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krisdoering
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Gunsmoke: The Foundling (1974)
The Foundlimg
It all begins with Eli Baines and his wife coming to town to deal with the owner of the mercantile to apparently sell him seed. Eli's wife makes sure to ask him not to go to the saloon. It was no place for Eli because he became a different person if he drank. I've known people like that so this is not an uncommon situation. Well, Eli meets up with a friend on the street who wants him to come to the Long Branch to help him celebrate his son getting an appointment to West Point. His friend gets him there and thus Eli Baines' demise begins. He has way more than he could take and starts wrecking up the place fighting. Burke, the freight office manager goes to get Matt to break it up telling Matt that Eli has gone crazy. Matt pulls him off of the man he was beating up but Eli grabs a gun that was on the floor and fires at Matt forcing Matt to defend himself and ends up killing Eli. Matt knew him and his wife and really felt bad about what he had to do. Mrs Baines held no hard feelings against Matt knowing that he did what he had to do and went to talk with Matt to assure him of that. Matt decides to get away for a few days and Kitty sees him getting ready to leave so she goes to talk to him. She even tries to blame herself for what happened as had Sam been there he would never have served Eli more than one drink but with a new man behind the bar he did not know about Eli and Kitty just never thought to tell him..So Matt rides off. He gets caught in a rain storm the following night and happens upon a cave to get him and his horse into. He no more than gets inside and a fire started than he hears a baby cry. He walks ahead a short distance and finds a young girl,likely no more than 15, with a new baby. She seems scared asks him who he is and if he's an outlaw, which he assures her by his badge that he is a United States Marshal from Dodge City. He can easily tell the baby is cold and its mother not a lot better and gets them to come by his fire to ET some heat and some food. Upon finding out what he can about the girl he learns that she was attacked and ended up pregnant because of it. Her parents would have nothing to do with her and sent her away to a "home for wayward girls" to have her baby. She leaves there not wanting to have her baby there " because one of the girls died ". She decided to go and find the lady who had delivered her to have her help her deliver the baby. Before getting there, the baby comes and this is how she ended up in the cave. Matt takes her back to her family but he meets with opposition. The parents relent and take back their daughter but refuse the baby. They send the baby with Matt back to Dodge. Matt gets back late with the baby in his arm and stops at the Long Branch and wakes up Kitty. She really had no idea what was going on and why should she but she ends up with the baby in her arms and Matt tells her he'd see her in the morning. One might have known he would do that. Kitty begins to care for the child even admitting that the saloon was no place for one but that Matt didn't have to be in a hurry to find a home for it either. Kitty grew very attached to this little baby. Bought a carriage for it, a bassinet, and pretty clothes with tiny ribbons. In the meantime, Doc thinks that Mrs. Baines would be a very good person to raise the child as she had given birth but her baby died. Matt goes to see her about it and she agrees to take it. Kitty however is at this point determined to do whatever it takes to"properly raise" the baby. To quote Kitty she had"gotten a room at the Dodge House,I move in tomorrow when she gets older I'll get a house on the edge of Dodge and if necessary I sell the Long Branch. So you see she'll be raised properly". Quite determined, wasn't she. Matt had no choice at that time but to tell Mrs. Baines he wouldn't be bringing the baby after all because Kitty wanted to keep it. Poor Mrs. Baines she was so looking forward to something positive in her life. She decides to go and visit with Kitty in hopes of changing her mind. After the visit, Kitty comes to Matt with the baby,she named it Mary, and tells him she has decided that Mary would be better off with Mrs. Baines and would Matt take her there. She asks that he say nothing because"it won't take much for me to change my mind" He asks no questions and takes her out there. Kitty gives Mary to Mrs. Baines, who is elated.Matt and Kitty leave and much emotion for Kitty goes with her. I'll leave the rest those who watch you will not be sorry you did!
Gunsmoke: A Quiet Day in Dodge (1973)
A Quiet Day In Dodge
This episode is truly one that is unique. It is most likely the most hilarious episode of Gunsmoke one could have ever seen. It is priceless. It all starts with Matt getting back very early one morning with a prisoner whom he had been tracking. Matt hadn't had any sleep in 36 hours and it showed. He was in no mood for a fist fight but that is what he got from the man who tried to escape. Well he put an end to that and in the jail cell the guy went. Finally getting a chance to sit down on his cot, he looks up at the clock only to see that the night is pretty much gone and it won't be long before the town is up and moving if some aren't already-it was just before 5 am.This is the end of Matt's quiet day. First we have Festus who shows up with a bag of catfish that he had just caught and needed to clean. Matt informs him that he would like to get some sleep and would he go outside to clean his fish. OK so Festus drags table and all out the door making a rather loud clamor doing it not really thinking about what he was doing. Then he yells at the milkman for having a squeaky wheel on his cart. All the while poor Matt is still trying with no success to get sleep. Festus also informed Matt that if he wanted to see the Judge that day with his prisoner he had better do it that morning as the Judge was planning on leaving on the morning stage. So much for the idea of sleep for Matt.This is just the beginning. Next in line if you will, one of the ladies of Dodge shows up pulling a young boy by the ear for making a disaster out of her weekly baking. He destroyed her pies. Throwing one of them at her.Then it is time to go see the Judge with his prisoner. Matt gets attacked again. This time the prisoner puts a fork in Matts arm. Festus rather helps one this fight and Matt gets to the Judge with his prisoner. The judge decides that the man is still in army custody and should be handled by a higher court and taken to Fort Dodge. He does help Matt out though and orders that Festus and Newly do that and that Matt "get some sleep you look awful". Matt then proceeds to go see Doc about his arm. He there gets told that Kitty is upset with him to put it lightly about missing out on a picnic she had planned for the two of them. Matt sees Kitty on the boardwalk but she won't talk to him. Kitty ends up with problems of her own as two old mining partners get into a fight over a mail-order-bride and to whom she will marry. In so doing they nearly destroy the Long Branch.She is met with no choice but to get Matt to put an end to it. I love how he does it. She opens the door at the office, looks at Matt and says two words-"fight,Long Branch. To watch this was as funny as it gets. Matt gets that taken care of and of course must make peace with Kitty-which you know they both want. They end up making a date for dinner that night with Kitty cooking for them there-she doesn't want to go out. Matt is all smiles over that but still very tired. The evening is soon there and Matt and Kitty are finishing their meal-which Matt offers high praises for-best meal he ever had he tells her. Well then of course you finish it off with good liquor-right- of course. 1837 Napoleon brandy. Then they hear glass breaking downstairs. This time Kitty says 'short of murder,I'll handle this". She does and when she comes back she finds Matt stretched out at an angle on her bed sound asleep-snoring like a buzz saw, and the look on her face is priceless. She is beside herself. She takes her soup tureen and smashes it hoping to wake Matt up-doesn't work-then out the door she goes-with a bang,of course. Down the stairs she heads, the old guys are living it up again-she dumps their beer over their heads and with Sam wondering where she is going it is getting late she could get molested-" really" she says. This is too good folks-well worth watching!
Gunsmoke: Hostage! (1972)
Hostage
This is truly a remarkable episode. It is both horrific and touching. As Matt tries feudally to prevent the hanging of Jude Bonners brother in order to save Kitty's life. She is brutally beaten and brought back to Dodge and shot in front of the town. She clings to life as even Doc cries over how badly she has been treated. Matt gets back and sits for hours by her side telling her "I need you Kitty" . She awakens enough to be aware of what he says and in her weak state cries. He takes off his badge to go after Bonner and kill him. He tells Festus and Newly that they should stay back -this is his fight. They tell him they are going. They stay close behind and catch up with Matt only to be told thanks for all the good years but to take the men of Dodge that followed and go back. Thankfully they don't. They let Matt have his fight but surround them from behind to watch and guard their friend. Ultimately they save his life. I will agree maybe a last scene back in Dodge would have been good but they really did show the great love of Matt Dillon and Kitty Russell. As truly close as two people and a town ever could be. Wonderful!