Sun, Sep 19, 1971
Against Ben's orders, Jamie drives a supply wagon on a route he's not supposed to; he loses control and wrecks the wagon. Jamie escapes uninjured but one of the horses is so badly hurt it has to be shot. To teach Jamie a lesson in responsibility, Ben decides to take his "adopted" son on an extended tour of the Ponderosa, to see how various residents and employees deal with their mistakes. The lesson makes an impression on Jamie, who is then asked to carve his name on the "Witness Tree," signifying he is the latest "family member" to take "The Grand Swing" (Hoss and Little Joe had previously made the trip).
Sun, Sep 26, 1971
Jill Conway is an alcoholic mother whose husband was sent to prison (for robbery) on Hoss' testimony. In a pent-up rage, Jill demands that Hoss look after her son, Petey. Hoss, however, wants Jill to see this as an opportunity to reform herself and is determined to use tough love to help her realize it.
Sun, Nov 7, 1971
Jamie's girlfriend, Neta Thatcher, witnesses a drifter named Griff Bannon rob and kill a man at a roadside camp. Bannon - who assumes his victim's identity and inherits his fortune - is aware that Neta has witnessed the crime and begins stalking her. Neta is terrified to tell anyone about the crime she witnessed, but has even more problems on her hands: Her tough love father, who refuses to allow her to socialize with the Cartwrights. Meanwhile, Bannon takes a job at the Ponderosa using his victim's identity, and he and Jamie become friends. However, Bannon's cover is quickly blown when Neta fingers him as the killer. Just when Bannon has Jamie and Neta trapped, an unlikely hero saves their lives.
Sun, Dec 5, 1971
Jamie and three of his schoolmates - Lester, Judith and Roberto - are kidnapped after church by the nefarious Doyle gang, whom escaped from a wagon carrying them to prison. Doyle plans to use the teens as bargaining tools to ensure that the authorities will enable his gang's escape to Mexico. After Doyle makes his demands and warns that any attempts by the Cartwrights to interfere will result in the teens' deaths, Ben comes up with a plan to rescue Jamie and his friends, but is constantly undermined by the father of one of the boys, whose plan would surely result in death. Only after the teens' own attempt to escape fails (resulting in Lester being killed) does the father agree to go along with Ben's plan, which ultimately is successful.
Sun, Dec 12, 1971
In the third and final episode featuring the Calhouns, Luke is bankrupted after a stock investment gone bad, so he and his daughter Meena move to the Ponderosa until he can get back on his feet. Without Ben's permission, Luke turns the Ponderosa into a casino, with gambling all over the place.
Sun, Jan 2, 1972
In a rare episode with Hop Sing in the spotlight, the Cartwrights' cook is panning for gold during a vacation when he falls in love with a white woman. The relationship blossoms into an engagement, but the marriage never takes place. Ben bears the heartbreaking news that a judge confirms: state law forbids interracial marriage.
Sun, Jan 16, 1972
Cactus Murphy, an embittered ranch whom Ben fired, suggests that the Cartwright patriarch is getting a little old to "put in a real week's work." Ben's response: Take a job under the assumed name Ben Brown and show Murphy that he is still more than capable of sweating out the job of a rancher.
Sun, Jan 30, 1972
Ben's friendship with the Kosovos, a young immigrant family from Serbia, puts him in danger when family patriarch Nick suffers a psychotic snap, goes on a rampage and barricades them in their home. Ben does all he can to reason with Nick, whose wife and son have become deathly afraid of him in the process - especially since the consequences could be deadly if Ben says the wrong thing.
Sun, Feb 6, 1972
In a satirical look at unusual, silly laws and customs, Joe and Hoss try to explain to their skeptical father why their delivery run to Agua Santos, Mexico took so long. An unimpressed Ben listens as his sons explain their story, which all started when Joe took his hat off in church and was exasperated when Hoss ran into trouble trying to bail his younger brother out of jail.
Sun, Feb 13, 1972
A band of rogue ex-Confederate soldiers comes to the Ponderosa to demand a $25,000 ransom. Hoss tries to disrupt the robbery and is critically wounded by the group's leader, Shanklin. While Jamie escapes and tries to search Virginia City's saloons for Joe, Ben learns that Shanklin is an outstanding surgeon and demands that since he wounded him, he can perform the surgery to save Hoss' life.
Sun, Feb 20, 1972
The Cartwrights attempt to reconstruct a 24-hour period of Ben's life after he fears he may have been the unknown gunman who shot down Sid Langley, a corrupt real estate broker who has become hated in Virginia City. The reason? Ben had suffered a concussion from an unknown source just before his meeting with Langley and happened to be his last appointment before a critically wounded Langley was found. Oh, and Ben strongly disapproved of Langley's unethical business practices.
Sun, Mar 5, 1972
Jamie's 7-year-old friend, Jonah Morgan, is badly wounded when he and Jamie walk into the Virginia City Bank during a robbery by the evil Springer gang. The boy later dies of his injuries. Joe and Jamie accompany Jonah's grief-hardened, paraplegic grandfather on the hunt for Springer and his cronies.
Sun, Mar 12, 1972
It's a case of comic mistaken identity when Hoss - on a delivery run for the Ponderosa - is mistaken as a member of the bumbling Younger Brothers gang. Ben and Joe are eventually able to convince the authorities to let Hoss go, but not after a series of misunderstandings wherein they too are involved with the Youngers' gang.
Sun, Apr 2, 1972
In his second attempt to cash in on Ben's good name, crooked lookalike Bradley Meredith learns that the Cartwrights are in Carson City and, posing as Ben, pretends that he is seriously ill and begins to liquidate the Ponderosa's assets. The Cartwrights come just in time to foil Meredith's plans.