Sam Band and his gang of ne'er-do-wells arrive in a small, quiet town in Oklahoma. They stop at the general store, which is run by the town sheriff, John Greenwood and his deputy son, Thad. When the gang demands liquor, they are informed the only thing available is soda pop. This fact does not sit well with the gang, and they throw their weight around by bullying the Greenwoods.
When Thad attempts to confront Sam, he pulls his pistol fires shots into the windows of the store and threatens to shoot the young man. John steps in, successfully calms the situation, and the gang rides out of town.
Thad stews over the incident for a short time. He asks his father to write out a warrant for the arrest of the Band gang. John reluctantly agrees. As he completes filling out the paperwork, he collapses and dies from an apparent heart attack.
Clayton Thaddeus Greenwood sets out in pursuit of the gang, and the trail leads him to Dodge City. Thad finally catches up to the gang in the Long Branch Saloon, but they laugh off his attempt to arrest them. Matt Dillon informs Thad his Oklahoma warrant is not binding in Kansas, and he has no legal authority to act as a deputy in Kansas. Furthermore, even if he could arrest the men, they cannot be held responsible for John Greenwood's death. Thad decides to stay in Dodge in the hopes he might catch Band and his men in some illegal act. He begins stalking the different gang members.
Matt and Festus Haggen are trying to deal with wolves attacking and killing cattle in the Dodge area. Of course, wolves killing cattle near a cattle town is a significant problem. Closer scrutiny reveals characteristics of the killings that are not consistent with a pack of wolves. Their ongoing investigation will eventually lead to a convergence of the plot lines.
The obvious notable aspect of this episode is the introduction of Thad Greenwood as a regular character on the show. Roger Ewing portrays Thad. His tenure on the show would only last two seasons.
In earlier seasons of Gunsmoke when the episodes were 30 minutes long, the core characters of Matt Dillon, Kitty Russell, Doc Adams, and Chester Goode were sufficient. When the show expanded to an hour, it is clear the producers began exploring additional regular characters. Burt Reynolds was added as Quint Asper. Other characters such as Carl Reindel's character named Cale in Seasons 7 and 8, Ben Cooper's character Breck Taylor in Season 10, and Elizabeth MacRae's character April Clomely (Festus Haggen's girlfriend) were all characters that appeared in more than one earlier episode that may have been considered for a longer stay on the show.
Ken Curtis essentially replaced Dennis Weaver in the cast, but it seems the producers had problems finding that one additional character to add after Burt Reynolds left. Ewing filled that additional cast member need for two seasons.
Ewing himself has speculated that his character was possibly added as a potential replacement for James Arness. As crazy as that sounds now, apparently CBS and Arness were at odds at the time over ownership of the show. There was talk that Arness might leave the show if an agreement could not be reached. Fortunately, those issues were resolved.
In my opinion, the Gunsmoke writers and producers never seemed to quite know what to do with the Thad Greenwood character. There were only a few episodes following this one where Thad was included as a main character, and those episodes were often not some of the better stories in the series. For example, Thad is featured prominently in the Season 11 episode "Gold Mine," but he is given virtually nothing to do. In Season 12's "Quaker Girl," Thad is the primary character, but Ewing's performance is lacking.
When the show was canceled and then revived after Season 12, Ewing's character was dropped from the show. Buck Taylor would join the cast as Newly O'Brien in Season 13. Ewing would continue acting for a few years before retiring from acting completely.
The remainder of the cast for this episode is excellent. Jack Elam plays Sam Band, and other actors familiar to any regular Gunsmoke viewer comprise his gang: Allen Jaffe, who had appeared in the first episode of Season 11 as a member of Mace Gore's gang; Sherwood Price; and Robert Sorrells. Paul Fix, the recognizable face of Marshal Micah Torrance on The Rifleman, makes a brief appearance here as Thad's father, John Greenwood.
When Thad attempts to confront Sam, he pulls his pistol fires shots into the windows of the store and threatens to shoot the young man. John steps in, successfully calms the situation, and the gang rides out of town.
Thad stews over the incident for a short time. He asks his father to write out a warrant for the arrest of the Band gang. John reluctantly agrees. As he completes filling out the paperwork, he collapses and dies from an apparent heart attack.
Clayton Thaddeus Greenwood sets out in pursuit of the gang, and the trail leads him to Dodge City. Thad finally catches up to the gang in the Long Branch Saloon, but they laugh off his attempt to arrest them. Matt Dillon informs Thad his Oklahoma warrant is not binding in Kansas, and he has no legal authority to act as a deputy in Kansas. Furthermore, even if he could arrest the men, they cannot be held responsible for John Greenwood's death. Thad decides to stay in Dodge in the hopes he might catch Band and his men in some illegal act. He begins stalking the different gang members.
Matt and Festus Haggen are trying to deal with wolves attacking and killing cattle in the Dodge area. Of course, wolves killing cattle near a cattle town is a significant problem. Closer scrutiny reveals characteristics of the killings that are not consistent with a pack of wolves. Their ongoing investigation will eventually lead to a convergence of the plot lines.
The obvious notable aspect of this episode is the introduction of Thad Greenwood as a regular character on the show. Roger Ewing portrays Thad. His tenure on the show would only last two seasons.
In earlier seasons of Gunsmoke when the episodes were 30 minutes long, the core characters of Matt Dillon, Kitty Russell, Doc Adams, and Chester Goode were sufficient. When the show expanded to an hour, it is clear the producers began exploring additional regular characters. Burt Reynolds was added as Quint Asper. Other characters such as Carl Reindel's character named Cale in Seasons 7 and 8, Ben Cooper's character Breck Taylor in Season 10, and Elizabeth MacRae's character April Clomely (Festus Haggen's girlfriend) were all characters that appeared in more than one earlier episode that may have been considered for a longer stay on the show.
Ken Curtis essentially replaced Dennis Weaver in the cast, but it seems the producers had problems finding that one additional character to add after Burt Reynolds left. Ewing filled that additional cast member need for two seasons.
Ewing himself has speculated that his character was possibly added as a potential replacement for James Arness. As crazy as that sounds now, apparently CBS and Arness were at odds at the time over ownership of the show. There was talk that Arness might leave the show if an agreement could not be reached. Fortunately, those issues were resolved.
In my opinion, the Gunsmoke writers and producers never seemed to quite know what to do with the Thad Greenwood character. There were only a few episodes following this one where Thad was included as a main character, and those episodes were often not some of the better stories in the series. For example, Thad is featured prominently in the Season 11 episode "Gold Mine," but he is given virtually nothing to do. In Season 12's "Quaker Girl," Thad is the primary character, but Ewing's performance is lacking.
When the show was canceled and then revived after Season 12, Ewing's character was dropped from the show. Buck Taylor would join the cast as Newly O'Brien in Season 13. Ewing would continue acting for a few years before retiring from acting completely.
The remainder of the cast for this episode is excellent. Jack Elam plays Sam Band, and other actors familiar to any regular Gunsmoke viewer comprise his gang: Allen Jaffe, who had appeared in the first episode of Season 11 as a member of Mace Gore's gang; Sherwood Price; and Robert Sorrells. Paul Fix, the recognizable face of Marshal Micah Torrance on The Rifleman, makes a brief appearance here as Thad's father, John Greenwood.
