Starting out, I have to say right up front that I enjoy watching every single episode of "The Rifleman". Any given story is a classic example of an enviable father/son relationship, with Lucas McCain teaching son Mark an important life lesson. Taken as an entire body of work however, I see how a lot of fans are really put into a quandary about McCain's body count as a result of that quick lever action tricked out Winchester rifle. On that score I would have to say that old Lucas Boy has to go down in classic TV Western history as the great white shark of New Mexico Territory. Simply put, he's a killing machine. There's probably not another character with more kills than Lucas McCain, except MAYBE Matt Dillon, but he had twenty seasons and five tele-films going for him, and Lucas had only five.
I was so intrigued by this that with the Encore Western Channel's latest go round with The Rifleman series, I began keeping track. I even had a friend of mine help me (Thanks Will), who taped the episodes so we could discuss them when there was a question mark, and indeed there were many. It seems the writers must have known someone would eventually try to keep track of the Lucas body count, so they threw innovative situations out there to keep everyone guessing. Like Episode #2.45 when Jack Elam falls on a pitchfork during a fight with McCain, dying in the process. Does that count as a 'kill' for Lucas? Or how about #3.105 when an outlaw grabs McCain's gun to shoot his partner who's bailing out on him? Lucas plugged it and it explodes, killing the shooter. See what I mean. There would have to be a tribunal of respected Western TV critics to arrive at an official Lucas McCain body count to account for all the controversial scenarios.
But for what it's worth, I can offer interested observers my entirely unofficial analysis based on a five season viewing of 'The Rifleman' on the Encore Western Channel. Let me preface though by first commenting on Episode #1.12 - 'Young Englishman' - in which Lucas McCain explains to son Mark (Johnny Crawford) that killing is always to be considered a means of last resort when facing a life or death situation. By that reckoning, Lucas was the master of last resort for a total of 108 times! Can you imagine ANYONE with their life on the line as many times as The Rifleman? I mean, how do you go through life and find yourself in so many precarious situations? But wait, that was only during the run of the series. If you watch the shows and pay attention, Lucas alludes to even MORE people he's killed during the Civil War and the Indian Nation Wars before he ever got to North Fork.
So how does that square with the real life gunfighters of the Old West? Well, during his lifetime, the legend of Wild Bill Hickok had him killing over a hundred men. However before he died, Wild Bill 'confessed' that he killed 'only' thirty seven. In terms of accuracy, quick draw and ruthlessness, John Wesley Hardin had no match, and his count of just over forty men killed is probably tops among known gunfighters. Heck, by the time Lucas McCain killed forty men, it was still only the second season!
Getting back to the show itself, it's hard to come up with a few favorites out of the series run of 168 stories, but two that would be in my Top Ten are the Sammy Davis Jr. episodes. In #4.130 - 'Two Ounces of Tin' - Davis comes gunning for the man who killed his father, Lucas McCain. It's kind of a poignant story since Davis' character makes friends with Mark before calling out his father. In #5.151 - 'The Most Amazing Man' - Davis is put on the spot by a local gunman who challenges him to a gunfight. I guess I'm intrigued by the idea of the former 'Rat Packer' in a TV Western, which seems so out of character for the variety entertainer I'm more familiar with. And say, could he handle those six-shooters! There's also the intriguing episode #4.131, 'The Deadly Image', in which Chuck Connors plays two characters, Lucas and a fierce villain look alike. I had to chuckle at the end of the story, because if you think about it, the Rifleman is so bad a-- cool in this one that he winds up actually 'killing himself'!!!
Anyway, I tried to have some fun with the whole Lucas body count thing. Again, I want to state that by no means is my reckoning meant to be an official count, but I'd say it's pretty close. You had a few episodes where Lucas teamed with Micah or some other gunslinger firing on a group of villains, so there again you have a toss up as to who shot who. Still, over a hundred 'kills' would qualify Lucas McCain as a Wild Bill Hickok, John Wesley Hardin, Tom Horn and Billy the Kid all rolled up into one!
I was so intrigued by this that with the Encore Western Channel's latest go round with The Rifleman series, I began keeping track. I even had a friend of mine help me (Thanks Will), who taped the episodes so we could discuss them when there was a question mark, and indeed there were many. It seems the writers must have known someone would eventually try to keep track of the Lucas body count, so they threw innovative situations out there to keep everyone guessing. Like Episode #2.45 when Jack Elam falls on a pitchfork during a fight with McCain, dying in the process. Does that count as a 'kill' for Lucas? Or how about #3.105 when an outlaw grabs McCain's gun to shoot his partner who's bailing out on him? Lucas plugged it and it explodes, killing the shooter. See what I mean. There would have to be a tribunal of respected Western TV critics to arrive at an official Lucas McCain body count to account for all the controversial scenarios.
But for what it's worth, I can offer interested observers my entirely unofficial analysis based on a five season viewing of 'The Rifleman' on the Encore Western Channel. Let me preface though by first commenting on Episode #1.12 - 'Young Englishman' - in which Lucas McCain explains to son Mark (Johnny Crawford) that killing is always to be considered a means of last resort when facing a life or death situation. By that reckoning, Lucas was the master of last resort for a total of 108 times! Can you imagine ANYONE with their life on the line as many times as The Rifleman? I mean, how do you go through life and find yourself in so many precarious situations? But wait, that was only during the run of the series. If you watch the shows and pay attention, Lucas alludes to even MORE people he's killed during the Civil War and the Indian Nation Wars before he ever got to North Fork.
So how does that square with the real life gunfighters of the Old West? Well, during his lifetime, the legend of Wild Bill Hickok had him killing over a hundred men. However before he died, Wild Bill 'confessed' that he killed 'only' thirty seven. In terms of accuracy, quick draw and ruthlessness, John Wesley Hardin had no match, and his count of just over forty men killed is probably tops among known gunfighters. Heck, by the time Lucas McCain killed forty men, it was still only the second season!
Getting back to the show itself, it's hard to come up with a few favorites out of the series run of 168 stories, but two that would be in my Top Ten are the Sammy Davis Jr. episodes. In #4.130 - 'Two Ounces of Tin' - Davis comes gunning for the man who killed his father, Lucas McCain. It's kind of a poignant story since Davis' character makes friends with Mark before calling out his father. In #5.151 - 'The Most Amazing Man' - Davis is put on the spot by a local gunman who challenges him to a gunfight. I guess I'm intrigued by the idea of the former 'Rat Packer' in a TV Western, which seems so out of character for the variety entertainer I'm more familiar with. And say, could he handle those six-shooters! There's also the intriguing episode #4.131, 'The Deadly Image', in which Chuck Connors plays two characters, Lucas and a fierce villain look alike. I had to chuckle at the end of the story, because if you think about it, the Rifleman is so bad a-- cool in this one that he winds up actually 'killing himself'!!!
Anyway, I tried to have some fun with the whole Lucas body count thing. Again, I want to state that by no means is my reckoning meant to be an official count, but I'd say it's pretty close. You had a few episodes where Lucas teamed with Micah or some other gunslinger firing on a group of villains, so there again you have a toss up as to who shot who. Still, over a hundred 'kills' would qualify Lucas McCain as a Wild Bill Hickok, John Wesley Hardin, Tom Horn and Billy the Kid all rolled up into one!