35. THE JAIL AT JUNCTION FLATS
    Original Airdate: November 9, 1958

Synopsis. In Broken Wheel, Wyoming, Bret bumps into the “new” Dandy Jim Buckley, who claims that he’s now making an honest living selling horses. Buckley promises Maverick double his money back if Bret joins him as his business partner. Reluctantly, Maverick loans Buckley $2,000―and is quite shocked when he sees that Dandy Jim is actually buying horses. But Buckley’s true colors show when he plants a rumor about a gold strike, then sells back the horses—at a profit—to anyone foolish enough to check out the “claim.” After Buckley pays Bret his share (then immediately steals it back), Maverick finds Dandy Jim locked inside an apparently impregnable jail in nearby Junction Flats, where Buckley is accused of shooting the sheriff’s nephew. In order to get his money back, Maverick must break Buckley out of jail.

“The Jail at Junction Flats” scored a 46 audience share when it first aired on the night of Nov. 9, 1958, a figure that made it the most-watched episode of Maverick to that point. Both “Gun-Shy” and “The Saga of Waco Williams” would top that mark within a matter of weeks.

LEARN MORE about this episode in the revised third edition of Maverick: Legend of the West, featuring more than 100 pages of new information about the show that made James Garner a star. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of the third edition will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. The revised third edition of Maverick: Legend of the West is available through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.