Pilot: Nick (Martin Sheen), a friend of Jim Bronson, commits suicide after asking Bronson to buy back his motorcycle from his soon-to-be widow Sheree North. Bronson had originally owned and customized the bike, then sold it to Nick when he became a reporter. Nick's tragedy makes Bronson think about the meaning of his life and soon decides to quit the "rat race." He then takes to the road on the motorcycle to discover what life would put in his path.

Other actors: Bonnie Bedelia, Akim Tamiroff, Gary Merrill.

Song: "Wayfarin' Stranger" (sung by Michael Parks and Bonnie Bedelia).

Note: Aired as a 2-hour television film. An alternate version, featuring nudity, was released to theaters on April 1, 1970.

Jim Bronson takes a temp job at Hanrahan School, a summer camp for disturbed children run by noted therapist Edward Hanrahan (Jack Klugman) and his daughter Doris who is an old girlfriend of Bronson. He becomes interested in an autistic student John (Mark Lester) known as "the runner" because to his penchant to flee. Edward Hanrahan gives Bronson wide latitude in dealing with John.

Other actors: Penny Marshall

Song: "Softly And Tenderly" (sung by Michael Parks).

When Bronson's motorcycle is inadvertently damaged by a careless gasoline attendant, a grizzled old-timer named Alex (Keenan Wynn) lets Bronson use his ranch to make repairs. Alex shows Bronson his old bike, a 1937 Rudge Ulster, that had been in storage for years. Soon, both are riding again and, since Alex had promised his wife Nora to abandon motorcycles, it leads to complications in his marriage.

Other actors: Meg Wyllie

Song: "Tie Me To Your Apron Strings Again" (Parks).

Bronson is hired by lonely widow Monica (Carol Eve Rossen) to work on her ranch. Her teenage daughter Lori (Charlotte Stewart) soon becomes smitten with Bronson and Monica finds Bronson's demeanor captivating as well. Bronson's dilemma: how to deal with the attention of both women without causing them emotional injury.

Songs: "Sunshine Showers", "Ride 'Em Cowboy" (Parks).

Bronson ends up in a ghost town whose sole resident is Hattie Calder (Elsa Lanchester). She piques Bronson's interest with her vitality and tales of surviving the Titanic disaster. Hattie has an ongoing quarrel with Abner Hotchman who is secretly looking for a silver vein in the area. Her one remaining wish in life: to be buried next to her husband in a nearby plot.

Other actors: Dabney Coleman

Song: "I Think Of You" (Parks).

Bullfighter Miguel (Fernando Lamas) approaches motorcycle riding using the same aggressive methods that he uses to fight bulls. Bronson is reluctant when Miguel tries to imbue Bronson with his same values and suggests that he use similar methods. In the meantime Bella (Lane Bradbury) and Morgana (Jessica Walter), two beautiful sisters, compete for the attention of both men.

Bronson travels to Colorado to find an old friend named Bucky O'Neill (Bruce Dern): a priest with a crisis of conscience. Bucky has fallen in love with Mary Draper (Zohra Lampert) and yet leaving the priesthood torments him. Mary is tortured as well and blames herself for Bucky's problem. She believes she's destined to die giving childbirth. When she refuses medical help Bronson is forced to make a decision.

Other actors: James Doohan

Song: "Wayfarin' Stranger" (Parks).

Clay Turner (Bob Steele) is a bank robber and former local hero who has been imprisoned for years. After being paroled he returns to his hometown and it causes three people anxiety. The reasons: Turner had made revenge threats to Ed Hemmings for turning him in many years ago and Earl Braeden is now married to Turner's former girlfriend Charlene Braeden. Charlene (Gloria Grahame) preens herself for Turner's return as if she were his current paramour. Amongst all this anxiety, Bronson finds Turner's return affects him as well in this modern age Western confrontation.

Other actors: Kenneth MacDonald

Bronson stays at the home of Oliver (Will Geer) a retired pressman who loves to talk. Russ Faber (Gabriel Dell) learns that Bronson plans to enter a local motorcycle race and becomes obsessed with defeating Bronson in the race.

Other actors: Diane Ladd, Iron Eyes Cody

Bronson arrives in a small town and asks Leona (Flora Plumb) out on a date. She has a brother, Darryl (Tim McIntire), whose excessive protection of her causes her dismay. Bronson helps Leona enter a demolition derby that puts Bronson in a predicament with her brother.

Other actors: David Huddleston

Bronson accepts a percentage of an oil well that is possibly ready to blow, in lieu of cash for work done for Royce MacLeod (Steve Ihnat). MacLeod faces foreclosure on the land if he can't beat the target date specified on a promissory note owned by Mac Keller.

Other actors: Zalman King, Percy Rodriguez

Note: This episode, written by D.C. Fontana, was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award.^{[citation needed]}

Bronson befriends a nurse, Barbara Timmons (Lois Nettleton), who mourns the death of a doctor she worked for. Timmons considers quitting her job because of her grief but is uncertain because she worries about her patients care. Bronson admires Timmons' work as a nurturing caregiver, yet finds helping her a challenge.

Bronson helps a reluctant biker in distress, Henry Tate (Robert Hooks), with a loan when his bike breaks down on the road. In order to repay him Tate takes Bronson to his family's home where he has not visited since he left many years ago. Tate's homecoming causes tribulation for all.

Other actors: Bucklind Noah Beery, Slim Gaillard

Song: "Red Wagon" (Parks).

The arrogant William Lovering (Kurt Russell) is regarded as a great pitcher in a local bush league baseball team. When Bronson rides into town and takes a job as a ball player he soon finds he's able to hit the ball off Lovering at will. Bronson tries to prepare Lovering for a try out with major league scout Art Gilroy (Don Drysdale).

Native American Tony Wade (Robert Loggia) has taken his family into bleak country to perform his Vision Quest in order to reclaim his spirit. Bronson, an old friend of Tony, locates him and his family and finds them in dire straits. Even though Tony, his wife Linda (Pilar Seurat) and son, are underfed and malnourished, Tony still demands that Bronson leave. Linda urges Bronson to stay and reveals a secret she has not told Tony.

Song: "Oklahoma Hills" (Parks).

Bronson is charmed by Sybil (Renne Jarrett) who fancies herself a witch and is part of a band of occultists led by cult-leader Hermes (Michael Lipton). Bronson at first is entertained by her beliefs but later recoils at her lifestyle. Ultimately, Sybil has to determine the greater meaning of the supernatural, and in the process, life.

Song: "Sunshine Showers" (Parks).

Bronson becomes part of a singing duo with Billy Mulavey (Michael Burns) in order to compete in a song contest and land a job at a highway honky-tonk. Johnny Dell (Skip Homeier), a greedy local disk jockey, signs songwriter Billy to a restrictive contract, but Billy has running on his mind. Betty (Jana Taylor), the waitress who loves Billy, and Bronson wonder about Billy's veracity when Mickey Rand (Martin Speer) claims ownership of the songs written by Billy.

Songs: "Big T Water", "Summer Days", "Mountain High" (Parks).

When eccentric painter Juan Longorio (Jay Novello) paints a mural of a naked woman on the side of a barn it places him and Bronson in trouble with the owner, Sid Casper, and the city locals. Still, more problematic than defacing private property, the painting causes emotional anguish to Sid (John Dehner), the deputy sheriff Hud McCarver (Richard Webb), and Will Hudson (Sam Edwards), because they all think the painting is a picture perfect representation of their respective wives.

When Bronson arrives in an Amish community his tales of the "outside world" captivate a young man and woman, Harold Mueller (Mark Jenkins) and Dorothy Hofer (Heidi Vaughn), who are betrothed. Soon, Harold becomes jealous of Dorothy's attraction towards Bronson and heads out to see the world he has been missing. In the city, Harold meets the model Jan and, in the meantime, back in the Amish community, Dorothy ponders about love and the future.

Other actors: Rance Howard, Bebe Kelly

Songs: "Wonderin' Where I'm Wanderin'", "I'm Bound For The Mountains And The Sea" (both sung by Kiel Martin).

Bronson travels to see his cousin Eve Bronson in Reno, Nevada. Eve (Lynne Marta) is engaged to Len (Barry Brown) and both decide to marry while Jim Bronson is in town. Jim gives his cousin money to buy a wedding dress but Eve impetuously chooses to gamble with the money at a nearby casino and catches "the fever". Eve's absence delays the wedding plans and Len confides to Bronson about his upcoming marriage and life.

Bronson and Native American Boise Idaho (Eddie Little Sky) both vie for the attention of beautiful Tender Grass (Buffy Sainte-Marie) by entering a cross-country motorcycle race. At first, Bronson is against the idea, but after constant provoking by Boise Idaho and his nefarious accomplices, Spare Parts One (Ivan Naranjo) and Spare Parts Two (Kim Kahana), he decides to prove his courage and impress Tender Grass in the process.

Song: "The Piney Wood Hills" (sung by Buffy Sainte-Marie).

The elder Wilson Ford (James Whitmore) is a renowned novelist with a secret that motivates him to act with abandon. In order to hone his writing skills and to prove his mettle, he constantly puts his courage to trial by performing daring, bold, and often foolish acts. Against his wife's wishes, Ford cajoles Bronson into a mountain hike that pits Ford against a youthful Bronson in a dangerous trek.

Harve Traine (John Colicos), publisher of The Pacific Grove Press, warns his community in a series of editorials about the ecological havoc industrial pollution is causing the local bay and surrounding ocean. Parochial financial concerns who advertise with Harve's newspaper cause Harve emotional hardship and possible financial disaster. His daughter, Petey Traine (Veronica Cartwright) and Jim Bronson both believe in Harve's cause. Does Harve stick to his editorial guns and face monetary ruin, or does he acquiesce to the wishes of his advertisers and in the process lose the respect of his daughter and Bronson?

Songs: "Softly And Tenderly" (Parks), "Still Waters" (sung by John Bahler).

In this environmental narrative, Bronson takes a ride in the Los Padres National Forest and runs into trouble after his motorcycle falls down an embankment. Bronson decides to ride out of the forest by following the contour of the terrain. In the process, the trip imbues Bronson with a deep respect for nature and the environment.

Much like the vagabond Bronson, widower Isadore Katz (David Burns) left his business in New York City and took to the road in a camper to experience new realities and meet new people. Bronson helps Isadore when he runs out of gas but later it is Isadore who helps Bronson after his bike needs repairs. In the process they share the beauty of the terrain and a friendship develops.

Songs: "Every Time", "Tomorrow Calls My Name" (both sung by Gary Jayson).

Bronson helps his uncle Herman (Gerald S. O'Loughlin) and his cousin Carl (Bob Random) repair and restore a fishing boat. Carl is passionate about restoring the boat because it reminds him of his late mother yet Uncle Herman would prefer to sell the boat. When Beth (Beverly Garland), Herman's fiancée, demands that Herman choose between the boat or her, it forces Herman to make a decision.

Songs: "Mary R", "Sail On" (both sung by Gary Jayson).

Gus Samos (Morgan Woodward) hires Bronson to work on his yacht. Samos and his daughter Vhea (Anjanette Comer) are not communicating well because of their conflicting lifestyles and values. When Vhea leaves to see friends in a Buddhist community, Bronson follows her. In the process both father and daughter question his motivations.

Songs: "My Lady's A Wild Flying Dove" (Parks), but never released by him on any single, LP or CD.