- 7.3/10173 votes
#1 - The Lazy Ace (1)
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 12/1/1981
In what may very well be the last of the great poker games in the Old West, Bret wins ownership of the saloon and decides to settle down in the town of Sweetwater in the Arizona Territory. (Part 1 of 2)
Director: Stuart Margolin
Writer: N/A
- 7.6/1041 votes
#2 - The Lazy Ace (2)
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 12/1/1981
Former sheriff Tom Guthrie joins Bret as partner in the Red Ox saloon, to the dismay of the townspeople who just booted the old-fashioned lawman out of office.
Director: Stuart Margolin
Writer: N/A
- 8.4/1044 votes
#3 - Welcome to Sweetwater
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 12/8/1981
Maverick's reluctance to sell his ranch, the Lazy Ace, is the major stumbling block to bringing the railroad into Sweetwater.
Director: Rod Holcomb
Writer: N/A
- 8.0/1037 votes
#4 - Anything for a Friend
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 12/15/1981
A barn-raising celebration at Maverick's ranch helps him conceal Billy the Kid from authorities.
Director: Ivan Dixon
Writer: N/A
- 7.7/1039 votes
#5 - The Yellow Rose
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 12/22/1981
Women's suffrage catches fire in Sweetwater and no one feels the heat more than Maverick, who's just won a Chinese girl in a poker game.
Director: William Wiard
Writer: N/A
- 8.0/1037 votes
#6 - Horse of Yet Another Color
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 1/5/1982
Teddy Roosevelt comes to town to present an Indian chief with a horse from the president, but Maverick ends up winning the stallion.
Director: Ivan Dixon
Writer: N/A
- 8.6/1032 votes
#7 - Dateline: Sweetwater
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 1/12/1982
Eastern financial interests attempt a takeover of Sweetwater businesses.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.8/1038 votes
#8 - The Mayflower Women's Historical Society
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 2/2/1982
It looks like Maverick is going to be hanged, unless he agrees to sell his life story to an ambitious historian.
Director: Ivan Dixon
Writer: N/A
- 7.6/1036 votes
#9 - Hallie
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 2/9/1982
An old flame of Bret's shows up in Sweetwater, pursued by two homicidal brothers she swindled.
Director: John Patterson
Writer: Marion Hargrove
- 8.0/1033 votes
#10 - The Ballad of Bret Maverick
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 2/16/1982
A stranger arrives in town, claiming to be in the process of finishing an epic ballad on the life and death of Bret Maverick.
Director: Jeff Bleckner
Writer: N/A
- 8.8/1037 votes
#11 - A Night at the Red Ox
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 2/23/1982
Vigilantes take over the Red Ox saloon and put former sheriff Tom Guthrie on trial for crimes he allegedly committed in the past.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.4/1036 votes
#12 - The Not So Magnificent Six
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 3/2/1982
Six men who each want to gain a reputation as the one who killed the famous Bret Maverick have followed a western pulp writer to Sweetwater.
Director: Leo Penn
Writer: N/A
- 8.5/1039 votes
#13 - The Vulture Also Rises
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 3/16/1982
When a stagecoach is attacked by Apaches and a woman is killed, the angry townspeople want to call in the cavalry.
Director: Michael O'Herlihy
Writer: N/A
- 7.8/1030 votes
#14 - The Eight Swords of Dyrus and Other Illusions of Grandeur
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 3/23/1982
Bret exposes a crooked magician who is performing at the Red Ox.
Director: John Patterson
Writer: N/A
- 8.3/1038 votes
#15 - Faith, Hope and Clarity (1)
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 4/13/1982
A religious charlatan dupes the townpeople so that he can obtain the rights to their land.
Director: Leo Penn
Writer: N/A
- 9.1/1034 votes
#16 - Faith, Hope and Clarity (2)
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 4/20/1982
Bret masterminds a con to get back the townsfolk's land, which was legally stolen by the clever leader of a religious cult.
Director: Leo Penn
Writer: N/A
- 8.4/1028 votes
#17 - The Rattlesnake Brigade
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 4/27/1982
Maverick and Guthrie are suckered into agreeing to protect a shipment of gold from a ruthless band of outlaws.
Director: Fernando Lamas
Writer: N/A
- 8.9/1040 votes
#18 - The Hidalgo Thing
Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 5/4/1982
Tom Guthrie, who is trying to get re-elected as sheriff, tries to get Maverick to keep a low profile, but Bret is working on the biggest con of his life and isn't going to stop now.
Director: Thomas Carter
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of Bret Maverick Season 1
Every episode of Bret Maverick Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Bret Maverick Season 1!
Bret Maverick is a 1981-82 American Western television series starring James Garner in the role that made him famous in the 1957 series Maverick: a...
Genres:ComedyWestern
Network:NBC
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"The Lazy Ace (1)" is the best rated episode of "Bret Maverick" season 1. It scored 7.3/10 based on 173 votes. Directed by Stuart Margolin and written by N/A, it aired on 12/1/1981. This episode is rated 0.3 points higher than the second-best, "The Lazy Ace (2)".