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 | |
John Florea | 11 | 11/05/1960 - 10/31/1965 | |
Herschel Daugherty | 11 | 04/06/1969 - 03/19/1972 | |
Leo Penn | 11 | 12/08/1968 - 12/26/1972 | |
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 | |
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 | |
R.G. Springsteen | 6 | 11/21/1965 - 05/08/1966 | |
John Rich | 5 | 10/01/1960 - 01/28/1968 | |
Ralph E. Black | 5 | 05/24/1964 - 02/20/1966 | |
Virgil Vogel | 4 | 03/07/1965 - 10/17/1965 | |
James Neilson | 4 | 09/17/1960 - 10/04/1970 | |
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 | |
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 | |
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 | |
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 | |
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 | |
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 | |
John Peyser | 1 | 01/14/1962 | |
Seymour Robbie | 1 | 02/18/1968 | |
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 |
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 | |
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 | |
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 | |
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 | |
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 | |
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 | |
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 | |
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 | |
Nat Tanchuck | 1 | 03/18/1961 | |
Laurence Mascott | 1 | 04/30/1960 | |
Martha Wilkerson | 1 | 02/28/1965 | |
Myles Wilder | 1 | 12/31/1960 | |
Theodore Ferro | 1 | 03/11/1961 | |
U. S. Anderson | 1 | 05/07/1967 | |
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 | |
Jonathon Knopf | 1 | 11/23/1969 | |
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 | |
Robert I. Holt | 1 | 12/03/1967 | |
William Jerome | 1 | 11/26/1967 | |
John Joseph | 1 | 09/30/1962 | |
Robert Duncan | 1 | 11/06/1966 | |
George Stackalee | 1 | 05/06/1962 | |
Hazel Swanson | 1 | 02/07/1965 | |
Melvin Levy | 1 | 04/02/1967 | |
E. Jack Neuman | 1 | 10/08/1960 | |
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 | |
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 | |
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 | |
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 | |
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 | |
Barney Slater | 1 | 12/14/1969 | |
Richard P. McDonagh | 1 | 05/12/1963 | |
Robert Lyon Welch | 1 | 04/28/1963 | |
Raphael Blau | 1 | 03/10/1963 | |
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 | |
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 | |
Douglas Day Stewart | 1 | 09/26/1972 | |
Joy Dexter | 1 | 04/23/1967 | |
Tom Seller | 1 | 02/16/1964 | |
Rod Peterson | 1 | 10/25/1964 | |
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 |
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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.
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.
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