Episode Guide: Season 8 1961-1962

"Lassie at the Grand Canyon" (09/10/61):

Ruth and Timmy, visiting the Grand Canyon, befriend a blind pianist with a unique outlook on life who helps Timmy after he is angered by Lassie's behavior when she follows him on a mule ride and he's forced to turn back. Oliver: Robert Armstrong. Richard Bliss: Carl Benton Reid.
   • Trivia: Ruth's father was a park ranger and she spent many years at Yellowstone National Park.
   • Note: This episode was filmed on location and has some spectacular scenery—even in black and white! "Spook" is playing Lassie for the majority of the episode, although it looks like "Baby" at the beginning. Paul is not in the episode.

"The Bloodhound" (09/17/61):

Timmy and Lassie discover the sad truth about Relentless, Cully's new—and much bragged about—dog: he's lost his sense of smell. The truth might have remained secret had not the money earned in a church fundraising drive gone missing. Cully: Andy Clyde. Sheriff Miller: Robert Foulk.
   • Trivia: Cully bred Relentless, then gave him to Bill Eyers, a detective on the Ellenwood police force. When Eyers passed away, he left Relentless to Cully. Relentless was famous for finding missing forest ranger Emil Saunders after a hard rain.
   • Note: Paul is absent from this episode.

"The Mysterious Intruder" (09/24/61):

The Gardners, the Martins' new neighbors, accuse Lassie of killing their cat and attacking their chickens and sheep, but Lassie knows there's a strange collie in the area. The dog then strikes at the Martin farm after Lassie is ordered locked up. Sheriff Miller: Robert Foulk. (The Gardner boy is uncredited.)
   • Trivia: The Gardners have moved into the old Sherman place. The collie was from Loganville.

"The Badger Game" (10/01/61):

When Timmy sees Willy's peacock, François, a gift from her grandmother, he too wants to enter an exotic animal in the pet contest at the county fair, so he tries to capture a badger. In the process he gets trapped in a cave-in. Willy: Linda Wrather.
   • Trivia: Billy Peters' dog, whom Timmy and Lassie beat the previous year, actually wins the contest. The judge says François is ornamental, not a pet.

"The Outlaw" (10/08/61):

Officer Slater's dog Deputy is injured in a car crash during a chase after a bank robber and turns savage; Timmy and Lassie attempt to save him before a posse—and a vengeful neighbor boy who was bitten by the animal—catches up with him. Sheriff Miller: Robert Foulk. Jim Hodges: Jimmy Bates. Slater: Herbert Patterson. Jenny: Florence Lake.

"The Winner" (10/15/61):

Timmy enters Lassie in the Silver Lake Coon Dog Trials and swimming contest, but in the first heat she's too busy helping save the raccoon to win the contest, arousing the ire of elderly Mr. McCarthy, whose dog Champ is the reigning champion. Joseph McCarthy: Harry Shannon. Competition Official: Harry Carey Jr. (Bill the race announcer and Harry the jeep driver are not credited.)
   • Note: Paul is absent from this episode.

"Heat Wave" (10/22/61):

Angry farmers band together after Cully snaps one too many traps meant to keep wild animals away from their crops during a heat wave, forcing a hearing to determine the old man's sanity and confine Cully to a rest home. So Timmy decides to reset the traps. Cully: Andy Clyde. Jim Teal: Ray Teal. Farmer: H. Lloyd Nelson.

"The Deer" (10/29/61):

Having failed to corral Clementine, a shy doe he has been feeding corn, in the farmyard before hunting season starts, Timmy lassos the animal, but she escapes from him with the rope still around her neck. Older Hunter: Roy Barcroft. (The other hunter is uncredited.)
   • Note: Don't you find it odd that Paul encourages Timmy to feed the doe when deer are known to depredate farmers' fields (remember The Yearling!)?

"Lassie Adopts the Fire Chief" (11/05/61):

Timmy loans Lassie to volunteer fire chief Ed Washburne during the day after the department's mascot Smoky is killed, but she seems to show more interest in staying with him all the time than coming home at night with Timmy. Washburne: Dick Foran.
   • Note: "B" movie Western star Dick Foran starred in several dozen "oaters" in the 1930s and 1940s, including doing a stint as a singing cowboy ala Gene Autry and Roy Rogers.

"The Pied Piper" (11/12/61):

While Paul is arranging for summer help at his alma mater, Timmy and Lassie visit with his old classmate Dr. Hank Sims, who experiments on white rats at the veterinary college. When he finds out Hank will pay 25¢ per rat, Timmy asks if he can raise some to earn money for his parents' anniversary present. But some of the rapidly breeding rats escape into Paul's cornfield. Hank: John Hubbard.
   • Trivia: Apparently Paul once left a rat in Hank's bed...

"Joey" (11/19/61):

Timmy's friend Joey Young is despondent after he's blinded until Timmy trains Lassie to guide him in preparation for him to have his own guide dog. But when Joey is declared too young to have a guide dog, Timmy feels there is only one decision, to give Lassie to him. Joey: Michael Burns. Cora Young: Jacqueline Scott. Stan Morton: James Seay.
   • Note: Seay shows up later in the season as Dr. Porter, the vet.

"Lassie's Wild Baby" (11/26/61):

"Fusterated" and depressed because she isn't expecting a litter, Lassie adopts what the Martins think is a kitten from Mrs. Brenner's cat's latest litter. But in reality "Sir Hercules" is really a cougar cub—and his mother is searching for him! Mrs. Brenner: Jane Darwell.
   • Note: Yes, Jane Darwell of Grapes of Wrath fame. Her well-known final role was as the Bird Woman in 1964's Mary Poppins. It's actually a Siamese kitten playing the cub.

"The Dognappers" (12/03/61):

Thieves trolling for lost-and-found rewards steal Jeff, a cocker spaniel belonging to Timmy's hospitalized friend Rusty. When Lassie spots one of the thieves next time the Martins are in town, she gives chase and is captured by them. Sheriff Miller: Robert Foulk. Kathie: Judee Morton. Roy: Frank Killmond. With David Whorf.
   • Note: Funny how Timmy mentions Rusty is one of his best friends, when he never appears in the series! If you watch Lassie seriously you will notice that the "hospital" Timmy and Kathie visit turns up years later in the background of a Scott Turner episode. Lassie also rescues a West Highland White, a Basset, a fox terrier, and a miniature poodle (probably the same dog who played "Cabbage").

"The Dove" (12/17/61):

Timmy's civics lessons become very real when he discovers that his new friend Pepè, whom Lassie found injured on the roadside, and his pet dove Pepita entered the country illegally. When Timmy must tell on him to keep his parents from being arrested, Pepè runs away—and Lassie follows him. Sheriff: Robert Foulk. Miss Hazlit: Sally Bliss. Willy: Linda Wrather. Pepè Ramirez: Rafael Lopez.
   • Trivia: Pepè crossed the border at El Paso from Juarez.

"Yochim's Christmas" (12/24/61):

The Yochims (from "Cracker Jack") return (without Pa, who died while they were living in the city) and the Martins talk them into staying over Christmas Eve. While Timmy and Billy Joe are out walking in the woods, they rescue an elderly man who Billy Joe is convinced is Santa Claus, trapped under a sleigh. Billy Joe: Billy Hughes. Pearlie Mae Yochim: Ellen Corby. Sculptor: Lloyd Corrigan.
   • Note: An oddity—Billy Joe pronounces and spells the family name as "Yochim" to the man they rescue, yet the family's name is "Slocum" in "Cracker Jack."

"The Parrot" (12/31/61):

Cully gives Ruth a disreputable parrot he found in a tree as a birthday present, but when she discovers "Polly" has been causing the mischief Lassie was blamed for, Cully won't take the parrot back—until he finds out she's named Queenie and there's a $50 reward for her. But Lassie has let the pesky parrot fly away... Cully: Andy Clyde. Mr. Shulman: Charles Tannen.
   • Trivia: Cully gives his address as "Oak Valley Lane."

"Lassie's Protégé" (01/07/62):

After Timmy returns to school after vacation, a lonesome Lassie adopts a raccoon that Timmy names "Melonhead," but the friendship is short-lived when a reckless teenage driver kills the animal and Lassie mourns her friend. Johnny Sexton: Tommy Ivo. Girl: Susan Crane. Disapproving Racer: David Macklin.
   • Note: Interesting shots of an organized drag race meet at the end.

"The Black Sheep" (01/14/62):

Timmy and Lassie chase down a lost black lamb after the driver of the truck he escaped from says the boy may keep him if he can find him. The sheep, named Blackie, becomes his 4H project, but runs away and hides in an immigrant man's flock just before the county fair. Shepherd: Nestor Paiva.

"The Partnership" (01/21/62):

After a forest fire, Timmy and Lassie find an orphaned colt, but since it was found on county land, it must be auctioned. Unable to afford the price himself, Timmy teams with fire chief Ed Washburne to buy the colt, who they name Square Deal. But the colt is homesick when his mother begins visiting him. Washburne: Dick Foran. Sheriff Miller: Robert Foulk. Judge Baxter: Nolan Leary. (The ranger and the farmers are uncredited.)

"The Hike" (01/28/62):

When Timmy's hiking partner gets sick and can't come on their planned outing, without telling his parents, Timmy goes it alone with Lassie—then he falls and is knocked unconscious.

"Bird of Prey" (02/04/62):

Timmy discovers he can't keep the falcon he and Paul's nephew Dick, on leave from the Air Force Academy, nursed back to health and trained because a minor is not allowed to keep a bird of prey, so he offers it to the Academy. But in Colorado to present "Mr. Falcon," the disoriented bird flies away on an exercise flight. Cadet Richard Martin: Jan Stine. Announcer: Lloyd Nelson.
   • Note: Ruth and Timmy tour the Air Force Academy in Colorado, which was still fairly new at the time. Paul is away in this episode.

"Casey" (02/11/62):

After his engineer owner is injured while checking track in his converted flivver, pet chimpanzee Casey is left in Timmy's care, and the boy allows him to stay near the engine he loves at night. But the chimp leads Timmy through a merry chase on a carnival ground and then up a tree. Jonathan Grigsby: Eddy Waller. Tramp: Ray Walker. Carny: George Selk.

"The Odyssey" part 1 (02/18/62)

Lassie is locked in a truck when she accompanies Paul and Timmy to the farmer's market. When she finally escapes the vehicle near a town named Lexington, she is on her own hundreds of miles from home. Mike Finch: Richard Reeves. Younger Trucker: Lennie Geer. Stocky Trucker: Rusty Lane. Henry Deshew: Jon Lormer. Script by Sumner Long.
   • Trivia: The truck Lassie is trapped in is owned by the Ramsey Brothers Transportation Company, which transports produce, and the restaurant the truckers stop at is called The Cottage. The newspaper in this story is the Calverton Chronicle, rather than the Calverton Sentinel as in "Star Reporter" and other stories.
   • Note: Lennie Geer played Ollie the horse wrangler in Disney's classic Mickey Mouse Club serial, "Spin and Marty" and its sequel.

"The Odyssey" part 2 (02/25/62)

While Paul and Timmy journey to Lexington to try to locate Lassie, the hungry and footsore collie encounters dangers on her journey, including a fight with a wolf and a menancing train. Hunter: Alan Hale Jr.
   • Trivia: The town of Lexington is 4,350 feet above sea level and the population is 3,254. One of the businesses in town is the National Hotel. It's possible that's where Paul and Timmy stay, as they park nearby.
   • Note: Yes, this is "the Skipper" pre-Gilligan's Island.

"The Odyssey" part 3 (03/04/62)

Her foot well again, Lassie takes to the road. In the meantime, in an attempt to assauge some of Timmy's grief, Cully presents him with a puppy he hopes the heartsick boy may come to love. Hunter: Alan Hale Jr.

"Double Trouble" (03/11/62):

At the big dog show in Capital City, Lassie is mistaken for champion showdog King's Royal Lassie and Timmy and Cully her handlers, so they're given the royal treatment. Cully: Andy Clyde. Dan Walsh: Phillip Terry. Norman Talley: Frank Albertson.
   • Note: Toby, the little strayed Yorkie that Lassie saves, is probably the same terrier that played Silky. Incidentally, Andy Clyde has a nice pantomime sequence in this episode, using the talents he developed back when he worked in silent movies in Mack Sennett's "Keystone Kops" shorts. How times have changed—Cully is aghast because the luxurious hotel room they are in costs {gasp!} $20 per day!

"Eager Beaver" (03/18/62):

Beavers are damming up irrigation ditches needed by Paul and Al Livermore, and, when breaking up the dam does no good, Paul and Timmy build traps, which the beavers chew their way out of. Needing water, Livermore proposes killing them, but Paul buys professional traps and tries once more—until Lassie, protecting her new friends, frees them all. Livermore: Stuart Randall.

"Lassie and the Eagle" (03/25/62):

When "Mrs. Eagle" returns to visit her adopted goose, Lassie rescues her from a trap, then the bird returns the favor when Lassie unexpectedly has her puppies in the woods, protecting her and the puppies from marauding coyotes. Doc Porter: James Seay. Deputy: Lane Bradford.
   • Note: Timmy turns into a "mother hen" in this episode; it's funny to see Ruth and the vet advising him to keep calm!

"The Vindication of Relentless" (04/01/62):

Cully discovers that Timmy knows Relentless' sad secret: he can no longer smell any longer. Then Milt Stewart, the county tax assessor, insists that Relentless find his missing tax entry book, which has been carried off by a bear. Cully: Andy Clyde. Milt: Byron Foulger.

"The Unwanted" (04/08/62):

After befriending Miss Hazlit's retired policeman uncle Ben Carter after he gives a presentation on police dogs at the school, Timmy obtains a white German Shepherd who looks like Carter's late dog Sarge, intending to train the animal and give him to the lonely man. But "Little Sarge" is strangely unresponsive. Miss Hazlit: Sally Bliss. Ben Carter: Russ Conway. Mr. Dinsmore: Robert B. Williams. Doc Porter: James Seay.
   • Trivia: Miss Hazlit's name is Amy.
   • Note: Hmmm. Doc Porter is well-trusted? What happened to Doc Weaver and Doc Hayden?

"The Musher" (04/15/62):

Encouraged by a sled dog racer, Timmy trains Lassie, Cully's hound Sam, and his buddy's dog Shag to enter a mushing competition at the Alpine Meadows Winter Carnival—and disappoints Lassie by making Sam the lead dog. Pete Kester: Robert Brubaker. Lloyd: Lloyd Nelson.
   • Note: "Shag" is played by the same dog who played "Fang" on Get Smart and "Jasper" on Bachelor Father. Lloyd Nelson has a rather large part in this episode, which looks as if it were filmed at a real winter carnival. Mary Simmons, therefore, and her Samoyed team may have been real sled dog champions.

"Lassie's Good Deed" (04/29/62):

Timmy and Lassie befriend elderly Mr. Jensen, who lives alone in a cabin in the woods with what he says is his only friend, a little mongrel dog named Ruff. When he is struck by a car and lies comatose in the hospital, Timmy takes responsibility for feeding Ruff—but it's Lassie who figures out how to make the old man well. Mr. Jensen: James Burke. Doctor: Stacy Keach. Desk Nurse: Maudie Prickett. (The room nurse is uncredited.)

"Sanctuary" (05/06/62):

Timmy and Cully are incensed when the last piece of true woodland in the area is sleighted to have a feeder road built through it. Advised by a local judge, their letter-writing campaign brings a ranger to inspect the area to see if it can be declared a wildlife sanctuary. But when Ranger Weldon arrives, their well-meaning plans to show him the area almost proves their undoing. Cully: Andy Clyde. Ranger Barry Weldon: William Schallert. Judge Fred Beber: Fuzzy Knight. Construction Worker: John Cliff.

"Lassie and the Calf" (05/13/62):

Timmy's taking care of Eloise, a gruff farmer's cow, while he is away, and, when the animal gives birth early, both boy and dog fall in love with Lucky, the sickly calf whose life they save. But when they find out Ezra Tate plans to slaughter the calf, Lassie steals it. To get Lucky back, Timmy convinces a young lawyer to be his spokesman in court. Tate: Jason Johnson. Blake: L.Q. Jones. Judge Baxter: Nolan Leary. Doc Porter: James Seay.
   • Note: Jason Johnson seemed to make a career of playing crabby farmers on Lassie; he appeared in two Jeff episodes as crabby Jud Perkins. (He was also strict but less crabby in "The Blind Dog.") Nolan Leary was also Dan Cook the stationmaster in two Jeff episodes, and later appears as a minister in "Lassie's Gift of Love."

"Elephant Sitters" (05/20/62):

Cully's blarneying friend O'Toole asks the old man to care for his baby elephant Little Lena while he goes out hunting for the lost Escondido Mine; if he doesn't find some money soon, he will have to sell Lena to the zoo. But while keeping tabs on Lena, Cully and Timmy discover a way the wayward elephant can earn money. Cully: Andy Clyde. O'Toole: Charles Irwin. (Mr. Burton is uncredited.)

"Lassie and the Tiger" (05/27/62):

Timmy's fishing trip is interrupted when a wild animal trainer lets his tiger have a swim in the lake: the animal takes a fancy to Timmy and keeps following him around, from the woods to the farm. Sheriff Miller: Robert Foulk. Jenny: Florence Lake. (The trainer is uncredited, but the name on the side of the van is "Hans Naumann"—he mentions the name "Naumann" to Sheriff Miller—who was a tiger trainer for Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey in the 1960s. I can't make out the tiger's name—I think it is "Schabo." It says the animal's name on the side of the van, billing him as "the famous aquatic tiger.")
   • Trivia: Sheriff Miller's first initial is "H." No idea what it stands for.
   • Note: You know, the Martins might have a better chance of keeping animals locked in the barn if they'd remember to latch that darn back entrance! It's not the first time an animal has escaped out that door.

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