The Virginian - Season 1

A man is publicly hanged for murdering a woman because the local school teacher refuses to alibi him. A mysterious man comes to town, signs on to work as a Shiloh Ranch hand and begins romancing the teacher. However, his odd behavior begins to raise the suspicions of Judge Garth and the local Sheriff who wonder about the motives of the stranger.

Three prison escapees come to Shiloh looking for Judge Garth. One of the men has history with the judge. Garth tells the Virginian the troubled history of his arrival at Shiloh. Garth's future with Betsy is threatened by the man and his desire for revenge.

A homesteader accused of rustling narrowly escapes hanging by local ranchers led by Major Cass, an event that is observed by Shiloh hands including the Virginian. However, the homesteader is severely injured, and the Virginian helps him work his farm during off hours. After some investigation into the rash of cattle rustling, the Virginian decides to defend the man against the Major and the other ranchers including Judge Garth.

Garth has a visitor from Colombia, Enrique Cuellar, who has inherited a critical piece of property in the middle of Shiloh used to move cattle. When Enrique learns Garth has held back information on it, he decides to put crippling pressure on Garth.

A timid easterner and his wife arrive in Medicine Bow looking for a job as a teacher. Two escaped convicts come through Medicine Bow taking the new teacher, his wife, and students hostage while The Virginian is the temporary sheriff.

The Fourth of July finds Judge Garth, Steve and Trampas in Casper, Wyoming to pick up a bed for Betsy. The Judge meets a friend wrestling in a title match and Steve becomes infatuated with a girl.

Trampas and Steve decide to join up with Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders. Comedy ensues with the boys wanting to do it their way. The Virginian shows up and among other things shows the easterners how to "play" polo western style.

The Virginian, Trampas, and Steve are capturing wild horses in the mountains for sale to the Army. The Kroeger clan claims all horses as theirs. When Kroeger can't scare the Virginian out, he resorts other tactics.

Martin Kalek and his gang kidnap Judge Garth for ransom. The Virginian pays the ransom, but the kidnappers refuse to release the Judge until they are able to escape into Idaho. The kidnappers head off, pursued not only by the Shiloh hands but also separately by Kalek's former crony Sharkey, who is out for revenge on the criminal.

Seeking some excitement in his life, Trampas joins a group of older cowboys who set off to find adventure in what they still believe is the wild, lawless West. However, their outdated attitudes lead them into trouble and, eventually, tragedy.

Tabby McCallum, beautiful but cruel teenage daughter of Tucker McCallum, is banned by The Virginian from Shiloh after she kills a steer "by mistake." With the unwitting help of her fiance, Dan Flood, Tabby sets off a tragic chain of events.

Older cowhand Slim Jessup is accused of killing a man in Idaho and escapes east. He signs on with a Shiloh Ranch cattle drive to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. On the way the drovers are joined by a young man, who wishes a different life than dirt farming with his widowed step-father. The older Slim takes James under his wing and teaches him lessons in life before his past catches up with him.

An old maid bank teller decides it is time to provide for herself and identifies Trampas as a bank robber and murderer in order to extort $10,000 from the actual thief. The Virginian is the only thing between Trampas and the hangman's noose.

A seaman moving to Wyoming meets twin sisters traveling there with Trampas. When he takes an interest in one of them, she makes a tragic request of him that reveals not only to him but Judge Garth the true nature of the twins relationship.

At a friend's grave Steve recalls how the man helped him survive his arrival at Medicine Bow and trained him as a cowboy proficient with guns. Sadly, the man's unwillingness to adapt to the times pushed Steve to his life at Shiloh.

The Virginian asks a dance hall singer to trick a shady character into revealing information that could clear Judge Garth of a trumped up murder charge.

Garth recalls his early days as a judge in Medicine Bow in one particularly dangerous murder case. The family of the man convicted tries to intimidate the residents into having Garth overturn the conviction, putting him in a lonely position.

An American black bear named Moses brings to the surface the lack of respect a father has for his son. When the father is paralyzed in a fight with Trampas, he goads the son into fighting a duel with Trampas for revenge. Trampas refuses it, but cannot ignore it.

Garth trails a woman to San Francisco whom he believes is part of a con game involving a railroad deal. Garth kills a man whom he believes to be a part of it. However, when no body can be found, he and others start to question his sanity.

A friend has been framed for the murder of a woman's husband in Montana. The Virginian and Trampas go there to investigate the charge as they believe their friend, who says he is innocent even though he is known to them as a womanizer.

The Virginian, Trampas. and Steve help a vegetarian with a chimp who is framed for murder and a single woman with a group of orphans. Although they start trying to adopt out the kids, they soon become match makers for the couple and kids.

A wealthy woman persuades The Virginian to take her to the badlands to a gang led by the previous foreman of Shiloh. Her initial story is not the full truth. She wants to kill a man there because of her daughter but falls for the leader.

A trio of con artists target Medicine Bow with an oil scam when a crisis threatening the bank throws a bigger scam their way. However, the leader's relationship with the banker's daughter causes him to him to alter the plan.

An immigrant is jailed for murder. The bias against him adds to the Judge's difficulty defending him. He is found not guilty but when another man is arrested for the crime, his conscience catches up with him as he learns more about U.S. law.

Ed Frazer returns to Medicine Bow after serving three years for burglary. Steve fears for his life because his testimony was crucial in convicting him. Frazer's main interest isn't revenge but renewing his acquaintance with Helen Blaine.

Trampas helps a friend just out of prison who has multiple people after him for the location of $50,000 in gold he helped steal. He wants to give the money back, but he must deal with a ruthless partner in the robbery who will kill him.

An outlaw gang traps Garth and Betsy and several stagecoach passengers at a way station. The gang wants one of the passengers, George Wilson, who had betrayed the gang. The various passengers must decide whether to live with their consciences and hand Wilson over, or risk their own lives in a gun battle with the desperate gang.

The Virginian encounters three women who are determined to carry on the missionary work of their husbands, killed by Indians a year before.

The Virginian and Steve are forced to carry $40,000 back to Medicine Bow after a bank run closes all banks. The Virginian must fend off a family who think part of the money is theirs while contending with a dreaming runaway girl.

Garth allows a controversial coal mine to be opened with Polish miners, among them is a beautiful woman. She has eyes for Trampas, but one of the miners and a friend of Trampas have eyes for her, with tragic results as Trampas falls for her.