The Virginian
Ride a Dark Trail
TV Flash files “Ride a Dark Trail” as the first listed hour of season 2 — The Virginian (1962–1971) on NBC, season 2, episode 1, aired 1963-09-18, 90 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S02E01: listed hour 31 of 249 in the The Virginian guide, first listed hour of season 2. It aired 1963-09-18 (90 min). The listed hour before it is “The Final Hour” (S01E30). Next is “To Make This Place Remember” (S02E02).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Trampas recalls how he came to the Shiloh Ranch as a angry young ranch hand bent on avenging the death of his father, a shiftless gambler killed by Garth in self defense.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Ride a Dark Trail sit in the The Virginian guide?
S02E01 is listed hour 31 of 249 — first listed hour of season 2, season 2 episode 1.
When did The Virginian S02E01 air?
Ride a Dark Trail aired 1963-09-18 and is listed at 90 minutes.
Where should I start?
A 90-minute Shiloh Ranch hour with Drury and McClure plus a meaty guest plot shows why the length exists. This is not a half-hour oat-opera you graze in minutes.
In the series
Why this series still plays
The Virginian ran 90 minutes when most westerns stopped at an hour, and that extra room is the point. James Drury's nameless foreman and Doug McClure's Trampas hold Shiloh Ranch while guest stars cycle through adult plots. Come for early prestige-length drama in cowboy clothes — slower, sturdier, and more novelistic than the gunfight-of-the-week pack.
The extra half-hour is the argument. *The Virginian* ran 90 minutes when most westerns stopped at an hour, and that extra room is the point. James Drury's nameless foreman and Doug McClure's Trampas hold Shiloh Ranch on NBC (1962–1971) while guest stars cycle through adult plots. Lee J. Cobb's Judge Garth was among the rotating ranch-owner centers. A laconic loyalty-and-gun-smoke moral test, widescreen in spirit. Frank Price and Charles Marquis Warren were among the architects of one of the first successful…
Filed against
- James Drury as The Virginian
James Drury’s nameless foreman held Shiloh Ranch for ninety minutes when most westerns stopped at an hour — The Virginian as early prestige-length drama in cowboy clothes, Doug McClure’s Trampas beside him, guest stars cycling through…
- Doug McClure as Trampas
Doug McClure held Shiloh Ranch as Trampas on The Virginian — 90-minute western room, guest-star traffic, and cowboy clothes on adult plots most hour shows would not attempt. James Drury's nameless foreman had the myth; McClure had the…
- Lee J. Cobb as Judge Henry Garth
Lee J. Cobb's Judge Henry Garth gave The Virginian ranch-table steel — 90-minute western when most stopped at an hour, James Drury's nameless foreman, guest stars cycling through adult plots. Early prestige-length drama in cowboy clothes.…