My objections to the moronification of Chester aside, this is indeed -- and someone said -- one of the episodes that separates Gumsmoke from the '50s westerns pack. It's a character study of a family, and how hardened men could be. J. Pat O'Malley is terrific as the grizzled father who's tried to raise his sons to be different than he was. But in this fight, nature beat the crap out of nurture.
The spoiler here is a question. Did, or does, anyone -- including the people who made the show -- anything odd about the fact that "Print" Asper was succeeded several years later, by "Quint" Asper? It's true, as Gunsmoke or Burt Reynolds fans might know. Was a writer in love with names that rhyme with "mint?" Beats me. But if someone who knows more than me -- and that means just about anyone - - can answer this for me, I'd appreciate it.
The spoiler here is a question. Did, or does, anyone -- including the people who made the show -- anything odd about the fact that "Print" Asper was succeeded several years later, by "Quint" Asper? It's true, as Gunsmoke or Burt Reynolds fans might know. Was a writer in love with names that rhyme with "mint?" Beats me. But if someone who knows more than me -- and that means just about anyone - - can answer this for me, I'd appreciate it.