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FAMILY PRIDESynopsis. In New Mexico, Beau finds himself rivals with a trio of con artists who keep getting the best of him.
“Family Pride” was the first of four episodes helmed by John Ainsworth, the British director who was also a classmate of series star Roger Moore at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Ainsworth subsequently directed his “old chum” on The Saint.
Synopsis. Near Yuma, Arizona, notorious bandit Sebastian Bolanos challenges Bart to a high-stakes poker game in which $70,000—and the lives of five people—hang in the balance.
Guest stars include Nancy Hsueh, who became one of the first Asian-American actresses to star in a U.S. television series when she landed the role of Mia Elliott, the original lead character on Love is a Many Splendored Thing (CBS, 1967-1973), the popular daytime drama developed for television by Irma Phillips.
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, shelters, individual, 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 both in softcover and, very soon, as an eBook through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.
Synopsis. Bart Maverick finds himself pursued by unsavory characters who think he’s a member of the gang that robbed the Elm City Bank of $80,000.
“The Third Rider” is the second of three episodes featuring Michael Dante, the future star of Winterhawk, Kid Galahad, and Westbound who was also one of several actors originally considered to play the role of Bart Maverick that eventually went to Jack Kelly.
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, shelters, individual, 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 both in softcover and, very soon, as an eBook through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.GAME OF CHANCESynopsis. In Denver, Bret and Bart try to outwit a wily French grifter and his charming niece.
“Game of Chance” introduced viewers to the following Pappyism: “Never cry over spilled milk… it could’ve been whiskey.” Guest stars include Roxane Berard.
Synopsis. In New Mexico, Bart wins ownership of the Lucky Lady cantina, only to learn that the property may have been built by a wealthy family of Portuguese descent that is laying claim to the land.
“The Marquesa” is the third of three episodes featuring Adele Mara (the wife of Maverick creator Roy Huggins), the second of two shows featuring character actor Morris Ankrum (Perry Mason), and the first of two shows featuring Edward Ashley as Nobby Ned Wyngate.
4./5. DEAD MAN’S HAND (Two-parter) Original Airdates: December 26, 1979 and January 2, 1980
Synopsis. Trouble ensues for Ben Maverick when he inherits a pat hand from a gambler who died during a high-stakes poker game.
Young Maverick (CBS, 1979-1980) was an ill-fated attempt to update the Maverick formula of the late 1950s to TV audiences of the late 1970s. Starring Charles Frank as Ben Maverick, the Harvard-educated son of Cousin Beauregard Maverick, the series faced an uphill fight during its brief network run and was canceled after just six broadcasts. The two-part episode “Dead Man’s Hand” featured Howard Duff, future Emmy Award winner James Woods, and future Knots Landing star Donna Mills.
A STATE OF SIEGEAdapted from the Story “Pavillion on the Links” by Robert Louis Stevenson
Synopsis. In New Mexico, Bart Maverick finds himself in the middle of a bitter family feud that is linked to a plot to overthrow the U.S. government.
An adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson short story “Pavillion on the Links,” “A State of Siege” was directed by Robert Sinclair, an old friend of producer Coles Trapnell who had also directed series star Jack Kelly on the New York stage when Kelly was a child star. Guest stars include Ray Danton (The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond, The Alaskans) and Lisa Gaye.
Synopsis. Jerome Horne and John Bordeen run the largest railroad company in Virginia City. Bordeen owes Bret $10,000, but he’d rather shoot him than pay him. Maverick kills Bordeen in self-defense—but after reporting the shooting to the sheriff, he discovers that the body (and all other evidence) has been removed. Maverick becomes further confounded the next day, when Horne pays him the money—and insists that Bordeen is alive and well.
This episode features an exchange that epitomizes what Roy Huggins had in mind when he created Maverick. In this sequence, Ellen Bordeen (played by Ruta Lee) asks Bret for help:
ELLEN
If my father’s posing as John Bordeen,
he’s doing it against his will, Mr. Maverick.
MAVERICK
Possibly.
ELLEN
Probably. But what can I do about it?
MAVERICK
Go to the sheriff, I guess.
ELLEN
Jerome Horne put the sheriff in office.
Can you help me?
MAVERICK
No, ma’am.
ELLEN
Because you have your $10,000?
MAVERICK
Yes, ma’am.
ELLEN
You aren’t very noble.
MAVERICK
No, ma’am.
Maverick decides to help Ellen, anyway—but only after she convinces him that she knows how to handle a gun. We’ll see Ruta Lee again in “Plunder of Paradise” and “Betrayal.”
Synopsis. Bret spends the Fourth of July in Hollow Rock, where he hopes to make some easy money by betting on Silver King, the prize quarter-horse owned by his friend Colonel Arnold Taylor, in the town’s annual horse race. When crooked Sheriff Jesse Carson robs and beats Bret out of more than $4,200, Maverick uses the race to even the score.
William Reynolds previously appeared in “Rope of Cards” and “Diamond in the Rough.” George O’Hanlon, best known as the voice of George Jetson, starred in the Joe McDoakes comedy shorts that Richard Bare, who directed “Holiday at Hollow Rock,” wrote and directed for Warner Bros.
4./5. DEAD MAN’S HAND (Two-parter) Original Airdates: December 26, 1979 and January 2, 1980
Synopsis. Trouble ensues for Ben Maverick when he inherits a pat hand from a gambler who died during a high-stakes poker game.
Young Maverick (CBS, 1979-1980) was an ill-fated attempt to update the Maverick formula of the late 1950s to TV audiences of the late 1970s. Starring Charles Frank as Ben Maverick, the Harvard-educated son of Cousin Beauregard Maverick, the series faced an uphill fight during its brief network run and was canceled after just six broadcasts. The two-part episode “Dead Man’s Hand” featured Howard Duff, future Emmy Award winner James Woods, and future Knots Landing star Donna Mills.