One of the things I like about The Virginian is that it never lets you forget that its characters actually make their living at ranching. Even if the plot of the episode doesn’t revolve around it, there’s always some herding of cattle or breaking of horses going on in the background, or at the very least some scraps of dialogue about the day’s work, reminding us that Shiloh Ranch is, in fact, a working ranch. That’s in contrast with other westerns like Bonanza, where I find it hard to summon a recollection of ever seeing a live cow. And the episode that I picked to spotlight for this year’s Favorite TV Episode Blogathon, season three’s “Old Cowboy,” may have more scenes of ranch work in it than all the Bonanza episodes I’ve seen combined.

The titular character of “Old Cowboy” is Murdock, played by guest star Franchot Tone, who’s utterly transformed here from the dapper, sophisticated leading-man roles he played in 1930s and ’40s films—a stooped, craggy-faced, gravelly-voiced, often touchy and boastful old man. Murdock is an elderly ex-cowboy, now reduced to tramping the roads on foot with his young grandson Willy (Billy Mumy). He clings to the glories of former days by telling stories of his exploits driving cattle up the Chisolm Trail in his youth, and won’t admit that he’s any less a top hand than he ever was—and though it’s plain from the first scene that Willy knows exactly what his grandfather is and is not capable of, he plays along with the elaborate pretense, echoing him and agreeing with him.

When Murdock—bluffing a little too much, as we will see is his habit—loses badly in a poker game with some Shiloh hands, Trampas (series regular Doug McClure) takes pity on him, and much to the dismay of Shiloh’s foreman, the Virginian (series regular James Drury), offers him a job at the ranch. Murdock, scorning the idea of helping out with chores around the barn and bunkhouse, insists on doing a full day’s work as a cowboy, though it’s plain to all that he is no longer up to it. His insistence on tackling jobs too hard for him and his bragging about his experience and skill as a cowboy cause one calamity after another, earning him the ridicule of the other ranch hands and starting trouble with a hot-tempered rancher neighbor who is not at all amused by a mix-up in the branding of calves.

Matters only grow worse when Murdock sees that Willy has taken a shine to Trampas, the real top hand on the ranch, and has begun to tag after him and imitate him as he used to do his grandfather. The old man’s jealousy spurs him to unreasoning resentment of Trampas and more foolhardy actions that even Willy can’t pretend to excuse—and which finally lead to a disastrous fire that threatens the livelihood of all the surrounding ranchers. Called on to help with the Virginian’s efforts to save their herds, Murdock is given one last chance to try and recapture some of his boasted prowess as a cowboy…but is it too late?

When I heard about the Favorite TV Episode Blogathon being hosted by A Shroud of Thoughts, an event focusing on single episodes of classic television, it sounded to me like the perfect opportunity to write about an episode of my favorite TV Western, The Virginian, something I’d occasionally thought about doing before. The choice of episode was an easy one: an entry from the show’s second season, “Siege.”

“Siege” features a device often used by Western series when they wanted a change of scenery: sending one of the regular characters off on a journey, where adventure will most certainly befall. In this case it’s Trampas (Doug McClure), who, after striking it rich in an all-night poker game, decides to go back to the little town of Logan, New Mexico, where he spent some time several years before, to pay off the debts he left behind and visit some old friends. He’s particularly looking forward to seeing Carole (Elinor Donahue), a girl he once courted before her disapproving brother, banker Duke Logan (Philip Carey) ran him out of town—but finds that Carole is now happily married to the new town marshal, Brett Cole (Ron Hayes).

Now with no reason to stay longer, Trampas heads out of town to visit some former employers before going back to Medicine Bow—but his trip takes a darker turn when he finds the elderly couple have been robbed and murdered by marauding Comancheros. Tracking down and capturing the killers, he brings them back to Logan, where the authorities seem strangely reluctant to imprison or try the men.

The situation as explained by Duke, along with Trampas’ friend Charlie Sanchez, the amiable Mexican hotelkeeper (Nestor Paiva) is that the Comancheros essentially run a protection racket in Logan—they are allowed the run of the town so long as they mostly behave themselves, and the townspeople can’t lift a hand against them under threat of what the Comancheros would do if they did. Since the murders took place outside the town limits, the only way the killers can be tried is if Trampas stays to press charges. Comanchero leader Lopez (Joseph Campanella) wants his men released or else, and Duke, determined to pacify Lopez, puts all the pressure he can on Trampas to drop the charges and leave—persuading his sister Carole, whom he has convinced to share his views, to use her influence with Trampas to the same effect. But meanwhile, Trampas’ determination to see justice done is having its effect on Brett, who has slowly awakened to a sense of his duty as town marshal and is now also determined to back Trampas, much to his brother-in-law’s anger and his wife’s dismay.

Much as I like the usual episodes of The Virginian set around Medicine Bow and Shiloh Ranch, “Siege” is a favorite because of its engrossing plot—which, as it gradually builds to its suspenseful climax, becomes a clever variation on the High Noon-style stand for justice—and its overall high quality. The guest cast is excellent, and the script by Don Mullally is perhaps the best thing about it, filled with practical and moral conflicts for multiple characters and keen, layered dialogue that fits together like pieces of a puzzle. “Siege” has an almost cinematic feel; a self-contained story running an hour and a quarter (the running time of the show was 90 minutes with commercials, the first Western TV series of that length), it’s very like a compact Western movie. Whether as a standout entry in a good series, or a stand-alone Western for fans of the genre, it’s definitely worth watching.