The Rifleman
A Friend in Need
TV Flash files “A Friend in Need” as hour 123 of 168 in the TV Flash guide — The Rifleman (1958–1963) on ABC, season 4, episode 13, aired 1961-12-25, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S04E13: listed hour 123 of 168 in the The Rifleman guide, hour 13 of 32 in season 4. It aired 1961-12-25 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “The High Country” (S04E12). Next is “Skull” (S04E14).
Viewer FAQ
Where does A Friend in Need sit in the The Rifleman guide?
S04E13 is listed hour 123 of 168 — hour 13 of 32 in season 4, season 4 episode 13.
When did The Rifleman S04E13 air?
A Friend in Need aired 1961-12-25 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…