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The Best Episodes of The Young Riders Season 1

Every episode of The Young Riders Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of The Young Riders Season 1!

The Young Riders was an American Western television series created by Ed Spielman that presents a fictionalized account of a group of young Pony Express riders based at the Sweetwater Station in the Nebraska Territory during the years leading up to the American Civil War. The series premiered on ABC on September 20, 1989 and ran for three seasons until the final episode aired on July 23, 1992.

Genres:WesternDrama
Network:ABC

Season 1 Ratings Summary

The best episode of "The Young Riders" season 1 is "The Kid", rated 8.1/10 from 99 user votes. It was directed by N/A and written by N/A. "The Kid" aired on 9/20/1989 and is rated 0.0 point(s) higher than the second highest rated, "Gunfighter".

  • The Kid
    8.1/10 99 votes

    #1 - The Kid

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 9/20/1989

    Young men of the Pony Express brave harsh conditions.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Gunfighter
    8.1/10 68 votes

    #2 - Gunfighter

    Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 9/21/1989

    The boys attempt to save Wild Bill Hickok from an unnecessary gunfight.

    Director: Max Tash

    Writer: N/A

  • Home of the Brave
    7.5/10 51 votes

    #3 - Home of the Brave

    Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 9/28/1989

    Buck is the target of hostility when Sweetwater is threatened by a local tribe.

    Director: Dan Lerner

    Writer: N/A

  • Speak No Evil
    7.8/10 52 votes

    #4 - Speak No Evil

    Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 10/5/1989

    Robbery witness Ike McSwain is pursued by the criminals he is to testify against.

    Director: Jim Johnston

    Writer: N/A

  • Bad Blood
    8.1/10 53 votes

    #5 - Bad Blood

    Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 10/12/1989

    The riders help Lou track down her younger brother and sister who were kidnapped by a ruthless gunrunner.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Black Ulysses
    7.7/10 54 votes

    #6 - Black Ulysses

    Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 10/26/1989

    Col. Savage and a band of militia hunt down a runaway slave accused of murder.

    Director: Bruce Kessler

    Writer: N/A

  • Ten-Cent Hero
    8.1/10 45 votes

    #7 - Ten-Cent Hero

    Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 11/2/1989

    A novelist avenges a beating by Hickok with writing a story that incites others to challenge the cowboy.

    Director: Kevin Hooks

    Writer: N/A

  • False Colors
    8.0/10 52 votes

    #8 - False Colors

    Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 11/9/1989

    The Kid is torn when his long-lost brother turns up just as nearby fugitives are planning to steal a gold shipment.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • A Good Day to Die
    7.7/10 46 votes

    #9 - A Good Day to Die

    Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 11/16/1989

    A Sioux brave who claims to be innocent is denied justice when brought to trial for an Indian massacre.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The End of Innocence
    7.8/10 42 votes

    #10 - The End of Innocence

    Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 11/30/1989

    Hickok and Emma face hostile Indians and a ruthless commanding officer at a remote Army post.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Blind Love
    7.3/10 38 votes

    #11 - Blind Love

    Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 12/7/1989

    Hickok's heart is lassoed by a mysterious woman, but he is caught in a dangerous tangle when he discovers that she is bound to another man.

    Director: Lee H. Katzin

    Writer: N/A

  • The Keepsake
    7.3/10 40 votes

    #12 - The Keepsake

    Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 12/14/1989

    Teaspoon is given claim to a small fortune, but he may lose it to a young woman he thinks is his lost daughter, and to a crooked gambler willing to kill for the cash.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Fall from Grace
    8.3/10 45 votes

    #13 - Fall from Grace

    Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 1/4/1990

    Hickok has a falling-out with Teaspoon, and he falls in with a gang of outlaws who are after a store of Army guns and ammunition.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Hard Time
    8.1/10 35 votes

    #14 - Hard Time

    Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 1/11/1990

    Kid is sentenced to hard time on a trumped-up charge by a small-town sheriff carrying out the policies of the sadistic man who keeps the town under a cloud of fear.

    Director: Kevin Hooks

    Writer: N/A

  • Lady for a Night
    8.0/10 38 votes

    #15 - Lady for a Night

    Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 1/18/1990

    Dressed as a lady for a night, Lou meets a vicious brute who develops an obsession for her, while he masterminds a series of heists in the territory.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Unfinished Business
    7.9/10 29 votes

    #16 - Unfinished Business

    Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 2/1/1990

    After surviving a massacre of wealthy settlers near Sal Lake, Emma's estranged husband arrives in Sweetwater looking for shelter from Emma, and raising the suspicions of Sam and the riders.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Decoy
    7.8/10 39 votes

    #17 - Decoy

    Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 2/8/1990

    On a wild ride to deliver a top-secret Government message, Cody helps a mortally wounded mountain man, who asks Cody to care for his pet bear. Meanwhile, back in Sweetwater, the other riders look after an abandoned baby.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: Paul Jackson, Tony Blake

  • Daddy's Girl
    8.1/10 44 votes

    #18 - Daddy's Girl

    Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 2/15/1990

    A new girl in town has Buck in her sights, but he is caught in the cross-fire between her, her tyrannical father and her cruel suitor.

    Director: George Mendeluk

    Writer: N/A

  • Bulldog
    8.7/10 38 votes

    #19 - Bulldog

    Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 2/22/1990

    An Eastern college boy arrives with dreams of meeting his Western idol, Hickok, but he is used as an unwitting accomplice in a scheme that endangers all the riders.

    Director: Joseph L. Scanlan

    Writer: N/A

  • Matched Pair
    8.0/10 31 votes

    #20 - Matched Pair

    Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 3/8/1990

    Hickok helps a friendly rival search for their gunfighting mentor's kidnapped daughter, who actually has escaped with evidence of her dad's corruption.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Man Behind the Badge
    7.7/10 32 votes

    #21 - The Man Behind the Badge

    Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 3/22/1990

    Sam finds himself on the wrong side of the law in his own town when the man responsible for the murder of Sam's wife takes over Sweetwater.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Then There Was One
    8.4/10 36 votes

    #22 - Then There Was One

    Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 4/5/1990

    Teaspoon sets out for Texas with an old comrade in arms to warn three other veterans that someone has been murdering the last men who truly remember the Alamo.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Gathering Clouds (1)
    7.8/10 38 votes

    #23 - Gathering Clouds (1)

    Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 5/7/1990

    The Kid finds himself secretly helping the Army learn the identity of the Hawk.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Gathering Clouds (2)
    8.1/10 32 votes

    #24 - Gathering Clouds (2)

    Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 5/14/1990

    The men of the Pony Express find themselves taking different sides as the start of the Civil War approaches.

    Director: Lee H. Katzin

    Writer: N/A