Riverboat poster
Western

The Best Episodes of Riverboat

Every episode of Riverboat ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Riverboat!

The Best Episodes of Riverboat

Riverboat is a 44-episode western television series starring Darren McGavin and Burt Reynolds broadcast on the NBC television network from September 13, 1959 until January...
  1. 8.5/10(16 votes)

    #1 - The Barrier

    Loading...
    S1:E2

    Young Jefferson Carruthers has been assigned to a new post as an Indian agent. He and his wife board the Enterprise to travel to their new home. Also on board is Vance Muldoon, who plans to offer Carruthers money if he will smuggle liquor to the Indians.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  2. 8.2/10(16 votes)

    #2 - The Faithless

    Loading...
    S1:E10

    Prisoner Paul Drake is being returned to custody by a prison guard. Because Drake has already tricked him once, the guard shackles his prisoner to a deckhouse on the Enterprise.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  3. 8.0/10(8 votes)

    #3 - The Sellout

    Loading...
    S1:E31

    The Enterprise is badly in need of repairs and Holden has got to accept Nick Logan's offer. He will repair the boat, if afterward, he and his partner can use it.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  4. 7.9/10(13 votes)

    #4 - Strange Request

    Loading...
    S1:E13

    Actress Lorna Langton wants to charter the Enterprise and a skeleton crew for a trip to St. Louis. The actress has been told that her young son, kidnapped some years before, is being held in another town.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:John Rich
    Writer:N/A
  5. 7.9/10(10 votes)

    #5 - The Face of Courage

    Loading...
    S1:E15

    The Enterprise steams upriver with a cargo of arms and recruits for the Fort Union outpost. At Akins Landing, Grey Holden is told by Homer Atkins that the Sioux have been watching the boat and are planning an uprising.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Writer:N/A
  6. 7.9/10(10 votes)

    #6 - Landlubbers

    Loading...
    S1:E17

    The Enterprise, tied up overnight, is boarded and highjacked by a vicious crew, who kill the three men left to guard the boat. Captain Grey Holden and Ben Fraser return to the scene in time to see their craft heading down the river. They set out overland to head her off.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Writer:N/A
  7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 WORST Episodes of Riverboat

    READ
  8. 7.8/10(12 votes)

    #7 - Race to Cincinnati

    Loading...
    S1:E4

    John Jenkins has placed a large down payment on land owned by three ruthless farmers. Jenkins is planning to deliver a shipment of peaches, via the Enterprise, to Cincinnati, as a final payment for the land. But the farmers plot to block the boat so the shipment of peaches will be spoiled.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Jules Munshin
    Writer:N/A
  9. 7.7/10(16 votes)

    #8 - The Fight Back

    Loading...
    S1:E6

    Ansel Torgin hires the Enterprise for his daughter's wedding. Captain Grey Holden recognizes the bridegroom as a drifter he once threw off his riverboat.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Jules Munshin
    Writer:N/A
  10. 7.7/10(12 votes)

    #9 - Jessie Quinn

    Loading...
    S1:E12

    Lt. Perry Quinn, an officer in Sam Houston's Texas Army, hires the Enterprise to deliver a cargo of lead down river. Captain Grey Holden is warned that Santa Ana's agents may try to sabotage the shipment.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Jules Munshin
    Writer:N/A
  11. 7.7/10(9 votes)

    #10 - Three Graves

    Loading...
    S1:E26

    The crew of the Enterprise planned a big night on the town. But when they dock, they find the place completely deserted, except for three new graves.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Writer:N/A
  12. 7.6/10(17 votes)

    #11 - About Roger Mowbray

    Loading...
    S1:E3

    Wealthy Roger Mowbray's marriage is threatened when an old sweetheart intimates that Roger married for money. Because he really loves his wife, Roger is doubly upset to discover that his father seems to be involved in the scheme to break up the marriage.

    0 Comments
    View all
  13. 7.6/10(10 votes)

    #12 - The Wichita Arrows

    Loading...
    S1:E24

    Dan Duryea steps into the leading role for the first of two episodes.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Writer:N/A
  14. 7.5/10(14 votes)

    #13 - Guns for Empire

    Loading...
    S1:E14

    Anthony Lorrimer charters the Enterprise to deliver a cargo of farm machinery to his thriving community of Lorrimer City. Captain Grey Holden is unaware that the cargo is actually arms and ammunition.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Writer:N/A
  15. 7.5/10(15 votes)

    #14 - Fort Epitaph

    Loading...
    S1:E25

    Dan Duryea has the leading role in the second of two episodes.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:John Brahm
    Writer:N/A
  16. 7.4/10(24 votes)

    #15 - The Unwilling

    Loading...
    S1:E5

    Riverboat pilot John Murrell plans to hijack a shipment from rival pilot Dan Simpson. Murrell arranges to have Lela Candida take a job on Simpson's boat as a dancing girl, so that she can signal his raiders when to attack.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  17. 7.4/10(16 votes)

    #16 - Witness No Evil

    Loading...
    S1:E8

    Otto Justin, dealer in wild animals, is escorting a shipment of his captured beasts to St. Louis aboard the Enterprise. Widow Abby Saunders and her young son Paddy are both impressed with Justin's manner.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  18. 7.4/10(8 votes)

    #17 - Salvage Pirates

    Loading...
    S1:E20

    Louise Harrison and her boy friend, the only survivors of a boat tragedy, do some quick thinking. Realizing that a fortune in jewels went down with the ship, they appeal to their rescuer, Grey Holden, to help them retrieve Louise's ""dowry.""

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  19. 7.2/10(19 votes)

    #18 - A Night At Trapper's Landing

    Loading...
    S1:E9

    French playboy Andre Devereaux has become an American lieutenant. Assigned to lead some troops into Indian Territory, he finds that the normally peaceful Indians have been provoked to violence.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Writer:N/A
  20. 7.1/10(26 votes)

    #19 - Payment In Full

    Loading...
    S1:E1

    For a price, simple-minded Hunk Farber is only happy to reveal the whereabouts of his boss, Monte, who accidentally killed a senator's son. The reward in his pocket, Hunk heads for Captain Holden's riverboat. There he is eager to impress a young lady aboard the Enterprise.

    0 Comments
    View all
  21. 7.1/10(19 votes)

    #20 - The Boy From Pittsburgh

    Loading...
    S1:E11

    Tommy Jones, a young stowaway, is discovered aboard the Enterprise. Also on board is a pair of thieves, who plan to blow up the boat to collect insurance on some diamonds they are shipping to St. Louis.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
  22. 7.0/10(8 votes)

    #21 - Forbidden Island

    Loading...
    S1:E19

    While the Enterprise makes a stop for wood, a group of Cajuns board the vessel and hijack a part of the cargo. Two people are shot during the incident.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Writer:N/A
  23. 7.0/10(7 votes)

    #22 - The Treasure of Hawk Hill

    Loading...
    S1:E22

    Bank robbers have a falling-out over some hidden loot. One of the men manages to give a map of the hiding place to his son, before he is killed. The boy heads up river on a raft to deliver it to his uncle.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Writer:N/A
  24. 6.9/10(11 votes)

    #23 - Fight At New Canal

    Loading...
    S1:E23

    Grey Holden is chosen to represent riverboat captains in seeking a government-subsidized canal. Preliminary surveys and work must be completed before Congress will approve the project. Opponents of the canal set out to sabotage the project.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Writer:N/A
  25. 6.8/10(12 votes)

    #24 - Tampico Raid

    Loading...
    S1:E16

    A group of volunteer teachers who have gone to the island of Diablo Corozan off the coast of Tampico are imprisoned when Spain conquers the island. The corrupt Spanish officials allow Joan Marchland, one of the teachers, to return to the United States to raise a ransom for the rest.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  26. 6.7/10(12 votes)

    #25 - Path of the Eagle

    Loading...
    S1:E21

    A trip to Independence, Missouri brings back memories of a bitter adventure to Grey Holden. Holden tells the story to Chip and Joshua.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Jules Munshin
    Writer:N/A

Best Episodes Summary

"The Barrier" is the best rated episode of "Riverboat". It scored 8.5/10 based on 16 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 9/20/1959. This episode scored 0.3 points higher than the second highest rated, "The Faithless".