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 | |
Leo Penn | 11 | 12/08/1968 - 12/26/1972 | |
John Florea | 11 | 11/05/1960 - 10/31/1965 | |
Herschel Daugherty | 11 | 04/06/1969 - 03/19/1972 | |
Gerd Oswald | 9 | 02/21/1965 - 02/19/1967 | |
Anthony Lawrence | 9 | 04/23/1960 - 11/10/1963 | |
B.W. Sandefur | 9 | 02/04/1968 - 02/21/1971 | |
Don Richardson | 9 | 11/03/1968 - 12/27/1970 | |
Robert Altman | 8 | 12/10/1960 - 11/05/1961 | |
William Wiard | 8 | 10/12/1969 - 03/26/1972 | |
Murray Golden | 8 | 03/10/1963 - 11/08/1964 | |
Tay Garnett | 7 | 10/20/1963 - 02/28/1965 | |
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 | |
Don Daves | 6 | 05/15/1966 - 12/24/1967 | |
John Rich | 5 | 10/01/1960 - 01/28/1968 | |
Ralph E. Black | 5 | 05/24/1964 - 02/20/1966 | |
James Neilson | 4 | 09/17/1960 - 10/04/1970 | |
Virgil Vogel | 4 | 03/07/1965 - 10/17/1965 | |
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 | |
Dick Moder | 3 | 02/11/1961 - 04/29/1961 | |
Philip Leacock | 3 | 02/07/1971 - 03/21/1971 | |
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 | |
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 | |
William Koenig | 2 | 05/23/1965 - 09/19/1971 | |
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 | |
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 | |
Robert M. Fresco | 2 | 03/18/1962 - 05/12/1963 | |
Arthur H. Nadel | 2 | 05/19/1963 - 12/26/1971 | |
Robert Totten | 2 | 04/04/1965 - 12/12/1965 | |
Jean Yarbrough | 1 | 05/01/1966 | |
Alan Crosland Jr. | 1 | 10/30/1966 | |
Bruce Bilson | 1 | 03/29/1970 | |
Robert Sparr | 1 | 11/19/1961 | |
George Blair | 1 | 04/09/1960 | |
John Peyser | 1 | 01/14/1962 | |
Seymour Robbie | 1 | 02/18/1968 | |
Jack Rummler | 1 | 03/28/1971 | |
Vincent McEveety | 1 | 12/20/1964 | |
Herbert L. Strock | 1 | 02/07/1965 | |
Charles Rondeau | 1 | 11/03/1963 | |
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 | |
Leslie McFarlane | 1 | 12/21/1969 | |
Irving J. Moore | 1 | 11/10/1963 | |
John A. Johns | 1 | 03/11/1962 | |
Norman Jacobs | 1 | 12/16/1962 | |
Alvin Ganzer | 1 | 01/21/1961 | |
Jacques Tourneur | 1 | 10/15/1960 | |
Tom Davison | 1 | 01/03/1965 | |
Edward Ludwig | 1 | 09/12/1959 | |
Juanita Bartlett | 1 | 11/14/1972 | |
David Orrick McDearmon | 1 | 12/31/1961 | |
Brian McKay | 1 | 01/11/1970 | |
Michael D. Moore | 1 | 10/22/1967 | |
Robert Gordon | 1 | 03/04/1961 | |
Gunnar Hellström | 1 | 12/22/1968 | |
Joseph H. Lewis | 1 | 11/17/1963 | |
Felix Feist | 1 | 02/13/1960 | |
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 | |
George Schenk | 1 | 11/22/1970 | |
John Larch | 1 | 09/26/1959 | |
Thomas Carr | 1 | 09/24/1961 | |
John Brahm | 1 | 11/07/1959 | |
Karl Tunberg | 1 | 01/30/1972 | |
Joseph Lejtes | 1 | 09/28/1969 | |
Christopher Christenberry | 1 | 11/14/1971 | |
William Marks | 1 | 11/22/1970 | |
Jesse Hibbs | 1 | 02/11/1962 | |
Sutton Roley | 1 | 10/16/1966 | |
Richard Sarafin | 1 | 12/08/1963 | |
Joseph Sargent | 1 | 02/09/1964 | |
Harry Harris | 1 | 10/29/1967 | |
Maury Geraghty | 1 | 03/27/1966 | |
Dick McDonagh | 1 | 11/15/1970 | |
Edward DeBlasio | 1 | 02/28/1971 |
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 | |
Suzanne Clauser | 8 | 01/17/1965 - 01/09/1972 | |
Stanley Roberts | 8 | 01/12/1969 - 11/28/1972 | |
Joel Murcott | 8 | 02/05/1967 - 01/02/1973 | |
Ken Pettus | 8 | 04/19/1964 - 11/14/1971 | |
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 | |
Carey Wilber | 5 | 11/28/1959 - 10/19/1969 | |
Robert V. Barron | 5 | 12/22/1963 - 01/15/1967 | |
Jo Pagano | 5 | 10/04/1964 - 04/10/1966 | |
Arthur Heinemann | 5 | 12/20/1970 - 01/02/1973 | |
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 | |
Robert Pirosh | 4 | 09/27/1970 - 10/03/1972 | |
Gene L. Coon | 4 | 09/19/1959 - 04/29/1961 | |
Denne Bart Petitclerc | 4 | 04/01/1961 - 01/19/1964 | |
Norman Lessing | 4 | 12/10/1961 - 02/24/1963 | |
Peter Packer | 4 | 09/29/1963 - 04/05/1964 | |
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 | |
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 | |
Michael Fessier | 3 | 07/07/1968 - 12/01/1968 | |
William F. Leicester | 3 | 04/17/1966 - 11/17/1968 | |
Donald S. Sanford | 3 | 11/14/1959 - 02/20/1960 | |
Leonard Heideman | 3 | 02/06/1960 - 10/22/1960 | |
Lewis Reed | 2 | 09/24/1961 - 05/05/1963 | |
William Douglas Lansford | 2 | 05/08/1966 - 04/28/1968 | |
Stanley Adams | 2 | 05/01/1966 | |
Mort R. Lewis | 2 | 12/06/1964 - 01/10/1965 | |
S.H. Barnett | 2 | 05/12/1968 - 11/10/1968 | |
Eric Norden | 2 | 05/26/1963 - 10/22/1967 | |
William H. Wright | 2 | 01/14/1968 - 01/28/1968 | |
Colin Mackenzie | 2 | 05/12/1968 - 11/10/1968 | |
Larry Markes | 2 | 02/23/1969 - 03/29/1970 | |
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 | |
Jack Miller | 2 | 12/17/1967 - 01/25/1970 | |
William Bruckner | 2 | 02/02/1964 - 05/03/1964 | |
Jessica Benson | 2 | 04/26/1964 - 11/08/1964 | |
John T. Dugan | 2 | 12/03/1961 - 04/08/1962 | |
Dan Ullman | 2 | 09/20/1964 - 04/10/1966 | |
Jack Turley | 2 | 03/22/1964 - 02/12/1967 | |
Peter Germano | 2 | 04/07/1968 - 05/11/1969 | |
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 | |
Robert Bruckner | 1 | 03/08/1970 | |
Paul Rink | 1 | 03/18/1962 | |
Bill Barrett | 1 | 03/05/1960 | |
Halsted Welles | 1 | 10/01/1960 | |
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 | |
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 | |
Barney Slater | 1 | 12/14/1969 | |
Michael Fisher | 1 | 01/09/1966 | |
Richard Carr | 1 | 05/16/1965 | |
James Van Wagoner | 1 | 05/20/1961 | |
Louis Bercovitch | 1 | 01/07/1968 | |
Raphael Blau | 1 | 03/10/1963 | |
Richard P. McDonagh | 1 | 05/12/1963 | |
Robert Lyon Welch | 1 | 04/28/1963 | |
Anthony Wilson | 1 | 12/15/1963 | |
Meyer Dolinsky | 1 | 04/21/1963 | |
Rik Vollaerts | 1 | 11/13/1966 | |
Wally Geor | 1 | 11/21/1965 | |
Clifford Irving | 1 | 02/25/1962 | |
Arthur Dales | 1 | 02/18/1968 | |
A.I. Bezzerides | 1 | 03/31/1963 | |
June Randolph | 1 | 10/16/1966 | |
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 | |
Shirl Hendryx | 1 | 01/20/1963 | |
Malcolm Stuart Boylan | 1 | 03/05/1960 | |
Dean Riesner | 1 | 09/10/1960 | |
Frank Arno | 1 | 05/26/1963 | |
Samuel A. Peeples | 1 | 01/16/1972 | |
Alvin Sapinsley | 1 | 11/04/1962 | |
Richard Landau | 1 | 02/04/1961 | |
Vincent Wright | 1 | 10/05/1969 | |
Rod Peterson | 1 | 10/25/1964 | |
Douglas Day Stewart | 1 | 09/26/1972 | |
Joy Dexter | 1 | 04/23/1967 | |
Tom Seller | 1 | 02/16/1964 | |
Chester Krumholz | 1 | 04/30/1967 | |
Kelly Covin | 1 | 03/12/1967 | |
Jackson Gillis | 1 | 01/05/1969 | |
Robert Bloomfield | 1 | 12/23/1962 | |
R. Harner Norris | 1 | 10/22/1960 | |
Olney Sherman | 1 | 12/03/1967 | |
George Lovell Hayes | 1 | 02/07/1971 | |
Esther Shapiro | 1 | 11/01/1964 | |
Ken Trevey | 1 | 03/02/1969 | |
William Raynor | 1 | 12/31/1960 | |
Fred Freiberger | 1 | 10/15/1960 | |
Jeffrey Fleece | 1 | 04/11/1965 | |
Myles Wilder | 1 | 12/31/1960 | |
Nat Tanchuck | 1 | 03/18/1961 | |
Laurence Mascott | 1 | 04/30/1960 | |
Martha Wilkerson | 1 | 02/28/1965 | |
Theodore Ferro | 1 | 03/11/1961 | |
U. S. Anderson | 1 | 05/07/1967 | |
Jonathon Knopf | 1 | 11/23/1969 | |
George F. Slavin | 1 | 05/01/1966 | |
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 | |
Richard Shapiro | 1 | 11/01/1964 | |
Jean Holloway | 1 | 12/19/1971 | |
Harold Jack Bloom | 1 | 04/09/1960 | |
Milton Merlin | 1 | 05/12/1963 | |
Harold Swanton | 1 | 11/28/1971 | |
George Waggner | 1 | 01/05/1964 | |
Richard Newman | 1 | 01/21/1961 | |
Clair Huffaker | 1 | 03/19/1960 | |
Lee Pickett | 1 | 03/06/1966 | |
Carol Saraceno | 1 | 01/28/1968 | |
William D. Gordon | 1 | 03/19/1972 | |
S.S. Schweitzer | 1 | 05/08/1966 | |
Mary T. Taylor | 1 | 12/18/1966 | |
John Joseph | 1 | 09/30/1962 | |
Robert I. Holt | 1 | 12/03/1967 | |
William Jerome | 1 | 11/26/1967 | |
Robert Duncan | 1 | 11/06/1966 | |
George Stackalee | 1 | 05/06/1962 | |
Melvin Levy | 1 | 04/02/1967 | |
E. Jack Neuman | 1 | 10/08/1960 | |
Hazel Swanson | 1 | 02/07/1965 | |
John Twist | 1 | 09/24/1960 | |
Stephen Lord | 1 | 11/14/1965 | |
Alf Harris | 1 | 10/06/1968 | |
Frank Telford | 1 | 12/15/1968 | |
Richard Collins | 1 | 12/26/1972 | |
Richard Neil Morgan | 1 | 01/07/1961 | |
Judith Borrows | 1 | 04/16/1967 | |
Sandy Summerhayes | 1 | 01/26/1969 | |
William Kelley | 1 | 02/13/1972 | |
W.R. Burnett | 1 | 05/26/1968 | |
Marion Parsonnet | 1 | 02/11/1961 | |
Jack McClain | 1 | 05/20/1961 | |
Harold Shumate | 1 | 10/10/1959 | |
Cy Chermak | 1 | 10/13/1963 | |
Joseph Hoffman | 1 | 11/18/1962 | |
Gert P. Young | 1 | 02/27/1966 | |
Paul King | 1 | 12/03/1960 | |
Herbert Kastle | 1 | 01/22/1967 | |
Palmer Thompson | 1 | 09/14/1969 | |
Sydney Ellis | 1 | 11/12/1967 |
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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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