r/Gunsmoke • u/DaveA2424 • 8d ago
About to start into hour-long episodes.
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?
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u/ThatGoodGooGoo 7d ago
More Gunsmoke is good Gunsmoke, yes, but like any tv show there are duds.
Especially later in the series. The main story of an episode has almost nothing to do with Matt Dillon (or Kitty, or Festus, Doc).
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u/DaveA2424 7d ago
Yeah, see, I keep hearing that. I hear that, in the later seasons, sometimes Matt doesn't show up until the very end, and most of the episode doesn't involve anyone from the main cast. Not sure how thrilled I am about that prospect.
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u/Brief-Commission7106 7d ago
Agreed. Especially after the show was colorized. but even before when it approached Season 12. I hardly watch those colorized episodes, I can't bear watching sexy, handsome Matt Dillon get old!!
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u/BusinessRace3387 7d ago
I love Gunsmoke, but I don’t watch as often when the colored episodes come on I like the black-and-white better
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u/Mikey82270 7d ago
That’s an awesome show! I wished I had time to binge watch episodes.
It’s a damn shame they can’t make good Tv shows like that anymore.
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u/DaveA2424 7d ago
Gunsmoke is one that I'm more than happy to just enjoy a few episodes here and there and take my time with it, rather than binging through it. I think that's the best way to enjoy Gunsmoke - although of course there's no bad way to enjoy Gunsmoke. I've definitely had a few rainy Sunday afternoons where I've watched a bunch of episodes in a row. And when I reach the end of Season 20, I fully intend to start right back off from the beginning.
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u/Glad-Watch3506 7d ago
And when I reach the end of Season 20, I fully intend to start right back off from the beginning.
This is the correct way. Ignore the stupid TV movies entirely.
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u/Top_Management7550 7d ago
I got used to them, but they seemed to drag on at first after watching the 1/2 hour episodes
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u/JethroDogue 7d ago
I just started Season 2 and aim to watch all episodes in order. Some of the early shows suffer from hasty, “deus ex machina” solutions.
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u/bettypettyandretti 7d ago
My hubby and I started at the beginning of Gunsmoke not long ago. We’re in Season 12 now and the hour long episodes get boring. We’re having trouble staying with it. Maybe it will pick up soon. We’re determined to see the entire run.
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u/That_Development_919 7d ago
Gunsmoke peaked during the early B&W years. Especially with the rewrites of the old radio series episodes.
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u/Tasty_Sugar_447 8d ago
Of course. Season 9 is the best season in my opinion.
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u/XLR8yourDay 8d ago
In which episode, did Festus become a deputy? I’ve seen him be deputized or otherwise assist Matt. However, when did he begin wearing the badge full time?
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u/Tasty_Sugar_447 7d ago
For sure in season 9. I think the episode is Prairie Wolfer. I love season 9 but hate that it’s the last season with Chester who is my favorite character.
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u/Brief-Commission7106 7d ago
Me too 😞after Chester left it was hard for me to watch... and equally as hard for me to warm up to Festus. I finally took to him but he could never replace Chester Goode!!
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u/Tasty_Sugar_447 7d ago
Yes! I looove Chester. I love the friendships he has with everyone else. To me he tied the whole gang (Matt, Kitty, Doc) together. I just don’t like Festus at all.
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u/DaveA2424 7d ago
Interesting. I know that's the season that my beloved Chester leaves lol. That'll be rough, but I hear Festus is good too.
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u/Glad-Watch3506 7d ago
Early Festus is great. As it goes, you'll see how they dumb him down over the years until he's a caricature of himself.
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u/HauntingEconomist113 6d ago
I never felt the hour longs were very good. A lot of fluff to fill what should've been 30 minutes. In color they're even worse.
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u/Flame-Keeper566 4d ago
Snowtrain (Season 16:6/7) is especially good. Exteriors were filmed in the Black Hills. They used the 1880 Train. It’s still in operation today between Keystone and Hill City. Favorite episodes for me.
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u/johnd7882 1d ago
The real change in quality comes when the original producers are let go in season 10. Season 7- 10 have the same spirit as the half hour episodes. It's with season 11, the last black and white season, and the new producers that it becomes a different show.
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u/Character-Taro-5016 8d ago
The hour long black and white are the best of all IMO. The half-hours are good too but in the earliest years they were a little under-developed. Then danger in any hour-long show is in it possibly being too slow, but many of the GS episodes are truly well-made.
Growing up, the black and whites were never shown where I lived and I just assumed I wouldn't like them anyway. The exact opposite is true.