I've become addicted to the old Gunsmoke/Marshall Dillon reruns on the Western Channel. The old half hour series. Introduce a plot, develop the crisis, short lead up to the confrontation and bang. Final credits.

One thing I wonder about. Every low down dirty snake that Matt shoots is dead. Nobody gets winged. No minor injuries for Doc to clean up. Did he ever shoot someone on that show who lived?

And speaking of Doc, he sure did spend a lot of time drinking in the Long Branch. That guy must have had a liver like Spongebob Squarepants.

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Now That's Bullet Maintenance!

That was a great series.

One of my favorites was when there was a particulary bad dude in town.
Kitty told Matt, "Matt you are just going to have to KILL him"...

Here is a few trivia questions. Durring the series how many people did Chester kill, how many did Doc kill, and what firearms did they use???

My favorite old "cowboy" show was Have Gun, Will Travel.

I watch it every night at 7 PM and think it is the very best of all cowboy series.

The Long Branch, that was definitely the place to party.

I do enjoy Festus more than Chester.

One thing, Matt sure took a lot of abuse from people didn't he.

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Doesn't hasta call me Johnson

I like both Chester and Festus...

But a few weeks ago we had a new male Burro born on our place. The wife came up with the name Festus Hagen for him...

He seems to like it...

I do to.

I always liked Festus mules name "RUTH"

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Doesn't hasta call me Johnson

IF it would have been a female we would have named it Ruth. We talked about that...

I think you selected a great name. Festus, has a nice ring to it, good luck with the newborn.

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Doesn't hasta call me Johnson

My kids were growing up then. Always watched it. But I preferred "Have Gun Will Travel".

Festus! In a different setting,

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Bob

Ken Curtis was also in "Rip Chord".

Ken Curtis was also quite a singer. He was lead vocalist for one of the Dorsey brothers and one of the 'Sons of the Pioneers'.

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GMC-USN, Retired/1978 to 2001

here's one the op might like...

Gunsmoke - not the way your mother remembers it - YouTube

Dam this goes back a long way. I think the original series was an hour long.

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NRA Benefactor

My winter afternoons were often spent in the recliner.
4pm Wagon Train
5pm Rawhide
6pm back to back 1/2 hour Gunsmoke/Marshall Dillon
7pm hour episodes of the Gunsmoke series

I've seen photos of Matt's saa and they sport nice sambar stags but in the series it looks like he's got fanzite fake stags that were the rage in the 50s. Hard to tell in black & white.

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God spelled backwards is dog.

Another "Gunsmoke" mystery is just how in the world did Chester get his right foot into the stirrup when he mounted?

I'm a Chester fan. It seemed much more like a drama with him. I'd much rather have Chester backing me up instead of Festus. Plus I could out run him. The old black and white ones are lots better than the later color ones. Matt just doesn't look right in a perma-pressed shirt. That big old Colt just didn't do a good job of wounding.

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Wayne
Torn & Frayed

Here's the Gunsmoke Intro you never saw before. Arness sure had a sense of humor!
Gunsmoke - not the way your mother remembers it - YouTube

I enjoy Dillon as much as the Gunsmoke series. Some of the elements are stock which is to be expected. However, many of the themes have an bit of film noir as they deal with callous murders, family violence, alcoholism, justice contrasted with vengeance/retribution. The main and supporting characters are well developed. The actors are believable in their roles. JMHO. Sincerely. brucev.

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<><

I also like the black and white version better. In the later color episodes Miss Kitty actually starts to look like an old madam because of the heavy make-up.

Somewhere I've got a picture of me wearing a highway patrol uniform and Festus' hat, and him grinnin' over my shoulder.

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Eccentric old coot

He didn't. His right leg sticks out at about a 45 degree angle when he rides. He needs a wide trail.

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God spelled backwards is dog.

I think Chester was pretty useless. Once in a while he picked up a rifle, but Festus packed a gun and got to shoot people once in a while. Festus was more serious and dangerous in his first appearences, then got relegated to sidekick/comic relief status later on. And aren't Indians, or half indians allowed to wear guns? and does just having indian blood automatically make you an ace tracker?

There is a beautiful horse ranch along side I-15 between cedar city and st. george utah. Someone told me ken curtis used to own it. I suppose it was built before that stretch of freeway. We had a big fire there about 5 years ago and it went right up to the ranch. I met james arness years ago. He is one of the few actors that I met that looks even bigger off screen than on. Looked to be a honest 6 ft 7"s. I also have met clint walker. James seemed to be a few more inchs taller than clint. Both those guys were my favorites. Here is a picture of clint and my wife about 5 or 6 years ago.

Another one of my favorites!

I like a lot of programs in B&W also, maybe its just me, but seems to be easy on the eyes.

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Doesn't hasta call me Johnson

Lately I've been catching reruns of The Rebel with Nick Adams. For some reason they don't use the original theme song by Johnny Cash and thats a shame! Also they have been showing Bat Masterson with Gene Barry.

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TomD

The first show was introduced by another rather famous showbiz cowboy who was originally offered the part.

John Wayne Gunsmoke 1955 - YouTube

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LIVE FROM THE DAWGHOUSE

One must remember that Ruth was a boy.

WILDPIG

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I ain't from around here.

I have to agree - they were great role models & they stood for something we don't see today - honesty, morality, and they worked hard because that's what you were supposed to do - no hand outs for them. If they made a mistake - they said so and did what they could to make it better.


Pete

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Don't tread on me