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The Best Episodes of The Rifleman Season 5

Every episode of The Rifleman Season 5 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of The Rifleman Season 5!

The Rifleman is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark McCain. It was...
Genres:Action & AdventureWesternFamily
Network:ABC

Season 5 Ratings Summary

"Waste (1)" is the best rated episode of "The Rifleman" season 5. It scored 7.9/10 based on 157 votes. Directed by Joseph H. Lewis and written by Robert Culp, it aired on 10/1/1962. This episode is rated 0.2 points higher than the second-best, "Waste (2)".

  • Waste (1)
    7.9/10157 votes

    #1 - Waste (1)

    Season 5 Episode 1 - Aired 10/1/1962

    Marshal Torrance is heading home from a cattle sale with Lucas and Mark when the old lawman mysteriously disappears. They trace him to a nearby Mexican ghost town. (Part 1 of 2)

    Director: Joseph H. Lewis

    Writer: Robert Culp

  • Waste (2)
    8.1/10141 votes

    #2 - Waste (2)

    Season 5 Episode 2 - Aired 10/8/1962

    Conclusion. After Alphonso's wife gives birth, the bandits holding Marshal Torrance relax their guard, enabling Lucas and Mark to rescue the old man.

    Director: Joseph H. Lewis

    Writer: Robert Culp

  • Lou Mallory
    8.1/10127 votes

    #3 - Lou Mallory

    Season 5 Episode 3 - Aired 10/15/1962

    Red-headed Lou Mallory arrives in North Fork and soon arouses the townpeople's suspicions.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Quiet Night, Deadly Night
    8.1/10121 votes

    #4 - Quiet Night, Deadly Night

    Season 5 Episode 4 - Aired 10/22/1962

    Townspeople brace for the worst when a new girl arrives—with symptoms of smallpox.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Death Never Rides Alone
    8.7/10166 votes

    #5 - Death Never Rides Alone

    Season 5 Episode 5 - Aired 10/29/1962

    A gunslinger rides into North Fork for a meeting with Lucas.

    Director: Joseph H. Lewis

    Writer: N/A

  • I Take This Woman
    7.5/10120 votes

    #6 - I Take This Woman

    Season 5 Episode 6 - Aired 11/5/1962

    Lou looks for a way out when the man her dying father promised her to arrives.

    Director: Joseph H. Lewis

    Writer: N/A

  • The Assailants
    8.2/10126 votes

    #7 - The Assailants

    Season 5 Episode 7 - Aired 11/12/1962

    An assassination plot unfolds as four gunmen disguised as cavalrymen enter North Fork. Their target: Sen. Jim Borden. Their weapon: a Gatling gun.

    Director: Arthur H. Nadel

    Writer: Herman Groves

  • Mark's Rifle
    8.3/10127 votes

    #8 - Mark's Rifle

    Season 5 Episode 8 - Aired 11/19/1962

    Sharpshooter Marty Blair tries to persuade Lucas to buy Mark a rifle.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: Oliver Crawford

  • The Most Amazing Man
    8.5/10170 votes

    #9 - The Most Amazing Man

    Season 5 Episode 9 - Aired 11/26/1962

    Fast-draw artist Wade Randall is less than anxious to display his prowess.

    Director: Arthur H. Nadel

    Writer: N/A

  • Squeeze Play
    8.1/10114 votes

    #10 - Squeeze Play

    Season 5 Episode 10 - Aired 12/3/1962

    A speculator will stop at nothing to grab Lucas's land.

    Director: Joseph H. Lewis

    Writer: Ed Adamson

  • Gun Shy
    7.8/10130 votes

    #11 - Gun Shy

    Season 5 Episode 11 - Aired 12/10/1962

    Mark blames himself for a friend's accidental death.

    Director: Arthur H. Nadel

    Writer: Cyril Hume

  • The Anvil Chorus
    8.0/10116 votes

    #12 - The Anvil Chorus

    Season 5 Episode 12 - Aired 12/17/1962

    A blacksmith-turned-deputy sets the stage for trouble when he demands that all townspeople turn in their weapons.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Conflict
    7.4/10112 votes

    #13 - Conflict

    Season 5 Episode 13 - Aired 12/24/1962

    Lucas's self-confidence begins to slip away when he misses an easy shot.

    Director: Arthur H. Nadel

    Writer: Ed Adamson

  • Incident at Line Shack Six
    8.4/10112 votes

    #14 - Incident at Line Shack Six

    Season 5 Episode 14 - Aired 1/7/1963

    A railroad gang boss frames an Apache.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Suspicion
    7.8/10109 votes

    #15 - Suspicion

    Season 5 Episode 15 - Aired 1/14/1963

    A peddler is implicated in a series of murders.

    Director: Joseph H. Lewis

    Writer: N/A

  • The Sidewinder
    8.2/10169 votes

    #16 - The Sidewinder

    Season 5 Episode 16 - Aired 1/21/1963

    Gridley Mau is gunning for Lucas, who killed his father during an attempted robbery.

    Director: Joseph H. Lewis

    Writer: Robert Lewin

  • The Sixteenth Cousin
    7.5/10138 votes

    #17 - The Sixteenth Cousin

    Season 5 Episode 17 - Aired 1/28/1962

    A Japanese nobleman seeks revenge when his servant is insulted.

    Director: Arthur H. Nadel

    Writer: N/A

  • Hostages to Fortune
    7.6/10112 votes

    #18 - Hostages to Fortune

    Season 5 Episode 18 - Aired 2/4/1963

    At Halloween, rustlers take advantage of the seasonal disguises to raid a cattle ranch.

    Director: Arthur H. Nadel

    Writer: N/A

  • And the Devil Makes Five
    8.0/10114 votes

    #19 - And the Devil Makes Five

    Season 5 Episode 19 - Aired 2/11/1963

    A snake crawls into Lucas's bed, and Mark must lure it away before it strikes.

    Director: Joseph H. Lewis

    Writer: N/A

  • End of the Hunt
    7.9/10108 votes

    #20 - End of the Hunt

    Season 5 Episode 20 - Aired 2/18/1963

    Lucas is thrown into jail to stop him from murdering an old enemy.

    Director: Arthur H. Nadel

    Writer: N/A

  • The Bullet
    8.2/10125 votes

    #21 - The Bullet

    Season 5 Episode 21 - Aired 2/25/1963

    Lucas is baffled when the marshal of a neighboring town refuses to hold a gambler who just attempted murder.

    Director: Joseph H. Lewis

    Writer: N/A

  • Requiem at Mission Springs
    8.2/10110 votes

    #22 - Requiem at Mission Springs

    Season 5 Episode 22 - Aired 3/4/1963

    Lucas begins a trek to find a cure for Mark, who is paralyzed after a bad fall.

    Director: Arthur H. Nadel

    Writer: N/A

  • The Guest
    7.7/10116 votes

    #23 - The Guest

    Season 5 Episode 23 - Aired 3/11/1963

    New arrival Mario Arsatti becomes very friendly with Lucas, but this turns out to be merely pleasure before business: he's been hired to kill Lucas.

    Director: Joseph H. Lewis

    Writer: Ed Adamson

  • Old Man Running (aka The Wanted Man)
    8.4/10138 votes

    #24 - Old Man Running (aka The Wanted Man)

    Season 5 Episode 24 - Aired 3/18/1963

    Lucas, who blames his wife's death on his father-in-law, refuses to help the old man elude gunmen.

    Director: Arthur H. Nadel

    Writer: N/A

  • Which Way'd They Go?
    6.3/10157 votes

    #25 - Which Way'd They Go?

    Season 5 Episode 25 - Aired 4/1/1963

    The notoriously lazy Jackman brothers discover their mortgage has been foreclosed.

    Director: Arthur H. Nadel

    Writer: N/A