Gunsmoke
 Before Gunsmoke, all Westerns were like Roy Rogers
and The
Lone Ranger - basically kids stuff.
This was the
first adult Western which really emphasised character and adult
themes.
The show originally started on CBS Radio in 1952, with William
Conrad in the role of Sheriff Matt Dillon.
When CBS decided to make a
TV version of the popular radio series, the first choice for the role
was John Wayne.
Wayne would probably have done very well in the role, but he did
not want to commit himself to the rigors of a weekly television serial
and suggested James Arness, a young relatively unknown actor friend of
his.
Wayne even offered to introduce the program's first episode, an
offer which was quickly accepted by the CBS brass. James Arness, six
feet seven inches in height, was even bigger physically than The Duke,
and he proved to be perfect casting for the role of the heroic
marshal.
Gunsmoke was set in Dodge City, Kansas, on the banks of the
Arkansas River. The year,
arbitrarily, was 1873 (according to producer John Mantley). The show's
black hat vs. white hat themes and the longest flirtation in history -
Matt Dillon and Miss Kitty, who never did get together - saw the show
stay in the saddle for 20 seasons making it the longest-running
western.
Crusty old Doc Adams, the town's kindly sympathetic physician, was
the only other cast member besides Arness to sty with the show for its
entire run.
 Doc spent most of his spare time, as did most of the citizens of
Dodge City, at the Long Branch Saloon, which was owned and operated by
Kitty Russell.
Kitty was extremely soft-hearted, beneath a very
business-like exterior, and would have willingly become romantically
involved with Matt.
In the radio version, the implication was that she was a
prostitute, but on TV Matt and Kitty exchanged no more than smiles!
Matt's loyal and well-meaning deputy was Chester Goode, who walked
with a pronounced limp talked with a twang and brewed a mean pot of
coffee - which was often seen behind the closing credits.
Over the years there were changes in the supporting cast. Chester
(Dennis Weaver) left in 1964 to be replaced by Festus Haggen, the
scruffy, illiterate hillbilly deputy who remained for the rest of the
run. Half-breed Indian Quint Asper was featured for a while as the
town blacksmith (a young Burt Reynolds), as were gunsmith Newly
O'Brien ad Matt's young friend Thad Greenwood.
In addition to the principal cast members, there was an extensive
supporting cast of Dodge City residents who appeared from time to
time: Miss Hannah ran the Long Branch Saloon after Kitty's departure;
Lathrop was storekeeper; Halligan and O'Connor local ranchers; Louie,
the town drunk; Barney, the telegraph agent; Howie, the hotel clerk;
Percy, the Dodge City undertaker; Hank, the stableman; Nathan, the
freight agent; Mr Bodkin, the banker, and Ma Smalley, the
boarding-house owner.
As the years passed, less and less was seen of Matt. Stories often
revolved around other members of the cast while the marshal was out of
town, and to some extent Gunsmoke frequently resembled an
anthology as stories came to centre on guest stars, using Dodge City
simply as a backdrop.
CBS aired reruns of the original half-hour series under the title Marshal
Dillon. Two telemovies were made in the late 1980s - Gunsmoke:
Return to Dodge and Gunsmoke: The Last Apache.
The series
was originally broadcast in the UK under the title Gunlaw.
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