Reviews

This one started slow and predictable but ended up anything but. Heckard, Ross, and Armstrong were outstanding and Forrest, especially, was great as he under played his villain role. Multiple great lines at the end from Matt and Festus, the bad guy got his, and the evil niece really got hers (although you know she will wiggle out in the end). This was a script that matched the all star cast. Another bonus is that Matt did not have to kill anyone although he threatened to.

The producers said Gunsmoke would be a dark western and it very often is, but this is one of the rare episodes with a happy and very satisfying, unpredictable ending.

One of my favorite features of IMDB is the trivia and I had no idea this was the middle episode of 635. After all this is early in season nine, but they produced 39 shows a year in the first six seasons and fewer in the one hour years. As a Gunsmoke fan this is fascinating stuff. Given the show's huge success it still boggles the mind that it never filmed a finale particularly after the spectacular success of The Fugitive's last two shows.

This episode was fun due to Lynn Loring and Goober, the latter playing against his famous Andy Griffith Show persona. Loring, as a hillbilly, was eye candy, indeed.

Gary and Younghorse are right.... Ab Fisher is unbelievably stupid and his character really flaws the entire story line. Maybe they should have let Katharine Hite polish this script. I just found myself thinking this is hard to believe, can they fix the logic somehow. No, they could not.

That said, it's an interesting episode just to see Ken Curtis as a clean shaven ladies man, a bit of a stretch but quite entertaining compared to him in "Us Haggens" earlier and Festus later. However, I always preferred Dennis Weaver's Chester to Festus if for no other reason than Festus looked like a runt next to Matt. Chester stood 6'3" and matched up about as much as one could with freakishly tall Marshall Dillon.

The plot seemed pedestrian through much of the show, and Chester's early incompetence was a bit much, but the performances were overall superior and the twist ending was worthy of a Hitchcock film. It made me laugh out loud. It was notable for Henry Beckman as Uncle Sunday, Burt Reynolds as Quint, and Jim Arness skillfully under playing Matt. Sometimes the writers come up with small gems and this was one, hard to do with 30 shows a year. Of course, you need good supporting actors and the regulars such as Quint and Mr. Jonas did their parts along with Beckman and Bulifant. This is why Gunsmoke was such a high rated show for so many years.

I began watching Gunsmoke reruns about 6 years ago but somehow missed this one. It's a landmark since it introduces a key new character and, not obviously, indicates Dennis Weaver is on his way out by his absence. Plus, this episode is very entertaining, well written, and directed.

A lot happens plotwise with the Quint character introduced and explained, and eased into living in Dodge. Burt Reynolds, often shirtless, is clearly catnip to the female audience--including my wife. He does a great acting job and is clearly pretty athletic. If memory serves, Burt remains on the show for seasons 8, 9, and 10 during which period Festus arrives and Chester gradually leaves, all landmarks in the history of the show. Watch for the episode where Quint, Festus, and Chester all appear, I think in season 10. That only happens once or twice. As noted under trivia Quint/Burt appears in 50 episodes over three seasons. He's not on every show but is on frequently and is a good character, representative of the very real need to include minorities, especially native Americans.

The producers said Gunsmoke would be dark and focus on the real, often unhappy, endings many westerners experienced. This episode is right up there with Joe Maross an excellent villain. Paul Birch also gives a good performance, one of my fave "B" level actors. You knew the bad guy would get his comeuppance and he does. Personally, I really like it when they bring in the wind and smoke machines, which add a really eerie feel to any episode and particularly so in this one out on the prairie. It was also nice to see Bill Boyett at the end, a guy who labored for years on Highway Patrol a couple of years earlier.

Schappe1 has written one of the best reviews I've seen looking at the series as a whole. I personally give the half hours the edge because they were often so dark but got to the action quickly. That said, I think the writers transitioned to an hour fairly well, and I enjoyed the addition of Burt Reynolds in, I think, season 8. The term half breed may bother some but the idea of making a mixed race individual a hero of sorts was farsighted. Some of the early hour shows are a bit bloated but it's tough to write an hour show for 30 weeks for years. One other point, I love the black and white end credit design with boot hill in the foreground. It's a connection to Matt's opening in the early years.

This is a pretty good episode with nice acting by regulars and guest stars. That said, it's one of several shows over the 20 years Gunsmoke was on that demonstrated what a sniveling bunch of snots a goodly percentage of Dodge were. No matter what Matt did for the town against all manner of bad guys it never took much to get them to turn on the Marshall for any perceived infraction no matter how shady the accuser. You wonder why Matt didn't tell them to pound sand and light out for St. Louis or San Francisco to make big city money. Well, considering they had to write 640 or so scripts it's understandable that occasionally they had to stretch credulity.

For my money this is one of the top 5 episodes, ever, of Gunsmoke. It's a tried and true story line--real bad guys picking on good guys and then getting their just desserts. That said, the acting and direction is superior and the ending made me shout at the screen. It had Matt giving his classic back hand to the bad guys who did not learn their lesson...until the end. Matt's talk at the end was great but Doc's final line was a classic.

When I first saw this about four years ago I was stunned, but even more so that it originally ran in 1956 when censoring violence on TV was coming in vogue. Both Sam Peckinpaugh and John Meston deserve a lot of credit for this small classic TV episode.

Just a glimpse of Dan Blocker makes this a treat. He will star in Bonanza three years later in 1959. However, I note this last episode from season one, number 39, aired on Aug 25, 1956. The first episode aired in early Sep of 1955. How did nine months of episodes stretch to almost an entire year? Did they take a break in November and December?

In the 1950s and 1960s half hour shows usually aired 39 episodes, a full nine months worth. Hour long shows more typically did thirty episodes a season which would fill up about seven months. By the 70s and 80s a full season of half hour shows was 24 shows. I guess deflation is the best description for television output.

The cast and crew didn't think they were near the end, thus this odd Basque people's episode. Matt and Doc had only a handful of lines and the story was goofy but after 600+ shows a few stinkers were inevitable. The family fights are poorly staged and the dialogue is a bit stilted; I'm guessing the writers were tired. I don't remember if Festus was even in this one, but he will be in the last episode (The Sharecroppers) originally aired back in 1975. I started watching Gunsmoke reruns about 5 years ago and I'm excited it's about to "rollover" on Sat on MeTV. Bring back the good old days with Matt philosophizing on Boot Hill, Chester limping, and Miss Kitty looking really hot! Doc looks younger and we'll get to see two shows a day for over four months.

Not a bad episode with Klugman and Brooks hamming it up a bit. Jack was unbelievably hostile to the doc who was helping him out the entire episode. The doc was tempted by a sexy Geraldine Brooks who skillfully evolved over the hour into a cheap harpy playing on the Klugman's character's conscience. The small town trucking company operations seemed pretty authentic. I did like the ending where the doc spanked the bratty kid...but he did not punch the kid as another reviewer claimed. I feel the second season was always the best considering the stories were more inventive and good actors were more likely to work on a well established dramatic show..

I'd only disagree slightly--I don't think this series ever slipped much and I'm glad it went 11 rounds because there was so much to enjoy every season. You do get to feel like you know these people, the mark of any really well written fiction. I especially liked some of the devices they used so well over the years:

• The witty "title screens" to introduce segments

• Martin's ratty old chair (touchingly hauled away in the last episode)

• Eddie, used to such great effect

• The never seen but hilarious Maris

• The mini sketches viewed during the final credits

• The guest callers whose identities were revealed in the final credits

And agent Bebe--Satan in female form and consistently a scene stealer. Time will tell, but for my money this may be the best sitcom ever. One question--has there ever been a series where the five top stars lasted eleven years?