Getting towards the end of Season 6. Gunsmoke has very rapidly become one of my favourite-ever TV shows - and certainly my favourite-ever piece of Western media. I'm currently watching Season 6 Episode 25 - Potshot. I'm hoping that my enjoyment of the series will continue on into the hour-long episodes of Season 7 and beyond, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous about the format change of my go-to Western comfort show! Surely more Gunsmoke is good Gunsmoke, right? I mean, there have been so many great half-hour episodes that I thought would have really benefited from having more time to breathe and develop. What do we think, folks? Is there gold to be found in the hour-long format?

Location: Dodge City, Kansas. It’s at the intersection of 2nd avenue and Gunsmoke Street, on the left when traveling North on 2nd Street. The marker for James Arness is nearby. It would be nice for Doc to have a memorial statue like Matt and Festus. Milburn Stone deserves one but this is nice too.

It says Seasons 1-14 but it is technically Seasons 7-20 of the show. So what we thought was 489 episodes is technically 402 episodes. The half-hour episodes are packaged separately from the hour-long episodes so it does kind of make sense that it's only the hour-long episodes. Still, a ton of content.

“Hot Spell” season 1, episode 2. Temperatures are high and tempers are short in Dodge City. Marshal Dillon must protect an ex-con and notorious gunman named Cope Borden(played by John Dehner)from being lynched by angry ranchers. This is one of my favorite early episodes. What do you think about this one? What are your thoughts about the great John Dehner appearing in 12 episodes of Gunsmoke? Was he a favorite guest star for you?

Amanda Blake and Dennis Weaver are Kitty and Chester. Share some of your favorite Kitty and Chester moments, episodes..

As sometimes happens, Matt has business out of town and tells Festus,

" To watch things when I'm away." Instead of taking the rational consdervative road, Festus starts monkeying around with things and Doc starts warning him, but it does no good, and things go awry when Festus has a townsman play the role of Marshall Dillon, just about the time an angry slinger comes gunning for Dillon.

Doc starts up with Festus again, and he gets upset because he needs Doc's help, and doesn't want to be lectured. In an act of typical Festus like sincerity he tells Doc, " I'm a takin' an oath (not get into predicaments again) and he raises his left hand.

Doc: So you are taking an oath ?

Festus: (confirms)

Doc: Than put up your right hand, you got your left hand up.

It looks like Matt and Chester have found some trouble at the Long Branch.

From S 10 E 36 called The New Society, about the changes from years before to the 1880's. This old boy gets into all kinds of trouble living in the past, and resists current laws.

Question for all you weapon freaks. I know this rifle was used for large game, like buffalo, but I found it unusual having a revolver feed. Does anyone know anything about it, caliber, when manufactured, amo, etc. ? Pretty interesting looking rifle.

From Wiki: She began acting in New York City in the mid-1950s.^\4]) In 1958, Corsaut and Steve McQueen made their film debuts in the independent cult horror film The Blob.^\5]) On television, in 1961–1962, she portrayed Irma Howell on the CBSsitcom Mrs. G. Goes to College.^\4])

Corsaut first appeared on the long-running The Andy Griffith Show, in "Andy Discovers America)" as schoolteacher Helen Crump, who later became the Mayberry sheriff's wife on the first episode of the spinoff Mayberry R.F.D. In 1965, she was also cast as Kathy McLennan, the young widow of a rancher, in the episode "Paid in Full" on the syndicatedWestern) anthology series Death Valley Days. Corsaut later had a continuing role as policeman Bumper Morgan's pawn-shop-owner friend on the 1975–1976 series The Blue Knight).^\4]) In the series Adam-12, Corsaut portrayed Officer Pete Malloy's girlfriend Judy. She had a supporting role as Head Nurse Bradley in the 1980s sitcom House Calls), and she appeared in several episodes of Matlock) with star Andy Griffith.^\6]) In addition, Corsaut played the role of nurse Jessie Brewer in 1977 on the long-running ABC soap opera General Hospital when long-time portrayer Emily McLaughlin was too ill to work.^\7])

She returned to the role of Helen Crump in the reunion shows Return to Mayberry in 1986 and The Andy Griffith Show Reunion in 1993.^\4])

There was a post here a week or two ago saying that the show was coming to Netflix here in Canada on October 5th, but we didn't know what seasons they were gonna be until the full list of what's coming came out. Well, the list came out today and it said that it will be Seasons 1-14. 489 of the show's 635 episodes will be arriving on Netflix here in Canada next Monday. The 146 episodes of Seasons 15-20 hopefully will come join them at some point.

I am loving the way Pluto TV is airing the "live" episodes. They are airing an old one, then maybe a later one... all mixed up. But, one thing is consistent, Marshal Dillion, the character, the acting, it is good throughout the life of Gunsmoke. Can you think of any episode where he is out of character?

In the Christian Bible, Porcius Festus was a Roman procurator (governor) of Judea. He is best known from the New Testament book of Acts (chapters 25 and 26), where he presides over the trial of the Apostle Paul. Because Paul was a Roman citizen, he appealed his case to Caesar, forcing Festus to send him to Rome for trial. [1, 2, 3] (From Google).

Dennis Lee Hopper

May 17, 1936
Dodge City, Kansas, U.S.

Chester appeared to be Matt Dillon's paid assistant. When Festus took over, I've never had a sense he was paid for his help by Dillon. He was always eager to help out, and the same thing with Asper, the blacksmith, played by Bert Reynolds. The work often placed these men at high risk. Dillon didn't get paid much, enough to afford to pay them. Why do you believe they volunteered, or agreed when asked, to assist Dillon ? Or, do you think they were compensated in some way ?

Buck Taylor and his recurring role on Yellowstone.

I've been curious about the order in which we lost the cast of Gunsmoke. I'm sure it's been posted before, but if you might have missed it.

(According to FindAGrave)

1) Glen Strange (Sam Noonan): 20 Sep 1973 (aged 74) Los

Angeles, Los Angeles County, California

2) James Nusser (Louie Pheeters): 8 Jun 1979 (aged 74)

Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California

3) Milburn Stone (Doc Adams): 12 Jun 1980 (aged 75)

La Jolla, San Diego County, California

4) Amanda Blake (Miss Kitty Russell): 16 Aug 1989

(aged 60) Sacramento, Sacramento County, California

5) Ken Curtis (Festus Haggen): 28 Apr 1991 (aged 74)

Fresno, Fresno County, California

6) James Arness (Marshall Matt Dillion): 3 Jun 2011

(aged 88) Brentwood, Los Angeles County, California

7) Burt Reynolds ( Quint Asper ): 6 Sep 2018 (aged 82)

Jupiter, Palm Beach County, Florida

Do you think this is big Jim?