Herewith, an Englishman's account of life and death in the West. As a reporter for the London Times, he writes his colorful and unusual accounts. But as a man with a gun, he lives and becomes a part of the violent years in the new territories
This highly acclaimed Western came in 1958 and ran from February to November of that year. The role of J.B. Kendall was portrayed by John Dehner (also of Have Gun, Will Travel). In his travels, Kendall would meet all sorts of strange folks, both fictional and real. He would also sometimes participate (or nearly participate) in certain historical events, like Hickok's last card game or passing up going to Little Big Horn.
All thirty-nine episodes are now summarized.
A Horse for Kendall
While attempting to purchase a mount in Deadwood, Kendall gets caught up in the feud between two horse sellers and ends up having his new steed entered in a race to Cheyenne.
Aces and Eights
On a tip from a general store owner in Fort Pierre, Kendall heads to Deadwood to meet Wild Bill Hickok, with whom he plays a fateful card game.
Review: A well-performed retelling of the story of Hickok's death.- Webmaster
The Actress
While in Virginia City, Kendall interviews an actress supposedly from Britain in spite of the efforts of her curiously standoffish manager.
Advice to the Lovelorn
Kendall meets a young man returning to Cheyenne after three years Back East so that he can marry his sweetheart. He's in for a disappointment when he learns that she's already married to a gambling hall owner.
Belljoy's Prisoner
Kendall is convicted in a rather dubious manner for stealing a payroll in another town. When the sheriff receive a telegram saying that the real culprit was caught, his wife insists he not tell Kendall so that their daughter can learn manners from an Englishman.
Belle Siddon Strikes Back
Picking up where Belle Siddon’s Encore left off, Kendall goes along with the town marshal and his men who are going to spring a surprise on some outlaws associated with Siddon who are planning to ambush a gold shipment.
Belle Siddon's Encore
In Deadwood, Kendall once again meets former Confederate spy Belle Siddon (who first appeared in Gambling Lady), who gets mixed with some road agents desiring word of gold shipments that might be mentioned by loose-tongued gamblers.
Big Sam for Governor
Kendall arrives in Helena and meets the thuggish town boss, who demands that he write a complimentary story about him in hopes that it'll help make him territorial governor.
The Cannibal
While Kendall is stuck at a stagecoach way station during a storm, he learns of the unpleasant past of a neurotic fellow passenger.
Review: Boy, what a letdown! I'm not sure what I was expecting, but with that title and Kendall's opening line, it was certainly more than I actually got.- Webmaster
The Cat Man
Kendall gets caught up in the shenanigans of an eccentric Irishman who makes a living by stealing cats from one town and selling them in another.
Charlie Meeker
Kendall wishes to get an interview with Sitting Bull, so, with the help of a local reporter, he finds a guide willing to take him to the Sioux chieftain, but only on the condition that they go unarmed.
The Claim Jumpers
In Montana, Kendall shares camp with a runaway from Kentucky seeking his fortune and some veteran prospectors full of tall tales. The runaway takes the stories to heart and, while poking around, discovers a sizable vein of gold. There is then a discussion on how the take is to be split which could turn nasty.
The Cowboy
Kendall and a cowboy he's riding with come across a man near death who tells them that he was attacked by Indians who then took his wife.
Daddy Buckbucks
Kendall meets the richest man in the West and they ride together on his personal rail line where they end up being bushwhacked.
The Education of Kid Yancey
While Kendall is in Cheyenne, some Texas cowpunchers come to town. With them is the teenage son of the herd owner who has been told by his mother not to engage in the traditional cowboy activities of blowing his pay on booze, sex, and gambling.
Gambling Lady
When Kendall returns to Cheyenne, he finds that a new gambling hall has set up and is getting most of the town's business. Naturally, the other gambling hall owners aren't keen about such fierce competition from a newcomer.
Gentle Virtue
While Kendall is playing in a high stakes poker game, he wins a hand where one of the players has bet his Chinese slave girl.
The Gold Digger
Kendall is out in the Black Hills with two prospectors when they come across a big strike of gold. The claim office at Deadwood is closed when they arrive and Kendall is concerned that the elderly prospector he accompanied will blab about it before he can file the claim.
Holiday
Kendall arrives at a small Missouri town where he’s gotten word that a notorious border ruffian who had fought Jayhawkers in Kansas in the ‘50s and hasn’t been seen since is there dying from an unknown ailment. Final episode (apart from repeats of Aces and Eights and Random Notes.
The Honkytonkers
During a scuffle in a saloon, one of the participants accidentally shoots himself. With no surgeon in town, Kendall is the only one willing to attempt to remove the bullet.
Indian Lover
Kendall becomes interested in the case of a Sioux who is sentenced to hang for having killed a prominent chieftain.
Justice of the Peace
Kendall arrives in a mining town where a woman has been appointed Justice of the Peace. Her first case, in which an Indian is accused of murder, doesn't go well due to the lack of respect she gets from the miners.
Kendall's Last Stand
Having missed a chance to go with Custer to Little Big Horn, Kendall joins up with an expedition to protect some settlers from a band of Cheyenne. But like Little Big Horn, this jaunt winds up going disastrously wrong as well.
The Last of Belle Siddon
When it looks as if her outlaw boyfriend is about to be captured, former Confederate spy Belle Siddon works out a plan to help him escape so they can meet again in San Francisco.
The Librarian
Kendall comes across a widow whose land claim has been jumped by a shell-shocked Confederate veteran who has had trouble starting a new life Out West due to his past associations.
The Lost Mine
While in Montana mining country, Kendall is convinced by a Grizzled Old ProspectorTM to help him locate a rich gold mine he claims to have stumbled across years ago and has been searching for since.
Mighty Mouse
The investigation of the robbery of a stagecoach Kendall was on is performed by the new sheriff of Laramie and he doesn't take kindly to having his judgment questioned.
Mighty Tired
A continuation of Mighty Mouse, Kendall and one of the passengers from the stagecoach are on the train to Cheyenne when they spot two of the gang that robbed them and learn that they plan to hold up the train.
Nasty People
When his horse goes lame on A Dark and Stormy NightTM, Kendall is forced to spend the night at a trading post run by a moderately sinister family.
Review: If you happen to like creepiness, this episode has it in spades.- Webmaster
Nebraska Jack
While waiting for stagecoach repairs, Kendall gets a chance to meet old-timer Nebraska Jack as well as his five Indian wives and seventeen children.
Powder River Kid
Kendall hitches a ride with a Grizzled Old ProspectorTM. En route, they encounter an outlaw with a $2000 reward on his head who got shot in the arm by a U.S. Marshall and now has a bad case of gangrene.
The Preacher
In Deadwood, Kendall meets a former preacher who is being followed by a man intent on killing him and takes it upon himself to help the unfortunate out.
The Rainmaker
Kendall joins up with a self-proclaimed rainmaker in Kansas, with unforeseeable results.
Random Notes
Kendall recounts some minor incidents, among which are a duel between two women, an odd performance of Othello, a Chinese who gave comeuppance to his doublecrossers, and an interview with a condemned outlaw.
See also Preston Turns the Tables (Sergeant Preston of the Yukon).
School Days
Kendall comes across two mining towns who both desire the presence of a newly arrived schoolmarm whose attractiveness is only matched by her naiveté.
The Shelton Brothers
Kendall arrives in a Montana town where the citizens are unarmed and one of the deputies takes an instant dislike to him. Audition episode.
The Trial
Kendall takes it upon himself to defend in court a paranoid ex-scout accused of murder who is convinced that the legal types in town are dead set against him.
The Well
Kendall comes across some homesteaders who are in danger of being run off by cattlemen. But they have more immediate concerns when their mute three year old daughter turns up missing.
Wonder Boy
Kendall meets a tailor’s son who has the desire and talent to be The Fastest Gun in the WestTM despite his parents' disapproval.