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Gunsmoke: Caleb (1964)
Mid-life Crisis on the frontier
This is one of my favorite Gunsmoke episodes. You really feel for Caleb. He couldn't make it as a farmer, and was unsuccessful as a husband and as a father.The only potatoes he could harvest were too small to earn them much money. His wife actually called him a failure. He loved children, but his wife did not want any. She made it clear that she was glad they never had any. His best friend in the whole world was a big dog. Caleb left his wife and farm for Dodge City to see if a change of scenario might give his life more meaning.He desperately wanted his life to count for something. He was fascinated with the activities of the city. He wanted to somehow be like Marshall Dillon. Some of the people of Dodge received something vicariously when Caleb verbally challenged a rude outlaw, but later felt betrayed when he apologized to the man. They called him a "fraud," reinforcing Caleb's own self-doubts. If it was today Caleb might have sought re-training in a helping profession. In the old west your options were limited.