Reviews of the newest DVD collections
of your favorite classic TV shows!

Click on the title to order - huge discounts and free shipping through Amazon.com!

Gunsmoke - The Second Season, Vol. 1 (1955)

Massively popular back in the day and widely credited as being the first adult western for television, Gunsmoke was the show that would have starred John Wayne had he had any desire to do TV.

There's plenty of violence on Gunsmoke but no blood and not a lot of happy endings. At times brutish and raw, Matt is a hard man dealing with harsh conditions, not the laid back father figure he became in later years.

While Matt Dillon rules Dodge City with a firm but fair hand, his version of reading a criminal his Miranda rights is to growl, "Mister you've got one right left - and that's to hang. And I'm going to see that happens real soon."

This DVD set contains the first 20 half-hour black & white episodes of the second season (Gunsmoke went to one hour in 1961); this was as good as network TV got during that era.

Episodes in this collection are directed by Andrew McLaglen, Ted Post and William D. Russell with scripts by Sam Peckinpah (among others) and familiar western guest actors popping up like Claude Akins and Paul Fix.

In my opinion, Gunsmoke got better with the expansion to an hour and the addition of Festus in the mid-1960s. What's the opposite of Jumping the Shark?

I shudder to think how many years it will take to get to the episodes from the late-1960s / 1970s that I'm anxious to see again but that's what makes the Gunsmoke 50th Anniversary Editions so cool - they focus on the later, color shows I prefer.

That said, there is a genuine moodiness in the early years of Gunsmoke that others will prefer to the lighter tone of the color shows. This marvelous collection of action-packed episodes makes for enjoyable weekend viewing.

Studio: Paramount Home Video
DVD Release Date: January 8, 2008
Run Time: 526 minutes

DVD Features:
Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
20 episodes from the 1956-57 season on 3 discs
Some episodes may be edited from their original network versions
Sponsor spots

SEE ALSO: Gunsmoke on DVD review

Back to the TV on DVD Review Section

TVparty! for TV on DVD!

Reviews by Billy Ingram, as seen on VH1, Trio and Bravo.

Carol Burnett Show on DVD

FEATURES YOU MIGHT ENJOY: NYC Kid Shows Dark Shadows Movie Rodney Dangerfield Classic TV Moms Adventures of Superman Was Lost a Rip-Off? KISS in the 1970s TV Cigarette Commercials

Doris Day Daniel Boone & Fess Parker That Girl Mr. Ed & Marilyn Monroe?!? Ooh! Ooh! Joe E. Ross Vivian Vance 1988 Saturday Mornings Classic TV Shows of the 1960s & 1970s

---

Gunsmoke on DVD review

---

Gunsmoke - The Second Season, Vol. 1 (1955)

Genres: Drama, Western, Wild West, Dodge City

Plot Outline: Marshall Matt Dillon keeps the peace in the rough and tumble Dodge City.

Plot Synopsis: Marshal Matt Dillon is in charge of Dodge City, a town in the wild west where people often have no respect for the law.

He deals on a daily basis with the problems associated with frontier life: cattle rustling, gunfights, brawls, standover tactics, and land fraud. Such situations call for sound judgement and brave actions: of which Marshal Dillon has plenty.

Plot Keywords: Bartender | Based On Radio Show | Deputy Marshal | Saloon Owner | Saloon | Town Doctor | Dodge City Kansas | Kansas | Marshal | Famous Opening Theme | Cult Western | Cult TV

---

Gunsmoke - 50th Anniversary
Collection, Volumes 1 & 2

Plot Outline Marshall Matt Dillon keeps the peace in the rough and tumble Dodge City.

Plot Synopsis: Marshal Matt Dillon deals on a daily basis with the problems associated with frontier life: cattle rustling, gunfights, brawls, standover tactics, and land fraud. Such situations call for sound judgement and brave actions: of which Marshal Dillon has plenty.

Product Description
Matt Dillon is responsible for bringing law and respectability to the Dodge City in this western action-drama. The show still holds the record for being the longest running primetime drama series in television history.

---

Gunsmoke Season One on DVD

Number of discs: 6
Studio: Paramount
DVD Release Date: July 17, 2007
Run Time: 1051 minutes

Product Description:
Marshall Matt Dillon is responsible for keeping the law and respectability in Dodge City in this western action-drama. Gunsmoke captured the courage, character and spirit of the Western Frontier.

Gunsmoke Season Two on DVD

Number of discs: 3
Studio: Paramount Home Video
DVD Release Date: January 8, 2008
Run Time: 526 minutes