Episode Guide: Season 11 1964-1965

The ratings for "The Disappearance" proved high enough that, after season ten, Lassie left the farm forever and joined the U.S. Forest Service.

At first, the show's writers were stymied on how to make the change, knowing Timmy would not willingly leave Lassie. At one point they considered having Paul join the Peace Corps, but apparently discovered that there was no rule at the time against Peace Corps volunteers having pets with them. They finally chose the out of having the Martins move to Australia. At that time, British quarantine laws for the prevention of rabies stated that any dog being brought into Australia had to be quarantined for six months—in England. (The law has since changed and the quarantine location is Australia; it is further being revised to be shortened or eliminated.) Knowing that being locked up for that length of time would break Lassie's heart, the Martins leave her with Cully Wilson in part one of a three-part story. By the end of the story, ownership has been transferred to Corey Stuart and Lassie's new life has begun.

"The Wayfarers" part 1 (09/06/64):

Excited when his parents break the news that the family is moving to Australia, Timmy changes his mind when he finds out Lassie would be quarantined for six months and cannot come with them. Cully: Andy Clyde.

"The Wayfarers" part 2 (09/13/64):

Lassie has settled in living with Cully—and mostly occupied keeping Cully's mischievous Yorkshire terrier Silky in line—when the elderly man suffers another heart attack. Lassie fetches Doc Weaver, but in the process of his getting Cully to the hospital, Silky escapes. Cully: Andy Clyde. Doc Weaver: Arthur Space.

"The Wayfarers" part 3 (09/20/64):

While Lassie and Silky wander Blue Canyon, where Silky is in danger from a marauding hawk, an old friend of the collie's shows up, Corey Stuart, who immediately heads out to find his missing friend. Cully: Andy Clyde. Doc Weaver: Arthur Space.
   • Trivia: Corey's father was a ranger, too. This is mentioned again in "Cradle of the Deep."
   • Note: This is the last appearance for Space on the series, although Clyde later returns in another role. It's very sad when Corey drives up to the deserted farm with its "For Sale" sign posted prominently at the gate. We are all leaving a place we loved for years.

"Incident of the Eagle" (09/27/64):

After Corey's survey plane strikes and injures a female eagle, Lassie tends her two helpless eaglets by feeding them and fending off a hungry bobcat. Game Warden Conway: Gregg Barton. Dave: Robert Kenneally.
   • Note: I hadn't seen this episode in years, but I recalled a brief scene where Corey tells Lassie he has a letter from Timmy. I didn't see this scene in a recent broadcast; it was possibly edited out, or might be in another early episode—or very likely, was the wishful thinking of an 8-year-old who really missed Timmy! The eagle later returns to do Lassie a good turn (see "Look Homeward, Lassie" below).

"Climb the Mountain Slowly" (10/04/64):

Thirteen-year-old Ricky Sutton foregoes childhood amusements, even baseball, to help his logger father meet an important lumber contract, but is hurt and angry when co-workers tease him. His effort to drive a bulldozer to prove he's an adult spells danger for both him and Lassie. Ricky: Billy Hughes. Vince Sutton: Bill Williams. Grady: Med Flory.
   • Note: Hughes previously played Billy Joe Slocum/Yochim in two Timmy episodes, "Cracker Jack" and "Yochim's Christmas." By this episode his voice had changed. It was nice to hear his real voice, without the cornball hillbilly accent Billy Joe was given.

"Leave It to Lassie and the Beavers" (10/11/64):

New assistant district ranger Hank Whitfield has his baptism of fire after cantankerous Maude Lester threatens harm to the beavers who have dammed up the source of her stream. Maude: Jeanette Nolan.
   • Note: Hank's first episode—with a running gag with Maude misprouncing his last name to boot. Nolan's son Tim McIntire appears in several Lassie episodes, including "The Disappearance," and Nolan herself plays Ada Stratton in the Lassie telefilm Lassie: a New Beginning.
   • Trivia: The episode title appears to be an even more apppropriate pun on the series name Leave It to Beaver when you consider how many Beaver cast members appeared on Lassie: Hugh Beaumont, Ken Osmond, Richard Correll, and Stephen Talbot before this episode aired, Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers afterward.

"Lassie and the Shifting Sands" (10/18/64):

While Corey acts as advisor on a beach recreation area project, Lassie befriends a little girl who has no one to play with. Then Gayle loses her grandmother's beloved bracelet, an anniversary gift from her late husband, on the beach. Gayle MacLeod: Katie Sweet. Essie MacLeod: Sylvia Field. Ed Miller: Mark Tapscott.

"Lassie and the Loner" (10/25/64):

Corey offers to help Jim Shelley, who the crew boss of the Chalk Mountain Erosion Control project considers useless and accident-prone, when he sees that the young man loves the wilderness and has potential as a ranger, but Jim refuses the pamphlet Corey gives him—to accept it would reveal his secret: he's illiterate. Jim: David Saber. Ranger: William Bramley.

"Lassie and the Fugitive" part 1 (11/08/64):

A farm dog left at a neighbor's home when his elderly owners move to town is shot while helping defend a flock of sheep from killer dogs. Lassie befriends him, but while tracking him down is set upon by the pack. Barney: Cal Bartlett. Dale Jensen: Douglas Kennedy. Elderly Man: Frank Ferguson. With Rayford Barnes.
   • Note: "Spike" makes another guest appearance as the stray dog.

"Lassie and the Fugitive" part 2 (11/15/64):

Lassie fights off the leader of the dog pack to save her new friend while Corey and Barney search desperately for her, fearing the sheepmen hunting the pack will kill her. She then leads the sheepmen astray in a dangerous game. Barney: Cal Bartlett. Dale Jensen: Douglas Kennedy. With Rayford Barnes.
   • Note: Opening narration by Bonita Granville Wrather.

"Nature's Way" (11/22/64):

A rancher, knowing he will be accused of overgrazing his land, hides his cattle in an area where there's quicksand, endangering his young son's life. Chuck Heinz: Kevin Brodie. Roland Heinz: Steve Brodie.

"Crossroad" (11/29/64):

Corey thinks Jim McKinnon has the smarts to go on to college, but he'd prefer to work so he can marry his girl Jody. Then, angered by an attack on his father, the impulsive young man goes hunting a wounded cougar—in the dark. Jim McKinnon: Doug Lambert. Hannah McKinnon: Sheila Bromley. Ben McKinnon: Karl Swenson.
   • Note: Swenson later played series regular Karl Burkholm. The McKinnons' little terrier looks like the same dog as in "Trouble Below Zero." The shot of the horse in the barn is a cut from one of the Timmy episodes, possibly "Gentle Savage." Noted in the scenes where Corey and Lassie follow Jim into the woods: the collie is played by the same dog used primarily in "Mountain Mystery" (see next).

"Mountain Mystery" (12/06/64):

Corey is sickened while investigating reports of sickness in Echo Valley, and closes the campground right before the opening of tourist season. To help the businessmen of the area, he goes searching for the source of the problem, which he is sure is in the water. George: Walter Reed. Mayor Fred Rankin: Bill Zuckert. Simpson: Charles Seel.
   • Note: The dog playing Lassie for the majority of this episode is not "Baby." It is a collie with a wide blaze like "Spook," but the blaze on the dog's right side goes around its mouth, and like "Spook" the blaze is freckled. At other angles, the dog occasionally looks just like "Spook." It is possible this episode, and the others noted, were filmed when "Baby" was first taken ill ("Baby" was the only Lassie descendant appearing on the series to retire early; he had cancer and died at the age of seven).

"Realm of the Wild" (12/13/64):

When a bear raids food from campers, Corey helps the local game warden relocate the animal to an area away from tourists, not knowing the bear left a cub behind—luckily Lassie has found the little fellow and is leading him to safety. Dick: Walter Stocker. Mr. Johnson: Glen Vernon.
   • Note: The collie with the wide blaze (see "Mountain Mystery") plays Lassie in this episode. The mother bear is a black bear, but the cub is not. It's a small species called a "sun bear," which is not indiginous to the U.S.)

"The Little Christmas Tree" (12/20/64):

When Christmas trees being given away by the Pine Valley Community Church for families who would otherwise not have them are stolen, Lassie finds them, including the special tree picked out by young Billy for a secret project, in a lot run by two wayward brothers. Billy: Teddy Eccles. Mrs. Davis: Joan Tompkins. Frank Daniels: Bob Random. Rusty Daniels: Richard Correll. John: Allan Hunt. Joanne: Noanna Dix. Jimmy: Kerry MacLane.
   • Note: Teddy Eccles, later billed as "Ted," was a popular child actor of the late 1960s and early 1970s. His television credits included the teen-age Franklin Roosevelt in the Emmy-award-winning miniseries Eleanor and Franklin, he did many voiceovers for cartoons, and he starred in the critically acclaimed family movie My Side of the Mountain.

"Lassie Works a Miracle" (12/27/64):

Lassie saves from death an unpredictable stallion who has injured one person and almost hurt another, but in the process inadvertently frees the animal and sends its owner and Corey hunting him in the hills. Undaunted, Lassie sets out on a rescue mission of her own. Jetta: Mimsy Farmer. Bruce Henderson: Byron Morrow. Dekker: Hal Jon Norman. Bill: Lenny Geer.
   • Note: The collie with the wide blaze (see "Mountain Mystery") is in evidence in this episode as well.

"It's an Ill Wind" (01/03/65):

Since a logger's widow won't let her son keep Duchess, a stray cat, and her newborn kittens, he hides them in a woodland cave that Corey and Lassie discover. When a angry storm breaks out, both he and Lassie race to the cave to save them and are trapped by a fallen power line. Gary Porter: Ronnie Dapo. Ann Porter: Frances Rafferty.
   • Note: The collie with the wide blaze (see "Mountain Mystery") plays Lassie in this episode. Scenes from "The Phone Hog" where a storm knocks wires down on a truck and breaks the phone lines are reused here. Ronnie Dapo was also a guest in the Timmy episode "Swimmers."

"Lassie and the Girl in the Canyon" (01/10/65):

Hank's visiting sister, a schoolteacher, takes a bad tumble while exploring Devil's Canyon with Lassie; Hank and Corey must find the quickest way to get her to safety without aggravating a possible back injury. Julia Whitfield: Gloria Talbot. Dr. Walker: John Zaremba.
   • Note: John Zaremba previously played Cully Wilson's doctor. There's that building again, the one that was also a hospital in the Timmy episode "Dognappers."

"Stranger in the Woods" (01/24/65):

Lassie, having inadvertently freed Louie, a mynah bird that the caretaker of the Pine Valley Zoo taught to say her name, searches in the woods for the escaped pet. Casey Howell: Dabbs Greer.
   • Note: Presumably this is the same Pine Valley as in "Little Christmas Tree"? We must have missed the story of Lassie finding a fawn.

"High Water" (01/31/65):

Rancher Tom Wade tells Corey he can't afford to replant his land after a forest fire, despite the risk of erosion and flooding, until his daughter and her collie puppy Tina are trapped in rising water caused by a storm. Linda Banning: Suzanne "Suzie" Somers. Wade Banning: Tom Drake. Flood Control Officer: Peter Hansen.
   • Note: Yes, Suzanne Somers from Three's Company. Tom Drake appeared in the Lassie films Courage of Lassie and Hills of Home. The collie puppy is a birthday present from Corey; there is no sign that it might be an offspring of Lassie's. The collie with the wide blaze ("Mountain Mystery") is in evidence in this episode as well.

"The Loser" (02/07/65):

Corey detours on the way to a new assignment to visit an area near an abandoned mine where he and his dad used to camp. When he and Lassie give chase after Eddie, a cynical escaped convict who was about to steal Corey's car, they are all trapped in the mine after a cave-in. Eddie: Michael Pate.
   • Note: The collie with the wide blaze ("Mountain Mystery") is in evidence in this episode as well.

"The Old Man in the Forest" (02/14/65):

Boone Sawyer, who lives in the midst of a National Forest in harmony with wild animals, is in trouble for frightening hunters away from a deer he raised; having befriended the recluse, Corey tries to help him before he gets arrested. Sheriff Dan Holbrook: Stuart Randall. Sawyer: Lew Brown.
   • Note: The collie with the wide blaze ("Mountain Mystery") plays Lassie in this episode. The character of Boone appears in the following season, this time played by John Anderson.

"Look Homeward, Lassie" part 1 (02/21/65):

Corey and Lassie parachute from a damaged airplane, but collie and man are separated; while Corey is in the hospital recovering from surgery, Lassie picks her way across the desert, looking for a way home. David Kirkland: Douglas Henderson. Doctor: Mark Tapscott.

"Look Homeward, Lassie" part 2 (02/28/65):

Lassie's foray into a ghost town leaves her the captive of a cantankerous prospector. With the help of his burro, she gets away and then attempts to help two runaway boys in a boxcar. Prospector: Chubby Johnson. Scotty: Donald Losby. Steve: Rickey Kelman.
   • Note: The very last scene was originally used in "Lassie's Odyssey."

"Look Homeward, Lassie" part 3 (03/07/65):

Lassie is injured while helping a cattleman avoid a stampede caused by a predatory wolf. Meanwhile, Corey appeals to his superiors to let him search for Lassie. Hank: Clyde Howdy. Morgan: Roy Roberts. With Richard Travis, Nelson Olmstead, and Harry Lauter.
   • Trivia: Corey has a friend named Jim Cannon who has a ham radio operation.
   • Note: You aren't hallucinating—the scene on the train tracks and the fight with the wolf are direct cuts from "Lassie's Odyssey." (The original music for the train encounter was better...) Also, the business with the eagle leading Lassie home is a bit inexplicable if you haven't seen "Incident of the Eagle" earlier in the season. This episode was shown in black and white; however, you can see color scenes from it in the View Master set "Lassie Look Homeward" (with the title reversed for the View Master presentation).

"Day of Devotion" (03/14/65):

A gander waits patiently while Corey and Hank race to save the life of his mate, the victim of metallic poisoning—it's Lassie who must take the goose lifesaving serum when Corey's truck breaks down. Hank: Clyde Howdy. Ray Proctor: Walter Stocker.

"Tinderbox" (03/21/65):

The Austin Kennels becomes a fire camp after a careless motorist's cigarette starts a raging forest fire during a dry spell. When young Doug Austin warns mountain residents of the fire, he is caught in the path of the flames. Doug Austin: Bob Diamond. Kip Austin: Richard Crane. Bill: Robert Patten. With Robert Chadwick and Garrison True.
   • Note: Check out the "careless motorist": jail this guy posthaste. He's the same clueless idiot who started the blaze in "The Fire Watchers" in the Timmy era. The fire-resistant tents that Corey and Doug use show up again in "A Time for Courage." Alas, after working well in two episodes, they can't save Corey from burns in "The Holocaust." First of three Lassie episodes featuring Bobby Diamond, who used to play Joey on Fury. Notice the Assistant Director in this pisode; it's Robert Justman, who went on to "fame and fortune" in Star Trek. Possible inside joke?: The area Doug is warning is called Bonita Canyon—a tip of the hat to producer Bonita Granville Wrather, perhaps?

"Lassie and the Swamp Girl" (03/28/65):

When Corey consults with old Hubert Dawes about access to his swamp property, his lonely granddaughter Mattie falls in love with Lassie and takes a dangerous night journey throught the swamp to lure the collie home with her. Mattie: Suzanne Cupito. Hubert Dawes: George Mitchell. Don Robertson: John Alvin.
   • Note: Does Mattie look familiar? Suzanne Cupito changed her name and is now more familiarly known to audiences as model/actress Morgan Brittany.

"Trouble Below Zero" (04/04/65):

Lassie's troubles are just beginning after she follows a refrigerated delivery truck in which her buddy, a terrier named Binks, has been trapped: she's chased away from the meat market, captured by the dog catcher, and finally must confront the market's guard dog, Duke. Joe Dawson: James Flavin. Danny: Lee Farr. With Bill Henry, Robert B. Williams, and Lloyd Nelson.
   • Note: The German Shepherd who plays Duke looks like the same one who played the dog Timmy gives to Miss Hazlit's uncle in "The Unwanted."

"Runaround" (04/11/65):

An escaped chimpanzee makes a shambles of the ranger station just as Corey and Hank prepare for inspection by a notoriously strict district ranger. Sheriff Jim Simmons: House Peters Jr. Hank: Clyde Howdy. Bill: John McKee. With Ollie O'Toole and Dorothy Lovett.
   • Note: There was just something in the fifties and sixties that made nearly every series feature an episode about a mischievous chimpanzee that wrecks something. Lassie had already unfortunately done many of these ("The Chimp," "Happy," "The Watch Dog," "Casey," "The Man from Mars," etc.) and now chimp mania skipped into another era...

"Long Ears" (04/28/65):

Lassie and Corey pursue Dusty, a runaway mule who has decided he doesn't want to be retired from his pack-mule train job. Jake Palmer: Paul Fix. Jim Morse: James Beck.
   • Note: Fix previously appeared on Lassie in "The Sulky Race."

"Lassie's Teamwork" (05/09/65):

Karen, Ann and Mike all joyously participate in a tree replanting project as therapy, but Corey and teacher Nancy Hoyt worry about her fourth disabled charge, a despondent boy named Jimmy, who cannot see beyond his limitations. Then the trees are burned by lightning-ignited fire. Nancy Hoyt: Bonita Granville Wrather. Jimmy: Robert Fuss. Karen: Robin Fuchs.
   • Note: The collie with the wide blaze ("Mountain Mystery") plays Lassie in this episode. Several reused scenes from older episodes appear, including Lassie racing across hayfields, and Corey sighting the smoke ("The Black Woods" and others). The story was made in cooperation with the Crippled Children Society of L.A. County, California.

"Honor Bright" (05/16/65):

A young French boy follows Corey, Lassie, and a Boy Scout troop going on a two-day campout, but is reluctant to join them because he doesn't know much about camping. Andre Gervais: Peter Soli. With Ricky Kelman.

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