Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:42 — 15.2MB)
Dipping into the vault, and another show from our first season, here’s my original show notes.
First, consider supporting the podcast through my Patreon page. As little as $5 per month will go a long way.
My robots are at it again. They temporarily hijacked my computer long enough to put this show together. They worked hard at it. They think I don’t know.
Just humor them.
It looks like we are in the old west today with Matt Dillon, Chester and the rest. The show gets clipped in the closing credits, but the episode is all there.
Westerns have been around since the days when cowboys and Indians roamed the plains and deserts. It took until 1949 though before a program was developed for adults rather than kids. Instead of centering on gunfights, horse chases and general swashbuckling,
Gunsmoke had its focus on relationships. The characters were meant to have flaws and be more realistic. Chester was just an average citizen, Kitty, as a saloonkeeper, was definitely not in nice society circles. Matt Dillon was a ranch hand who got tired of sitting in a saddle and took to upholding the law. Not what he would have picked as a career choice, but he normally had a solid sense of what was fair.
The human interaction might easily be rewritten for any time period, not just the old west. That is what makes Gunsmoke such an appealing show for adults. People face the same kind of relationship issues all through the ages, and those relationships will always be relevant. The writers and show producers did all they could to show a version of reality, even if the characters sometimes make bad decisions or display flaws.
Thanks for listening,
Keith H
PS: It’s that time of month again. Shows from last August have cleaned out of the server to make space. If anyone is interested, a CD will soon be available containing all the shows from my first year in podcasting. Let me know whether you would prefer to have the shows exactly as I posted them. With robot hosts and all. Or just the Old Radio shows. With No extra comments. The cost of the CD will be $10 and include shipping in the continental United States.
When the CD is ready, I’ll put a button, or at least a link to a page with a button to order it.
–kh
A stranger rides to town, and has already been involved in gunplay. It was self defense, but if it keeps happening, Matt Dillon may be forced to intervene. The gunman lures his victims to get angry, and draw on him first.
Chester figures if Mavis were to leave on the next stage coach, it could end the reign of terror. Matt tries to convince her boyfriend to be a gentleman, and join her on it. It takes a little gunplay, but Matt sees the gambler, France, is safely on the coach, and out of the way.
Matt doesn’t usually insert himself into personal affairs of his citizens. Has he done the right thing? Doc is on hand to share a secret, and assure his friend.
Bonus Tracks
- After Keith introduces the episode, and gives some background on the Retrobot drama in the old episode, he tells how to support the show.
- Connie Haines 1942 Cow Cow Boogie
