Television. One DVD at a Time.

"Good evening. My name is Wayne. I'm here to tell you about.a new television show called Gunsmoke. No, I'm not in it. I wish I were, though, because I think it's the best thing of its kind to come along, and I hope you'll agree with me. It's honest, it's adult, and it's realistic." - John Wayne introducing the first episode of Gunsmoke

Gunsmoke: 50th Anniversary Volume One and 50th Anniversary Volume Two DVD Review

By Jude Clement

As television grew in popularity in the early 1950s, the networks had much time to fill on their schedules but little product with which to fill them. Executives began to rely on "sure things" - television adaptations of their radio hits. In 1955, Gunsmoke had been on CBS radio for three years. The series followed the adventures of Marshal Matt Dillon as he helped to keep Dodge City, KS, free of crime, and CBS television execs thought it would make a perfect transition from radio to TV. There were only two problems with their plan. The first was that the show would have to be recast as the radio stars were not deemed suitable for television. William Conrad played Marshal Dillon on CBS radio. He had a deep, resonant voice well suited for radio, but the future star of Jake and the Fat Man (he didn't play Jake) was a bit too...portly...to portray Marshal Dillon on television. The second problem was that their choice to play Matt Dillon - film star John Wayne - just wasn't interested in doing TV.

Wayne did give CBS execs a casting idea, though. He suggested a young actor by the name of James Arness for the role. If the network hired Arness, Wayne would even introduce the series and the actor at the start of its first episode. The show premiered on September 10, 1955 with the promised introduction from Wayne. In addition to Wayne, the cast also included Milburn Stone as Dr. Galen Adams, Dodge City's prickly but caring physician; Amanda Blake as Miss Kitty, proprietor of the Long Branch Saloon; and Dennis Weaver as Chester Goode, Matt's somewhat goofy deputy who walked with a limp. The series was not an immediate success, but it went on to become the longest running dramatic primetime series featuring continuing characters. In all, 640 episodes were produced over its 20 year run, it was television's number one series for four years straight, and was in the top 20 for 14 seasons. This series makes Law & Order look like an underachiever.

Gunsmoke started out as a half-hour series. In fall 1961, it expanded to a full hour, and the shorter episodes were rerun under the title Marshal Dillon. This wasn't the only change made throughout the years. Afraid of becoming typecast, Dennis Weaver left the series after nine seasons. Matt's new deputy was then played by Ken Curtis as Festus Haggen, a comical hillbilly. Other supporting characters to drift in and out included Quint Asper (Burt Reynolds), the town's half-breed blacksmith, and Newly O'Brien (Buck Taylor), its gunsmith.

Perhaps because of the sprawling history of the series and the sheer number of episodes, the first Gunsmoke DVDs are not being released in season sets. Instead, Gunsmoke 50th Anniversary: Volume One and Volume Two provide an overview of the series as a whole, presenting a "best of" from the series' first 19 seasons. This may disappoint fans who prefer season sets, but it turns out to be a good idea, allowing viewers to sample episodes from each of Gunsmoke's major incarnations - half-hour episodes, Chester episodes, Festus episodes, color episodes, black and white episodes.

Gunsmoke will probably seem a bit hokey and melodramatic to modern audiences. The series' first episode, "Matt Gets It," is stiff and stilted. Season two's "Legal Revenge," written by Sam Peckinpah, features a terrific guest appearance by Cloris Leachman, but feels much longer than its half-hour running time. Not that every episode is a snooze. "Lost Rifle" features a sympathetic performance from tough guy Charles Bronson. Marshal Dillon shows his softer side in "Little Girl" when he is forced to temporarily care for an orphaned girl. In the comical "Chesterland," Chester attempts to fix up a rundown claim in order to impress his new girlfriend. Guest star Bette Davis chews the scenery as a revenge-seeking widow in "The Jailer."

The two volumes each present at least one episode from almost every one of Gunsmoke's first nineteen seasons. Volume One includes "Matt Gets It," "Hack Prine," "The Killer," "The Preacher," and "The Guitar" from season one, "Legal Revenge" and "Sins of the Father" from season two, "Romeo" and "Doc's Reward" from season three, "Lost Rifle" from season four, "The Bobsy Twins" from season five, "The Blacksmith" and "Little Girl" from season six, "Chesterland" from season seven, "Quint Asper Comes Home" and "Ash" from season eight, and "Prairie Wolfer" from season nine. Volume Two contains "Hung High" and "One Killer on Ice" from season ten, "Treasure of John Walking Fox" from season eleven, "The Jailer," "The Wrong Man," and "Quaker Girl" from season twelve, "The Pillagers" from season thirteen, "The Prisoner" from season fourteen, "Chato" from season fifteen, "P.S. Murry Christmas" from season sixteen, "A Quiet Day in Dodge" from season eighteen, and "Trail of Blood" from season nineteen.

Guest stars include Chuck Connors, Aaron Spelling, Cloris Leachman (The Mary Tyler Moore Show), Angie Dickinson (Police Woman), Barbara Eden (I Dream of Jeannie), Jack Lord (Hawaii Five-O), Charles Bronson, Richard Chamberlain, George Kennedy, James Doohan (Star Trek), Adam West (Batman), Ed Asner (The Mary Tyler Moore Show), Dennis Hopper, John Barrymore Jr., Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek), Bette Davis, Bruce Dern, writer/director Zalman King, Tom Skerritt, Carroll O'Connor (All in the Family), William Shatner (T.J. Hooker), John Voight, Ricardo Montalban (Fantasy Island), and Kurt Russell.

The seventeen episodes that make up Volume One are divided onto three discs. Each disc is decorated with portraits of cast members - Marshal Dillon on disc one, Miss Kitty on disc two, and Chester on disc three. The discs are housed in three slim, clear keepcases. The back covers include episode titles and plot synopses, and original airdates. The double-sided coversheets show through to the insides of the cases. The interiors feature a large still of cowboys on the range. The keepcases slide into a cardboard sleeve which showcases the cast.

The twelve episodes that make up Volume Two are also divided onto three discs. Marshal Dillon is again on disc one, and Miss Kitty on disc two, but this time around Festus decorates disc three. Everything else is similar to the first volume.

The full motion menus are easy to navigate. Viewers can play all of the disc's episodes or pick an individual one. There are no scene selection menus, but the episodes are divided into chapters.

Video and Audio

Some of these episodes are fifty years old, so scratches and other flaws are often evident. For the most part, however, the episodes look and sound just fine.

The episodes are closed captioned.

Extras

For such a vintage series, these Gunsmoke collections have a surprising number of extras. The producers have rounded up numerous guest stars and actors to provide commentary tracks on several episodes: James Arness ("Matt Gets It"), Dennis Weaver ("Hack Prine" and "Chesterland"), Angie Dickinson ("Sins of the Father"), Barbara Eden ("Romeo"), George Kennedy ("The Blacksmith"), and Adam West ("Ash") for Volume One and Ed Asner ("Hung High"), Bruce Dern ("The Jailer"), Buck Taylor ("The Pillagers"), and James Arness ("A Quiet Day in Dodge") for Volume Two. Dern on Bette Davis' reasons for doing episodic TV ("I need to eat. I need money for cigarettes.") is quite touching.

The remaining extras begin on Volume One, disc one, with "The Ed Sullivan Show - James Arness as Matt Dillon" (6:32) from January 12, 1958 in which Arness gives a live performance of a scene from Gunsmoke's pilot episode. Imagine William Peterson and Marg Helgenberger performing scenes from C.S.I. on The David Letterman Show and you'll have an idea of how strange this is.

"The Ed Sullivan Show - Dennis Weaver as Chester" (9:37) is a clip from the following year in which Weaver appears as his Gunsmoke character, Chester. After interacting with Sullivan (as Chester), Weaver comes back to perform the act he used during personal appearances.

"The Ed Sullivan Show - Dennis Weaver as Chester with Commentary by Dennis Weaver" (2:44) is about as self-explanatory as a title can get. Weaver discusses appearing on the show (he was dismayed that Sullivan kept referring to him as Chester, never once mentioning his actual name) while clips from The Ed Sullivan Show play.

Ralph Edwards presents the "1958 Emmy Award - Best Dramatic Series" (:54). The series beat out Lassie, Perry Mason, Maverick, and Wagon Train. Producer Norman MacDonnell accepts the award on behalf of the series, delivering perhaps the world's shortest award acceptance speech.

The "Westerns Channel Promo" (:43) is a plug for the series, now playing on the Westerns Channel.

"Westerns Channel Gunsmoke Memories (Dennis Weaver on Gunsmoke Trio)" (:59), Weaver discusses how his personal appearances as Chester at the height of the show's popularity. All of the "Gunsmoke Memories" are pretty light, but they were, after all, meant as between-show promos.

Weaver returns for "Westerns Channel Gunsmoke Memories (Dennis Weaver on James Arness)" (1:11) in which he discusses his co-star.

Two of the episodes on disc one include an "Episode Photo Gallery" - "Sins of the Father" and "The Guitar." Don't expect to spend much time with this feature. "Sins of the Father" contains only two photos, and "The Guitar" only eight.

In 1989, James Arness, Amanda Blake, and one of Gunsmoke's producers participated in a panel discussion as part of a "Museum of TV & Radio Seminar" (29:56). This is an edited version of the evening's Q&A. The audience questions are a bit hard to hear, but the Gunsmoke gang is utterly charming.

In the "Museum of TV & Radio Promo with Kiefer Sutherland" (1:06), the 24 star plugs the Museum of TV & Radio.

Robert Young presents the Emmy Award to Dennis Weaver in "1959 Emmy Awards Dennis Weaver Best Supporting Actor" (1:51). Viewers can also see the clip with commentary by Weaver.

Disc two presents another pair of "Gunsmoke Memories," this time "Dennis Weaver on James Arness" (:59) and "Dennis Weaver on his Audition" (1:42).

Finally, disc two includes a thirteen image "Photo Gallery (1958 Dodge City Trip - Milburn and Amanda)" centering on a trip by the cast to the actual Dodge City, KS in summer 1958.

Volume One, disc three contains several goodies. First up: "Dennis Weaver Home Movies with Dennis Weaver Audio Commentary" (6:43). Weaver is warm and engaging, making this well worth a look.

The "CBS Affiliates Gag Reel" (5:26) isn't as funny as some gag reels, but it does give Gunsmoke fans the chance to see Arness wearing a French fry moustache and calling his horse a bitch.

In 1961, CBS broadcast Gunsmoke repeats on Tuesday nights. The "1961 Fall Preview - Tuesday" (:31) advertises this fact. The series' main timeslot was on Saturday night, where it shared the schedule with Perry Mason and Have Gun, Will Travel. Mason's Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale talk up the schedule in "1961 Fall Preview - Saturday" (1:23)

Three more "Westerns Channel Gunsmoke Memories" can be found on disc three: "Bill Cosby" (1:22), "Dennis Weaver on the Limp" (2:02), and "Dennis Weaver Gets Rid of the Stiff Leg" (1:17).

Disc three's extras wrap up with an eighteen screen "Photo Gallery" of publicity stills, behind-the-scenes photos, and even bubblegum card reproductions.

More extras can be found on Volume Two. In the "James Arness Birthday Surprise Blooper" (:55), the cast serenades the show's star on the occasion of his 43rd birthday.

A 1972 clip shows "Amanda Blake on The David Frost Show" (3:51). She discusses how she got the role, how the series changed over the years, and more. Brief, yet fun.

Phil Silvers hosts the "CBS Fall Preview 1963" (2:47). With lame previews like this, it's hard to believe that anyone ever watched Gunsmoke or any other CBS show.

Disc two includes the "1968 Emmy Awards Best Supporting Actor Milburn Stone" clip (2:16). Family Affair's Sebastian Cabot, Anissa Jones, and Johnny Whitaker present the award in this sweet clip.

Two more "Westerns Channel Gunsmoke Memories" promos are found on Volume Two, disc two: "Weaver on Milburn" (1:17) and "Chester and Newly" (4:02). Chester and Newly never appeared in an episode together, so fans of the series should enjoy hearing Dennis Weaver and Buck Taylor talk to one another about Gunsmoke and their careers.

The two "Syndication Promos" (:58) that round out disc two were used to sell the series in the 1970s. These do not appear to be actual commercials but previews of coming attractions.

The remaining extras are on disc three. The "1973 Gag Reel" (4:14) contains very few laughs, but will be of great interest to hardcore fans of the series (and The Wizard of Oz's Margaret Hamilton, who makes a profane appearance).

Amanda Blake decided not to return to Gunsmoke for what was to be the series' final season. She discusses her decision in "1974 Amanda Blake on The Mike Douglas Show" (6:43). This is a fun clip.and check out guest co-host Rex Reed's moronic contributions to the conversation.

In "A CBS Executive Remembers Gunsmoke" (4:50), longtime CBS exec Ann Roberts Nelson (she has worked there for sixty years and even negotiated the contracts for the original radio series) gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the series.

The final extra is a seven image "Photo Gallery" of behind-the-scenes photos, production stills, and publicity shots.

Summary

Gunsmoke 50th Anniversary: Volume One and Volume Two take a historically significant TV series and present it in a way that is sure to appeal to TV fans. A variety of episodes from throughout the show's run, rare extras, and Miss Kitty's mole add to the fun.

12/30/05