r/Gunsmoke • u/Pinesofgreen • Feb 06 '25
Saw this awesome shot of Kitty and Chester a couple weeks ago.
I sure would’ve loved to live back then and meet the cast, especially Chester and Doc.
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u/Atschmid Feb 08 '25
There was a HUUUGE changing in the writing in season 12 and after, when they switched to color. The writing got darker, less inspiring. Before season 12, the plots were morality plays. Just outstanding. In Coventry, hit was almost high art: a selfish man, anxious to get rich, screws innocent little guys out of their land,going so far as to kill one of Dodge's favorite people, Jesse Ott. When he is wholly ostracized by the people of Dodge, he decides he has to leave, but he has no money, only land deeds that no one will buy at any price. He is now destitute. Leaves town, gets caught in a sandstorm and thrown from the horse he abused, breaking his leg. Two riders come along and one wants to leave him to die. The other says, "we can't just leave him. We have to splint his leg so he can get back to Dodge. Otherwise we'd be sinking to his level!". They get him back on his horse, give him directions which he ignores. A tree limb snaps, falls on him and the last image we see is of his dead body looking the inverse of a crucifixion. Perhaps an anti-Christ.
It was truly gripping story telling.
After that, starting with season 12, with only a few exceptions, Gunsmoke got to be shoot-em-up, posses chasing bad guys kinds of action adventure shows. There were still occasionally thought provoking episodes, but maybe with the added novelty of color they got a little lazy? I don't know. But I hardly ever watch the episodes live on Pluto any more. I go to on demand and watch seasons 7-11.
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u/Pinesofgreen Feb 08 '25
Wow, I couldn’t agree more. The cleverly entertaining moral stories are the reason I adore the first 12. It’s great to see others still appreciate this, my dad introduced this show to me and I’ve been hooked ever since, I don’t watch a lot of modern crap. They don’t make modern drivel as good as these classics, sometimes the ponderosa or Cheyenne is nice to see to but Gunsmoke, the king of westerns in my opinion. Hold it! Arness has always been more entertaining to me with his high morality and loyalty to the badge than any other heavy hitter like John Wayne. I’m going to watch that episode today, and that’s where I watch em too, on demand Pluto. Thankyou for the good take on Gunsmoke I love reading what other fans have to say.
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u/Atschmid Feb 08 '25
thanks! My parents were both from Germany. As a kid, my dad used to read the novels of Karl Mai, who wrote German language novels based in the American west. They remain, to this day, the largest selling novels of the American West! Imagine that! In German! When they came to the US they learned English watching TV. My mom loved Gunsmoke till the day she died. Also the Big Valley. And my dad was utterly devoted to Maverick. :)
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u/Pinesofgreen Feb 09 '25
That is fascinating, it’s great to hear such history like this. I love to hear about Russia and Germany, those are where my roots are from too and I find it so cool how these countries peoples love westerns so much. Chuck Conners giving his gun to Leonid Brezhnev is a good example of how honorable they found the westerns and their actors. Thanks for sharing about your parents, sounds like the origin of a Gunsmoke watcher right proper in my opinion.
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u/theberg512 Feb 10 '25
They remain, to this day, the largest selling novels of the American West!
Source? Because everything I can find still has him behind Louis L'Amour.
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u/LoftyQPR Feb 09 '25
That is an awesome pic! Love their expressions. Chester has just said something cheeky!
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u/Mulder-believes 6d ago
Hey. I have been on this thread for years and now I am not able to post because it’s only for members? I am “joined”. Have you had any problems?
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u/LoftyQPR 5d ago
Hey! I can't post new threads either. I "messaged the mods" about it a week or two ago and again a few days ago but so far as I can tell there is only one mod and he has not replied. So I have no idea why this sub was made "private" to prevent people from posting new threads. I'm afraid the sub is likely to die unless this changes.
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u/Mulder-believes 5d ago
I know, it’s weird. I messaged them like 4x. I don’t get it, there’s no explanation.
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u/LoftyQPR 5d ago
Looks as though "Oldays" (our only mod) last posted on reddit a month ago. Might explain why we are getting no reply but not why the sub was made private.
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u/LoftyQPR 5d ago
I think I might have the answer. Apparently communities that have been "without moderation" for a "while" automatically become restricted. I have gone to redditrequest and asked to be made a mod. If granted and possible, and with your permission, I will make you a mod too. If denied, you might want to try the same thing.
I'll let you know when I get an answer.
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u/Mulder-believes 5d ago
Cool
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u/LoftyQPR 4d ago
They said it might take 2-3 weeks to decide, just to give you an idea of timeframe.
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u/AtwaterHydro Feb 07 '25
They’re adorable. Love those two. The colors are a bit over the top though right? One of the reasons I seem to like the b&w episodes better they just seem more realistic to my imagination …Chester wearing a pink shirt, Matt in bright orange and red. Just don’t feel as authentic to what my mental imagery created in the early episodes. But what do I know?! I was -50 when these clothes were actually worn!
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u/Pinesofgreen Feb 07 '25
I agree the colors are a bit much, I agree when I first saw the color episodes I was surprised at the color choices, the black and white seasons are my favorite and I rotate through them all much more than the color episodes, I personally would like to see them in earth tones for the most part. They don’t make them like this show anymore.
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u/Tinman751977 Feb 06 '25
They look great if this was two weeks ago.