The Rifleman
Tension
TV Flash files “Tension” as hour 45 of 168 in the TV Flash guide — The Rifleman (1958–1963) on ABC, season 2, episode 5, aired 1959-10-27, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S02E05: listed hour 45 of 168 in the The Rifleman guide, hour 5 of 36 in season 2. It aired 1959-10-27 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Obituary” (S02E04). Next is “Eddie's Daughter” (S02E06).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
After a wanna-be bounty hunter (Harry Dean Stanton) kills a man (Gregory Walcott) wanted for a crime committed long ago, Lucas and Mark try to protect the widow (Sydna Scott) from learning about her husband's criminal past. Guest stars:Robert H. Harris, Jack Elam, Jeff Connors, and Ted Stanhope
Viewer FAQ
Where does Tension sit in the The Rifleman guide?
S02E05 is listed hour 45 of 168 — hour 5 of 36 in season 2, season 2 episode 5.
When did The Rifleman S02E05 air?
Tension aired 1959-10-27 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Where should I start?
Start with Connors and Crawford as the ranch pair — the rifle is the visual, fatherhood is the engine. Early episodes carry the Peckinpah-era craft lore.
In the series
Why this series still plays
The Rifleman is a widowed dad, a boy, and a rapid-fire Winchester: Chuck Connors's athlete-to-star path, Johnny Crawford as Mark, parenting as much as gunplay. Watch it in 2026 as the family western that made a customized rifle toy-aisle history — frontier justice with a moral center and a lever-action snap.
ABC window: 1958–1963. **168 episodes, five seasons.** Chuck Connors as widower Lucas McCain, Johnny Crawford as son Mark, Paul Fix as Marshal Micah Torrance. Product: a family western that centered parenting as much as gunplay, a modified rapid-fire Winchester as the toy-aisle SKU. Arnold Laven created it; Sam Peckinpah was among early writers and directors. Violence came quick; lessons came quicker. Rex can keep the frontier hymn. This is a prop, a fatherhood premise, and a five-season window.
Filed against
- Chuck Connors as Lucas McCain
Chuck Connors played Lucas McCain on The Rifleman — a widowed dad, a boy, a rapid-fire Winchester, athlete-to-star path, Johnny Crawford as Mark, parenting as much as gunplay. Frontier justice with a moral center, a customized rifle as…
- Johnny Crawford as Mark McCain
Johnny Crawford’s Mark McCain made The Rifleman a family western — a widowed dad, a boy, a rapid-fire Winchester, Chuck Connors’s athlete-to-star path, parenting as much as gunplay. Frontier justice with a moral center and a customized…
- Paul Fix as Marshal Micah Torrance
Paul Fix played Marshal Micah Torrance on The Rifleman, the 1950s family western of a widowed dad, a boy, and a rapid-fire Winchester. Chuck Connors’s athlete-to-star path, Johnny Crawford as Mark, parenting as much as gunplay. TV Flash…