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The Best Episodes of Riverboat

Every episode of Riverboat ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Riverboat!

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Riverboat is a 44-episode western television series starring Darren McGavin and Burt Reynolds broadcast on the NBC television network from September 13, 1959 until January 2, 1961. It was produced by Revue Studios.

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Seasons2

All12

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Riverboat Season 1 Episode 10 - The Faithless
    8.3/10(17 votes)

    #1 - The Faithless

    S1:E10

    Prisoner Paul Drake is being returned to custody by a prison guard. Because Drake has already tricked him once, the guard shackles his prisoner to a deckhouse on the Enterprise.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 2 - The Barrier
    8.2/10(19 votes)

    #2 - The Barrier

    S1:E2

    Young Jefferson Carruthers has been assigned to a new post as an Indian agent. He and his wife board the Enterprise to travel to their new home. Also on board is Vance Muldoon, who plans to offer Carruthers money if he will smuggle liquor to the Indians.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 31 - The Sellout
    8.0/10(9 votes)

    #3 - The Sellout

    S1:E31

    The Enterprise is badly in need of repairs and Holden has got to accept Nick Logan's offer. He will repair the boat, if afterward, he and his partner can use it.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 15 - The Face of Courage
    7.9/10(11 votes)

    #4 - The Face of Courage

    S1:E15

    The Enterprise steams upriver with a cargo of arms and recruits for the Fort Union outpost. At Akins Landing, Grey Holden is told by Homer Atkins that the Sioux have been watching the boat and are planning an uprising.

    Director:William Witney
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 24 - The Wichita Arrows
    7.9/10(10 votes)

    #5 - The Wichita Arrows

    S1:E24

    Dan Duryea steps into the leading role for the first of two episodes.

    Director:William Witney
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 6 - The Fight Back
    7.8/10(18 votes)

    #6 - The Fight Back

    S1:E6

    Ansel Torgin hires the Enterprise for his daughter's wedding. Captain Grey Holden recognizes the bridegroom as a drifter he once threw off his riverboat.

    Director:Jules Munshin
    Writer:Unknown

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Riverboat

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  7. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 13 - Strange Request
    7.8/10(15 votes)

    #7 - Strange Request

    S1:E13

    Actress Lorna Langton wants to charter the Enterprise and a skeleton crew for a trip to St. Louis. The actress has been told that her young son, kidnapped some years before, is being held in another town.

    Director:John Rich
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 25 - Fort Epitaph
    7.8/10(16 votes)

    #8 - Fort Epitaph

    S1:E25

    Dan Duryea has the leading role in the second of two episodes.

    Director:John Brahm
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 12 - Jessie Quinn
    7.7/10(13 votes)

    #9 - Jessie Quinn

    S1:E12

    Lt. Perry Quinn, an officer in Sam Houston's Texas Army, hires the Enterprise to deliver a cargo of lead down river. Captain Grey Holden is warned that Santa Ana's agents may try to sabotage the shipment.

    Director:Jules Munshin
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 20 - Salvage Pirates
    7.6/10(9 votes)

    #10 - Salvage Pirates

    S1:E20

    Louise Harrison and her boy friend, the only survivors of a boat tragedy, do some quick thinking. Realizing that a fortune in jewels went down with the ship, they appeal to their rescuer, Grey Holden, to help them retrieve Louise's ""dowry.""

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Riverboat Season 2 Episode 3 - The Two Faces of Grey Holden
    7.6/10(11 votes)

    #11 - The Two Faces of Grey Holden

    S2:E3

    To Captain Holden, his romance with Marie Tourette was just a pleasant interlude, until he discovers she is passing him off as her fiancé. While her family is in on the deception, they expect Grey to follow through and marry

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 4 - Race to Cincinnati
    7.5/10(15 votes)

    #12 - Race to Cincinnati

    S1:E4

    John Jenkins has placed a large down payment on land owned by three ruthless farmers. Jenkins is planning to deliver a shipment of peaches, via the Enterprise, to Cincinnati, as a final payment for the land. But the farmers plot to block the boat so the shipment of peaches will be spoiled.

    Director:Jules Munshin
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 5 - The Unwilling
    7.5/10(27 votes)

    #13 - The Unwilling

    S1:E5

    Riverboat pilot John Murrell plans to hijack a shipment from rival pilot Dan Simpson. Murrell arranges to have Lela Candida take a job on Simpson's boat as a dancing girl, so that she can signal his raiders when to attack.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 9 - A Night At Trapper's Landing
    7.5/10(21 votes)

    #14 - A Night At Trapper's Landing

    S1:E9

    French playboy Andre Devereaux has become an American lieutenant. Assigned to lead some troops into Indian Territory, he finds that the normally peaceful Indians have been provoked to violence.

    Director:Felix E. Feist
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 14 - Guns for Empire
    7.5/10(15 votes)

    #15 - Guns for Empire

    S1:E14

    Anthony Lorrimer charters the Enterprise to deliver a cargo of farm machinery to his thriving community of Lorrimer City. Captain Grey Holden is unaware that the cargo is actually arms and ammunition.

    Director:William Witney
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 3 - About Roger Mowbray
    7.4/10(20 votes)

    #16 - About Roger Mowbray

    S1:E3

    Wealthy Roger Mowbray's marriage is threatened when an old sweetheart intimates that Roger married for money. Because he really loves his wife, Roger is doubly upset to discover that his father seems to be involved in the scheme to break up the marriage.

    Director:Felix E. Feist
    Writer:Hagar Wilde

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  17. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 8 - Witness No Evil
    7.4/10(19 votes)

    #17 - Witness No Evil

    S1:E8

    Otto Justin, dealer in wild animals, is escorting a shipment of his captured beasts to St. Louis aboard the Enterprise. Widow Abby Saunders and her young son Paddy are both impressed with Justin's manner.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Riverboat Season 2 Episode 10 - Chicota Landing
    7.4/10(10 votes)

    #18 - Chicota Landing

    S2:E10

    The Enterprise arrives at Chicota Landing with a cargo of gunpowder for the Army. Before they can unload it, the boat is taken over by a gang of Mexican bandits led by Juan Cortilla.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Riverboat Season 2 Episode 12 - Zigzag
    7.4/10(12 votes)

    #19 - Zigzag

    S2:E12

    In town to have an aching tooth removed, Carney stops at the saloon for a bolstering drink. This makes him late for the dentist, so Blake undertakes to separate Carney from his tooth.

    Director:Sidney Lanfield
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 17 - Landlubbers
    7.3/10(13 votes)

    #20 - Landlubbers

    S1:E17

    The Enterprise, tied up overnight, is boarded and highjacked by a vicious crew, who kill the three men left to guard the boat. Captain Grey Holden and Ben Fraser return to the scene in time to see their craft heading down the river. They set out overland to head her off.

    Director:William Witney
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 19 - Forbidden Island
    7.2/10(9 votes)

    #21 - Forbidden Island

    S1:E19

    While the Enterprise makes a stop for wood, a group of Cajuns board the vessel and hijack a part of the cargo. Two people are shot during the incident.

    Director:Sidney Lanfield
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 23 - Fight At New Canal
    7.2/10(12 votes)

    #22 - Fight At New Canal

    S1:E23

    Grey Holden is chosen to represent riverboat captains in seeking a government-subsidized canal. Preliminary surveys and work must be completed before Congress will approve the project. Opponents of the canal set out to sabotage the project.

    Director:R.G. Springsteen
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 11 - The Boy From Pittsburgh
    7.1/10(22 votes)

    #23 - The Boy From Pittsburgh

    S1:E11

    Tommy Jones, a young stowaway, is discovered aboard the Enterprise. Also on board is a pair of thieves, who plan to blow up the boat to collect insurance on some diamonds they are shipping to St. Louis.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:George Tibbles

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  24. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 1 - Payment In Full
    7.0/10(29 votes)

    #24 - Payment In Full

    S1:E1

    For a price, simple-minded Hunk Farber is only happy to reveal the whereabouts of his boss, Monte, who accidentally killed a senator's son. The reward in his pocket, Hunk heads for Captain Holden's riverboat. There he is eager to impress a young lady aboard the Enterprise.

    Director:Douglas Heyes
    Writer:Douglas Heyes

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  25. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 30 - The Quick Noose
    7.0/10(13 votes)

    #25 - The Quick Noose

    S1:E30

    A noose is about to tighten around Carney's neck. Visiting his brother in Wingate, the riverboater is charged with murder.

    Director:Hollingsworth Morse
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"The Faithless" is the best rated episode of "Riverboat". It scored 8.3/10 based on 17 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 11/22/1959. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "The Barrier".