User Reviews

Aaron Locker is sweet on a saloon girl named Leah Brunson and in fact Aaron is going to ask Leah to marry him. This does not set well with Aaron's brother, Hobie, that claims Leah is just using Aaron.

One evening a buffalo hunter comes named Coley Fletcher comes into the Long Branch and starts trouble with Leah. When Aaron comes in he ask Leah to step outside and Fletcher becomes upset. He knocks Aaron in the head causes fatal injuries. Matt rides out to try to find Fletcher.

Fletcher then comes up on a bitter cowboy named Jubal Tanner shoots Jubal and steals his horse. Matt rides up to the injured Jubal, which seems to have some sort of attitude problem with all mankind, and takes him back to Dodge so that Doc can remove the bullet from his leg.

In the meantime Hobie invites Leah out to the farm by telling her that Aaron had something that he feel Leah may want to possess. But when Leah arrives, Hobie starts up that he was the first one to see her and thinks she should marry him. Leah slaps Hobie and returns to Dodge.

In town she makes friends with the bitter Jubal Tanner and we learn the fact why Jubal is bitter. He was a guard at Andersonville prison during the Civil War and had to obey rules that made men animals.

Hobie comes into Dodge with the purpose of killing Leah. Jubal ends up saving her life but she would have been happy to die, seems she is also bitter. Jubal and Leah maybe two of a kind.

A interesting story with some great actors. Denver Pyle, Kevin Hagen, Peter Breck and Beverly Garland make this an all-star cast that provides entertainment till the end. The script had few if any flaws and the story was compelling. A good watch.

Small Screen Magic is the result from the talents of Beverly Garland and Peter Breck in this episode of Gunsmoke. Garland's character, of Leah, the saloon gal has not lost her kindness even if saloon life left her jaded. Jubal Tanner was completely jaded from his time fighting The Civil War, and other events like what happens to him in the story. The story revolves around those two primarily, their interactions with Gunsmoke regulars and others. Without spoiling the story, I assure Gunsmoke fans THIS episode is among the finest of all Gunsmoke stories! "The Odyssey of Jubal Tanner" - A "must see"!

The episode should have been titled "The Odyssey of Leah Brunson", since her emotional journey is clearly the focus of the story.

Beverly Garland is fabulous-- no more need be said. Leah interacts with no less than FOUR men, each of them affecting her in a different way: a sympathetic older man, his creepy, maladjusted brother, a brutish, violent fur trapper, and finally a bitter, cynical loner with little reason to live...and with whom Leah, in her despair, comes to identify with.

I rate this show an 8 despite it's unbalanced script, which could have been MUCH more effective if the action with the two brothers was condensed somewhat, in order to give Jubal Tanner another 5 minutes of screen-time so that the viewer could really connect with his story. As it is, he merely seems like the fourth (and final) male guest star with whom Ms. Garland interacts.

Still, the show is very well done--- Ms. Garland really is a solid, honest, and compelling presence, and Peter Breck--so often prone to scenery-chewing--is sufficiently restrained. Thus, "The Odyssey of Leah Brunson" is another strong entry into the rolls of Gunsmoke's excellent Season #8. LR

Gunsmoke was so well written that sometimes the regular cast members weren't even needed. This was one such episode. Great performances by all the guest stars make this a very good watch despite minimal appearances by Matt, Kitty and Doc

Great acting and directing hit the spot in this one, an ensemble performance to remember headed by Peter Breck and Beverly Garland. Amanda Blake as Kitty does best of the regulars, but even she steps out of the way of the two principals and allows performing room for Kevin Hagen, Denver Pyle, and even well-worn western villain, the hulking Gregg Palmer. New depths and heights are reached here, for what is probably the best of the 1962-63 series and a fitting finale for the season. "Gunsmoke" was the most popular series on tv through these years, bar none, and for good reason. Thereafter it would tail off somewhat (lasting as a high rater for another 12 years), but was always a highly respected drama across genres.

Aaron Locker, a rather humble farmer, has fallen in love with Leah Brunson, one of the women that works for Miss Kitty at The Long Branch Saloon. Aaron's brother, Hobie, is not too happy about the relationship.

When a big, brutish buffalo hunter named Colie Fletcher shows up at the Long Branch, he and Aaron have words, and Fletcher is humiliated. Aaron and Leah leave the saloon and begin discussing marriage. An angry Fletcher finds them and hits Aaron so hard it fractures his skull, eventually resulting in Aaron's death. He also backhands Leah.

Fletcher flees Dodge, and Marshal Dillon sets out in pursuit. Fletcher soon finds himself on foot after his horse goes lame. He comes upon a joyless, cantankerous young man named Jubal Tanner camping. Fletcher shoots Tanner and steals his horse, but Matt finds the wounded Tanner and takes him to Dodge where Doc tends to the gunshot wound in his leg.

Meanwhile, Hobie Locker blames Leah for his brother's death. As far as Hobie is concerned, if Aaron had never met Leah, he would still be alive. We soon learn that all is not exactly clear where Hobie's feelings for Leah are concerned.

Of course, Fletcher has still managed to avoid justice for killing Aaron. Matt again sets out in pursuit of the killer.

All of these events establish several separate threads that intersect at various points, but it is difficult to fully discern whether there is a central plot element or not. Ultimately the story is about Leah and Jubal Tanner, both which are harboring a brooding bitterness due to deep emotional scars. In many ways, the story seems to center more on Leah than Tanner. This odyssey is as much Leah's as it is Jubal's.

This is the first of over one hundred Gunsmoke episodes written by veteran writer Paul Savage. Savage would go on to pen several great episodes in the series, but I think this story is a little too disjointed to rank among them. Still, it isn't a bad episode.

(Incidentally, Savage wrote an episode of The Big Valley with the same name, although the two stories have nothing in common.)

This episode features a fine cast of familiar character actors. Peter Breck, who would later star as Nick Barkley in The Big Valley, plays Jubal Tanner in his second and final Gunsmoke appearance. Denver Pyle is Aaron Locker, and Kevin Hagan is his brother. Gregg Palmer, a familiar face in the Gunsmoke world, is Fletcher. (Palmer appeared in twenty-one Gunsmoke episodes, and this is his third appearance in Season 8.) Beverly Garland plays the role of Leah in the first of four series appearances. Only Garland gets extended screen time here, as most of the others have relatively small roles. Look for a brief appearance by Hal Needham, who enjoyed a long career in Hollywood as a stunt man, director, and occasional actor.