"The Stalking Horse" is one of the funniest episodes I've seen of "Barnaby Jones"....and I think Buddy Ebsen must have had fun in this one.
When the episode begins, Stayley (Denver Pyle) is nearly killed because someone sabotaged the gas pedal to stick on his car. Only a few days before, a load nearly fell on him...and now Stayley realizes someone is trying to kill him. Now here is where it gets weird. To get to see Stayley in the hospital, Barnaby pretends to be Stayley's brother, as they won't allow non-family to visit. And, for some bizarro reason, he maintains this facade throughout the episode...posing as Harry...the brother who is going to run Stayley's business during his absence.
Listening to Ebsen talk and act like Denver Pyle was very funny. Hearing him talking like a combination of a bear from the Country Bear Jamboree and a member of the cast of "Hee-Haw" was very funny. I laughed and laughed. Though I also must admit that it was really, really stupid....which is mostly why I laughed. It is still watchable but very dumb, which is why it merits a 5.