My older brother used to watch this show. To this day, even the mere mention of the word "Gunsmoke" instantly brings back so many great memories… the smell of Momma cooking up some pork chops and beans (or some other vittles) in the kitchen, fetching some can goods from the pantry, and falling asleep on the davenport or floor in the old parlor right after the opening scene. Ah yes, what precious memories! There's so many great things about this long enduring series that I'm not sure where to begin. But I'll try...1. It kept B grade Western actors James Arness and Milburn Stone employed for two decades as they couldn't land a movie role.2. It allowed Dennis Weaver to quit his job delivering flowers.3. It gave Burt Reynolds something to do for three years.4. It showed how bartenders don't last that long and need to be replaced every few years.5. It helped pay Jack Albertson's bills because Freddie Prinze wasn't famous yet, hence no need for "The Man".6. It launched Mariette Hartley's illustrious career selling Polaroid cameras.7. It solidified every stereotype of the old West… the town drunk, the sneering ever cool Marshal, the ever important mildly deranged limping sidekick, the slightly arrogant banker, and lest we forget, the never ending stream of bad guys who always tend to be extremely ornery critters. Oh yeah, and Western "Hos". Which brings us to number 8.8. It introduced it's underage viewers to the "Bordello" aka: the whorehouse.9. It is still more effective than Ambien for curing insomnia and without any of the nasty side effects.10. All those dry dusty scenes and stale dialog made me thirsty and as a result I drank more water and stayed better hydrated.11. Thankfully, it never showed what Miss Kitty did "behind the scenes" or "under the table" if you know what I mean.12. It kept Amanda Blake employed for nearly two decades allowing her to pave the way (or should I say clear the trail path) for future actresses with unsightly moles.13. It also helped launch Peter, Jan and Cindy into Brady Bunch fame due to their highly superior Oscar level acting abilities giving the world such Shakespearean catch phrases as; "Pork chops and apple sauce", "Marcia, Marcia Marcia!" and that masterpiece of American entertainment, "Baby talk, baby talk, it's a wonder you can walk."14. The title of the show is a typo, gun smoke is two words, not one. And finally...15. It is a massive testament that there really wasn't a whole lot of other TV shows worth watching during its tenure. More than a testament, it's like a brick in the colon that will never pass. After all it was used to fill the void of that mind boggling masterwork, Gilligan's Island, after it was canceled.For those reasons, for the many warm memories, this series is unmatched, except for it the series that preceded it, "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" and maybe the imitation Gunsmoke known as "Bonanza" which comes very close to it's legendary greatness.

"Gunsmoke" was an amazing show because the cast was like one big happy family.Marshall Dillon epitomized what decency meant to us. A fair and compassionate man, Dillon knew what he was up against when the dregs of society rode into town.We had Festus, with his memorable limp and Amanda Blake's Miss Kitty, a dance hall queen, with a heart of gold. Too bad that she was never able to get her man, Matt Dillon, lord knows how much she loved him and he loved her. Where were the script writers to produce the inevitable wedding between the two?Milburn Stone made his mark playing Doc. He fixed up many a bullet-ridden victim but also had a pure heart.This was basically a story of very decent human beings who were caught up in the founding of the west.

This was the best TV show ever, in any and all genres, and it should never have to bow its head to any other show. I have a list of my favorite TV shows. Of course, Gunsmoke is number one. But in my mind, one is as good as the other. In other words, it would be a hard decision to choose if I wanted to watch one show more than another show. 1. Gunsmoke (1955-1975) 2. The Rifleman (1958-1963) 3. The Fugitive (1963-1967) 4. Adam-12 (1968-1975) 5. Dragnet (1951-1970) 6. The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968) 7. Little House on the Prairie (1974-1983) 8. Bonanza (1959-1973) 9. Walker, Texas Ranger (1993-2001) 10. Daniel Boone (1964-1970) 11. America's Got Talent (2006-present) 12. American Idol (2002-present) 13. Wild Wild West (1965-1969) 14. The Waltons (1972-1981) 15. Have Gun, Will Travel (1957-1963) I also have a list of my favorite Gunsmoke episodes. Of course, "The Jailer", my all time favorite episode, is at the top. 1. The Jailer 2. Trail of Bloodshed 3. Buffalo Man 4. The Cabin 5. The Way It Is 6. Quiet Day in Dodge 7. Doc's Reward 8. Lost Rifle 9. The Bobsy Twins 10. Quint Asper Comes Home 11. The Blacksmith 12. Hung High 13. Quaker Girl 14. The Pillagers 15. The Newcomers. And as for the Chester vs. Festus dispute, they were both very good partners to James Arness. Chester worked good with Quint, Festus worked good with Matt, Chester worked good with Matt, Festus worked good with Thad, and Festus worked good with Newly. The episodes where it was just James Arness also worked out good.

Western film-makers have frequently been blamed by liberal-minded critics for creating a large body of work with reactionary content, but as "Gunsmoke" amply proves in many fine episodes, the critics couldn't be more wrong."The Prisoner" features Jon Voight as a condemned murderer rescued from hanging by Miss Kitty because she is grateful to him for saving her own life. Even though the young cowboy openly admits to killing a rich man's wife, Miss Kitty believes in his innocence so much she rigs a poker game to steal custody of him from an abusive bounty hunter. Then she hides him just long enough for Marshal Matt Dillon to stop a rival sheriff and his violent boss from going through with the hanging. The poor cowpoke protests his innocence, finally gets a fair trial and is set free.This episode of "Gunsmoke" may have been seen by more than twenty million devoted fans in one night, which makes it difficult to equal its achievement in propagandizing effectively in favor of liberal doubt. Although western movies and TV serials have often been attacked by left-wing pundits for promoting right-wing values, in fact the show "Gunsmoke" may have done more to persuade its audience to oppose the death penalty than a string of full page ads in The New York Times. The makers of this show said "give a condemned man another chance" so entertainingly and so convincingly that most of its millions of loyal viewers probably agreed.In another episode of the show, featuring Carroll O'Connor as a poor farmer who steals back thirty dollars he lost to a rich gambler later robbed and murdered by a trio of feckless drifters, both the Marshal and Festus, believing that the simple souled farmer would never commit murder or lie to them, ride down the real culprits to prove he's not guilty.How much more plainly could a point in favor of defendants' rights be made? Yet when "Gunsmoke" was pulled off broadcast TV along with most other western entertainment, pundits of the left were foremost among those who celebrated the occasion, as if westerns, like Wall Street capitalism and the Ku Klux Klan, were a cause of society's ills rather than one of its cures. Well, the pundits had it wrong, this type of show should never have been taken off the air. Westerns are no more to blame for reactionary thinking than Marshal Dillon is to blame for the actions of an angry lynch mob.