Season 4

The First Born

Sep 23, 196249 min

Clay Stafford signs on to work for the Cartwrights and shortly afterwards shoots and kills a man who accuses him of cheating at poker. The miners warn Clay to leave town, but it appears he killed in self-defense. Surprisingly, he tells Li

The Quest

Sep 30, 196249 min

Determined to prove he can succeed at something without the help of his Pa, Hoss, and Adam, Joe sets out on his quest and wins a timber contract for Ponderosa timber, and later discovers that having a family to rely on can definitely be an

The Artist

Oct 7, 196249 min

Ben helps Matthew Raine, a famous painter who has gone blind and now wallows in self-pity, discover a new purpose in life. However, Raine's employee Gavin has other ideas.

A Hot Day for a Hanging

Oct 14, 196249 min

Hoss is jailed for robbing the bank in Dutchman Flats, a town on the brink of economic collapse, even the sheriff knows he is innocent, but a lynch mob gathers and Hoss' fate is not good.

The Deserter

Oct 21, 196249 min

An Indian-hating officer, Colonel Edward J. Dunwoody, comes to the Ponderosa looking for army deserter Bill Winters, who is a good friend of the Cartwrights. Bill happens to be his son and is married to an Indian. It seemed Bill deserted

The Way Station

Oct 29, 196249 min

With a storm brewing, Adam takes refuge at a way station, run by cantankerous Jesse and his young grandaughter Marty, who yearns to see what exists away from the way station. The station is also visited by Luke Martin, a killer who is runn

The War Comes to Washoe

Nov 4, 196249 min

The Civil War once again divides the citizens of Nevada, as well as Adam and Joe Cartwright. One of season four's highlights, the plot involving British spy Bill Stewart, based on historical fact.

Knight Errant

Nov 18, 196249 min

Hoss volunteers to pickup an injured neighbor's mail-order bride, but by the time they return, she has fallen in love with Hoss and a price is put on Hoss' head.

The Beginning

Nov 25, 196249 min

Billy Horne is a white man who was captured by the Shoshone when he was six. He comes into Ben & Joe's campsite one night uninvited. They capture him and take him to town. Roy Coffee wants to put him in jail for safekeeping, but Ben says he

The Deadly Ones

Dec 2, 196249 min

The Ponderosa becomes a war zone when it is invaded by a detachment of Mexican mercenaries under General Diaz. The general is furious when one of his men, Forsythe, disobeys his orders to get a hostage peacefully, and instead shoots Little

Gallagher's Sons

Dec 9, 196249 min

Hoss helps Charlie and Will (Charlotte and Willomina), two young girls who just lost their father. They go on a journey to find their only nearby relative, Aunt Cloe. Charlie takes with her a stolen sack of money that her father gave her

The Decision

Dec 16, 196249 min

Hoss is seriously injured internally and Ben seeks help from the only doctor within 50 miles, who happens to be in prison for murder. Ben talks to the judge, and with some convincing, talks him into letting the doctor look at Hoss. Danny,

The Good Samaritan

Dec 23, 196249 min

Hoss decides to help out Wade Tyree and introduces him to Abigail and her daughter, Bonnie. Hoss hopes this will stop Wade's constant drinking. Wade soon marries Abigail, but when things don't go his way, he goes back to drinking. Hoss h

The Jury

Dec 30, 196249 min

When Hoss is responsible for causing a hung jury, Ben tells him, "a man is never wrong doing what he thinks is right", and Adam attempts to validate his brother's reasonable doubt.

The Colonel

Jan 6, 196349 min

Frank Medford, a figure from Ben's "wild, misspent youth", shows up in Virginia City, and though down on his luck, creates troubles for the Cartwrights by claiming to be a successful businessman.

Song in the Dark

Jan 13, 196349 min

Adam's guitar-strumming friend, ranch hand Danny Morgan, is arrested on suspicion of murdering and robbing the Widow Baker. Someone had reported hearing Danny singing outside her place at the time of the murder. More, importantly, Morgan

Elegy for a Hangman

Jan 20, 196349 min

A stranger, Bob Jolly, arrives in Virginia City to accuse a drunken Judge Harry Whitaker of sending his innocent father, Carl, to the gallows. Adam defends the judge's honor because of his long friendship with the Cartwrights. After Adam

Half a Rogue

Jan 27, 196349 min

In this entertaining episode, laced with humor, Hoss first meets mountain man Jim Leyton. Bing Russell makes his first appearance as Deputy Clem Foster.

The Last Haircut

Feb 3, 196349 min

A vain outlaw murders a man in front of witnesses, including Joe, but a clever lawyer is able to get him acquitted. Though enraged, Joe has to convince the dead man's son it is wrong to take the law into their own hands.

Marie, My Love

Feb 10, 196349 min

When Cochise falls on Joe, Ben cannot help but remember that is how Marie Cartwright was killed. He thinks back to meeting her in New Orleans in a rather confusing story not quite in synch with details discussed in "The First Born".

The Hayburner

Feb 17, 196349 min

For a change, it is Adam rather than Joe who becomes mixed up in one of Hoss' funny exploits. Together they purchase a thoroughbred horse, and end up competing against their little brother in the big Virginia City race. This is Pernell Ro

The Actress

Feb 24, 196349 min

Joe becomes romantically involved with a woman who considers herself a serious dramatic actress. Unfortunately, she is the only one who does.

A Stranger Passed This Way

Mar 3, 196349 min

Hoss develops amnesia after being bushwhacked and hit over the head by two outlaws and moves in with a Dutch couple. The woman regards him as a substitute for her dead son, and unless he recovers his memory, the other Cartwrights fear he w

The Way of Aaron

Mar 10, 196349 min

Adam takes a shine to Rebecca Kaufman, the daughter of a Jewish peddler, and bandits are convinced the Kaufman wagon is worth robbing.

A Woman Lost

Mar 17, 196349 min

Ben's attempt to rehabilitate an alcoholic singer he knew in better days are complicated by her involvment with a former prize fighter.

Any Friend of Walter's

Mar 24, 196349 min

Classic comedy in which Hoss first meets prospector Obie and his lazy but allegedly brilliant mongrel dog, Walter.

Mirror of a Man

Mar 31, 196349 min

The peaceful world of a Ponderosa hand is disturbed by the arrival of his no-good father and twin brother, who is a wanted man.

My Brother's Keeper

Apr 7, 196349 min

While hunting for a wolf, Joe is attacked by the wolf. Adam also hunting for the wolf, hears Joe struggling with the wolf comes to Joe's aid. He fires his rifle but the bullet hits Joe. Adam hurries over knocks the wolf off Joe, shoots,

Five into the Wind

Apr 21, 196349 min

After their stagecoach crashes, a group of rag-tag passengers and Joe must get out of the desert alive. One of the passengers may or may not be a murderer and Joe is accused.

Saga of Whizzer McGee

Apr 28, 196349 min

Hoss becomes concerned for the welfare of an insecure, belligerent fellow who is as small as Hoss is large. Interesting blend of comedy and pathos that ends unpredictably.

Thunder Man

May 5, 196349 min

Little Joe's 19-year old girlfriend is killed by a good samaritan, an explosives expert who had stopped to render aid to the woman's uncle after he suffers a stroke. Unable to talk, the only clue he can offer the investigating Cartwrights i

Rich Man, Poor Man

May 12, 196349 min

Claude Miller, the laughingstock of Virginia City, gets even with everyone who made fun of him when he strikes it rich.

The Boss

May 19, 196349 min

Ben regrets that he helped Tom Slayden start a freight hauling business when Slayden sets out to ruin all the competition, and Joe is shot in the process.

Little Man... Ten Feet Tall

May 26, 196349 min

When a Italian immigrant comes to the Ponderosa, he decides he wants to give up the guitar to become a cowboy.