"Gunsmoke" (1955) - Review & Commentary

[Mister Obvious]

Fuckin'... cold shower up in this bitch.

[Mister Obvious]

Whew...

Well.

It must have been nice to be with him.

[Mister Obvious]

Damn.

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Human romantic quality has taken an absolute nosedive since then.

Just an absolutely atomic nosedive right into a glass parking lot.

[Mister Obvious]

Sad.

Beautiful that it existed at one time, and sad that it's just doornail dead.

[Mister Obvious]

In less than 100 years, here we are today.

[Mister Obvious]

S10 E13 - "Aunt Thede"

2:27 I love it when Festus gets into fights... he's so energetic and creative.

4:38 lmao, the horse is wearing a hat... https://i.imgur.com/IrAPMIb.png

11:00 this episode features a young Dyan Cannon, such a radiant beauty. Something interesting from her Wiki page... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primal_therapy She spoke about trying it in the 1970s.

13:40 "driving a lop-eared mule with a homemade bonnet on his head" roflmfaolol!!! Great exchange between Festus and Matt... https://imgur.com/a/XvXpnkh

16:50 all the Haggen women have male names, lolol!!!!!

17:23 cute moccasins, such an adorable scene... https://imgur.com/a/GCM6X0y

18:09 those poor frogs, OMG!

21:26 what's with these creepy overprotective and super possessive dads!?

24:48 if this fine hunk of man was waiting for me, I'd skip out forever on my ailing old asshole dad so fast it'd make his head spin.

25:35 Jenga, old west style.

28:11 "She's a preacher too?!"

37:00 AAAAHHHHAHAHAHA!!! It's a copy of "Little Women" and they think it's a Bible!!!!!

37:40 iconic... https://imgur.com/a/yobVyeX

[Mister Obvious]

S10 E14 - "Hammerhead"

22:17 she looks pretty excited about the guy's hat, and I gotta admit, I am too. I hope they show her wearing it.

[Mister Obvious]

S10 E15 - "Double Entry"

This episode title really gets my dirty mind going with all kinds of possibilities, but I think all those ideas would be better suited for my private, scandalous Gunsmoke fanfiction!?! *dancing banana*

13:10 pretty sure this is the second episode where we've gotten to hear Doc sing, he's great!!!

14:25 even Festus is dressed up!!!

15:50 it's funny how they've had Mr. Botkin be portrayed by a few VASTLY different looking actors, lmao.

26:40 you know, when Ken Curtis is delivering these intricate Festus lines, it's almost like he's legitimately remembering the incident he's telling us about.

30:00 I dunno, I think this guy has concocted an elaborate scheme to gain their trust.

31:08 well they already gave us the implied foreshadowing that Matt is gonna have to shoot him, so the rest of the episode is just the lead up to that inevitability.

33:18 he's obviously convinced that he can kill Matt no problem.

33:48 "How much you make a month on that job?" ... "About as much as the bartender at the Long Branch." ... "Yeah but he don't have to risk his life." ... "You don't know the Long Branch." ROFL!!!!! Woooorrrrrddd.

34:55 seems like holding onto those reins would be a good ab workout.

[Mister Obvious]

S10 E16 - "Run, Sheep, Run"

8:46 the sparkle on Kitty's earrings in this scene is absolutely gorgeous... https://imgur.com/a/CwHL2pU Those are the old school cross/star shaped lens flares that I love and you usually only see them on 1960s-1980s films/shows.

9:17 [dog barking in distance] Uh oh, tragedy is about to strike!

16:40 wow, her man is a real buzzkill.

39:20 a life on the run ain't no kinda life.

[Mister Obvious]

Between 2001-2009, there was a "Greetings From Jim" newsletter on JamesArness.com and most of them are still viewable through Archive.org.

There was an email address provided and fans would write in questions that he would answer during his frequent updates. He was in his 80s during that time.

What stuck out to me the most while scrolling through was a few times when he talked about watching Gunsmoke reruns on the TV Land channel. He said that he hadn't seen more than half of all the Gunsmoke episodes, and that he had been getting to see some of them for the first time ever. I think that's really interesting. He spent all his time filming the show, there really wasn't any time to actually watch it until much later on.

He also thought the reruns should include the earlier episodes in the series instead of the same ones they keep showing instead.

He talked about some of his favorite episodes, I'll note one or two when I get to them.

James Arness seemed like a genuinely kind, humble person.

As someone who grew up online in the 2000s, I appreciate the fact that he utilized the internet to communicate to his fanbase, and to continue expressing his gratitude for all the love and support over the years. Really beautiful.

[Mister Obvious]

A few thoughts after scrolling through the "Greetings From Jim" newsletters again...

James Arness said he had "about 35" favorite Gunsmoke episodes.

He was once asked how he would have ended the show if he'd had the opportunity... I'm not sure whether his response was literal, or whether it was just missing a word, but even if that's the case, it could be counted as a Freudian slip.

On a psychological level, the way I interpreted his response was that he would NOT have ended the show at all. In other words, it would have just kept going forever.

[Mister Obvious]

James Arness interview snippet about the surprise cancellation of Gunsmoke, from the Television Academy Foundation, 2002...

[Mister Obvious]

OMG look at this, it's Gunsmoke bloopers, this is hilarious...

[Mister Obvious]

1:19 roflmaolololol.

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9:40...

[Mister Obvious]

S10 E17 - "Deputy Festus"

Oh hell yeah, this is the episode where Festus officially becomes the deputy MARSHAAAALLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1:10 I LOVE all the backwoods accents in this show, they're SO well done. Festus's girlfriend was the WORST I've ever heard on here, but they had her tone it down after her first appearance thank God. They're usually totally on point, absolutely epic.

1:30 it's Carl Reindel again... *heart eyes*

4:20 they reuse MANY guest stars, and it's a good thing... they're excellent, diverse actors who never fuck up.

5:20 "Anybody dead Sam?" ... "Not yet." ... "Well I'll be upstairs if you need me!" Roflmfaolfamfoalollol.

8:00 I'm eating dinner whilst watching, and when I lifted my head back up and looked at the screen again, I was surprised it wasn't in color. WTF!? Strange moment.

17:36 this seems more like a cutesy situation, I don't think he's actually meant to be operating in the deputy marshal capacity right now. He pretty much just shouldn't be wearing the badge. The Marshal didn't give it to him anyways.

40:00 well at least he managed to round them up and bring them back in... that's pretty impressive, so I guess he's deputy material after all.

43:26 oh to be a gun belt... *heart eyes*

34:30 how the heck did they achieve these righteous bouffant hairdos though?? I wish it was way easier than it looks, lmao. Apparently back combing is really bad for the hair anyway.

[Mister Obvious]

S10 E18 - "One Killer on Ice"

0:44 WHY is Ken Curtis's body SO SEXY?!??!?!? I don't UNDERSTAND~!~~~!!!!!!!! Is it the boots?? Is it the pants? Is it just simply because Ken Curtis?!

1:05 oh this guy looks creepy as shit!!! He looks like a Mennonite who escaped!!!

2:38 fkn nice hair though.

3:50 why is his beard so much darker than his hair??

4:00 pretty sure "catch ya later" wasn't a phrase back then.

4:40 I love it when Festus flirts with Kitty... https://imgur.com/a/j4t91Xc

5:26 well you guys aren't special like Festus.

8:00 Kitty seems to like what she sees a lil too much if you ask me... https://imgur.com/a/TfCeowK WHAT ABOUT MATT!!?!!?!

11:32 the guy playing Anderson is actress Drew Barrymore's dad... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Drew_Barrymore

20:20 Billy is Dennis Hopper... big guest stars in this episode.

21:20 "You don't tell me what to do, bitch!"

26:28 see this is the kind of scene that sparks my imagination and makes me want to write filthy Gunsmoke fanfiction.

30:40 ugh my God with this miserable chick, listen, get on a fucking horse and ride into Dodge and go work at the Long Branch... just quit your complaining.

31:33 pretty scenery.

33:46 hot damn, it's ICE!!!!! That's practically a gold mine!!!

37:20 down to the Long Branch, hopefully.

43:20 they always act like the reward money is some kinda shameful thing in this show.

44:28 roflmfao.

50:20 excellent music at the climax.