From a story by Joseph Vogel, Stirling Silliphant was written a comical fable set in New Mexico that is rather Pollyannaish but loaded with heart, and identifies the core of the series concept of "Route 66".
The story unfolds in quixotic fashion (attention: Terry Gilliam, the modern teller of such tales) as M & M are comically shanghaied by Thomas Gomez, the head of a tiny town named Cordova, 32 miles away from the nearest sign of modern civilization. The poor folk there can't afford the upkeep on their local elementary school or pay for teachers, so the county has ordered bussing the kids to a Las Cruces school three hours drive away. Gomez, with the support of all the parents, refuses to let the kids go, and has enlisted M & M to be their teachers.
How our heroes, now reluctant prisoners, come around to side with Gomez and the kids makes for a wonderful episode, with Milner even getting high marks for his impassioned "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" speech to the State Senate in Santa Fe that saves the day, reunites Gomez with his daughter returning home to teach the kids herself (a fine performance by the talented actress Dianne Foster), and allows our duo to hop in the Corvette and ride on to their next adventure.
This is offbeat but highly effective entertainment, teaching some basic truths. What struck me most significantly is how it crystallizes the basics of what made "Route 66" tick. Unlike Gene Roddenberry's highly influential (and oh so popular over time) concept for "Star Trek", where the Prime Directive instructed Capt. Kirk & comrades not to interfere with the local civilizations they encountered in their voyages, here we have Milner and Maharis boldly interfering with local societies week after week, and by their intervention saving the day for local cultures. Two polar opposite approaches to a progressive philosophy and worldview, both worth taking to heart some 60 years later when America and the world seem to have rejected liberal tradition and moved alarmingly toward repressive right-wing extremism for which our Beat Generation heroes' free spirit (yet community supportive) values make them currently an endangered species.