Premiering on CBS in September 1955 and completing its network run September 1975, Gunsmoke is the longest running dramatic series in the history of television. Two of its stars, James Arness and Milburn Stone, remained all 20 seasons, with Amanda Blake a close second, departing after 19 years. .
The series started out as a half-hour show, and expanded to an hour in its seventh season. Prior to Gunsmoke (and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp which premiered the same week), western shows generally focused on fantasy characters such as the Lone Ranger and Hopalong Cassidy, holdovers from movie and radio serials. Gunsmoke was one of the earliest "adult westerns," centering around the exploits of Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) in the frontier town of Dodge City, Kansas in 1873. His kindly companion was Doc Adams (Milburn Stone), the town physician who spent many hours chugging beers at the Long Branch Saloon, owned and operated by the shapely Kitty Russell. .
Gunsmoke started a longtime trend for TV westerns. At one point there were 30 of them on the air at the same time. But Gunsmoke outlasted the others and at the time of its cancellation in 1975, it was the only show of its kind still on the air.
MAVERICK:.
Brett and Bart Maverick (and in later seasons, their English cousin, Bo) are well-dressed gamblers who migrate from town to town always looking for a good game. Poker (5 card draw) is their favorite but they've been known to play such odd card games as Three-toed Sloth on occasion. The show would occasionally feature both or all three Mavericks, but usually would rotate the central character from week to week. Cross-over appearances from the other Warner Brothers western programs were an occasional feature. First seen as a drama, the show began to develop a sense of humor in the first season that carried it through it's run.
Brothers Bret and Bart Maverick (usually separately, but sometimes together) travel across the West trying to stay out of trouble and make a lot of money.
