The Rifleman
Dark Day at North Fork
TV Flash files “Dark Day at North Fork” as hour 100 of 168 in the TV Flash guide — The Rifleman (1958–1963) on ABC, season 3, episode 24, aired 1961-03-07, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S03E24: listed hour 100 of 168 in the The Rifleman guide, hour 24 of 34 in season 3. It aired 1961-03-07 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “The Lost Treasure of Canyon Town” (S03E23). Next is “The Prisoner” (S03E25).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Lucas is temporarily blinded in an explosion. Unfortunately, not long after that incident an old enemy of his rides into town, looking to settle an old score.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Dark Day at North Fork sit in the The Rifleman guide?
S03E24 is listed hour 100 of 168 — hour 24 of 34 in season 3, season 3 episode 24.
When did The Rifleman S03E24 air?
Dark Day at North Fork aired 1961-03-07 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…