MovieChat Forums > Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge (1987) Discussion > Great Guns-moke!

Great Guns-moke!

posted 16 years ago by DunBay
3 replies | jump to latest

Howdy, Fellow GUNSMOKE Commentators!

While I never did get to see this seemingly much-maligned (by some) TV film, I now wish I had! 'Am currently resigned to the fate of all of us, to watch reruns, some of them "back-to-back" times three! I was a Gunsmoke fan from the very beginning, and never failed to enjoy each episode. Oh sure, some more than others, but still -- my friends knew not to call my phone number when Matt Dillon and his friends were on my TV screen! (That only happened with three other shows that I can think of: Rawhide, The Virginian, and the ORIGINAL TV Mission Impossible.) In my dreams, I always saw an aging Matt Dillon finally hang up the badge and fade into the sunset with Kitty on his arm, or even better, IN his arms! The chemistry between them was so great, and yet I can recall only a few times over the years that they did anything but hug. She kissed him on the cheek during this week's repeat of a Christmas party for orphans at the Long Branch. Guess I am an incurable romantic -- along with being hopelessly in love with the whole cast of Gunsmoke, which includes Matt's big buckskin horse(s). Finally, guess we have to be angry with the writer and director who may have strayed from the plot on this TV movie. We still have to treasure the cast that made our evenings so sensational, so long ago. Keep watching the reruns; keep campaigning to keep the reruns running!

[–] ukcatfan36 14 years ago

Just watched return to Dodge(never saw it when it came out in 1987) It was good to see Matt, Kitty and Newly. Liked the flashbacks--shame they couldn't have had one of Chester.:-) ..I thought all in all it was pretty good--not the best script agreed..but, Matt had some good lines-typical of his character on the earlier shows..It was def. fun to watch ! Holiman and Forrest added some good support to the movie. I wish shows like this were still on TV..it's a wasteland today for the most part!

[–] gringott 13 years ago

I just saw it, missed it back in the day - I was out of the country! But I agree, I missed Chester. Never cared that much for Festus. Did Miss Kitty have a stroke or something before this was shot? There was something odd about her mouth. She always reminded me of Lucy without the humor. I also thought she and Matt were banging it up behind the scenes, and she kept her distance in public so as to not tarnish Matt's reputation. On the other hand, she may have been doing Doc, who knows?

[–] liquidgardener 13 years ago

Amanda Blake had mouth/throat cancer, dying only 2 years after this reunion movie. I was wondering about her mouth/speech in the film as well, and bet it was due to her illness.

I, too, loved the series back in the day. The only shows that capture my attention today generally are things we find on cable channels as HBO and such....better writing, acting, fx than traditional TV is doing nowadays....