User Reviews

Newly O'Brien, who had attended school to learn about healthcare for a brief time earlier in his life, has been working closely with Doc Adams to learn more about treating various maladies. The always overworked Doc asks Newly to go into the hill country near Dodge City, visit the communities located there, and provide medical assistance as needed.

The people Newly visits are poor and live isolated lives. They follow strict religious practices that have been established through traditional practices, and -- often -- by misinterpreting Biblical passages. They naturally distrust anyone from outside the community, including this younger man who is offering medical assistance and is decidedly NOT Doc.

Newly, on the other hand, is condescending toward the people. He is as frustrated by their medical ignorance as they are by his approach, which only makes them distrust him.

When Newly encounters a man in extreme respiratory distress, he realizes he must perform an emergency tracheotomy, or the man will suffocate. The people in the area have incorrectly interpreted some Bible verses as a Godly prohibition against cutting anyone's skin. When the old man dies, Kermit, the community leader and son of the dead man, accuses Newly of murder. Newly does not help his cause by continuing to talk down to the people and insult them. He is subsequently sentenced to be hanged.

When Festus and Doc learn that Newly has disappeared, they go to investigate and find the people about to hang their friend. They attempt to stop the proceedings, and Doc is accidentally shot during the resulting melee. The wound is not fatal, but Doc will die without surgery to remove the bullet and stop the bleeding.

Will the people in the community allow Newly to violate their principles and operate on Doc? Will Doc survive? Will they rethink their death sentence for Newly?

There are many extras in this episode, but there are few notable guest stars. Character actor Billy Green Bush turns in a notable, impressive performance as Kermit, the apparent leader of the community of hill country people. This is his only Gunsmoke appearance. James Van Patten plays the community member that is responsible for Newly tending to the old man that died. This is also his only Gunsmoke appearance, but his brother Vincent also appeared in a couple of episodes.

The trio of Buck Taylor, Ken Curtis, and Milburn Stone are the focus of this episode, and this is the first episode in some time that prominently features those actors and the characters of Newly O'Brien, Festus Haggen, and Doc Adams they play, respectively. It is also worth noting Glenn Strange makes his final appearance as the beloved Long Branch Saloon bartender Sam Noonan in the final scene of this episode, as he was suffering from advanced lung cancer at the time and passed away soon afterwards.

This is an enjoyable episode despite relying on a theme that is fairly common in the westerns genre. The main character (or characters) is (are) among distrustful strangers with different laws and customs, and the main character ends up a captive for some reason. It has been done in almost every westerns series. (The Rifleman used it numerous times.) Variations have been used previously in this series. (See Season 11's "Which Dr." episode where Doc finds himself in a comparable situation.)

Additionally, the portion of the story with Newly performing surgery on Doc under the circumstances described is a bit beyond the plausible and the least interesting portion of the episode, because the viewer knows how it will end. There is an interesting reference to the Season 18 "Patricia" episode in the scene where Doc is trying to convince Newly to perform the surgery. Patricia's voice is even heard.

This is another villain-less story, which happens more frequently in the later season. The hill people are obviously supposed to be seen as the bad guys, but they clearly see the intruders from Dodge in that role.

Poor, young crusader Newly O'Brien can't take a hint. Not only is he not put off by the invariably ungrateful, mean country people who make up Doc Adams' rounds (it's a wonder Doc himself hasn't retired years before at the thought), he pursues a reluctant patient to the never-nevers instead of sticking to the rounds -- and gets what the locals think is coming to him. Youthful enthusiasm has its bounds, and Newly is well beyond the age and experience of what is presented here as believable. Some screen writers just don't cotton to country folk, I reckon.

Newly (Muley) always acted like he was still a little kid in the Boy Scouts. Once he joined the cast, Ms. Kitty got kidnapped a lot less, and it was sweet Muley that got beaten up, kidnapped, blackmailed, tricked by women, shot at, and verbally abused. Muley's amazingly sunny personality and pledge to never shoot anyone seemed to attract villains. Between lame Chester, illiterate Festus, and Newly Muley, Marshal Dillon never picked a straight shooter as deputy.

In this episode, Muley goes out of his way to intrude into a group that thinks surgery is a sin. Muley forces them to allow him to perform surgery on an old man who was dying, and he dies. The hillbillies decide Muley caused his death. They called it murder, but they meant "medical malpractice." Either way, the best solution would have been for Muley to die. It would have made the show a lot better.

Doc & Festus come to the rescue, and good old Doc, who was the best member of the cast after James Arness, gets shot. It is up to Muley to save Doc's life. Can he do it?