Best of the West

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.

ComedyWestern

Seasons

1. Pilot

Air Date: 1981-09-10

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

2. The Prisoner

Air Date: 1981-09-17

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

3. The Calico Kid Returns

Air Date: 1981-10-01

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

4. They're Hanging Parker Tillman (1)

Air Date: 1981-10-15

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.

5. They're Hanging Parker Tillman (2)

Air Date: 1981-10-22

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

6. The New Marshal

Air Date: 1981-10-29

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

7. Daniel's First Love

Air Date: 1981-11-05

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

8. Laney in Love

Air Date: 1981-11-12

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

9. The Reunion

Air Date: 1981-10-08

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!

10. The Railroad

Air Date: 1981-11-19

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

11. The New Jail

Air Date: 1981-11-26

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.

12. A Man, a Woman, and a Horse

Air Date: 1981-12-17

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

13. Frog's First Gunfight

Air Date: 1982-01-07

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

14. The Calico Kid Goes to School

Air Date: 1982-01-14

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

15. Tillman Held for Ransom

Air Date: 1982-01-21

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

16. Mail Order Bride

Air Date: 1982-01-28

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

17. The Cave-In

Air Date: 1982-02-12

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

18. Daniel Fights a Bully

Air Date: 1982-02-19

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

19. The Pretty Prisoner

Air Date: 1982-02-26

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

20. Elvira's Old Beau

Air Date: 1982-06-07

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

21. Sam's Life Is Threatened

Air Date: 1982-06-14

Sam receives an anonymous threatening note.

22. The Funeral

Air Date: 1982-06-21

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

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Rating

6.0/10

Release Date

1981-09-10

Episodes

22 (1 seasons)

Status

Ended

Cast