Best of the West

30min

Comedy

Western

An unwitting city slicker is made the marshal of a lawless town in this absurdist Western that pokes gentle but clever fun at the genre's stock plots and characters. Best of the West is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 1981 through August 1982.

Episodes

Cast

Pilot

1. Pilot

30min

10th Sep 1981

Sam arrives in town intending to run the general store, then runs into all kinds of trouble after turning down the protection racket.

The Prisoner

2. The Prisoner

30min

17th Sep 1981

Sam must face a prisoner's outlaw brothers after the sheriff who was taking him in becomes ill on his way through town.

The Calico Kid Returns

3. The Calico Kid Returns

30min

1st Oct 1981

The Square Deal Saloon's new cook is the Calico Kid; he has sworn to never again kill anything he can't eat.

They're Hanging Parker Tillman (1)

4. They're Hanging Parker Tillman (1)

30min

15th Oct 1981

Sam goes out on a limb and manages to save Tillman from a lynch mob, but at the trial, his mixed-up testimony has him back at the end of a rope.

They're Hanging Parker Tillman (2)

5. They're Hanging Parker Tillman (2)

30min

22nd Oct 1981

Sam infiltrates an outlaw band to try to prove Tillman is innocent of cattle rustling.

The New Marshal

6. The New Marshal

30min

29th Oct 1981

Sam loses his badge in a special election to Tillman's squeaky-clean candidate.

Daniel's First Love

7. Daniel's First Love

30min

5th Nov 1981

Daniel is as surprised as anyone when a few innocent kisses lead to a shotgun wedding.

Laney in Love

8. Laney in Love

30min

12th Nov 1981

Laney is smitten with a smoothie who bids high for her at a social—but he turns out to be a low-down heel.

The Reunion

9. The Reunion

30min

8th Oct 1981

Elvira's die-hard Confederate father (Andy Griffith) stays at the Square Deal Saloon while he is in town. His wife is trying to patch things up with their daughter; she married a Yankee!

The Railroad

10. The Railroad

30min

19th Nov 1981

Sam and Tillman try hard to convince the railroad to come to Copper Creek.

The New Jail

11. The New Jail

30min

26th Nov 1981

Sam's image as a lawman quickly loses its edge after he manages to shoot himself in the leg; the jail collapsing around him doesn't help.

A Man, a Woman, and a Horse

12. A Man, a Woman, and a Horse

30min

17th Dec 1981

Sam doesn't pay attention to signs of discontent from Elvira until the day he comes home to finds her packed to leave.

Frog's First Gunfight

13. Frog's First Gunfight

30min

7th Jan 1982

Frog meets a woman who was recently jilted by her beau, but neither realizes he wants her back.

The Calico Kid Goes to School

14. The Calico Kid Goes to School

30min

14th Jan 1982

The reformed Calico Kid decides he wants to be a United States Marshal. But he lacks one qualification: a third-grade education.

Tillman Held for Ransom

15. Tillman Held for Ransom

30min

21st Jan 1982

Tillman has been kidnapped and the kidnappers are demanding a ransom, but the Copper Creek citizens have no intention of paying up.

Mail Order Bride

16. Mail Order Bride

30min

28th Jan 1982

Doc's mail-order bride has a vivid personality with a past to match it.

The Cave-In

17. The Cave-In

30min

12th Feb 1982

Elvira and her stepson explore an abandoned outlaw cave, unaware that it is booby-trapped to collapse.

Daniel Fights a Bully

18. Daniel Fights a Bully

30min

19th Feb 1982

Daniel's refusal to fight a relentless bully leads to Sam having to fight the bully's father.

The Pretty Prisoner

19. The Pretty Prisoner

30min

26th Feb 1982

Sam is handcuffed to his prisoner—a flirtatious female outlaw—for an overnight journey.

Elvira's Old Beau

20. Elvira's Old Beau

30min

7th Jun 1982

Elvira's former fiance' comes to town, intent on taking her away with him.

Sam's Life Is Threatened

21. Sam's Life Is Threatened

30min

14th Jun 1982

Sam receives an anonymous threatening note.

The Funeral

22. The Funeral

30min

21st Jun 1982

Sam and Tillman try to foil a holdup by holding a funeral for Frog; the coffin contains the $20,000 the thieves are after.

First air date

10th Sep 1981

Last air date

21st Jun 1982

Status

Ended

Type

Scripted

Original language

en

Networks