Join or Sign In
Sign in to customize your TV listings
By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.
The Rifleman Season 5 Episodes
Season 5 Episode Guide
26 Episodes 1962 - 1963
Episode 1
Waste: Part 1
Mon, Oct 1, 196230 mins
When Lucas, Mark, and Micah get lost in Old Mexico, they are held hostage by a bunch of bandits who intend to kill the men and make Mark a slave. Micah is seriously hurt and buried alive - so it is all up to Lucas to save them.
Episode 2
Waste: Part 2
Mon, Oct 8, 196230 mins
While trapped in a ghost town saloon, Lucas tries to come up with a plan of escape in order to save his son and Micah after Mark refuses to leave without him.
Episode 3
Lou Mallory
Mon, Oct 15, 196230 mins
Lucas arrives in North Fork to learn that a new arrival, Lou Mallory, has been been buying up land and some of the town's businesses. Mallory is a no-nonsense businesswoman, a self-starter who seems quite determined in looking after her own interests. Lucas even manages to get a very good price for Milly Scott's store, now that she's moved away. When the townsfolk learn that the railroad will be coming to town, several think they've been had, including Neb Jackman and his sons who sold her what they thought was a worthless piece of land. Neb's solution is to kidnap her and arrange a marriage to one of his boys.
Episode 4
Quiet Night, Deadly Night
Mon, Oct 22, 196230 mins
When the stagecoach arrives in North Fork with two young women aboard destined to work in Lou Mallory's hotel, one of them is gravely ill. Doc Burrage suspects that she may have smallpox and quarantines himself, Lou, Lucas and the two girls to the confines of the hotel. Also quarantined is a man who was riding on the stage, Lee Coyle. Marshal Torrance recognizes Coyle as a wanted man and someone who is quite dangerous. As they await word as to whether smallpox serum might be available from a nearby town, tensions rise leading to a confrontation between Lucas and Coyle.
Episode 5
Death Never Rides Alone
Mon, Oct 29, 196230 mins
Everyone in North Fork is on edge when gunslinger Johnny Drako comes to town asking about Lucas. It turns out that Drako and Lucas were in the army together during the civil war and Drako is looking for a place to settle down and put his old ways behind him. Lucas tells him he'd be welcome if he really means to give up gunfighting. Reputations are hard to shake however and three mean looking men come riding into town.
Episode 6
I Take This Woman
Mon, Nov 5, 196230 mins
When Dennis O'Flarrety comes to North Fork, he announces that he's there to marry the beautiful Lou Mallory. It seems that he had helped out Lou's father many years before basically running the farm for him. As a reward, Lou's father had promised him Lou's hand in marriage. Lou doesn't love him but in keeping with the ways of the old country, she has every intention meeting the obligations her father imposed on her. For his part, O'Flarrety turns out to be mean and a drunkard who will quickly run through whatever savings Lou may have accumulated. Lucas decides to do something about it.
Episode 7
The Assailants
Mon, Nov 12, 196230 mins
North Fork is eagerly awaiting a visit from a U.S. Senator who is promoting Statehood for the territory. Micah has received a telegram saying there might be an attempt on the Senator's life but isn't too worried since a troop of soldiers are in town and have just checked in at the hotel. Oddly, the soldiers arrived with a large coffin-like box which they've taken up to their room. Lucas finds one of the soldier's behavior to be quite odd and with good reason: they are the assassins out to kill the Senator and the mysterious box contains a Gatling gun.
Episode 8
Mark's Rifle
Mon, Nov 19, 196230 mins
Marty Blair rides into North Fork to drum up business for the circus that is traveling west from Ohio. He's good with his guns and talks a good line but Lucas takes an immediate dislike to him. He's convinced that Blair isn't to be trusted and seems to be proven correct when Lucas shoots him during a robbery at the hotel. It was dark when Lucas shot him and Blair says he was just an innocent bystander. Mark's taken a liking to Blair and believes his story leading to some friction with his father.
Episode 9
The Most Amazing Man
Mon, Nov 26, 196230 mins
A famous gunman, Wade Randall, is in North Fork and he's created quite a following for himself. He threatens no one but regales them with tales of his gunfights. Mark McCain is an admirer who even got his first ever A+ at school writing a composition about him. One of Randall's stories gets him into trouble when an out-of-towner challenges him to a shoot-out after he hears Randall's tale of killing his friend. Lucas soon realizes that Randall has been making up his stories and isn't a gunman at all. Lucas has a solution to his upcoming gunfight however.
Episode 10
Squeeze Play
Mon, Dec 3, 196230 mins
With the railroad fast approaching North Fork, Lucas finds himself under pressure to sell his ranch to Willard Prescott, a land speculator. He's offered Lucas a bribe and when it's refused, makes it clear that he has every intention of getting the land one way or another. Mark and Lou don't quite understand why Lucas just doesn't sell up as the money he's been offered is generous and would allow him to buy land nearby. Lucas however will stand his ground, even when Prescott shows up with his armed thugs.
Episode 11
Gun Shy
Mon, Dec 10, 196230 mins
When two boys come to visit Mark at the McCain ranch, one of them takes hold of Lucas' rifle only to have it go off killing the other boy. Mark can't quite accept what has happened and is unable to bring himself to even touch a rifle. He decides to run away to California, stopping off at Lou's hotel for the night before leaving town. Lou meanwhile has her own problems when a wanted outlaw by the name of Vantine holes up in the hotel. In the end, it's left to Mark to decide what he is capable of doing.
Episode 12
The Anvil Chorus
Mon, Dec 17, 196230 mins
Micah goes out of town, leaving Nils Swenson in charge. Lucas warns Nils against posting a "no gun" notice, and then angrily leaves town. He quickly returns, though, when he discovers Mark is in trouble because Nils didn't take Lucas's advice.
Episode 13
Conflict
Mon, Dec 24, 196230 mins
Lucas loses all confidence in his abilities with a rifle after he misses a cougar that was only a few feet away and seconds from attacking Mark. At first he thinks the problem is with the rifle but when the gunsmith confirms that the sights are properly aligned, he begins to wonder if he is the problem. Doc Burrage confirms that his eyesight is fine leaving Lucas to deal with it all in his own way while still finding a way forward with his life.
Episode 14
Incident at Line Shack Six
Mon, Jan 7, 196330 mins
The railroad is coming ever closer to North Fork. The man in charge of line shack number 6, John Gangling, runs an efficient operation. The men work hard and are paid on time and in gold. One of them is known to keep a fairly large amount of his wages in a money belt and Gangling kills him for it. As luck would have it, an Indian comes by just after the killing and Gangling goes on the offensive accusing him of the murder. Railroad justice is swift and when the Indian is found hiding in Lucas McCain's barn, both of them face Gangling in whose hands rest the final judgment of guilt or innocence.
Episode 15
Suspicion
Mon, Jan 14, 196330 mins
Returning to North Fork after selling some of their cattle, Lucas and Mark come across Winslow Quince, a hard drinking traveling salesman whose wagon has a broken wheel. Quince is a hard drinker and tells a tall tale, entertaining everyone around him. In North Fork, Marshal Torrance tells Lucas there's a killer who seems to be working his way to their town. Whoever is doing the killing is robbing people for next to nothing taking a watch, boots and a couple of gold coins. When Quince has just those items in his possession, Micah thinks he's found the killer.
Episode 16
The Sidewinder
Mon, Jan 21, 196330 mins
A young boy no older than Mark, Gridley Maule Jr., shows up in North Fork gunning for Lucas McCain. It seems that Lucas killed the boy's father many years before when the man took a shot at him during a bank robbery. Lucas refuses to get into a gunfight with a kid and Micah throws the boy in jail pending being sent home. Lou thinks all the boy needs is a little discipline combined with TLC for him to mend his ways.
Episode 17
The Sixteenth Cousin
Mon, Jan 28, 196330 mins
It's a big day for North Fork - the first railroad train is coming to their new station. Riding as passengers are the McCains and a Japanese nobleman and his servant who are visiting the West to learn more about the United States. When the foreigners are insulted by a pair of local hooligans, they demand satisfaction, and soon the four men face off in North Fork's dusty main street.
Episode 18
Hostages to Fortune
Mon, Feb 4, 196330 mins
On Halloween night Mark and his friends, wearing masks, ride from ranch to ranch playing pranks. A couple of rustlers hit on the idea of wearing similar masks while stealing cattle, knowing the boys will be blamed. They hide the animals in a gullible Englishman's barn, waiting for a chance to drive the herd across the Mexican border.
Episode 19
And the Devil Makes Five
Mon, Feb 11, 196330 mins
Returning home from a three day fishing trip, Mark and Lucas come across Marshal Micah Torrance who is taking a prisoner, Scully Potter, into North Fork for trial. They bed down for the night and find it odd that Lucas sleeps in so late the next morning. In fact, Lucas is doing everything he can to stay alive as a rattle snake has made its way into his bed roll. Potter has a suggestion as to how to get Lucas out of there but he has already shown he prepared to do anything to escape his fate.
Episode 20
End of the Hunt
Mon, Feb 18, 196330 mins
Lucas had quite a good time at the barn dance the night before with Micah blaming him for a funny practical joke. When Micah locks him in a cell, Lucas thinks it's just friendly payback for the joke but Micah tells him the real reason: Lucas' one true enemy, Reef Jackson, is coming to town. Years before, Jackson shot Lucas in the back and tried to take his wife away from him. He's sworn revenge ever since. Meanwhile, Mark has gone hunting for a large elk that appears every year and that he's always dreamed of bagging. When Lucas and Mark confront their foes, they realize they are not quite what they expected.
Episode 21
The Bullet
Mon, Feb 25, 196330 mins
Lucas McCain travels to a nearby town looking for a fellow member of the North Fork Cattleman's Association who has failed to return home. En route, he comes across a gambling hall owner named Griff who is trying to scare one of his patrons into paying off his gambling debts. Lucas puts a stop to it and takes Griff into the local Marshal who seems less than interested in what is going on. There's more to the Marshal than meets the eye however and he introduces Lucas to the concept of ballistics. He also has every intention of using science to prove that Grigg is responsible for killing Lucas friend.
Episode 22
Requiem at Mission Springs
Mon, Mar 4, 196330 mins
Mark has a serious fall off his horse trying to catch up to Lucas and Lou who are out for a ride. He has no feelings in his legs as a result and Doc Burrage confirms that paralysis has set in. He recommends hot baths and Lucas decides to take Mark to Mission Springs hoping that the natural hot springs there might have a curative effect. Lou accompanies them but Mark is quite depressed at the turn of events and has convinced himself that he will never walk again. Lucas also has to deal with three escaped convicts who are hungry and quite violent.
Episode 23
The Guest
Mon, Mar 11, 196330 mins
Mario Rosati arrives in North Fork and goes to the McCain ranch where he claims that he and Lucas have a mutual friend from when Lucas lived in the Oklahoma territory. Lucas and Mark welcome him and offer him a place to stay for a few days. What they don't realize is that Rosati is a killer hired by Ralph Hayden who Lucas shot and crippled many years before. The assassin takes a liking to the McCains and delays his assignment for a few days.
Episode 24
Old Man Running
Mon, Mar 25, 196330 mins
Sam rides into Northfork, on the run from present trouble, while seeking to deal with trouble from the past. For Sam is none other than Mark's grandfather, the father of Lucas' long-dead wife and mother of his son. Sam is being chased by three brothers who want to avenge Sam's killing a member of their family. Sam wants to get away, but also wants to see Mark, for he wants Mark's forgiveness for a dark past. Lucas, and Mark, must first help Sam overcome his current danger. Then they must grapple with their feelings about the past, in order to find a way to a new relationship with old Sam.
Episode 25
Which Way'd They Go?
Mon, Apr 1, 196330 mins
It seems to be the end of the line for the Jackman clan after their farm is put up for sale to pay back taxes. It's clear they weren't cut out for farming and go off to Paradise, a nearby town. They arrive to find that the position of town Marshal is vacant and family patriarch Nebeneezert takes the job and deputizes his three sons. They soon realize just what they've got themselves into when they see that all of the badges have bullet holes in them. When bank robbers come to town, Lucas helps them keep the peace.
Episode 26
Old Tony
Mon, Apr 8, 196330 mins
Mark and his girlfriend, Lorrie, become entangled in a feud between two old codgers. The teenagers soon learn that the "Hermit" has a bark that's worse than his bite when the old man invites them to lunch and allows them to look for arrowheads on a remote part of his land. The youngsters face dire peril when they become trapped in a pool of quicksand.