Gunsmoke or Bonanza...discuss

[MissGoddess]

Thank you, Chris, my "technical difficulties" with long posts may just have to do with the format of this forum. It's no big deal.

Mike--fascinating insights into teh background of "Gunsmoke". I'd love to listen to that last episode where "Mark" quits his job. I also like hearing about the history of "Doc". I remember when I first heard Doc's name was "Galen" (I believe Festus made a real fuss over it), ha. I'd never heard that name before but it somehow seems to suit him.

I find many of the episodes have a decidedly sympathetic slant toward the issues women faced out there in the rugged West. Children, too. It never whitewashed their difficulties or condescended to them.

[MikeBSG]

The marshall was only named "Mark" on the first pilot episode, which I think aired as an episode of "Escape." When "Gunsmoke" started as a regular series, he was called "Matt."

One of the features of the show was that everyone called him "Matt" or "Marshall" except for Chester and Festus. Chester called him "Mr. Dillon" and Festus called him "Matthew."

[MissGoddess]

The marshall was only named "Mark" on the first pilot episode, which I think aired as an episode of "Escape." When "Gunsmoke" started as a regular series, he was called "Matt."

Oh, thank you for the correction.

One of the features of the show was that everyone called him "Matt" or "Marshall" except for Chester and Festus. Chester called him "Mr. Dillon" and Festus called him "Matthew."

I noticed that! I like how Chester was so formal with him. One of the pleasures for me in discovering
the early seasons is my introduction to Chester. I grew up with Festus, and couldn't imagine anyone else
in the "sidekick" role, but now I find I have equal affection for Weaver's piquant character. He has a
sort of Hank Wordenish quality, slightly "touched", ha. That one episode where he's testing his duck
blind and making quacking sounds really tickled me.

I was also surprised how soon Festus was introduced to the show...wasn't it as early as the third or fourth season?
He was a lot wilier and law-shy, in the beginning. Less of a comic character and a little edgier.

[movieman1957]

Festus does turn up in 1962 but not really again until a regular in 1964.

Having watched the first disc of the series it is interesting to watch Chester. He doesn't really do much and is not quite as defined as he was in the hour episodes. (This is my first exposure to the 30 minute shows.)

I saw the episode with the duck blind and it was funny. There was also one I enjoyed because it played funny and tragic at the same time. He fell for some girl and bought a place and tried to rebuild the house but it fell down and then he built a dugout. Some of the scenes were funny but when she left him it was just so sad. All that hard work for nothing. He was left with nothing and had a broken heart on top of it all.

[mrsl]

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I guess I started watching near the end of the one hour B&W shows, because now I've swung around to Chester. I watch them because I find myself quite a fan of the show, and now understand it's longevity, but I don't care for the ones with Chester as he seems to be the Emmett Kelly of Matts' deputies. When Festus got into certain situations that could end up in personal sadness for him, he generally shrugged it off with a "That's Life" attitude, but for Chester, it was often heartbreak, even when the plot didn't involve matters of the heart, but his trying to help the less fortunate. They always seemed to turn on him, or take him for a fool. That makes me feel so sorry for him, it's hard to watch sometimes. I liked Thad and wished he had become more of a permanent character, and have wondered what happened to him when he left the show. I've only seen a few of the episodes including the fellow who looks like a young Burt Reynolds, and also wonder where he went.

A rare connecting factor between Gunsmoke and Bonanza is that in most cases guest stars were the ones who found themselves in life or death situations on Gunsmoke, whereas on Bonanza, it was usually one of the Cartwrights in trouble caused by the guest star. The point is that we all knew that the stars were already on the set filming the next weeks' show so nothing vital would happen to them on Bonanza, yet on Gunsmoke, with the guest in a mess, they could live or die . . . . no loss to the show, except for the wives of all four of them. Every one of the Cartwrights married and lost her before the end of that particular episode, jeez

In addition, Gunsmoke had stories that were planned out from beginning to end like a short movie, but Bonanza was often done in the formula way so that you knew what was going to happen before it happened. I love the fact that Matt catches so many of his bad guys by falling to the ground, or falling off his horse by pretending to be hit, and shocking the guy when he comes to see if Matt's dead. He does it almost every time he's shot at.
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[MissGoddess]

The fellow who looked like Burt Reynolds was Burt!

[mrsl]

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Miss G:

Uh, uh - Burt was Quint Asper, the blacksmith.

So I went over to the 50's TV web site and looked. Things do happen for me when I get off my dead you know what! The guy I'm thinking of was Buck Taylor as Newly O'Brien, the gunsmith. I really love that website, they have so many interesting little tidbits of info.
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[JackFavell]

My mom had a big crush on Burt as Quint. I could never understand that. When I watched one of the episodes, recently, I can see why.

[MikeBSG]

I think Dennis Weaver himself directed "Chesterland," the episode about Chester building the house hoping the woman would marry him.

[movieman1957]

I looked on imdb and Ted Post directed "Chesterland" but Weaver did direct four other episodes. That's good to know.

[mrsl]

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Wouldn't you know, yesterday we were talking about Buck Taylor and Burt Reynolds, and this mornings' episode was ha-ha, "Quint Asper Returns". But Newly did look a little like Quint sometimes.
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[movieman1957]

I watched an episode this morning that really showed the depth of Kitty's feelings for Matt. Matt has to go to Topeka. He can't take Kitty to the dance. She has a meltdown. Matt is sorry but he has to go. It is his job. Kitty wants to go to the dance with Matt, no one else.

She gets mad and goes out of town for a couple of days where she runs upon an injured Claude Akins. He is nice to her, interesting to her, interested in her and at one point kisses her like she's never been kissed. Well, this is 1962 and there are twelve more years to go so it doesn't work out. She was really smitten much to the consternation of her friends.

The kiss was a surprise because I had never seen her kissed before and certainly not by Matt. She was pretty friendly with him. You feel like she is cheating on him. But you never saw that behavior with Matt.

Sometimes you wonder if Matt was as thick about it as he seems.

[MissGoddess]

Oh I like that episode. I thought they needed more of those. Poor Kitty. Matt WAS thick
and that whole situation got to be a little hard to credit by the end. I'd have nagged him
into marriage or got out of Dodge long ago. But that's why I'm no Miss Russell.

Kitty left Dodge a few times, didn't she? I think that may have been the first of her "bolts".

[movieman1957]

I read somewhere (Arness' website) that they agree early on that they couldn't get married. I guess if they did whatever sexual tension occurs would be gone. You are right though somewhere late in the show's life a good explanation and some exploring of their feelings would have provided some nice drama and maybe some closure to their indefinite single lives.

The first tv movie showed Matt wasn't against it. I always hated the way that movie ended.

[mrsl]

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movieman1957:

I saw that episode today too, but did you notice the show opened with Kitty coming downstairs from her room? She walks to the bar and has a whiskey, and she is already angry about something - What? Is Matt up in her room where he's told her he can't make it to the sociable and has to go to Topeka? How else would she have learned the news so early in the morning? She DID come storming down the stairs. We know its morning because shortly afterward the three stooges come in and ask her to join them for breakfast. To me, this is an explicit scene. If that could be passed by the censures, I don't see why more of their relationship could not be explored. I love the show (remember, these are all new to me, never saw a single show before), but when Matt gets hurt, or some other catastrophy occurs, I fail to understand why a hug would be so wrong. The other day, Dan Troop was putting on his boots in LIlly's room and I think women would have been happier seeing a little closeness once in a while. In so many instances when Kitty is in harms way, afterward Matt grabs her at arms length and pushes her into Doc's arms for comforting and that makes me see RED - theres a use of color for ya!!!!
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