MANY OF THE best TV series from all of the time periods of Video History are oft consigned to the pigeon hole of mediocrity. This type of classification is neither fair, nor very accurate; owing its exaggerated importance to what could be only described as fallacious argumentative premises to begin with.
THE MAIN CULPRITS in this case would seem to be our reliance on often less than spectacular memories and a natural inclination to write off any TV Series, which has had both longevity and popularity. Remembering that old adage that, "Familiarity breeds contempt."*
WHAT IS CALLED for,and not exactly being coincidental, is a reviewing of as many episodes as is possible; with the object being to attempt to approach such a project without any prejudices, neither Pro or con. Thanks to the existence of such cable entities as NICK AT NIGHT, its video sibling TV LAND and local stations such as Chicago's WMETV (Channel 23) and sister ship, METOO (Channel 48), viewing the episodes is available several times each day.
RECENTLY, WE HAVE taken time to revisit the folks in Dodge City, and make an honest attempt to look at each episode thorough 'new' eyes; putting any or all previously formulated attitudes about the stories on the back burners of mind and memory.
AVAILABLE FOR OUR inspection, were episodes from all seasons. In addition to what has become much more familiar full hour long, color episodes, we were able to take in so many of the old half hour b & w installments from the earlier seasons. Possessing a brand new opening* with a combination of undistinguished theme music and unspectacular fade-in type of graphics, these 1/2 hours were rechristen ed MARSHALL DILLON before their initial season in syndicated reruns.
WHEN WATCHED EN MASSE considered in total, the differences between the products of the various seasons become evident; the earlier stories being far more more unabashedly violent. The more recent entries displaying much less in the area of gunfights, fisticuffs and general mayhem per reel of film exposed. We've heard an explanation recently by the way of an interview on a PBS series. The now retired Marshall of Dodge said that there was an anti-violence crusade in progress fro the U.S. Senate. Consequently, the story lines were shackled with quotas of those very essentials that make a western a western.**
ALL OF THAT being out of the way, we can now move on to what is it that made GUNSMOKE the perennial ratings block buster that it was for some two decades.
IN ORDER TO state it plainly, we need just two words; cast and characterization. The production team knew that the key to success lie in having characters on the screen who would receive enough empathy from the 'characters' in the audience This would require a reasonable high dosage of realism and plain old fashioned authenticity; which of course, GUNSMOKE did posses.
STEP TWO IN the formula for success requires the assembly of a stock company of thespians (that's Actors, to you Schultz) to create the best characterizations for those characters in the story for whom we will care. In the case of series such as GUNSMOKE, BONANZA or today's LAW & ORDER, this would also mean that the roster would undergo a considerably serious degree of metamorphosis; in that in the cast would undergo many changes over the normal course of an exceptionally long run.
IN THE CASE of today's honoree, GUNSMOKE, its continued popularity over the the many seasons is in no way due to fine character development by a very talented stock company; who did their damnedest in giving us folks who we really identified with and truly cared for
AND, WHILE WE are on the subject, we want to mention those very talented group of actors who made all of those seasons. We had people such as:
Marshall Matt Dillon (James Arness), Kitty Russell (Amanda Blake), Doc Adams (Milburn Stone), Chester Goode (Denis Weaver), Ken Curtis (Festus Haggen), Buck Taylor (Newly O'Brien), Glenn Strange (Sam the Bartender), Burt Reynolds (Quint Asper, town blacksmith), and many more.
COLLECTIVELY AND INDIVIDUALLY, these folks were responsible for our identification with an affection for Matt, Kitty, Doc, Chester, Sam, Festus, Newly, Quint, etc., etc., etc.
NOTE: * The series truly hit the ground running; as it had been a popular Radio Series on the CBS Radio Network. It featured: William Conrad (Matt), Howard McNear Doc), Parley Baer (Chester).
NOTE: ** Much in the same way as other Radio to TV Series such as THE LONE RANGER, many of the early GUNSMOKEs were adaptations of radio scripts.
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