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Global Telly Talk
Classic US TV
GUNSMOKE
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<blockquote data-quote="Spooky Owl!" data-source="post: 437187" data-attributes="member: 57984"><p>Season 18's "Hostage!" (the second GUNSMOKE episode to feature that title) offers us scary brute Jude Bonner (William Smith) who kidnaps Miss Kitty in order to force Marshal Dillon to obtain a stay of execution for his brother, sentenced to hang by the noose for murder. Manhandled as she never has been before, Kitty is beaten, "abused," and then shot in the street of Dodge City and left for dead once Matt fails to convince the election-sensitive Kansas governor to free Bonner's kinfolk. </p><p></p><p>Well, she did slap the hell out of him.</p><p></p><p>With Miss Kitty near death, Marshal Dillon turns in his badge and rides out with vengeful blood in his eye, Matt has a fab fistfight with Jude Bonner and almost smashes Bonner's brain with a giant rock. (Next season, in a rare moment of continuity, Punk Anderson is father to Abby Cunningham and is compelled to avenge his own wife's murder. When Matt tells Punk not to do it, Punk points out that "last year" Matt himself went gunning for the man who'd mistreated his woman. Matt concedes, "Yes, I did that and I was wrong!," to which Punk responds, as only Morgan Woodward can, "And I wouldn't o' spit in your eye if you hadn't!")</p><p></p><p>Partially original score by Elmer Bernstein (supplemented by stock cues, for those keeping score).</p><p></p><p>It's all very harrowing. But this episode had a negatively fortuitous impact on GUNSMOKE long-term: two years later, Kitty was set to be similarly mistreated in the Season 20 two-parter, THE GUNS OF CIBOLA BLANCA. And Amanda Blake refused. Kitty has been roughed-up many times during the course of the series, but the actress felt that this same extreme level of desecration so soon after the previous episode was exploitative.</p><p></p><p>This led to an, "I-quit!"/"No-you-can't-quit-you're-fired!" scenario that saw Blake exit GUNSMOKE before Season 20 commenced. (She admitted she'd gotten fussy during Season 19, and executive producer John Mantley reportedly didn't like her -- well, two <strong>Scorpio Risings</strong> -- even though everybody else on the set did). </p><p></p><p>It wasn't to the program's benefit. The first half of Season 20 was pretty gosh-darned good, but with Blake's absence and Leonard Katzman leaving midway through the year to go produce PETROCELLI, the last half of that season dragged, became too dark and too ponderous too consistently, and ratings drooped... The numbers were still good enough to keep most shows on the air, but the series' aging demographics (Jim Arness called that "horsefeathers!") had CBS hot to chop GUNSMOKE on the block. </p><p></p><p>And the western was cancelled for a third and final time in 1975. </p><p></p><p><img src="https://gunsmokenet.com/GunsmokeTGAW/Marks-Stuff/Gunsmoke/JudeBonner.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 675px" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Spooky Owl!, post: 437187, member: 57984"] Season 18's "Hostage!" (the second GUNSMOKE episode to feature that title) offers us scary brute Jude Bonner (William Smith) who kidnaps Miss Kitty in order to force Marshal Dillon to obtain a stay of execution for his brother, sentenced to hang by the noose for murder. Manhandled as she never has been before, Kitty is beaten, "abused," and then shot in the street of Dodge City and left for dead once Matt fails to convince the election-sensitive Kansas governor to free Bonner's kinfolk. Well, she did slap the hell out of him. With Miss Kitty near death, Marshal Dillon turns in his badge and rides out with vengeful blood in his eye, Matt has a fab fistfight with Jude Bonner and almost smashes Bonner's brain with a giant rock. (Next season, in a rare moment of continuity, Punk Anderson is father to Abby Cunningham and is compelled to avenge his own wife's murder. When Matt tells Punk not to do it, Punk points out that "last year" Matt himself went gunning for the man who'd mistreated his woman. Matt concedes, "Yes, I did that and I was wrong!," to which Punk responds, as only Morgan Woodward can, "And I wouldn't o' spit in your eye if you hadn't!") Partially original score by Elmer Bernstein (supplemented by stock cues, for those keeping score). It's all very harrowing. But this episode had a negatively fortuitous impact on GUNSMOKE long-term: two years later, Kitty was set to be similarly mistreated in the Season 20 two-parter, THE GUNS OF CIBOLA BLANCA. And Amanda Blake refused. Kitty has been roughed-up many times during the course of the series, but the actress felt that this same extreme level of desecration so soon after the previous episode was exploitative. This led to an, "I-quit!"/"No-you-can't-quit-you're-fired!" scenario that saw Blake exit GUNSMOKE before Season 20 commenced. (She admitted she'd gotten fussy during Season 19, and executive producer John Mantley reportedly didn't like her -- well, two [B]Scorpio Risings[/B] -- even though everybody else on the set did). It wasn't to the program's benefit. The first half of Season 20 was pretty gosh-darned good, but with Blake's absence and Leonard Katzman leaving midway through the year to go produce PETROCELLI, the last half of that season dragged, became too dark and too ponderous too consistently, and ratings drooped... The numbers were still good enough to keep most shows on the air, but the series' aging demographics (Jim Arness called that "horsefeathers!") had CBS hot to chop GUNSMOKE on the block. And the western was cancelled for a third and final time in 1975. [IMG width="675px"]https://gunsmokenet.com/GunsmokeTGAW/Marks-Stuff/Gunsmoke/JudeBonner.jpg[/IMG] [/QUOTE]
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Classic US TV
GUNSMOKE
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