I have just completed my “Gunsmoke” summer, my summer of binge-watching the classic series that was the number one show on television from 1957 to 1961. It also ranked in the top ten of all shows for most of its 20-year run, which ended in 1975, when I was a sophomore in high school.
Its final episode had 30 million viewers. “The Sopranos” final show only had 12 million, but TV viewership was diluted by then.
Lest you think I’m just an old dude with a freakish interest in obsolete TV shows, I’m not watching alone. Many millions of people in the U.S. and abroad are joining me.
“Gunsmoke” has surprised the Nielsen ratings folks by breaking into the top ten most streamed re-run shows from time-to-time over the last two years, keeping company with “Grey’s Anatomy” and “The Big Bang Theory.”
And it’s not just in the U.S. either. “Gunsmoke” is popular in Germany, Austria, Australia, Norway, Sweden and Israel.
Here are some things I observed during my “Gunsmoke” summer:
Though I watched “Gunsmoke” as a boy, I did not remember any of the episodes from the first five years of the show. These were all black-and-white episodes and what I would call “morality TV” rather than reality TV. The outcomes were about how the world should be more than how it was. In Dodge City, Kansas, and beyond, U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon nearly always “gets his man” — or God does.
Texas has a prominent role in “Gunsmoke.”
The main character, Matt Dillon, was born in Texas — in San Antonio. His father was a Texas Ranger.
In one episode, a flashback reveals that Matt, when just a 18-year-old cowboy, was randomly taken hostage during a bank robbery in Redwater, Texas, to insure the hold-up gang’s escape. When there was no pursuit, the leader wanted to kill Matt, to leave no loose ends. An older member of the gang, Dan York, saved Matt’s life and thus Matt survived to become the famed U.S. Marshal of Dodge City.
Matt’s character is one of extraordinary honesty. He has a moral compass that never loses true north. He is empathetic, listens well, and will not tolerate bigotry or prejudice. Nor will Matt’s friends: Doc, Kitty, Festus or Chester.
But a lot of bad guys come from Texas, too — and a lot of troublesome, drunk cowboys from the cattledrives are naturally from Texas and require Marshal Dillon’s iron fist and quick draw to keep them in line.
The main cast for “Gunsmoke” in 1963. From left: Amanda Blake (Miss Kitty), James Arness (Matt Dillon), Milburn Stone (Doc Adams) and Burt Reynolds (Quint Asper). CBS Television, Public domain / Wikimedia Commons
According to “Gunsmoke” historian Marshall Trimble, Matt was shot 56 times over the 20 years of the series, knocked out 29 times, stabbed three times and poisoned once. Amazing he’s still with us.
The show takes on racism quite often, but never uses the word “racism.” For instance, Burt Reynolds plays Quint, a blacksmith who is half white and half Comanche. People sometimes refuse to trust him because he’s Comanche. Matt doesn’t mention racism. He just vouches for him by saying things like, “You won’t find a better, more trustworthy man anywhere than Quint Asper.”
An amusing aspect of the series is that, as depicted in the show, Kansas is quite hilly, even mountainous, with deserts. Understandable, as the show was shot in California, Utah and Arizona.
Also amusing is that, according to the show, Dodge City to Texas is only a day’s ride away — and it takes only about two to get to Mexico by horseback. The border guards also speak English quite well in the program, as do the cantina waitresses.
There are a great number of famous actors, and eventually-famous actors, who guest-starred on “Gunsmoke”: Leonard Nimoy, Bette Davis, Harrison Ford, William Shatner, Kurt Russell, Sam Eliott, Charles Bronson and Ed Asner, to name some of the major ones.
In the radio version of “Gunsmoke,” the Long Branch was a brothel. But on TV it became more of a social club with the women of the Long Branch Saloon presented as pretty conversationalists who sit for drinks with the patrons.
Watching Doc and Festus argue is one of the highlights of every episode. Festus has his own language with the most unique, complex grammar “you ever done heard.”
Although Matt and Miss Kitty have a clear romantic affiliation, they never kissed on the show. The producers wanted to keep the tension strong for the good of the show.
You can join me on your recliner to watch “Gunsmoke” most anytime. You can see it on Paramount+, Peacock, MeTV, and Pluto, among others.
