I must say I enjoyed it and found it higher quality that what I expected. It wasn't just another western filled with cliches and moral preaching. It was all that, but there was a little quality in there too. The plot wasn't only about 50% predictable, and I was shocked --shocked-- at the non-stereotypical portrayal of an American Indian. And it appeared that they hired an actual American Indian to play the American Indian. Amazing.

James Arness was as engaging and convincing as I'd heard. The other characters were various degrees of convincing, with Festous rounding out the bottom in terms of believability.

I was struck by the similarities between Gunsmoke and The Incredible Hulk. They both feature calm, wise men resolving people's problems. (I.e., calm when not using gun/turning into big green man.) The two shows use very similar cinematographic techniques. Gunsmoke retained a lot of the 1950s style sentimentality, but they had the same feel.

All in all, an interesting experience. I'd watch it again if I were feeling couch-potatoish and nothing better were on.