BAT MASTERSON - SEASON 3(1960)
Bat Masterson is Gene Barry's wonderful series about a
the man who was known as fair and likeable! Always for
the down trodden! And a legend in his own min - - oops,
time!
While this series is about the old west and sometimes
deals with pretty serious subjects, it still is done
in a very lighthearted way! Probably why I enjoyed it
as a youngun!!
SEASON 3:
EPISODE 01: DEBT OF HONOR(Sept. 29, 1960):
Bat helps out an old prospector, and he hits it big! But the
problem arises when everyone discovers just where he got
it! Guess what happens to the old man!! Bat of course evens
the score!
Guest starring: Edgar Buchanan(Petticoat Junction, Green
Acres, The Over-The-Hill Gang, The Over-The-Hill Gang Rides
Again, Hopalong Cassidy), Don Haggerty(father of Dan!)! A
EPISODE 02: LAW OF THE LAND(Oct. 06, 1960):
A man is REALLY against the railroad!!! A
EPISODE 03: BAT TRAP(Oct. 13, 1960):
Bat is the official at a "tuckey shoot" and Lon plays
a dude that just won't taking losing!!
Guest starring: The great Lon Chaney(THE Lon Chaney!) B+
EPISODE 04: THE RAGE OF PRINCESS ANNE(Oct. 20, 1960):
Princess Anne is the name of a mine that Bat has 15% ownership
in and is having a large number of accidents caused by carelessness! A
EPISODE 05: THE HUNTER(Oct. 27, 1960):
A suave stranger show up in town and says that he thinks that
accuracy is more important that speed! He gets the chance to
prove his point with a bully, but he's not satisfied with that,
he wants Bat! A
EPISODE 06: MURDER CAN BE DANGEROUS(Nov. 03, 1960):
Bat's in cahoots with an embezzler! OK, his partner in a
gambling establishment has been embezzling from the place! A
EPISODE 07: HIGH CARD LOSES(Nov. 10, 1960):
Bat wins big and deposts his money in the bank, only to
suffer another bank robbery! An old prospector makes a
deal with him, he'll give him a stake, if he'll help
him get his "very valuable cargo" to Double Creek! A
EPISODE 08: DAKOTA SHOWDOWN(Nov. 17, 1960):
Bat is asked by the chairman of the town council in
Buckhorn to take down the men who killed the sheriff!
Of course there's a woman in the mix!
James Best returns! A
EPISODE 09: THE LAST OF THE NIGHT RAIDERS(Nov. 24, 1960):
A woman comes to Bat's door to warn him that there's
a "gang" out to kill her! A
EPISODE 10: LAST STOP TO AUSTIN(Dec. 01, 1960):
Bat runs into a boy who helps him in a fight! He
notices a branding on his shoulder and gets to thinking
that he might be the lost son of the governor, a friend
of his! A
EPISODE 11: A TIME TO DIE(Dec. 15, 1960):
Bat is the last witness to be able to testify against
a very bad dude!! B
EPISODE 12: DEATH BY DECREE(Dec. 22, 1960):
So Bat inherits a casino from a dude that he didn't
really know that well and was far from friends with
The reason: it's deep in debt!! B
EPISODE 13: THE LADY PLAYS HER HAND(Dec. 29, 1960):
A system player beats Bat's casino and runs him
out of the casino business!!! But did he really??!
Guest starring a returning William Schallert!! A
EPISODES 14: TEMPEST OF TIOGA PASS(Jan. 05, 1961):
The Governor has requested Bat to intervine in a plan
to build a road through the mountains to the west! A
EPISODE 15: THE COURT MARTIAL OF MAJOR MARS(Jan. 11, 1961):
A group of dudes and a dudette plan to hang a formaer Major
for attocities during the Indian wars, but Bat talks them
into having a court hearing before the deed!
Guest starring: John Anderson(Psycho, Eight Men Out, Star
Trek: TNG episode "The Survivors", Backstairs At The White
House)! A
EPISODE 16: THE PRICE OF PARADISE(Jan. 19, 1961):
Bat goes to Paradise to collect a debt, and then he
gets hornswaggled into collecitng taxes from the same
dude!!! Another crooked town and crooked sheriff!
Guest starring: Dyan Cannon(Deathtrap, Bob, Carol, Ted
And Alice)! A
EPISODE 17: END OF THE LINE(Jan. 26, 1961):
Bat gets hired to build a railroad but is having
major issues from earthquakes to floods! Oh, and
he gets framed for murder!!
Guest starring: Liam Sullivan(Star Trek: TOS episode
"Plato's Stepchildren"), Denver Pyle returns! A
EPISODE 18: THE PRESCOTT CAMPAIGN(Feb. 02, 1961):
Bat gets summoned by a friend who's having problems in
his town! He tells Bat that there's a man there trying
to take over the town! Bat learns the truth! A
EPISODE 19: BULLWAKER'S BOUNTY(Feb. 16, 1961):
Some nare-do-wells bushwack an Army escort of some explosives
bound for the fort! It's up to Bat to get the explosives through!
Onlly problem is he has hired the self-same bushwackers! A
EPISODE 20: A LESSON IN VIOLENCE(Feb. 23, 1961):
Bat has been hired to drive a large herd of cattle, but
finds instead a turf war between the dude and a woman who
says the man is trying to run them off their property!
Oils the name of the game! A
EPISODE 21: RUN FOR YOUR MONEY(Mar. 02, 1961):
So a dude that lost his business to Bat and his pals,
including Wyatt Earp, starts a rumor that their back
is insolvent! A
EPISODE 22: TERROR ON THE TRINITY(Mar. 09, 1961):
THIS EPISODE IS MISSING!!
I've read that it had a license issue, probably due to
the song "Silver Threads Amoung The Gold!"
EPISODE 23: EPISODE IN EDEN(Mar. 16, 1961):
(This is the fifth episode on disc 3)!
Bat comes to a town where the only rule is don't cross
the big baddie, Sam Shanks, and one of his "men" shoots
another unarmed man in cold blood! Bat's chosen to be the
prosecutor in a trial that Shanks thinks he's got under
his thumb! A
EPISODE 24: THE GOOD AND THE BAD(Mar. 23, 1961):
(Sixth episode on disc 3!)
Bat and a few other's from a stagecoach get robbed by
a gang that's not so smart! Most are killed but one gets
away to a convent where they believe his story that he's
innocent!
Guest starring: Grace Lee Whitney(THE Grace Lee Whitney)! B+
EPISODES 25: NO AMNESTY FOR DEATH(Mar. 30, 1961):
(Disc 3 episode 7)!!
Three men are scheduled for hanging!, but Bat shows up
with a document that declares amnesty for all of the
Lincoln County war participants!!
Guest starring: DeForest Kelley(THE DeForest Kelley!),
Robert Blake(Baretta), Betty Barry(Gene's wife!!)!! A
EPISODE 26: LEDGER OF GUILT(Apr. 06, 1961):
(8th episode of disc 3)!
Bat helps out a woman who is supposedly being hunt down
because she has a ledger that proves that she and her
father were being held hostage! A
EPISODE 27: MEETING AT MIMBERS(Apr. 13, 1961):
Bat goes into a town run by, of course, an evil man
who is killing Indians, kidanpping and selling their
women and chiidren, and just being an all-around ass!!! A
EPISODE 28: DAGGER DANCE(Apr. 20, 1961):
Bat gets shot trying to get a message to the colonel at a
fort! He makes it there, but the message is intercepted by
a politically minded major, and the colonel and his men
are massacred while trying to get to some peace talks!! A
EPISODE 29: THE FOURTH MAN(Apr. 27, 1961):
Bat's headed to a small town to meet up with the son of
an old friend, not knowing that he's been killed over
a crooked card game!
Guest starring: George Kennedy(THE George Kennedy!) A
EPISODE 30: DEAD MAN'S CLAIM(May 04, 1961):
Bat goes back to his claim in Nevada only to find
there's claim jumppers everywhere!!
Guest starring: Stefanie Powers(Hart To Hart)! A
EPISODE 31: THE MARBLE SLAB(May 11, 1961):
Bat as a statue salesman??! A
EPISODE 32: FARMER WITH A BADGE(May 18, 1961):
Bat steps gets taken by a horse thief! A farmer happens upon
him and nurses him back to health after being in the desert
without water for a few days! They both take off after the
horse thief!!! A
EPISODE 33: THE FATAL GARMENT(May 25, 1961):
Bat and Wyatt team up again! Again it's about a casino
tahat gets robbed!!! B+
EPISODE 34: JEOPARDY AT JACKSON HOLE(June 03, 1961:
Another stagecoach, another ambush! Bat and the driver get
atacked and the driver gets killed! He's there at the request
of the lady who is the duaghter of the owner! Turns out the
"respected men" of are behind the whole things!!
Last episode of the series! A
From another reviewer at IMDb.com:
This was a fun series that wasn't supposed to be taken seriously.
Gene Barry was perfect as the suave Masterson, who apparently made
a living playing cards at nearly tavern west of the Mississippi
River. It was a preview for his role in "Burke's Law" five years
later. Like with all westerns of that era, there is a lot of
drinking, fighting, kissing and killing. The bad guys wore black
hats and the women were (almost every time)gorgeous -- even if
they seem to be wearing 10 pounds of clothes. Watch as well for
some guest character actors who later went on to modest successes
(like James Best, Louise Fletcher, Ross Martin).It's worth a half
hour of your time. - dwright53