The Bobsy Twins

Last night I happened to see an episode of Gunsmoke called "The Bobsy Twins" which was originally broadcast on May 21, 1960. This was the most philosophically ambitious episode of the entire long-running series. It concerns two aging brothers (Merle and Harvey Finney) who come west with the simplistic mission of ridding it of Indians. The viewer is introduced to them immediately as they cluelessly stumble across the prairie in search of Dodge City; hillbilly eastern rubes completely unequipped for navigation and survival in the sparsely populated vastness of the West. They are on foot, have not eaten in two days, and look scruffy enough to be Lil' Abner characters. "The Bobsy Twins" title is gradually explained as the viewer comes to understand that like Bert and Nan, these two brothers are children forever - at least mentally.

One of the most fascinating things about the Bobbseys is that they never aged. After the first books the publisher of the series realized that in real time Bert and Nan were soon going to be too old for their target audience, and he put the brakes on their aging. After that Bert and Nan were forever twelve and Flossie and Freddie forever six.

In the allegorical Gunsmoke episode Merle and Harvey are childlike characters, almost witless. They trace their simplistic but somewhat contradictory value system back to a revered father who among other things felt that it was not proper to murder anyone on Sundays, not because it is wrong to randomly kill but because Sunday should be a day of rest. But these impulsive and bloodthirsty "twins" find it impossible to keep even this basic commandment. Frustrated at encountering no Indians they instead kill a man who refuses to share his Sunday dinner with them and then kill a friendly cowboy in order to keep their involvement in the first murder a secret. Both murders are a little contrived, with the brothers basically looking for an excuse to kill someone.

Once in Dodge a cowboy (Richard Chamberlain) in the Long Branch tells them that the livery store owner is a full-blooded Cherokee and they set out to hang him.

What makes the episode so special is that writer John Meston (who originally wrote the story for radio) is not really going off on the hypocrisy of Christianity or of religion in general. Although after the murders they repent having done these deeds on what should have been for them a day of rest, Meston is using the "day of rest" thing allegorically to represent the many childlike minds that grasp hold of whatever simplistic influence is out there as a way to justify their self-indulgence. And their revered father represents those who would use the fear, hate, and prejudices of simpletons like the Finney's to manipulate them for their own purposes (a certain presidential candidate comes to mind).

While the brothers' nativist banter in this episode is sometimes amusing, it is mostly in the script to humanize them enough so that they cannot simply be dismissed by viewers as creatures of a more barbaric species.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

I am sure that some will find this episode confusing even downright distasteful but if you had ever read the Bobbsey Twin books then this is a spoof of that collection. However it does not mean that the episode was entertaining since most of the episode was more macabre than interesting but with that knowledge it will be more of a semi-comedy than horror story.

The episode centers around two older twin brothers named Harvey and Merle Finney. They are on their way out west to kill Indians after hearing what they have done to white settlers. Along the way they were only taught, by their father, that killing is fine but never on Sunday.

After a brutal killing of two cowboys on the trail and the disregard for a woman in trouble, the two find themselves in Dodge ready to kill Indians. When someone at the Long Branch makes a joke and tells them that the man running the stables is part Cherokee, the two have their first Indian victim.

With characters that was actually more sad than interesting plus the uncomfortable subject matter, this is an episode that will not be on the top of anyone's list. Even when you take it for a spoof on the children's book it was still not an entertaining episode. This is an episode you will watch for a novelty and not for viewing pleasure.

Solid episode. Each character gets their day. Like so many good episodes unflinching violence of the West. 1 error.

Not a spoiler. And one of them or character Focus scenes, and some of the best of the series, you have a scene where Marshall Dillon and the doctor are having dialogue, bantering back and forth. The doctor quotes the verse below and is impressed when Matt response if that's from "Chronicles" They were both incorrect as it's from The Book of Psalms: Psalm 55:21 "The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart:"

Those murderous twins were two of the most evil characters Meston ever dreamed up. Disguised somewhat by the strange comical type music in the score of this episode, they would make one's skin crawl. Thankfully, they got their just desserts in the end due to their own stupidity. But yikes!

That phrase comes my good friend grizzledgeezer, who used it often during the days of the discussion forums to describe John Meston's predilection for murderous characters. In fact, I would venture an opinion that this episode is the epitome of the geezer's description.

I've given it some thought, and IMO it's likely not that far from the actual truth in some ways. In the late 1800s there were all kinds of people existing in that part of the country with mental states pushed to the edge of sanity with everything from PTSD to schizophrenia, and there was no treatment to speak of other than being locked away in an asylum. And a lot of these people were heavily armed.

Longtime fans of the series are certainly aware that Meston and other series writers did not shy away from depicting depraved mental states in their characters, two examples are the episodes Potato Road and Kitty's Injury. And even more Meston characters didn't necessarily appear mentally handicapped outwardly, but were shown to be utterly and completely depraved sociopaths who murdered casually with a sneer of pleasure. Meston wrote them into his stories on a regular basis.

But this entry seems somewhat different. For whatever reason, the showrunners decided to depict the brothers in a humorous quality- despite them being typical Meston murderers. Along with Ralph Moody's mannerisms, the goofy background score, and those tall, pointy hats....it's there, and it's kinda puzzling.

I dunno...people laugh at different things, could be this is something John Meston found funny.