Episode Guide: Season 12 1965-1966

The series was telecast in color starting this year.

"Lassie Meets a Challenge" (09/12/65):

When Lassie finds a doe that was struck by a car, she helps the injured animal to cover and then fetches Corey. But the pregnant deer is being stalked by a cougar. Doc Shelton: Hugh Lawrence.

"Sudden Fury" (09/19/65):

While out enjoying the woods, Lassie and Spike (from "Lassie and the Fugitive") are caught in a flash flood. Barney: Cal Bartlett.
   • Note: "Spike" makes another guest appearance, this time playing "himself."

"Lassie and the Dynamite" (09/26/65):

Even the crew is taking it cautiously on a badlands dynamiting project that will create a new lake, but it's Lassie to the rescue when two boys playing hooky wander into the blasting site. Sam: Lane Bradford.

"Lassie and the Seagull" (10/03/65):

When Corey visits Andy Handshaw, an old friend of his father's, Lassie meets a seagull literally "out of water"—his injuries are being cared for at in Andy's desert home. But the pining bird escapes his cage before he can be returned to the sea and is stalked by a persistent hawk, snake, and ocelot. Andy: Paul Newlan.
   • Trivia: Corey's father was also a forest ranger, mentioned previously in "The Wayfarers."

"Charlie Banana" (10/10/65):

A rash of thefts—including Hank's beloved ukelele—at the ranger station have the everyone perplexed, but Lassie knows the culprit is a yet another chimpanzee. Bill Westcott: Burt Douglas. Joe: Victor French. Sheriff: House Peters Jr. Hank: Clyde Howdy. With John McKee.

Hank is writing and singing a song in this episode, a ballad-type piece that everyone, including the usual faithful Lassie, attempts to avoid. Thanks to Chuck Campbell, who sent me this transcription of Hank's song:

"Ballad of Charley Banana"

Lovin' a woman's a gamblin' game,
It brings you nothin' but sorrow and pain.

I'll tell you my story, a sad one but true,
And maybe you'll see it donšt happen to you

We met in October, oh, she was a queen,
The prettiest woman that youšve ever seen.

She'd love me forever, yes that's what she said,
But then in November, she run into Fred.

Now Fred was no bigger, nor better than Hank,
But Fred had more money, more dough in the bank,

And so in December, on a cold gloomy day,
My own true love she got stolen away.

I'm sad and I'm lonely as a man can be,
Because that fickle woman made a monkey of me.

"In the Eyes of Lassie" (10/17/65):

While in snow country testing a new device for measuring snowfall, Corey must rescue the scientist who created it, victim of an altitude spasm—and as a result is snowblinded. To reach help, he must rely on Lassie. Dr. Karl Hanson: Karl Swenson.
   • Note: Swenson had made other guest appearances, went on to a couple more, and then became series regular Karl Burkholm in Season 18.

"Trouble at Paradise Lake" (10/24/65):

Fish are vanishing from Paradise Lake and Corey must decide whether to shut down old Andy's fishing dock when the Government turns down the man's request to restock the lake. Andy McGrew: Chick Chandler. Scott Frasier: Morgan Jones. Hank: Clyde Howdy.

"Little Dog Lost" (10/31/65):

In Ocala, Florida, Corey and Lassie meet Mattie Dawes ("Lassie and the Swamp Girl") once more, on her way to the local town to buy her own puppy. But the inquisitive pup, named "Tug," escapes into the swamp on the way home. Mattie: Suzanne Cupito. Don: John Alvin. Mr. Simpson: Harry Harvey Sr.

"Lassie's Time of Peril" (11/07/65):

Corey orders Lassie to wait ashore while he runs a chain across a soon-to-be overflowing river to stop the progress of logs downstream, but she jumps in to retrieve his dropped oar and is swept downstream, enperiled by both rapids and logs. She makes it to safety in the midst of the rapids, then Corey must rescue her—and still set the chain. Rangers: Buck Young and Roy Engle. Brad: Lloyd Nelson.
   • Note: Brad mentions the White, Modoc, and Twin Forks Rivers, which, if this was an actual location, might pinpoint where it takes place.

"In the Midst of Splendor" (11/14/65):

Ignorant motorcyclists destroy ancient trees in a bristlecone pine forest, then endanger the young woman on horseback searching for them. Johnny: Bobby Diamond. Peter: Bob Random. Terri Young: Brooke Bundy. Doyle: Clive Wayne.
   • Trivia: Terry's horse is named "Coco."
   • Note: Filmed in the Inyo National Forest, also the setting for the Whitman Lassie novel, Lassie and the Mystery of Bristlecone Pine. The second Lassie appearance for Bobby Diamond, who starred in the children's horse series, Fury.

"Lassie Saves a Life" (11/21/65):

Corey and Lassie befriend Tom, a spunky motherless boy camping with his father, who are incommunicado when a report comes in about rabid squirrels in the area—Corey suspects Tom may have been bitten by one. Hank: Clyde Howdy. Father: Garry Walberg. Tommy: Frankie Kalbott. Lookout: Barbara Fuller.
   • Note: Walberg played Corey's writer friend Jed Bingham in "The Disappearance." Jed Bingham returns in "Lassie and the Buffalo," played by a different actor.

"The Waif" (11/28/65):

A collie puppy who has been living wild in a Southwestern ghost town and a veterinarian embittered by the death of his wife are brought together by chance. Doc Reynolds: Russell Thorson. Walt: Med Flory.

"Crisis" (12/05/65):

Up-and-coming ranger Wes Reed requests a transfer since his city-bred wife is deathly afraid of the woods—until the day a bear attack leaves a fellow ranger needing immediate help. Ann Reed: Joan Freeman. Bill Dayton: Mike Road. Wes Reed: Robert Patten. With Richard Damler.
   • Note: If viewers find Mike Road's voice familiar, they may be animation fans: Road was the voice of "Race Bannon" on Hanna-Barbera's classic Jonny Quest adventure series.

"Pitfall" (12/12/65):

In Los Angeles, a lonely pigeon knows he's found a friend in Lassie—but she may inadvertantly lead him into danger. Jim: Whit Bissell. Caretaker: Charles Seel.
   • Note: We see parts of the Los Angeles County Museum and one of the La Brea Tar Pits in this episode, which also contains an incongruity: the pigeon's companion flies into the tar pit escaping a maurauding cat, but after Lassie rescues it, it's perfectly clean! Anyone who's seen sea birds caught in oil slicks knows how deadly that coating of oil is.

"Temper the Wind" (12/19/65):

Thunderstorms start a forest fire and endanger the lives of Carlos Renzzi, a Hispanic shepherd who has lived under Moccasin Ridge all his life, and his flock of sheep. Carlos: Ernest Sarracino. Pilot: Ron Hagerthy.
   • Note: Hagerthy previously appeared in the Jeff episode "A Place for Everything."

"The Gift of Life" (12/26/65):

After Will Harper is injured when his car slides off a snowy road, Lassie finds his pregnant collie Lady wandering in the woods, about to go into labor, and helps her take refuge in the woods. Will: David Macklin. Sam Kendall: Henry Norell. ("Bob," the other ranger, is uncredited.)
   • Note: This is a black and white episode with credits from the previous season. No idea why.

"Lassie Catches the Poachers" (01/02/66):

While Corey checks out a new erosion prevention device called a "gabian," Lassie discovers that a father and son are pulling in a lot of fish by using dynamite to stun them. Hank: Clyde Howdy. Walt Ellsworth: Morgan Shaan. Frank: Jim Henaghan. Dad: Douglas Kennedy.

"The Town That Wouldn't Die" (01/16/66):

When science alone won't restore life to the town of Pine Lake after its source waters are diverted, Corey tracks small animals to find the source of their water. Tom: Walter Sande. With Phil Chambers and John Cliff.

"Just One Old Cow" (01/23/66):

Rancher Jackson Hays says that Ben Adams' pet cow Clementine is his property, despite Clementine's efforts to return to the elderly man. Adams: Andy Clyde. Hays: Richard Crane. With Richard Tretter.
   • Note: This was the last Lassie show Clyde ever appeared in.

"The Outcast" (01/30/66):

While feeding her forest friends, Lassie comes upon a man trapping animals in box traps; she springs one, frees a skunk from another—and the grateful animal becomes Lassie's shadow.
   • Note: There are two very cute jokes in this episode: in one, a tortoise comes out of the woods to feed on Lassie's goodies; a rabbit suddenly decides he has to "race" the animal. In the second, a scene akin to one in Disney's Lady and the Tramp, Lassie recruits a beaver to get the skunk out of his predicament—only to have the industrious animal "turn tail" at the sight of the striped critter.

"Cradle of the Deep" (02/06/66):

While she and Corey visit the latter's old college buddy Jim in his mobile home on the California coast, Lassie befriends two sea lions. When she is trapped in a sea cave, the sea lions try to help her. Jim: Hugh Beaumont.
   • Note: Beaumont was a guest star in the second Lassie episode ever filmed, "The Well."

"The Homesick Hound" (02/13/66):

Hank's Aunt Sam moves to the area with her bloodhound Rufus, but the homesick dog refuses to settle down at any of the houses that Hank and his aunt find. Hank: Clyde Howdy. Samantha Whitfield: Meg Wyllie.

"The Silent Threat" (02/20/66):

A rancher, thinking the chemicals will harm his horses, reluctantly allows his land to be sprayed for budworms. Then one of the horses dies. Jim Borrego: Richard Devon. Carl: Patrick Waltz. Ranger: Dick Winslow. With Jim Drum.

"The Friendless" (02/27/66):

Young Michael Williams, a runaway from an honor camp who loves animals but who does not want to be trapped behind walls, befriends Lassie when she helps him round up a runaway colt. Mike: Richard Eyer. Tom: House Peters Jr.
   • Note: Check out "the Johnson home" that Mike burgles early in the episode; it's a redress of the set for Cully Wilson's house, both inside and out.

"Avalanche" (03/06/66):

A new type of balloon signal device helps Corey, who's trapped in an overturned truck—but it's Lassie who goes to the rescue. With Lawrence Montaigne and Chris Hubbard.

"Babes in the Woods" (03/13/66):

A coyote separates a female raccoon and her kits.

"Lassie's Rescue Mission" (03/20/66):

Lassie finds a home for a family of rabbits displaced by a range-clearing project, but must rescue one of the baby bunnies when it goes exploring and is hunted by both a hawk and a cougar. Whit: Mark Tapscott.

"The Doll" (03/27/66):

Corey and Lassie manage to find seven-year-old Kathy Vaughn, lost at the Pine View campgrounds, but the child hovers in shock at the hospital, calling for her lost doll. Kathy: Kym Karath. Mr. Vaughn: Tyler MacDuff. Steve: Mark Tapscott.
   • Note: Karath played the youngest of the the Von Trapp family children, Gretl, in the film The Sound of Music.

"The Untamed Land" (04/03/66):

Hermit Boone Sawyer is against power lines cutting through the woods as it would destroy a beautiful wilderness area; when the man directing the job breaks down in the forest, Boone and Lassie show him what he would be destroying. Boone: John Anderson. J.H. Alpert: Dick Clark. With Victor French.

"The Day the Mountain Shook" (04/17/66):

While leading a hike at a camp for boys with hearing impairments, Corey and Lassie help a youngster named Joey, whom Corey finds out is psychologically rather than physically deaf, nurse an injured squirrel. But an earthquake strikes on the day Joey decides to return the animal to the woods. Jim Owens: Skip Homeier.
   • Note: The boys cast in this episode were from the Mary E. Bennett School for the Deaf.

"The Vigil" (04/24/66):

Lassie tries to lead a scruffy little terrier from a rockslide area, but the faithful animal refuses to move until Lassie finds his lost master, a young man who's slipped over a cliff and injured his foot. Karl: Michael Burns. And "Sandy."
   • Note: This is another black and white episodes with the previous year's credits. Burns previously played Timmy's blind friend in the eighth season episode, "Joey."

"The Strongest Instinct" (05/01/66):

Young Bill Pederson, now in charge of the family's lumber business, undertakes to do the dangerous job of topping an oversized pine tree but is at first stopped by his overprotective mother. Then when he does undertake the task, it looks as if her worst fears will come true. Bill Pederson: Tim McIntire. Maggie Pederson: Ann Doran. Josh: Robert Williams.

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