Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West.
The radio version ran from 1952 to 1961, and John Dunning[1] writes that among radio drama enthusiasts "Gunsmoke is routinely placed among the best shows of any kind and any time." The television version ran for 20 seasons from 1955 to 1975, and was the United States' longest-running prime time, live-action drama with 635 episodes. In 2010, Law & Order tied this record of 20 seasons (but only 456 episodes). At the end of its run in 1975, Los Angeles Times columnist Cecil Smith wrote "Gunsmoke was the dramatization of the American epic legend of the west. Our own Iliad and Odyssey, created from standard elements of the dime novel and the pulp western as romanticized by Buntline, Harte, and Twain. It was ever the stuff of legend."[2]
Contents |
The cast of radio's Gunsmoke: Howard McNear (Doc), William Conrad (Matt), Georgia Ellis (Kitty) and Parley Baer (Chester) |
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Genre | Western |
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Running time | 30 minutes |
Country | United States |
Languages | English |
TV adaptations | Gunsmoke |
Starring | William Conrad Parley Baer Howard McNear Georgia Ellis |
Creators | Norman MacDonnell John Meston |
Producers | Norman MacDonnell |
Air dates | April 26, 1952 to June 18, 1961 |
No. of series | 9 |
No. of episodes | 432 |
Audio format | Monaural |
In the late 1940s, CBS chairman William S. Paley, a fan of The Adventures of Philip Marlowe radio serial, asked his programming chief, Hubell Robinson, to develop a hardboiled Western series, a show about a "Philip Marlowe of the Old West." Robinson instructed his West Coast CBS Vice-President, Harry Ackerman, who had developed the Philip Marlowe series, to take on the task.
Ackerman and his scriptwriters, Mort Fine and David Friedkin, created an audition script called "Mark Dillon Goes to Gouge Eye" based on one of their Michael Shayne radio scripts, "The Crooked Wheel". Two auditions were created in 1949. The first was very much like a hardboiled detective series and starred Michael Rye (credited as Rye Billsbury) as Dillon; the second starred Straight Arrow actor Howard Culver in a more Western, lighter version of the same script. CBS liked the Culver version better, and Ackerman was told to proceed.
But there was a complication. Culver's contract as the star of Straight Arrow would not allow him to do another Western series. The project was shelved for three years, when MacDonnell and Meston discovered it creating an adult Western series of their own.
MacDonnell and Meston wanted to create a radio Western for adults, in contrast to the prevailing juvenile fare such as The Lone Ranger and The Cisco Kid. Gunsmoke was set in Dodge City, Kansas during the thriving cattle days of the 1870s. Dunning[3] notes, "The show drew critical acclaim for unprecedented realism."
The radio series aired from April 26, 1952 ("Billy the Kid," written by Walter Newman) until June 18, 1961 on CBS. It starred William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon, Howard McNear as Doc Charles Adams, Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell, and Parley Baer as Dillon's assistant Chester Wesley Proudfoot.
Conrad was one of the last actors who auditioned for the role of Marshal Dillon. With a powerful, distinctive voice, Conrad was already one of radio's busiest actors. Though Meston championed him, MacDonnell thought Conrad might be overexposed. During his audition, however, Conrad won over MacDonnell after reading only a few lines. Dillon as portrayed by Conrad was a lonely, isolated man, toughened by a hard life. MacDonnell later claimed, "Much of Matt Dillon's character grew out of Bill Conrad."[4]
Meston relished the upending of cherished Western fiction clichés and felt that few Westerns gave any inkling of how brutal the Old West was in reality. Dunning writes that Meston was especially disgusted by the archetypal Western hero and set out "to destroy [that type of] character he loathed." In Meston's view, "Dillon was almost as scarred as the homicidal psychopaths who drifted into Dodge from all directions."[5]
Chester's character had no surname until Baer ad libbed "Proudfoot" during an early rehearsal. The amiable character was usually described as Dillon's "assistant," but the December 13, 1952 episode "Post Martin," Dillon described Chester as Dillon's deputy. The TV series changed Chester's last name to Goode.
Doc Adams was iconoclastic and grumpy, but McNear's performances became more warm-hearted. In the January 31, 1953 episode "Cavalcade," Doc Adams' backstory is revealed: His real name is Calvin Moore, educated in Boston, and he practiced as a doctor for a year in Richmond, Virginia where he fell in love with a beautiful young woman who was also being courted by a wealthy young man named Roger Beauregard. Beauregard forced Doc into fighting a duel with him, resulting in Beauregard's being shot and killed. Even though it was a fair duel, because Doc was a Yankee and an outsider he was forced to flee. The young woman fled after him and they were married in St. Louis, but two months later she died of typhus. Doc wandered throughout the territories until he settled in Dodge City seventeen years later under the name of "Charles Adams."
Georgia Ellis appeared in the first episode "Billy the Kid" (April 26, 1952) as "Francie Richards," a former girlfriend of Matt Dillon and the widow of a criminal. "Miss Kitty" did not appear on the radio series until the May 10, 1952 episode "Jaliscoe." Kitty's profession was hinted at, but never explicit; in a 1953 interview with TIME, MacDonnell declared, "Kitty is just someone Matt has to visit every once in a while. We never say it, but Kitty is a prostitute, plain and simple."[5] The television show first portrayed Kitty as a saloon employee (dance-hall girl/prostitute) then later as the owner of the Long Branch Saloon. Sometime in 1959, Ellis was billed as Georgia Hawkins instead of Georgia Ellis.
Gunsmoke was often a somber program, particularly in its early years. Dunning writes that Dillon "played his hand and often lost. He arrived too late to prevent a lynching. He amputated a dying man's leg and lost the patient anyway. He saved a girl from brutal rapists then found himself unable to offer her what she needed to stop her from moving into...life as a prostitute." (Dunning, 304) Some listeners, such as Dunning, argue the radio version was more realistic. Episodes were aimed at adults and featured some of the most explicit content of their time, including violent crimes, scalpings, massacres, and opium addicts. Many episodes ended on a somber note, and villains often got away with their crimes. Nonetheless, thanks to the subtle scripts and outstanding ensemble cast, over the years the program evolved into a warm, often humorous celebration of human nature.
Apart from the doleful tone, Gunsmoke was distinct from other radio westerns, as the dialogue was often slow and halting, and due to the outstanding sound effects, listeners had a nearly palpable sense of the prairie where the show was set. The effects were subtle but multilayered, giving the show a spacious feel. John Dunning wrote, "The listener heard extraneous dialogue in the background, just above the muted shouts of kids playing in an alley. He heard noises from the next block, too, where the inevitable dog was barking." (Dunning, 305)
Radio's Gunsmoke was aired on Armed Forces Radio.[6]
Not long after the radio show began, there was talk of adapting it to television. Privately, MacDonnell had a guarded interest in taking the show to television, but publicly, he declared that "our show is perfect for radio," and he feared that, as Dunning writes, "Gunsmoke confined by a picture could not possibly be as authentic or attentive to detail." (Dunning, 305) "In the end," wrote Dunning, "CBS simply took it away from MacDonnell and began preparing for the television version." (Dunning, 305)
Conrad and the others were given auditions, but they were little more than token efforts—especially in Conrad's case, due to his obesity. However, Meston was kept as the main writer. In the early years, a majority of the TV episodes were adapted from the radio scripts, often using identical scenes and dialogue. Dunning wrote, "That radio fans considered the TV show a sham and its players impostors should surprise no one. That the TV show was not a sham is due in no small part to the continued strength of Meston's scripts." (Dunning, 304)
MacDonnell and Meston continued the radio version of Gunsmoke until 1961, making it one of the most enduring vintage radio dramas.
Conrad directed two television episodes, in 1963 and 1971, while McNear appeared on six, playing characters other than Doc, including three times as storekeeper Howard Rudd.
Gunsmoke | |
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Gunsmoke title card |
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Format | Western |
Created by | Norman MacDonnell John Meston |
Starring | James Arness Milburn Stone Amanda Blake Dennis Weaver Ken Curtis Burt Reynolds Buck Taylor Glenn Strange Roger Ewing |
Theme music composer | Rex Koury Glenn Spencer |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of seasons | 6 ('Marshal Dillon', syndication re-titling of half-hour episodes) 14 ('Gunsmoke'), 20 (total seasons) |
No. of episodes | 233 ('Marshal Dillon', syndication re-titling of half-hour episodes), 402 ('Gunsmoke') 635 (total episodes) (List of episodes) |
Production | |
Running time | 26 minutes (1955–1961), 50 minutes (1961–1975) |
Production company(s) | CBS Television Filmaster Productions The Arness Production Company (1961–'64) |
Broadcast | |
Original channel | CBS |
Picture format | Black and white (1955–1966), color (1966–1975) |
Original run | September 10, 1955 – March 31, 1975 |
Good evening. My name's Wayne. Some of you may have seen me before; I hope so. I've been kicking around Hollywood a long time. I've made a lot of pictures out here, all kinds, and some of them have been Westerns. And that's what I'm here to tell you about tonight: a Western—a new TV 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 that's come along, and I hope you'll agree with me; it's honest, it's adult, it's realistic. When I first heard about the show Gunsmoke, I knew there was only one man to play in it: James Arness. He's a young fellow, and maybe new to some of you, but I've worked with him and I predict he'll be a big star. So you might as well get used to him, like you've had to get used to me! And now I'm proud to present my friend Jim Arness in Gunsmoke.
— John Wayne- Gunsmoke TV episode one
"Matt Gets It."[7]
The TV series ran from September 10, 1955 to March 31, 1975 on CBS with 635 total episodes. The first twelve seasons aired Saturdays at 10:00, seasons thirteen through sixteen aired Mondays at 7:30 and the last four seasons aired Mondays at 8:00. Its longevity has runners-up questioning its primacy as longest run. It is the longest running, prime time series of the 20th century. Today, it still has the highest number of scripted episodes for any, U.S. primetime, commercial live-action television series. Some rival programs in contention are foreign-made with U.S. airing.[8] As of 2010, it is the fifth globally, after Doctor Who (1963–1989, 2005– ), Taggart (1983–), The Bill (1984–2010). James Arness and Milburn Stone portrayed their Gunsmoke characters for 20 consecutive years, as did Kelsey Grammer as the character Frasier Crane, but over two half-hour sitcoms.[9] George Walsh, the announcer for Gunsmoke, began in 1952 on radio's Gunsmoke and continued until television's Gunsmoke was canceled in 1975.[10]
When Gunsmoke was adapted for television in 1955, the network did not appear interested in bringing either Conrad or his radio costars to the medium (his weight was rumored to be a deciding factor) despite a campaign to convince the network. Losing the role embittered Conrad for years, though he later starred in another CBS television series, Cannon (1971–1976). Denver Pyle was also considered for the role, as was Raymond Burr, who was ultimately seen as too heavyset for the part. Charles Marquis Warren, television Gunsmoke's first director, said "His voice was fine but he was too big. When he stood up, his chair stood with him."[11] According to a James Arness interview, CBS felt John Wayne was ideal for the role, but he, as most big screen stars, saw the fledging medium as a step down; The belief that Wayne was asked to pin on the badge is disputed by Charles Marquis Warren, the director who brought Gunsmoke to television. Although he agrees Wayne encouraged Arness to take the role, Warren claims "I hired Jim Arness of the strength of a picture he's done for me... I never thought for a moment of offering it to Wayne."[10]
In the end, the primary roles were all recast, with Arness taking the lead role of Marshal Matt Dillon upon the recommendation of John Wayne, who also introduced the first episode of the series; Dennis Weaver playing Chester Goode; Milburn Stone being cast as Dr. G. "Doc" Adams (later Galen "Doc" Adams); and Amanda Blake taking on the role of Miss Kitty Russell. MacDonnell became the associate producer of the TV show and later the producer. Meston was named head writer. Arness held rein to doing one scripted role for a record twenty years.
In 1962, Burt Reynolds was added to the show's lineup, as the "halfbreed" blacksmith Quint Asper and elipsed the span between characters Chester Goode and Festus Haggen. Three actors, who later played Dodge deputies, Ken Curtis, Roger Ewing and Buck Taylor, had previous guest roles. In 1963, singer and character actor Ken Curtis had a guest shot as a shady ladies' man. He previously had a small role as an Indian in one of the late 1950s episodes. In 1964, Weaver left the series to pursue a broader acting career in TV series and films.
Ken Curtis, a big band and western singer (Tommy Dorsey Band, Shep Fields Band, Sons of the Pioneers), was reared in Las Animas, Colorado, and for a time a son-in-law of director John Ford. In 1964 he was signed to play the stubbornly illiterate hillbilly Festus Haggen. The character came to town (in a 1962 episode titled "Us Haggens") to avenge the death of his twin brother, Fergus Haggen, and another brother, Jeff Haggen, and decided to stay in Dodge when the deed was done. Initially on the fringes of Dodge society, Festus was slowly phased-in as a reliable sidekick/ part-time deputy to Matt Dillon when Reynolds left in 1965. In the episode "Alias Festus Haggen", he is mistaken for a robber and killer whom he has to expose to free himself (both parts played by Curtis). In a comic relief episode ("Mad Dog"), another case of mistaken identity forces Festus to fight three sons of a man killed by his cousin. Chester and Festus are perhaps Dillon's most recognizable sidekicks, though there were others who would become acting-deputies for two and a half to seven-year stints: Thad Greenwood (Roger Ewing) (1966–1968), Quint Asper (Burt Reynolds) (1962–1965), and Newly O'Brian (Buck Taylor) (1967–1975), who served as both back-up deputy and doctor, having some studies in medicine.
When Milburn Stone left the series for health reasons for several episodes, Pat Hingle played his temporary replacement physician, Dr. John Chapman, whose presence was at first roundly resisted by Festus, a bickersome but close friend of Doc Adams.
The back stories of some of the main characters were largely left to the imagination of the viewer. Matt Dillon spent his early years in foster care, knew the Bible, was a wayward, brawling cowboy, and later mentored by a caring lawman. Kitty Russell, born in New Orleans and reared by a flashy foster mother (who once visited Dodge), apparently had no living family. (See "Miss Kitty" in the following section "Differences between the characters on the radio & TV versions.") Barkeep Sam was said to be married, though his wife never made an appearance. Quint Asper's white father was killed by white scavengers. Thad Greenwood's father, a storekeeper, was harassed to death by a trio of loathsome ne'er-do-well thieves. Chester Goode was known to be one of many brothers raised by an aunt and uncle, and he mentions his mother on one occasion; he referred to past service in the cavalry, and years as a cattle drover in Texas. The cause of Chester's stiff right leg was never given, but it was shown as his own leg and not a prosthesis. No direct reference was ever made to his disability in the script, although some oblique moments painted the free spirited, comic deputy with a darker tone. Newly O'Brien was named after a physician uncle, who ignited his interest in medicine.
While Dillon and Miss Kitty clearly had a close personal relationship, the two never married. In a July 2, 2002 Associated Press interview with Bob Thomas, Arness explained, "If they were man and wife, it would make a lot of difference. The people upstairs decided it was better to leave the show as it was, which I totally agreed with." In the episode "Waste", featuring Johnny Whitaker as a boy with a prostitute mother, her madam questions Dillon as to why the law overlooks Miss Kitty's enterprise. It appears that bordellos could exist "at the law's discretion" (meaning the marshal's). Miss Kitty was written out in 1974. The actress sought more free time and reportedly missed her late co-star, Glenn Strange, who played her Long Branch barkeep, Sam. When Blake decided not to return for the show's 20th (and final) season, the character was said to have returned to New Orleans. She was replaced by the hoarse-voiced, matronly actress Fran Ryan (known to many as the second Doris Ziffel on CBS' "Green Acres").
For 16 years on television, a sign hung over Doc's office that read "Dr. G. Adams". Toward the end of the series' run, Milburn Stone was given free-rein to choose the character's first name. The actor chose the surname of an ancient Greek physician and medical researcher named Galen[12] as a first name.
There were differences between the characters on the radio and TV versions of Gunsmoke. In the radio series, Doc was acerbic, somewhat mercenary, and borderline alcoholic – at least in the program's early years. On radio's Gunsmoke, Doc Adams's real name was Dr. Calvin Moore.[13] He came west and changed his name to escape a charge of murder. The television Doc, though still crusty, was in many ways softer and warmer.
There was nothing in the radio series to suggest that Chester Goode was disabled, a merely visual feature added to the character on television because of actor Dennis Weaver's athletic build, to emphasize Chester's role as a follower and not an independent agent.
Miss Kitty, who, after the radio series ended, was said by some to have engaged in prostitution, began in that role in the television series, working in the Long Branch Saloon. In an earlier 1956 episode, the owner of the Long Branch was named Bill Pence. A later 1956 episode begins with Chester pointing out to Matt (who had been out of town) a new sign under the Long Branch Saloon sign stating "Russell & Pence, Proprietors." In that same episode, John Dehner portrayed a dubious New Orleans businessman claiming to be Kitty's father, who tried to talk her into selling her half interest in the Long Branch and returning to New Orleans with him as a partner in his alleged freight business. In another 1956 episode (involving a new saloon girl named "Rena Decker" who causes four deaths by provoking men into fighting over her), Miss Kitty identifies herself as half-owner of the Long Branch with Mr. Pence (played by Judson Pratt). Subsequently, Miss Kitty transitioned to sole owner. Although early film episodes showed her descending from her second-floor rooms in the saloon with Matt, or showed her or one of her girls leading a cowboy up to those same rooms, these scenes disappeared later on, and viewers were guided to see Miss Kitty just as a kindhearted businesswoman.
From 1955 to 1961, Gunsmoke was a half-hour show (re-titled Marshal Dillon in syndication). It then went to an hour-long format. The series was re-titled Gun Law in the UK. The Marshal Dillon syndicated rerun lasted from 1961 until 1964 on CBS, originally on Tuesday nights within its time in reruns.
Season | Time Slot |
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1955-1956 | Saturdays at 10:00 p.m. |
1956-1957 | |
1957-1958 | |
1958-1959 | |
1959-1960 | |
1960-1961 | |
1961-1962 | |
1962-1963 | |
1963-1964 | |
1964-1965 | |
1965-1966 | |
1966-1967 | |
1967-1968 | Mondays at 7:30 p.m. |
1968-1969 | |
1969-1970 | |
1970-1971 | |
1971-1972 | Mondays at 8:00 p.m. |
1972-1973 | |
1973-1974 | |
1974-1975 |
Gunsmoke was TV's No. 1 ranked show from 1957 to 1961 before slipping into a decline after expanding to an hour. In 1967, the show's 12th season, CBS planned to cancel the series, but widespread viewer reaction (including a mention in Congress and the behind-the-scenes pressure from the wife of CBS's president) prevented its demise. On the Biography Channel's Behind The Scenes: Gilligan's Island (2002); Gilligan's Island producer Sherwood Schwartz states that the wife of CBS's president pressured her husband not to cancel Gunsmoke in 1967, and so the network cut Gilligan's Island instead. The show continued in its new time slot at 8 pm on Mondays. This scheduling move led to a spike in ratings that saw it once again rally to the top 10 in the Nielsen ratings until the 1973–1974 television season.[14] In September 1975, despite still ranking among the Top 30 programs in the ratings, Gunsmoke was canceled after a 20-year run; it was replaced by Mary Tyler Moore spin-offs Rhoda and Phyllis. Thirty TV Westerns came and went during its 20-year tenure, and Gunsmoke was the sole survivor, with Alias Smith and Jones and Bonanza both leaving the airwaves in January 1973.
Arness and Stone remained with the show for its entire run, though Stone missed seven episodes in 1971.
The entire cast was stunned by the cancellation, as they were unaware that CBS was considering it. According to Arness, "We didn't do a final, wrap-up show. We finished the 20th year, we all expected to go on for another season, or two or three. The (network) never told anybody they were thinking of canceling." The cast and crew read the news in the trade papers.[15]
In 1987, some actors from the original series (James Arness, Amanda Blake, Buck Taylor, Fran Ryan) reunited for the TV movie, Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge, which was filmed with the mountainous ranges of Alberta Canada as a backdrop. Retired US Marshal Matt Dillon, now a fur trapper, is knifed by a rogue, brought back to Dodge, and nursed by Kitty Russell. He is hunted by vengeful, past nemesis Mannon, who holds a battered Kitty hostage in exchange for a showdown. Ken Curtis declined to return, citing a contract dispute: "As Dillon's right hand man, I felt the offer would approximate Miss Blake's." Instead, Buck Taylor's Newly O'Brian became Dodge's new marshal, though private citizen Matt Dillon remains the hero. A huge ratings success, it led to four more TV films being made in the U.S.
After Amanda Blake's death, the writers built on the 1973 two-part episodic romance of "Matt's Love Story", which was noted for the marshal's first overnight visit to a female's lodgings. In the episode, Matt loses his memory and his heart during a brief liaison with "Mike" Yardner (Michael Learned of The Waltons). In preserving the ethics of the era and the heretofore flawless hero's character, the healed Dillon returns to Dodge City.
Movie number two, Gunsmoke: The Last Apache (1990), had Learned reprising the role of "Mike Yardner" to divulge that Matt sired her daughter, who is now a young woman named Beth. Other films (which all featured daughter Beth) included Gunsmoke: To the Last Man (1992), Gunsmoke: The Long Ride (1993), and Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice (1994).
As a Top 30 series, Gunsmoke has an average rating of 28.3.
In syndication, the entire 20-year run of Gunsmoke is separated into three packages by CBS Television Distribution:
Certain selected episodes are available on DVD in three different box sets. Twelve episodes, from 1955 to 1964, were selected for the Gunsmoke: Volume I box set, and another twelve episodes, from 1964 to 1975, were selected for the Gunsmoke: Volume II box set. Both volume box sets are also available as a combined single "Gift Box Set". A third unique DVD box set, known as Gunsmoke: The Directors Collection, was also released with ten selected episodes from certain seasons throughout the series' twenty year history. All of these box sets are available on Region 1 DVD from Paramount Home Entertainment and CBS DVD.
Paramount Home Entertainment and CBS DVD have released the first 4 seasons on DVD in Region 1. Season 5, volume 1 was released on October 11, 2011.[18] Season 5, volume 2 will be released on December 13, 2011.[19]
DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
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The First Season | 39 | July 17, 2007 |
The Second Season, Volume 1 | 20 | January 8, 2008 |
The Second Season, Volume 2 | 19 | May 27, 2008 |
The Third Season, Volume 1 | 20 | December 9, 2008 |
The Third Season, Volume 2 | 19 | May 26, 2009 |
The Fourth Season, Volume 1 | 20 | October 5, 2010 |
The Fourth Season, Volume 2 | 19 | December 14, 2010 |
The Fifth Season, Volume 1 | 20 | October 11, 2011 |
The Fifth Season, Volume 2 | 19 | December 13, 2011 |
Gunsmoke had one spin-off series, Dirty Sally, a semi-comedy starring Jeanette Nolan as an old woman and Dack Rambo as a young gunfighter, leaving Dodge City for California in order to pan for gold. The program lasted only thirteen weeks and aired in the first half of 1974, a year before Gunsmoke ended.
The Gunsmoke radio theme song and later TV theme was titled "Old Trails," also known as "Boothill." The Gunsmoke theme was composed by Rex Koury.[29] The original radio version was conducted by Koury. The TV version was thought to have been first conducted by CBS west coast music director Lud Gluskin. The lyrics of the theme, never aired on the radio or television show, were recorded and released by Tex Ritter in 1955. Ritter was backed on that Capitol record by Rex Koury and the radio "Gunsmoke" orchestra.[30]
Other notable composers included:
The Gunsmoke brand was used to endorse numerous products, from cottage cheese[31] to cigarettes.
Lowell Toy Manufacturing Corporation ("It's a Lowell Game") issued Gunsmoke as their game No. 822.[32] Other products include Gunsmoke puzzles,[33]
In 1985, Capcom released a video game for the arcade (and its corresponding game for the NES in 1988) with a western theme, called Gun.Smoke. Other than the western theme, the show and game have no relationship whatsoever, so to avoid plagiarism, the dot in between the words "gun" and "smoke" was inserted.
The program currently airs on three major venues; TV Land, which has carried the show since coming to the air in 1996, Encore Westerns, and Weigel Broadcasting's Me-TV digital subchannel network, which carries both Gunsmoke and Marshall Dillon. Individual stations such as KFWD in Dallas also carry the series in their markets.
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