The most original purely American genre of film and television is the western. Spawned from the drive west of settlers in our early history the stories that rose from those days became quite popular. Tales of Buffalo Bill and Bat Masterson flourished in pulp magazines. When movies came into vogue they were popular too, the first feature length film with a story actually being THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY in 1903. Radio jumped on the bandwagon too with numerous radio plays involving characters like THE LONE RANGER. When television began the genre followed and in 1959 there were 26 western shows on TV. Among those 26 shows was one that actually became one of the longest running series in TV history. That series was GUNSMOKE.
Starting out on radio with William Conrad in the lead role the series premiered on TV in 1955. It ran an astounding 20 years and was the longest running live action TV-series of all time until 2019 when LAW & ORDER: SVU passed it. The role of the main character in the show, Marshall Matt Dillon, was offered to John Wayne who turned it down. Movie stars did not appear in TV series back then. But he suggested a young protégé to play the part instead. His name was James Arness and he played the role for the entire run of the series.
The stories of GUNSMOKE revolved around Dillon and his friends in Dodge City, Kansas during the old west. This was one of those series that shared stories among the entire cast. Those characters included Chester, the Marshall's deputy, played by Dennis Weaver. There was Doc Adams played by Milburn Stone, a gruff old guy who took no guff. After Weaver left his character was replaced with Festus Haggen played by Ken Curtis. While some may not recall this for 3 seasons a character named Quint Asper, a half breed blacksmith, was added to the cast. He was played by a young actor named Burt Reynolds.
Perhaps the most famous of characters to stand beside Marshall Dillon though was Miss Kitty Russell. Played by Amanda Blake for over 500 episodes Miss Kitty was a "dance hall girl", a profession cleaned up for TV but who many knew what that meant. Romance between her and Matt was always hinted at for years. Eventually she became the owner of the Long Branch Saloon.
From 1955 through 1961 the show was a half hour long but changed to an hour long format after. It remained in the top rated shows early on and continued to do well the entire time it ran. It was considered one of the best shows ever made for TV and has been included in numerous lists of the best television ever made.
The stories were varied and ran from the usual to different kinds of stories found in westerns. Marshall Dillon faced off in numerous gun battles throughout the series and the show opened with one. There were stories about gold mines and stealing gold. There were stories about racial injustice like a Chinese man being run out of Dodge and Indians seeking revenge on a buffalo hunter. Land owners faced injustice until it was set right. Gunslingers had to face up to their pasts and outlaws were seen in tons of different situations. To think you could tell a different story for 20 years on a weekly TV series is amazing to consider.
So why talk about this now? It's been years since the series ended after all. The reason is that CBS/Paramount is now releasing the entire series on disc in one complete box set. The individual seasons have been released in the past but not every one of them is contained in this set, all 635 episodes. From the very first time Marshall Matt Dillon walked out in the street to take on the bad guys to the last are all here to be enjoyed. If you remember the show but your kids or grandkids have no idea what you're talking about, you can pull this out and let them watch with you. Some episodes will seem quaint to them but as it moved forward you can see how well developed the series became.
At a whopping $339 dollars it won't be likely that everyone will leap at the chance. But fans can take advantage of this collection now. Or several families could go in and share it. This would be binge watching taken to the extreme with 143 discs of material. Also included are great bonus features like episodic previews, original cast sponsor spots, audio commentaries, featurettes and more.
If you grew up with the great western television series then this is one collection worth adding to your shelf. The odds of a new western series appearing again aren't likely. We've become "too sophisticated" for those these days. Which means of you want to enjoy them this is the way to do so. Not only is it great history TV wise, its great entertainment as well. I'll be honest, I haven't come close to finishing watching this set. But I look forward to watching each new episode with each disc. I'll get there one day.
Starting out on radio with William Conrad in the lead role the series premiered on TV in 1955. It ran an astounding 20 years and was the longest running live action TV-series of all time until 2019 when LAW & ORDER: SVU passed it. The role of the main character in the show, Marshall Matt Dillon, was offered to John Wayne who turned it down. Movie stars did not appear in TV series back then. But he suggested a young protégé to play the part instead. His name was James Arness and he played the role for the entire run of the series.
The stories of GUNSMOKE revolved around Dillon and his friends in Dodge City, Kansas during the old west. This was one of those series that shared stories among the entire cast. Those characters included Chester, the Marshall's deputy, played by Dennis Weaver. There was Doc Adams played by Milburn Stone, a gruff old guy who took no guff. After Weaver left his character was replaced with Festus Haggen played by Ken Curtis. While some may not recall this for 3 seasons a character named Quint Asper, a half breed blacksmith, was added to the cast. He was played by a young actor named Burt Reynolds.
Perhaps the most famous of characters to stand beside Marshall Dillon though was Miss Kitty Russell. Played by Amanda Blake for over 500 episodes Miss Kitty was a "dance hall girl", a profession cleaned up for TV but who many knew what that meant. Romance between her and Matt was always hinted at for years. Eventually she became the owner of the Long Branch Saloon.
From 1955 through 1961 the show was a half hour long but changed to an hour long format after. It remained in the top rated shows early on and continued to do well the entire time it ran. It was considered one of the best shows ever made for TV and has been included in numerous lists of the best television ever made.
The stories were varied and ran from the usual to different kinds of stories found in westerns. Marshall Dillon faced off in numerous gun battles throughout the series and the show opened with one. There were stories about gold mines and stealing gold. There were stories about racial injustice like a Chinese man being run out of Dodge and Indians seeking revenge on a buffalo hunter. Land owners faced injustice until it was set right. Gunslingers had to face up to their pasts and outlaws were seen in tons of different situations. To think you could tell a different story for 20 years on a weekly TV series is amazing to consider.
So why talk about this now? It's been years since the series ended after all. The reason is that CBS/Paramount is now releasing the entire series on disc in one complete box set. The individual seasons have been released in the past but not every one of them is contained in this set, all 635 episodes. From the very first time Marshall Matt Dillon walked out in the street to take on the bad guys to the last are all here to be enjoyed. If you remember the show but your kids or grandkids have no idea what you're talking about, you can pull this out and let them watch with you. Some episodes will seem quaint to them but as it moved forward you can see how well developed the series became.
At a whopping $339 dollars it won't be likely that everyone will leap at the chance. But fans can take advantage of this collection now. Or several families could go in and share it. This would be binge watching taken to the extreme with 143 discs of material. Also included are great bonus features like episodic previews, original cast sponsor spots, audio commentaries, featurettes and more.
If you grew up with the great western television series then this is one collection worth adding to your shelf. The odds of a new western series appearing again aren't likely. We've become "too sophisticated" for those these days. Which means of you want to enjoy them this is the way to do so. Not only is it great history TV wise, its great entertainment as well. I'll be honest, I haven't come close to finishing watching this set. But I look forward to watching each new episode with each disc. I'll get there one day.