In spite of all the great western shows that have been on TV, nothing beats The Rifleman for my dollar. Sure, Gunsmoke is the conventional pick, but as much as I love that show, I’ll take Rifleman first.
It was a pretty simple set-up that actually went deep with a lot of it’s stories. Lucas McCain was a widowed father raising his young boy in frontier New Mexico. After his wife died while they were living in Oklahoma, Lucas and his son relocated to the town of North Fork. When he arrived, McCain already had a reputation as a dangerous and deadly gunman, so the moniker of Rifleman was already acquired.
The dynamic between Lucas and his son, Mark, was the center-point for a lot of the story drama, and the hook that made the audience empathize. Lucas was both an experienced man-killer, as well as a loving father who worked hard to raise his son right. In an episode featuring Sammy Davis Jr. as a talented gun-twirler, Lucas got excessively stern with him for showing some of his gun tricks to Mark. Lucas wasn’t having it. It was a sample of the way in which McCain attempted to rear his child.
This dynamic is a lot of what made the show so great. Mark was a sincerely good-hearted boy, something that Lucas obviously valued, but yet it could sometimes get him into trouble. Take for example the episode where a pistoleer came into town looking for Lucas and Mark was proud to talk about his dad, thus unwittingly putting his father in a dangerous position. Positions of good and bad were strongly displayed, and while on one hand promoting good morals, they were never afraid to ask questions of why. Often Lucas found himself having to confront his own way of living, both past and present, while giving his son a proper lesson without being a phony.
It wasn’t overly heavy fare, but it did a great job of balancing it in.
Rifleman wasn’t a show with a robust regular cast. Apart from McCain and his son, the only other regular was the marshal Micah Torrance, who had his own great story of redemption from town drunk to local law enforcer. Some of the local townsfolk made repeated appearances, but none were on an every-episode basis. There were your standard issue townsfolk, like Frank Sweeney, the bartender, or Nils Swenson, the town blacksmith who was always pounding away at a horseshoe on the ol’ anvil. These people would show up occasionally, usually letting Lucas know where Mark was or when the last time they saw him was.
Yep, North Fork was a real friendly town. Until someone with wrong ideas came to town. But then, Lucas was always there to ensure the tranquility of both the town and his family.
Handy With A Gun...! 