A monk named Brother Thaddeus, who was previously
known for drinking, fighting, and causing other trouble as
Willie Kane, returns to a mission and school near Medicine
Bow. On his way there, he runs into his friend, Benny, who
is still involved in crime. Benny is secretly involved in
a train robbery by having the bar singer, Floss, disguise
as a nun. The sheriff blames Brother Thaddeus for being
involved in the robbery, but Thaddeus escapes when the
deputy forgets to lock the door. Trampas joins him, and
together they find the criminals.
Trampas Episode
Guest Stars: Albert Salmi, Christopher Dark, Kathie Browne,
Joe Maross
13. A Father For Toby (S3Ep8)
Toby is an orphan boy whose mother died; he never met his father.
He makes up stories during school about how great his father is,
and the kids make fun of him. As Trampas is riding by, Toby
pretends to the class that he is his father. Toby meets Trampas
and decides to run away with him to escape the orphanage.
Toby's real father, Jim is released from prison, and finds Toby
through information from his dead wife. Along the way, he is
confronted by his two partners from the robbery he went to jail
for. They want their share of the $9,000, but Jim lost it. That
later causes them to kidnap his son in exchange for the money.
Trampas Episode
Guest Stars: Kurt Russell, Rory Calhoun, Joanna Moore
14. The Drifter (S2Ep19)
(Flashback) The Virginian's Introduction: The Virginian goes to work
for the Petersons' ranch that was close to a range war with Shiloh. A feud
has heated up between Peterson and Garth although neither man wants it or
knows why. He is caught in a feud with the foreman, Hugh Stager, who is
trying to cause the fight and falls in love with the girl engaged to Stager.
Stager is evil and, in an effort to cause a range war, has his gunman, Donovan,
kill one of the hands, Mr. Peterson, and almost The Virginian, but Judge Garth
saves his life. The Virginian knows that proves Garth didn't do it, and that
Stager obviously did it as he inherits the ranch after Peterson. The Virginian
must stop Stager from taking over the ranch and stampeding Garth's cattle.
Virginian Episode
Guest Stars: Michael Forest, Mariette Hartley, Leif Erickson,
Rex Holman
15. Smile Of A Dragon (S2Ep22)
While on a stagecoach, Trampas and the men with him are bushwhacked
by a gang of robbers. Everyone on the stagecoach is killed except
Trampas, who gets grazed in the head by a bullet and knocked out
after taking out one of the robbers. His introduction note is taken
out of his shirt and put into the dead man by the other robbers.
Trampas later awakens and takes the dead man's gun. He stumbles
upon the sheriff's house and is mistakenly arrested after the family
notices his gun. Back at Shiloh, everyone gets the sad news that
Trampas is supposedly dead because of the movement of the introduction
note into the dead man. Trampas manages to escape the sheriff and find
a Chinese girl named Kim who helps him escape the posse.
Trampas Episode
Guest Stars: Miyoshi Umeki, Richard Carlson, Frank Overton
16. Ryker (S3Ep1)
Sheriff Ryker's Introduction: Emmett Ryker and his friend, Sam Lake,
escape a posse chasing them. Ryker then goes to Medicine Bow and is
offered the job, by John Hagen, of killing a rancher, Hale, who is driving
cattle. Ryker, being too honest, turns it down. The sheriff's deputy kills Hale,
and everyone assumes Ryker did it. When Ryker learns this, he decides to
help Hale's daughter, Janet. He deals himself in by cutting cards with her for
half the ranch and wins. Ryker is a good lawman, and Sheriff Abbott makes
him his new deputy. Ryker arrests Hagen for the murder, and with the aid of
his friend, puts an end to Hagen's men who are planning to stampede cattle.
Sheriff Ryker Episode
Guest Stars: Leslie Nielsen, Jan Merlin, Anne Helm
Introducing: Clu Gulager (as Sheriff Ryker)
17. Throw A Long Rope (S1Ep3)
The ranchers losing cattle with homesteaders the prime suspects
nearly hang an innocent homesteader, Jubal Tatum, when they think
he stole a calf. He falls and his leg is broken and The Virginian
feels obliged to help Tatum's family on their farm until he recovers.
The Virginian tracks down the stolen cattle and determines the
homesteaders are not the problem. The Judge's decision to apply the
law of the range to the suspected cattle thieves drives a wedge into
the loyalty of The Virginian. The Virginian decides to come to
Jubal's aid as Major Cass is about to fight him, but Tatum reveals
something he has been hiding to The Virginian.
The Virginian Episode
Guest Stars: Jack Warden, John Anderson, Jacqueline Scott,
Roger Mobley Ted Knight
18. The Girl From Yesterday (S3pE9)
Steve meets his old girlfriend, Jane, who is singing in the
saloon. A US marshall asks Steve to keep a close eye on her,
as it is believed that she is part of Jack Wade's gang. Steve
doesn't believe it but agrees to help. He changes personality,
cheats at dice, and antagonizes his friends until the Virginian
confronts him in the saloon. Steve then quits, creating concern
among all his friends. Steve tells Jane that he is going to
steal $50,000 that is arriving in Medicine Bow; however,
Wade overhears this plan. Steve then infiltrates Wade's gang
by agreeing to help him, but things do not go as planned.
Steve Episode
Guest Stars: Ruta Lee, Mark Richman, Don Collier
Special Guest Star: Gary Clarke (as Steve)
19. The Money Cage (S1Ep23)
A con man pretends he is an oil geologist named Dr. William C.
Martin. He, along with his accomplices, Charlie and Jenny, are
part of a scheme to steal money from the Medicine Bow bank. A
national banking crisis causes a problem with their plan, and Will
comes up with a new idea. He proposes a plan to Judge Garth
and the bank president to save the bank while giving his group yet
another chance to steal all the money. After falling in love with
Lydia, the daughter of the Medicine Bow bank president, Will
decides to change his plans.
Judge Garth Episode
Guest Stars: Steve Forrest, Joanna Moore, Bethel Leslie,
Ron Foster
20. Shadows Of The Past (S3Ep23)
Ryker's chess-playing friend, John Conway, is expecting a lady named
Rita, who he met in a hospital in San Francisco to arrive and marry him.
John is shy and asks Ryker to join them at dinner. Ryker receives a mail
message from the Gar brothers, who were recently released from prison
for a robbery during which Ryker killed the third brother. Rita seems
distant to John but he is unsure why. She tells John the truth about losing
her husband and two children during a boating accident. She says she
never wants to have to go through that again, saying no to John. Ryker
tells the Gar brothers they had better leave town by the next day. They
decide to ambush Ryker that night but stumble onto John as he is going
to see Rita to tell her to stay. John assists Ryker by shooting at them.
Sheriff Ryker Episode
Guest Stars: Jack Warden, Marilyn Erskine, John Milford, James Beck
