BTW, that was a great show. Lots of positive, good-guy-wins stuff, and decent moral messages.
I watched a Lone Ranger episode some time back, and while it was a bit fanciful, the message to kids was great.
Today's entertainers may view those old shows as naive or simplistic, but they had a much better impact on kids. Lots of positive lessons like self reliance, telling the truth, showing the shame of theft and taking innocent life, etc. From what I see, the lessons of The Rifleman aren't often provided in today's TV offerings.
Regards from AZ