Gunsmoke (season 17)

Gunsmoke is an American Western television series developed by Charles Marquis Warren and based on the radio program of the same name.[1] The series ran for 20 seasons, making it the longest-running Western in television history.[2][3]

Gunsmoke
Season 17
Starring
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes24
Release
Original networkCBS
Original releaseSeptember 13, 1971 (1971-09-13) 
March 13, 1972 (1972-03-13)
Season chronology

The first episode of season 17 aired in the United States on September 13, 1971, and the final episode aired on March 13, 1972. All episodes were broadcast in the U.S. by CBS.[4]

Season 17 of Gunsmoke was the sixth season of color episodes. Previous seasons were filmed in black-and-white.

Synopsis

Gunsmoke is set in and around Dodge City, Kansas, in the post-Civil War era and centers on United States Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) as he enforces law and order in the city. In its original format, the series also focuses on Dillon's friendship with deputy Festus Haggen (Ken Curtis);[5] Doctor Galen "Doc" Adams (Milburn Stone), the town's physician; Kitty Russell (Amanda Blake), saloon girl and later owner of the Long Branch Saloon;[6] and deputy Newly O'Brien (Buck Taylor).[7]

Cast and characters

Main

Production

Season 17 consisted of 24 one-hour color episodes produced by executive producer John Mantley along with producer Leonard Katzman an associate producer Ron Honthaner.

Episode 1, "The Lost", was the last episode directed by Robert Totten.

Episode 19, "One for the Road", was the third of three episodes that led to the spin-off series, Dirty Sally.

Casting

Pat Hingle was cast as the down doctor to replace Milburn Stone's character, Doc Adams. He appeared in six episodes, beginning with episode 5, "New Doctor in Town". Stone returned to the role of Doc Adams in episode 12, "The Bullet".

Episodes

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
5401"The Lost"Robert TottenStory by: Warren Vanders
Screenplay by: Jack Miller
September 13, 1971 (1971-09-13)
Kitty befriends a Wild Child (Laurie Prange) when she gets lost after a stagecoach accident, and together they try to survive until they can reach civilization.
5412"Phoenix"Paul StanleyAnthony LawrenceSeptember 20, 1971 (1971-09-20)
Bank robber Phoenix (Glenn Corbett), set to be released from Leavenworth after serving his time, must decide whether or not he will kill ex-lawman Jess Hume (Gene Evans) for the $2,000 in gold double eagles that his cell-mate John Sontag (Ramon Bieri) offers, and Hume's beautiful young wife Kate (Mariette Hartley) only adds more incentive.
5423"Waste (Part 1)"Vincent McEveetyJim ByrnesSeptember 27, 1971 (1971-09-27)
Matt's search for outlaw Ben Rodman (Jeremy Slate) is interrupted by a search for the boy Willie Hubbard's (Johnnie Whitaker) mother Sarah, which leads them to a group of saloon girls crossing the badlands in Maggie Blaisedell's (Ruth Roman) wagon.
5434"Waste (Part 2)"Vincent McEveetyJim ByrnesOctober 4, 1971 (1971-10-04)
Matt, the boy, Jed and the saloon girls get trapped in a deserted fort without any water, to play a waiting game with Ben Rodman's outlaws who will stop at nothing to get the gold Maggie is smuggling out to the prospectors who mined it.
5445"New Doctor in Town"Philip LeacockJack MillerOctober 11, 1971 (1971-10-11)
Dr. John Chapman (Pat Hingle) finds it hard to be accepted as he tries to fill in for Doc Adams, who felt the need to return to medical school after losing a patient.
5456"The Legend"Philip LeacockCalvin Clements, Jr.October 18, 1971 (1971-10-18)
A young man, Travis Colter (Jan-Michael Vincent) starts to consider heading down the same path as his outlaw brothers, while his mother Beatrice Colter (Kim Hunter) tries to dissuade him.
5467"Trafton"Bernard McEveetyRon BishopOctober 25, 1971 (1971-10-25)
After shooting a priest who forgave him before dying, hardened outlaw Trafton (Victor French) finds compassion for his victims, which leads to his downfall.
5478"Lynott"Gunnar HellströmRon BishopNovember 1, 1971 (1971-11-01)
Former lawman Tom Lynott (Richard Kiley) fills in for Matt after he is badly wounded, but Lynott's easygoing approach to the law puts Dodge City at the mercy of Talley (Anthony Caruso) and his cohorts.
5489"Lijah"Irving J. MooreWilliam BlinnNovember 8, 1971 (1971-11-08)
Mountain man Lijah (Denny Miller) is accused of massacring farmers.
54910"My Brother's Keeper"Paul StanleyArthur Dales[C]November 15, 1971 (1971-11-15)
Festus tries to keep an old Sioux Indian (John Dierkes) alive, even though he wishes to die in peace.
55011"Drago"Paul StanleyJim ByrnesNovember 22, 1971 (1971-11-22)
Outlaw Hannon (Ben Johnson) murders Clara (Tani Phelps Guthrie) to steal her horse and severely injures her son Ruben (Mitchell Silberman), while their guest, a mountain-man/scout named Drago (Buddy Ebsen), is fishing. Matt deputizes Drago to join a posse under Newly, but Drago is out for vigilante vengeance and sets out ahead of the posse to hunt down and kill Hannon.
55112"The Bullet (Part 1)"Bernard McEveetyJim ByrnesNovember 29, 1971 (1971-11-29)
Doc Adams returns to dodge just as Matt is backshot by skinner Amos Potter (Norman Alden), but he is unable or unwilling to try to remove the bullet himself, as it is dangerously close to Matt's spine. Doc, Kitty, Festus and Newly load Matt onto a train bound for Denver where there is a surgeon that Doc trusts to remove the bullet. However, Jack Sinclair (Eric Braeden) and his gang complicate matters by stopping the train to rob an army gold shipment.
55213"The Bullet (Part 2)"Bernard McEveetyJim ByrnesDecember 6, 1971 (1971-12-06)
Sinclair's gang delay Doc's and Matt's journey to Denver while they offload the army gold from the train to a wagon. Beth Tilton (Katherine Justice) plots to free herself from Pinkerton detective Caldwell's (Walter Sande) custody.
55314"The Bullet (Part 3)"Bernard McEveetyJim ByrnesDecember 13, 1971 (1971-12-13)
Festus and Newly try to delay Sinclair from leaving with the gold to give the Conductor (Warren Kemmerling) time to get the train moving towards Denver again. While Matt is unconscious, Kitty reveals her feelings towards Matt, summing up with "...after 17 years...it's the longest non-permanent relationship in history." Meanwhile, Father Sanchez (Alejandro Rey) encourages Doc to perform an emergency surgery on Matt to save the marshal's life
55415"P.S. Murry Christmas"Herb WallersteinWilliam KelleyDecember 27, 1971 (1971-12-27)
Drifter Titus Spangler (Jack Elam) and seven orphans find a way to melt the cold heart of the orphanage headmistress Emma Grundy (Jeanette Nolan) at Christmastime.
55516"No Tomorrow"Irving J. MooreRichard FielderJanuary 3, 1972 (1972-01-03)
Homesteader Ben Justin (Sam Groom) is falsely accused and convicted of stealing horses, and then further accused of murder after breaking out of jail to be with his wife Elizabeth (Pamela McMyler) and newborn son.
55617"Hidalgo"Paul StanleyColley CibberJanuary 10, 1972 (1972-01-10)
Outlaws led by Mando (Alfonso Arau) shoot Matt and leave him to die in the desert of Chihuahua where he is found by a Mexican boy, Lucho (Fabian Gregory), the son of Agustin Hildago (Thomas Gomez), who helps Matt recover. Hildago's help puts his family, including his daughter Lucero (Linda Marsh), in danger of retaliation from Mando.
55718"Tara"Bernard McEveetyWilliam KelleyJanuary 17, 1972 (1972-01-17)
The charming widow Tara Hutson (Michele Carey) plays Newly against gunman Gecko Ridley (L. Q. Jones) who is after $5,000 her husband stole before going to prison.
55819"One for the Road"Bernard McEveetyJack MillerJanuary 24, 1972 (1972-01-24)
A drunk, Lucius Prince (Jack Albertson), escapes from his reproving daughter, Miss Elsie (Melissa Murphy), who wants to put her father in an institution. However, her fiancé Tom Rickaby (Victor Holchak) wants a quick and final solution. Sally Fergus (Jeanette Nolan) helps Lucius face up to the problem.
55920"The Predators"Bernard McEveetyCalvin Clements, Sr.January 31, 1972 (1972-01-31)
A "mad" dog is killing cattle and sheep, while vengeful gunman Howard Kane (Claude Akins) sets out to kill Cole Matson (George Murdock), the man who shot him in the back four years ago. Abelia (Jacqueline Scott) tries to dissuade Kane, while her children Jonathan (Brian Morrison) and Marieanne (Jodie Foster) try to tame the dog.
56021"Yankton"Vincent McEveetyJim ByrnesFebruary 7, 1972 (1972-02-07)
Saddle tramp Yankton (James Stacy) uses rancher Will Donavan's (Forrest Tucker) money to court his daughter, Emma (Pamela Payton-Wright), but her mother Henrietta (Nancy Olson) wants to take her to Europe instead.
56122"Blind Man's Buff"Herb WallersteinRon HonthanerFebruary 21, 1972 (1972-02-21)
Two bushwhackers, Charlie Clavin (George Lindsey) and Hank McCall (Charles Kuenstle), shoot and rob a man, causing him to lose his memory. The lonely widow Phoebe Preston (Anne Jackson) finds and takes care of the wounded amnesiac, calling him Jed Frazer (Victor French), her newlywed husband.
56223"Alias Festus Haggin"Vincent McEveetyCalvin Clements, Sr.March 6, 1972 (1972-03-06)
A case of mistaken identity ensues when Festus is identified by a special agent for the governor, Doyle (Ramon Bieri), and by Rand (Booth Colman), as being Frank Eaton who is wanted for three murders, among other charges.
56324"The Wedding"Bernard McEveetyHarry KronmanMarch 13, 1972 (1972-03-13)
Donna Clayton (Melissa Newman) and Cory Soames (Sam Elliott) are determined to get married despite the objections of her father, Walt Clayton (Morgan Woodward).

Release

Broadcast

Season seventeen aired Mondays at 8:00-9:00 pm (EST) on CBS.[4]

Home media

The seventeenth season was released on DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment on December 10, 2019.

Reception

Gunsmoke season 17 reached #4 in the Nielsen ratings.[9]

Footnotes

  1. Barbaras 1990, p. 74–75.
  2. Brooks & Marsh 2007, p. 570–571.
  3. McNeil 1996, p. 351–352.
  4. Brooks & Marsh 2007, p. 570.
  5. Barbaras 1990, p. 116–118.
  6. Barbaras 1990, p. 87–102.
  7. Barbaras 1990, p. 147–148.
  8. Costello 2006, p. pp=484–496.
  9. "1971-1972 TV Ratings". classictvguide.com.

References

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