Which Dr.

At this point in the history of the series, the comedies were coming fast and hard, and they were an uneven lot. "Which Dr." is one of those comedies, which you can always determine straightaway by the cutesy musical cues.

The episode falters out of the gate with some sophomoric and ineffective prairie slapstick from Gregg Palmer and George Lindsey. However, the show quickly finds its footing and is actually not bad once you get past the first part. There's some highly amusing repartee between Festus and Doc Adams; RG Armstrong is terrific as cornpone patriarch Argonaut Moonercan (what a name!), and the episode ends on a very sweet note as crusty ol' Doc offers to take a young lady under his wing and teach her some things about medical care.

This is hardly a great episode, but if you need a few chuckles, it'll be good for what ails ye'.

Lol my advice is to read the review by "kfo9494". imho it's absolutely perfect! Nothing to add other than my agreement ab how very entertaining this episode was esp Doc and Festus! At one point Festus tried to take Doc's arm to lead him and Doc VIOLENTLY yanked his arm away. Blink and you missed it! Such a small gesture but proved to me that they sure did stay in character! And their characters are HILARIOUS! My rating is 9/10. 10's are reserved for my very favorite episodes, still this one is pretty great! Anyhoo. TY for reading this and i sincerely hope you enjoy this show as much as i did! 💋

I wasn't aware that Peter Graves was a director. His use of camera close ups in this show added to the fun that all of the cast must of had during production. There is a totally relaxed atmosphere presented. Fun, emotion, wit, tenderness and intelligence are all represented here. This was one of my favorite episodes.

Argonaut Moonercan (where do they come up with these names?) and his nomadic band of buffalo hunters comes close enough to Dodge City to wreak havoc in this great example of a combination of drama and comedy. Many times when the Gunsmoke writers try to create comedic stories, they miss the mark, but this one succeeds.

Argonaut and a couple of his dimwitted relatives are stalking a herd of buffalo when Thad Greenwood comes riding along singing at the top of his lungs. Thad is on his way to spend some time fishing, and he is in a singing mood. The noise spooks the buffalo, and they run away. The Moonercans are furious. One of the men named Herk even threatens to take Thad's boots. Thad manages to get away from the trio.

When Thad returns to Dodge, he tells Doc Adams about the great fishing spot he found, but he warns Doc about some buffalo hunters named Moonercan he encountered on the way. Doc has been looking for an opportunity for some rest and relaxation, and a few days fishing is just what he thinks he needs. When Festus Haggen hears Doc is going fishing, he convinces Doc to let him come along.

On their way to their fishing destination, Doc and Festus naturally run across the Moonercans. When Argonaut learns Doc is a "book learnin'" physician, he insists that Doc examine a little girl in their group named Piney. Piney has been sick for a few days with a fever and significant pain. One of the female Moonercans named Addie has been treating Piney as best she could. Doc discovers Piney has appendicitis, and needs to have her appendix removed as soon a possible, or she will die.

Doc performs the operation, and it is successful. Argonaut then concludes their roving family could use a permanent, full-time doctor, and hatches a plan to essentially hold Doc and Festus hostage. The only problem is, Argonaut doesn't want anyone traveling in their group that is not somehow related to the family. His solution is to force Doc to marry Addie.

Yet again, this episode features an outstanding cast. The great character actor R.G. Armstrong plays Argonaut Moonercan here. This role is a little different from most of the more serious characters Armstrong usually portrays. Armstrong's Argonaut is dangerous enough for the viewer to see him as a threat, but in the end, the intended humor in his portrayal is well projected. Gregg Palmer shows up in a Gunsmoke episode once again. He appeared in a total of 21 different episodes over the years. Here Palmer plays the character named Herk. The other goofy member of the group, Skeeter, is played by George "Goober" Lindsey.

Shelly Morrison plays Addie Moonercan in her only Gunsmoke appearance. Morrison is perhaps best known for her recurring character Rosario Salazar on the comedy Will & Grace.

Dodge City exists on the periphery of this story. Matt Dillon is present at the beginning, and he brings the heroic stabilizing force toward the end, but most of the story takes place at the Moonercan's camp.

Festus and Thad both play larger roles in this script, but they mostly provide comic relief to the proceedings.

I hope no one in Dodge City needed a doctor while this story was taking place!