The show chronicles the weekly adventures of the Cartwright family, headed by the thrice-widowed patriarch Ben Cartwright. He had three sons, each by a different wife: the eldest was the urbane architect Adam who built the ranch house; the second was the warm and lovable giant Eric "Hoss"; and the youngest was the hotheaded and impetuous Joseph or "Little Joe". Via exposition and flashback episodes and each wife was accorded a different ethnicity. The family's cook was the Chinese immigrant Hop Sing.
Season | From | To | Episodes |
---|---|---|---|
All Seasons | |||
Specials | April 1962 | January 1995 | 30 |
Season 1 | September 1959 | April 1960 | 32 |
Season 2 | September 1960 | June 1961 | 34 |
Season 3 | September 1961 | May 1962 | 34 |
Season 4 | September 1962 | May 1963 | 34 |
Season 5 | September 1963 | May 1964 | 34 |
Season 6 | September 1964 | May 1965 | 34 |
Season 7 | September 1965 | May 1966 | 33 |
Season 8 | September 1966 | May 1967 | 34 |
Season 9 | September 1967 | July 1968 | 34 |
Season 10 | September 1968 | May 1969 | 30 |
Season 11 | September 1969 | April 1970 | 28 |
Season 12 | September 1970 | April 1971 | 28 |
Season 13 | September 1971 | April 1972 | 26 |
Season 14 | September 1972 | January 1973 | 16 |
Unassigned Episodes | 0 |
Season | From | To | Episodes |
---|---|---|---|
Specials | 0 | ||
Unassigned Episodes | 461 |
Season | From | To | Episodes |
---|---|---|---|
Season 1 | September 1959 | July 1968 | 39 |
Unassigned Episodes | 422 |
Name | Number of Episodes | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
William F. Claxton | 58 | 10/14/1962 - 01/09/1973 | |
Lewis Allen | 43 | 01/09/1960 - 01/02/1973 | |
Michael Landon | 38 | 04/01/1962 - 01/16/1973 | |
Leon Benson | 35 | 04/26/1964 - 03/08/1970 | |
Don McDougall | 32 | 10/08/1961 - 01/31/1965 | |
William Witney | 28 | 02/18/1961 - 11/12/1967 | |
Christian Nyby | 26 | 09/26/1959 - 04/16/1967 | |
Herschel Daugherty | 11 | 04/06/1969 - 03/19/1972 | |
Leo Penn | 11 | 12/08/1968 - 12/26/1972 | |
John Florea | 11 | 11/05/1960 - 10/31/1965 | |
B.W. Sandefur | 9 | 02/04/1968 - 02/21/1971 | |
Don Richardson | 9 | 11/03/1968 - 12/27/1970 | |
Gerd Oswald | 9 | 02/21/1965 - 02/19/1967 | |
Anthony Lawrence | 9 | 04/23/1960 - 11/10/1963 | |
Murray Golden | 8 | 03/10/1963 - 11/08/1964 | |
Robert Altman | 8 | 12/10/1960 - 11/05/1961 | |
William Wiard | 8 | 10/12/1969 - 03/26/1972 | |
Tay Garnett | 7 | 10/20/1963 - 02/28/1965 | |
Don Daves | 6 | 05/15/1966 - 12/24/1967 | |
R.G. Springsteen | 6 | 11/21/1965 - 05/08/1966 | |
Joseph Pevney | 6 | 10/20/1968 - 02/06/1972 | |
Paul Schneider | 6 | 04/04/1965 - 09/17/1967 | |
Ralph E. Black | 5 | 05/24/1964 - 02/20/1966 | |
John Rich | 5 | 10/01/1960 - 01/28/1968 | |
James Neilson | 4 | 09/17/1960 - 10/04/1970 | |
Virgil Vogel | 4 | 03/07/1965 - 10/17/1965 | |
Borden Chase | 3 | 02/11/1962 - 04/22/1962 | |
Robert L. Friend | 3 | 10/27/1968 - 11/02/1969 | |
Marc Daniels | 3 | 01/07/1968 - 05/19/1968 | |
Frank Unger | 3 | 01/30/1960 - 03/01/1964 | |
Charles F. Haas | 3 | 03/05/1960 - 10/29/1960 | |
Joseph Kane | 3 | 10/24/1959 - 12/05/1959 | |
Elliot Gilbert | 3 | 03/27/1966 - 03/23/1969 | |
Paul Landres | 3 | 09/19/1959 - 10/10/1959 | |
Philip Leacock | 3 | 02/07/1971 - 03/21/1971 | |
Dick Moder | 3 | 02/11/1961 - 04/29/1961 | |
Arthur Lubin | 3 | 04/02/1960 - 09/24/1960 | |
E.M. Parsons | 3 | 05/06/1962 - 01/20/1963 | |
Arnold Belgard | 3 | 02/18/1961 - 05/12/1963 | |
Arthur H. Nadel | 2 | 05/19/1963 - 12/26/1971 | |
Robert M. Fresco | 2 | 03/18/1962 - 05/12/1963 | |
Robert Totten | 2 | 04/04/1965 - 12/12/1965 | |
Herman Hoffman | 2 | 11/27/1966 | |
Richard H. Bartlett | 2 | 10/22/1960 - 04/17/1966 | |
Gerald Mayer | 2 | 11/19/1967 - 12/17/1967 | |
William Koenig | 2 | 05/23/1965 - 09/19/1971 | |
D.C. Fontana | 2 | 11/02/1969 - 09/20/1970 | |
Oliver Crawford | 2 | 02/27/1960 - 03/05/1967 | |
Bernard McEveety | 2 | 12/15/1963 - 01/10/1965 | |
Robert Biheller | 2 | 12/26/1971 | |
William Dario Faralla | 2 | 01/14/1961 - 02/25/1961 | |
Nicholas Colasanto | 2 | 10/24/1972 - 10/31/1972 | |
James P. Yarbrough | 2 | 12/17/1960 - 01/07/1961 | |
Alf Kjellin | 2 | 09/26/1972 - 11/28/1972 | |
Nicholas Webster | 2 | 11/22/1970 - 09/19/1972 | |
Thomas Carr | 1 | 09/24/1961 | |
John Brahm | 1 | 11/07/1959 | |
Joseph Lejtes | 1 | 09/28/1969 | |
Karl Tunberg | 1 | 01/30/1972 | |
Jesse Hibbs | 1 | 02/11/1962 | |
Sutton Roley | 1 | 10/16/1966 | |
Richard Sarafin | 1 | 12/08/1963 | |
Christopher Christenberry | 1 | 11/14/1971 | |
William Marks | 1 | 11/22/1970 | |
Harry Harris | 1 | 10/29/1967 | |
Maury Geraghty | 1 | 03/27/1966 | |
Dick McDonagh | 1 | 11/15/1970 | |
Joseph Sargent | 1 | 02/09/1964 | |
Edward DeBlasio | 1 | 02/28/1971 | |
Alan Crosland Jr. | 1 | 10/30/1966 | |
Bruce Bilson | 1 | 03/29/1970 | |
Jean Yarbrough | 1 | 05/01/1966 | |
Robert Sparr | 1 | 11/19/1961 | |
George Blair | 1 | 04/09/1960 | |
Seymour Robbie | 1 | 02/18/1968 | |
John Peyser | 1 | 01/14/1962 | |
Herbert L. Strock | 1 | 02/07/1965 | |
Charles Rondeau | 1 | 11/03/1963 | |
Jack Rummler | 1 | 03/28/1971 | |
Vincent McEveety | 1 | 12/20/1964 | |
E.W. Swackhamer | 1 | 11/14/1972 | |
James B. Clark | 1 | 09/14/1969 | |
Anne Howard Bailey | 1 | 02/10/1963 | |
Robert Butler | 1 | 10/29/1961 | |
Irving J. Moore | 1 | 11/10/1963 | |
John A. Johns | 1 | 03/11/1962 | |
Leslie McFarlane | 1 | 12/21/1969 | |
Alvin Ganzer | 1 | 01/21/1961 | |
Jacques Tourneur | 1 | 10/15/1960 | |
Tom Davison | 1 | 01/03/1965 | |
Edward Ludwig | 1 | 09/12/1959 | |
Norman Jacobs | 1 | 12/16/1962 | |
Juanita Bartlett | 1 | 11/14/1972 | |
David Orrick McDearmon | 1 | 12/31/1961 | |
Michael D. Moore | 1 | 10/22/1967 | |
Robert Gordon | 1 | 03/04/1961 | |
Gunnar Hellström | 1 | 12/22/1968 | |
Brian McKay | 1 | 01/11/1970 | |
Felix Feist | 1 | 02/13/1960 | |
Joseph H. Lewis | 1 | 11/17/1963 | |
Paul Nickell | 1 | 04/08/1962 | |
Hollingsworth Morse | 1 | 01/20/1963 | |
Charles Goldwad | 1 | 12/26/1971 | |
Abe Polsky | 1 | 09/24/1967 | |
Inger Stevens | 1 | 09/26/1959 | |
Mort Zarcoff | 1 | 11/14/1972 | |
Gil Lasky | 1 | 09/24/1967 | |
Paul Henreid | 1 | 09/25/1966 | |
Morris Lee Green | 1 | 02/06/1960 | |
John Larch | 1 | 09/26/1959 | |
George Schenk | 1 | 11/22/1970 |
Name | Number of Episodes | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
John Hawkins | 31 | 05/06/1961 - 12/19/1972 | |
Preston Wood | 19 | 05/20/1962 - 01/30/1972 | |
Thomas Thompson | 18 | 09/26/1959 - 04/06/1969 | |
Ward Hawkins | 17 | 01/14/1961 - 01/09/1973 | |
Frank Chase | 15 | 10/15/1961 - 10/26/1969 | |
Jack B. Sowards | 11 | 09/22/1968 - 11/14/1972 | |
Frank Cleaver | 10 | 04/15/1962 - 10/24/1965 | |
Robert Vincent Wright | 9 | 11/05/1961 - 10/10/1971 | |
Joel Murcott | 8 | 02/05/1967 - 01/02/1973 | |
Ken Pettus | 8 | 04/19/1964 - 11/14/1971 | |
Suzanne Clauser | 8 | 01/17/1965 - 01/09/1972 | |
Stanley Roberts | 8 | 01/12/1969 - 11/28/1972 | |
Alex Sharp | 7 | 02/17/1963 - 07/28/1968 | |
David Dortort | 6 | 09/12/1959 - 04/15/1962 | |
Walter Black | 6 | 12/04/1966 - 03/03/1968 | |
Jo Pagano | 5 | 10/04/1964 - 04/10/1966 | |
Arthur Heinemann | 5 | 12/20/1970 - 01/02/1973 | |
Carey Wilber | 5 | 11/28/1959 - 10/19/1969 | |
Robert V. Barron | 5 | 12/22/1963 - 01/15/1967 | |
Lois Hire | 4 | 03/24/1963 - 10/31/1965 | |
John Furia | 4 | 04/16/1960 - 05/13/1962 | |
William Blinn | 4 | 09/12/1965 - 04/10/1966 | |
Donn Mullally | 4 | 09/27/1964 - 04/03/1966 | |
Robert E. Thompson | 4 | 12/05/1959 - 09/17/1960 | |
Don Ingalls | 4 | 12/17/1961 - 09/19/1972 | |
Warren Douglas | 4 | 10/20/1963 - 04/25/1965 | |
William R. Cox | 4 | 03/11/1961 - 09/18/1966 | |
Robert Sabaroff | 4 | 02/23/1964 - 02/26/1967 | |
Gene L. Coon | 4 | 09/19/1959 - 04/29/1961 | |
Robert Pirosh | 4 | 09/27/1970 - 10/03/1972 | |
Norman Lessing | 4 | 12/10/1961 - 02/24/1963 | |
Denne Bart Petitclerc | 4 | 04/01/1961 - 01/19/1964 | |
Peter Packer | 4 | 09/29/1963 - 04/05/1964 | |
Michael Fessier | 3 | 07/07/1968 - 12/01/1968 | |
William F. Leicester | 3 | 04/17/1966 - 11/17/1968 | |
Leonard Heideman | 3 | 02/06/1960 - 10/22/1960 | |
Donald S. Sanford | 3 | 11/14/1959 - 02/20/1960 | |
Mort Thaw | 3 | 01/02/1966 - 12/18/1966 | |
Robert L. Goodwin | 3 | 11/07/1965 - 05/15/1966 | |
Milton S. Gelman | 3 | 12/08/1968 - 01/11/1970 | |
Steve McNeil | 3 | 10/15/1960 - 04/09/1967 | |
David Lang | 3 | 11/05/1960 - 10/27/1968 | |
Leo Gordon | 3 | 05/19/1963 - 01/31/1965 | |
Jerry Adelman | 3 | 03/15/1964 - 03/07/1965 | |
Elliott Arnold | 3 | 10/08/1961 - 10/14/1962 | |
N.B. Stone Jr. | 3 | 01/28/1961 - 12/02/1962 | |
Ed Adamson | 3 | 12/08/1963 - 04/18/1965 | |
Don Tait | 2 | 05/10/1964 - 05/23/1965 | |
Joseph Bonaduce | 2 | 02/06/1972 - 03/26/1972 | |
Kay Lenard | 2 | 01/05/1969 - 02/02/1969 | |
Frederick Louis Fox | 2 | 10/23/1966 - 01/07/1968 | |
George W. George | 2 | 09/23/1962 - 01/13/1963 | |
Richard Wendley | 2 | 01/08/1967 - 04/28/1968 | |
Sidney Ellis | 2 | 02/13/1966 - 11/20/1966 | |
John M. Chester | 2 | 10/30/1966 - 05/19/1968 | |
Lewis Reed | 2 | 09/24/1961 - 05/05/1963 | |
William Douglas Lansford | 2 | 05/08/1966 - 04/28/1968 | |
Mort R. Lewis | 2 | 12/06/1964 - 01/10/1965 | |
Stanley Adams | 2 | 05/01/1966 | |
Eric Norden | 2 | 05/26/1963 - 10/22/1967 | |
S.H. Barnett | 2 | 05/12/1968 - 11/10/1968 | |
Colin Mackenzie | 2 | 05/12/1968 - 11/10/1968 | |
Larry Markes | 2 | 02/23/1969 - 03/29/1970 | |
William H. Wright | 2 | 01/14/1968 - 01/28/1968 | |
Herman Groves | 2 | 11/21/1959 - 10/29/1960 | |
Charles Lang | 2 | 02/04/1962 - 02/03/1963 | |
Dick Nelson (I) | 2 | 03/11/1962 - 12/09/1962 | |
William L. Stuart | 2 | 02/09/1964 - 12/05/1965 | |
Helen B. Hicks | 2 | 03/20/1966 - 06/02/1968 | |
William Stuart | 2 | 03/03/1963 - 09/22/1963 | |
Jess Carneol | 2 | 01/05/1969 - 02/02/1969 | |
Judy George | 2 | 09/23/1962 - 01/13/1963 | |
Arthur Weingarten | 2 | 01/03/1971 - 01/09/1972 | |
Marc Michaels | 2 | 10/02/1966 - 10/09/1966 | |
Al C. Ward | 2 | 10/17/1959 - 01/16/1960 | |
William Bruckner | 2 | 02/02/1964 - 05/03/1964 | |
Jessica Benson | 2 | 04/26/1964 - 11/08/1964 | |
Jack Miller | 2 | 12/17/1967 - 01/25/1970 | |
Dan Ullman | 2 | 09/20/1964 - 04/10/1966 | |
Jack Turley | 2 | 03/22/1964 - 02/12/1967 | |
John T. Dugan | 2 | 12/03/1961 - 04/08/1962 | |
Peter Germano | 2 | 04/07/1968 - 05/11/1969 | |
Hazel Swanson | 1 | 02/07/1965 | |
Melvin Levy | 1 | 04/02/1967 | |
E. Jack Neuman | 1 | 10/08/1960 | |
Stephen Lord | 1 | 11/14/1965 | |
Alf Harris | 1 | 10/06/1968 | |
Frank Telford | 1 | 12/15/1968 | |
John Twist | 1 | 09/24/1960 | |
Richard Collins | 1 | 12/26/1972 | |
Richard Neil Morgan | 1 | 01/07/1961 | |
Judith Borrows | 1 | 04/16/1967 | |
W.R. Burnett | 1 | 05/26/1968 | |
Marion Parsonnet | 1 | 02/11/1961 | |
Jack McClain | 1 | 05/20/1961 | |
Sandy Summerhayes | 1 | 01/26/1969 | |
William Kelley | 1 | 02/13/1972 | |
Cy Chermak | 1 | 10/13/1963 | |
Joseph Hoffman | 1 | 11/18/1962 | |
Gert P. Young | 1 | 02/27/1966 | |
Harold Shumate | 1 | 10/10/1959 | |
Herbert Kastle | 1 | 01/22/1967 | |
Palmer Thompson | 1 | 09/14/1969 | |
Sydney Ellis | 1 | 11/12/1967 | |
Paul King | 1 | 12/03/1960 | |
Paul Rink | 1 | 03/18/1962 | |
Robert Bruckner | 1 | 03/08/1970 | |
John Dunkel | 1 | 03/16/1969 | |
Mel Goldberg | 1 | 02/21/1971 | |
Paul Leslie Wilke | 1 | 01/31/1965 | |
Bill S. Ballinger | 1 | 03/26/1960 | |
Bill Barrett | 1 | 03/05/1960 | |
Halsted Welles | 1 | 10/01/1960 | |
Lewis Clay | 1 | 04/12/1964 | |
Barbara Merlin | 1 | 05/12/1963 | |
Norman Katkov | 1 | 04/20/1969 | |
Robert Guy Borrows | 1 | 04/16/1967 | |
Richard Carr | 1 | 05/16/1965 | |
James Van Wagoner | 1 | 05/20/1961 | |
Louis Bercovitch | 1 | 01/07/1968 | |
Barney Slater | 1 | 12/14/1969 | |
Michael Fisher | 1 | 01/09/1966 | |
Richard P. McDonagh | 1 | 05/12/1963 | |
Robert Lyon Welch | 1 | 04/28/1963 | |
Raphael Blau | 1 | 03/10/1963 | |
Meyer Dolinsky | 1 | 04/21/1963 | |
Rik Vollaerts | 1 | 11/13/1966 | |
Wally Geor | 1 | 11/21/1965 | |
Anthony Wilson | 1 | 12/15/1963 | |
Arthur Dales | 1 | 02/18/1968 | |
A.I. Bezzerides | 1 | 03/31/1963 | |
June Randolph | 1 | 10/16/1966 | |
Clifford Irving | 1 | 02/25/1962 | |
Blair Robertson | 1 | 02/07/1965 | |
John Tucker Battle | 1 | 01/02/1960 | |
Mathilde Ferro | 1 | 03/11/1961 | |
Seeleg Lester | 1 | 04/07/1963 | |
Joe Stone | 1 | 12/03/1960 | |
James Amesbury | 1 | 05/14/1967 | |
Dean Riesner | 1 | 09/10/1960 | |
Frank Arno | 1 | 05/26/1963 | |
Samuel A. Peeples | 1 | 01/16/1972 | |
Shirl Hendryx | 1 | 01/20/1963 | |
Malcolm Stuart Boylan | 1 | 03/05/1960 | |
Richard Landau | 1 | 02/04/1961 | |
Vincent Wright | 1 | 10/05/1969 | |
Alvin Sapinsley | 1 | 11/04/1962 | |
Joy Dexter | 1 | 04/23/1967 | |
Tom Seller | 1 | 02/16/1964 | |
Rod Peterson | 1 | 10/25/1964 | |
Douglas Day Stewart | 1 | 09/26/1972 | |
Chester Krumholz | 1 | 04/30/1967 | |
Kelly Covin | 1 | 03/12/1967 | |
Robert Bloomfield | 1 | 12/23/1962 | |
R. Harner Norris | 1 | 10/22/1960 | |
Olney Sherman | 1 | 12/03/1967 | |
Jackson Gillis | 1 | 01/05/1969 | |
Ken Trevey | 1 | 03/02/1969 | |
George Lovell Hayes | 1 | 02/07/1971 | |
Esther Shapiro | 1 | 11/01/1964 | |
Fred Freiberger | 1 | 10/15/1960 | |
Jeffrey Fleece | 1 | 04/11/1965 | |
William Raynor | 1 | 12/31/1960 | |
Laurence Mascott | 1 | 04/30/1960 | |
Martha Wilkerson | 1 | 02/28/1965 | |
Myles Wilder | 1 | 12/31/1960 | |
Nat Tanchuck | 1 | 03/18/1961 | |
Theodore Ferro | 1 | 03/11/1961 | |
U. S. Anderson | 1 | 05/07/1967 | |
Gordon T. Dawson | 1 | 12/05/1971 | |
Paul Leslie Peil | 1 | 05/19/1963 | |
Wanda Duncan | 1 | 11/06/1966 | |
True Boardman | 1 | 10/24/1971 | |
John T. Kelly | 1 | 10/29/1961 | |
Jonathon Knopf | 1 | 11/23/1969 | |
George F. Slavin | 1 | 05/01/1966 | |
Richard Shapiro | 1 | 11/01/1964 | |
Jean Holloway | 1 | 12/19/1971 | |
Harold Jack Bloom | 1 | 04/09/1960 | |
George Waggner | 1 | 01/05/1964 | |
Richard Newman | 1 | 01/21/1961 | |
Clair Huffaker | 1 | 03/19/1960 | |
Lee Pickett | 1 | 03/06/1966 | |
Milton Merlin | 1 | 05/12/1963 | |
Harold Swanton | 1 | 11/28/1971 | |
William D. Gordon | 1 | 03/19/1972 | |
S.S. Schweitzer | 1 | 05/08/1966 | |
Mary T. Taylor | 1 | 12/18/1966 | |
Carol Saraceno | 1 | 01/28/1968 | |
William Jerome | 1 | 11/26/1967 | |
John Joseph | 1 | 09/30/1962 | |
Robert I. Holt | 1 | 12/03/1967 | |
Robert Duncan | 1 | 11/06/1966 | |
George Stackalee | 1 | 05/06/1962 |
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Mike Wallace and a vampire slayer? Letterman and Oprah? Andy Griffith and the Sopranos? On one list? What were we thinking? Simply put, the best of the best, from Day 1 to last night: quality, innovation and the ability to stay in our lives year after year after year. A touch of sentiment? Sure, but nostalgia alone couldn’t make the cut (sorry, Beav). And TV-movies, miniseries and specials will have to wait. These are the series we watched regularly — and will watch again. And again.
We are what we watch-and over the last half century, we've watched some pretty fabulous TV. From Mary to Jerry, from Tonight to Today, from the sublime (Prime Suspect) to the ridiculous (Gilligan's Island), EW recalls everything you need to know about 100 shows that tell us who we are.
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