After the Cartwrights put wrangler Dan Tolliver out to pasture, the embittered old man plans to take part in robbing the Ponderosa.

A Time to Step Down

Lorne Greene

Dan Blocker

Michael Landon

The Pursued (1)

Horse of a Different Hue

The Cartwrights' friendship with a neighboring rancher is threatened by his mentally unstable daughter.

Something Hurt, Something Wild

So the Cartwrights will not be killed, one of Ben's oldest friends must make sure Joe does not win a horse race.

A Mormon with two wives is badgered by the town's people and then things get much worse.

As the persecuted party awaits Ben and Hoss' return, Herber is shot and killed. Joe retaliates and shoots Herber's assassin.

The Pursued (2)

Hoss is engaged to Carol Attley, a troubled woman with a past darker than he imagines.

To Bloom for Thee

Though his friend is badly in need of the reward money, Joe insists it belongs to him, to protect his friend from the dead outlaws' brothers.

Credit for a Kill

The Cartwrights come to the rescue of four inexperienced homesteaders, when devious cattle ranchers try to run them off their property.

Four Sisters from Boston

A young cowpoke is killed during a fight with Hoss, but the old blowhard who runs the Virginia City stables, takes the credit, placing him in danger from the dead man's brothers.

Old Charlie

A young troubadour, who blames Ben for the death of his father, returns to Virginia City.  In one scene, Ben says the young man is welcome to use Adam's guitar.

Ballad of the Ponderosa

While in another town, on business, Ben runs into a saloon employee who is a big figure, and after he kills an old miner, who has burned down his house, Ben takes him into the sheriff.  He is sentenced and hung.  Before his departure, Charlie Monahan, has made his half-breed son, Charlie Two, swear an oath to kill Ben.  Little Joe is made aware of this and must track him down to prevent him from carrying out his oath against Ben.  Charlie Two is unaware that Joe is Ben's son,  as they meet on the trail.

The Oath

When the woman he was planning to marry is strangled, Joe forces the only suspect to come forward, in a very tense-filled episode.

A Real Nice, Friendly Little Town

Joe plays matchmaker in this story of a rancher attempting to marry off his supposedly unremarkable daughter.

The Bridegroom

The Cartwrights protect a woman and her deaf-mute little son from the boy's outlaw stepfather.

Tommy

Warbling Andy Walker returns to Virginia City a big success, along with his shifty Uncle Thaddeus.

A Christmas Story

Two Virginia City old-timers fool Hoss and Joe into raising rabbits, and the Ponderosa is overrun with paws and whiskers.

Ponderosa Explosion

When the woman he was planning to marry is strangled, Joe forces the only suspect to come forward.

Justice

Dolly Bantree has a crooked manager ""Blackie"",  who blackmails Dolly to fleece newly rich miner Buford out of his newfound wealth. Hoss suspects something and gets all duded up to pose as a rich mark to test Dolly.

A Bride for Buford

In the town of Chiso, Joe encounters a former Ponderosa cowhand who is now a gunfighter and expecting to be killed on Friday the 13th.  John Saxon makes the first of his three appearances in the series, in this episode as Steven Friday.

Black Friday

Ben discovers that his friend, Sheriff Paul Rowan, is suffering from stress brought on by his wartime experiences.

The Unseen Wound

Joe visits his married friends in Arizona Territory, only to discover the husband has become a criminal and is secretly part of a notorious gang.

Journey to Terror

A wounded comanchero sides with the Cartwrights when the rest of the gang, led by Captain Fenner, shows up to burn and rob the Ponderosa.

Amigo

Mary Wharton, an old friend of the family, comes to live on the Ponderosa with her shiftless husband.  When Ben learns Mary is the victim of domestic abuse, he sends Russ packing.

A Woman in the House

Hoss and Joe have their doubts as to who really robbed a way station, suspecting the two men they captured are innocent.

Judgment at Red Creek

Joe becomes fascinated by detective literature and drags Hoss into the picture when he suspects the bank is going to be robbed.

Joe Cartwright, Detective

Young Billy Wilcox wanders onto the Ponderosa, sick, hungry, and alone.  Ben finds him, and after he regains his strength, offers Billy a job.  Jennifer Yardley, who with her father is visiting the Cartwrights, is interested in Billy.  Billy is more concerned about a lawman that has come to town because he has a past that could be problematic: he killed a man in self-defense and ran.

Dark Enough to See the Stars

Ben assists Georgio Rossi in his battle for water on adjoining property.

The Deed and the Dilemma

The Cartwrights play host to Russian royals, who are the target of jewel thieves.

The Prince

The foreman of a neighboring ranch frames Joe for murder as part of a scheme to get his employer's property.

A Man Without Land

A gang of juvenile delinquents, led by an intelligent runt, who calls himself Napoleon, terrorizes Virginia City and the Ponderosa as well.

Napoleon's Children

A woman - convinced Little Joe intentionally killed her brother - offers $1,000 to the man who kills the youngest Cartwright in what she deems a ""fair fight."" Joe, meanwhile, must overcome his guilt over killing another man in self defense while trying to avoid the dead man's bitterly grieving father.

The Wormwood Cup

The Cartwrights' cousin, Clarissa visits. Her assertive, snobbish ways result in nothing but trouble for Ben and his sons.

Clarissa

Hoss is conned into buying a violin from a gypsy fortune teller, and everyone on the Ponderosa--except for Hop Sing--suffers the consequences.

Maestro Hoss

The Ponderosa is in danger of being overrun by gold hunters.

The Greedy Ones

The High-Sierra adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch while helping the surrounding community.

A Time to Step Down

Seasons14

Season 8 Episodes34

Cast3

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Episode Summary