I have fond memories of watching Gunsmoke with my Grandad, who thought it was the only show on Television worth watching, except for maybe 'Bonanza'.  The characters were wonderful, with Miss Kitty and Doc, Festus and Matt Dillion.  It was good Western Television, the likes of which we just don't see anymore.

Has a good claim to being the greatest ever TV show.  Excellent writing made the characters real and their community real.  Matt, Doc, and Kitty endured for most of the show.  Chester was the most interesting character of the early years.  When he left, Festus replaced him and became the most interesting character of the later years.  I recently bought the first season on DVD and the image of Matt walking across the desolate boot hill really took me back to my youth.

Gunsmoke was my favorite western.We can still get it on cable t.v. Even thought I love Festus,I would love to see some of the earlier shows of gunsmoke with Dennis Weaver playing the deputy.I hope this is one show they never take off the air.It's been playing for 53 years!!

They don't make good westerns like this one anymore....How Sad

Matt Dillon wes my hero growing up. This was one of the best shows. When the show comes on, you cant help but watch the entire episode.We need more shows like that today.

As a kid growing up in the 50's I had Polio. I spent years flat on my back. all I had to do was listen to the radio. Gunsmoke was at the top of all radio shows i loved to listen to. Then GUNSMOKE went to television and James Arness was my Hero. Thanks to people like William Conrad, and James Arness all the time spent in bed was made a little easier for me.

Thank You ;
Monte Hancock
Monte_Hancock@msn.com

I still love to watch this show. I love the characters, especially Matt Dillon. I do think that Matt has killed more people on TV with a gun than any other character in TV history. I love Dodge City with Kitty, Doc, Festus, Clint, and Chester. These were all great characters. I was always amazed at Matt's determination to do what he thought was right. Some of the best shows were the one's that had moral delima's. Not ever show had a happy ending and sometimes you were left pondering the meaning of life for people that lived like they lived. Matt said something once that has stuck with me. He told a man named Guiness who had done something terrile to someone and Matt was running him out of town "There is something missing in you Guiness." I thought, he has captured in this one statement what it means to be an evil person. Evil is not something that gets in you, but it is when something that is suppose to be there is missing from you.

Gunsmoke is one of the best shows ever. It is my all time favorite. The scripts, the settings, and the cast were all perfect. My only worry is they will ruin it and make it into a movie like they have so many other past TV shows. There just isn't anyone I can see playing Matt Dillon, Kitty Russell, Doc Adams, Festus Haggin, and Chester Good than James Arness, Amanda Blake, Milburne Stone, Ken Curtis, and Dennis Weaver. There just isn't anyone else like anyone of them. A great classic from beginning to end!!!

What can one say about Gunsmoke? The righteous Marshal Dillon keeping a lid on things in Dodge. Lots of good plot-lines and characters moved through the series. Who will forget Doc, Kitty, Festus, Chester, Sam the Bartender, etc. There might be a guest star of note in the episode. This was the epitome of the tv oater.

Did you ever notice that Matt Dillion only had one set of clothes? Doc was so inept he couldn't even pull a tooth. The original Chester was a limping queer always yelling Mr. Dillion, Mr.Dillion because he couldn't handle anything. Festus always looked like he was dumpster diving and Kitty was always screwing every swinging dick that rode thru town.

Like a lot of series, this got worse the longer it was on the air. Pretty solid to start with, it got repetitive and increasingly poorly written as time went on.

One of the all time greatest shows ever!! The cast became the characters and we love them still today. Live long and prosper Matt & Kitty!!!!

Back then life was so simple with little worries, where People built porches on their home to set and talk to neighbors and had a role model to look up to.(James Arness) Today people build fences to isolate their neighbors and as far as role models today....????

GREATEST SHOW EVER!!! MASH AND ALL IN THE FAMILY ARE CLOSE...BUT NO CIGAR. BUCKER...WISCONSIN

Another one of my favorites, very entertaining. James Arnez was awesome.

Gunsmoke is my favorite show. I just wish I would have started watching it alot sooner. I just hope I will be able to see all 635 episodes and 5 movies before my cable channels decide to stop showing it.

Great show except for the last few years and then it got boring...watch the older shows and you'll see what I mean.

I Hate this show. I cannot believe this show was on television for twenty years. Aboslutely bornig as hell. I am so glad that westerns are not popular anymore

Gunsmoke was great all the years I watched, up to hte very end. The characters were real and believable, the episodes were strongly written, and it is a standout among westerns along with Bonanza.

Gunsmoke Was A Great TV Western.I'm Not Surprised it Lasted As Long As it Did..James Arness Was Tailored For That Role! Introduced By John Wayne in The First Episode...I'm Sure Glad I Have The Whole Series on Video Tape!

A good show and its longevity proves it. I watcvhed it as a kid, even when I didn't know what Ms. Kitty and all those bar girls really did for aliving.

Gunsmoke lasted 20 years because it was the best western on TV. I loved the characters (especially Matt) and enjoyed the whole 20 years. James Arness will be featured on Biography on A&E on May 16 and May 17, 2002 in case there are other loving fans out there!

Simply the greatest TV show ever made.

I am just SO glad there are no more Westerns on TV now like there were back then...

This is the best show ever. Lots of human stories and sets the standards for high morals. Cast of characters worked very well together -- much chemistry. Too bad we don't have shows like this today.

Gunsmoke is getting two stars only because it recieves credit for staying around for 20 whole years. Now, that's not easy at all, but by 15 years past, no single soul was watching this show, and I know why.

Overrated and boring. I didn't like it then and I don't like it now.

maverick is the best western ever made and it's not even on your list. gunsmoke: one of the 15 most overrated shows

Better than the average TV western because of the characters