Gunsmoke

10 Best Episodes of Gunsmoke - Season 8

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.

Written by Sophie and last updated on jan 10, 2023.

PS: The following content contains spoilers!

PPS: I will admit that parts of this page was written with the help of AI - it makes my work so much easier to not start from a blank page!

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Gunsmoke - S8E19

#15 - Cotter's Girl (Season 8 - Episode 19)

A father's dying request is that Matt go to retrieve his daughter. Expecting to find a little girl, Matt finds a near-grown woman, but one who's wild and desperately in need of civilizing.

The episode was rated 7.81 from 16 votes.

Gunsmoke - S8E17

#14 - Louie Pheeters (Season 8 - Episode 17)

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The town drunk believes he saw a man drowned in a dream, until he meets up with the man who did the drowning.

The episode was rated 7.81 from 16 votes.

Gunsmoke - S8E16

#13 - Old Comrade (Season 8 - Episode 16)

The "town fool" has a chance to change his life when he learns that a famous general, now on his deathbed, believes him to be his long-lost son.

The episode was rated 7.84 from 19 votes.

Gunsmoke - S8E22

#12 - Shona (Season 8 - Episode 22)

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Gib Dawson brings his beautiful Indian wife, Shona, in to Dodge for treatment of a badly infected hand wound, at a time when racial tensions are running high against the Comanches.

The episode was rated 7.85 from 13 votes.

Gunsmoke - S8E32

#11 - Tell Chester (Season 8 - Episode 32)

Chester is smitten with Polly, but she has eyes only for Wade, a man new in town and newly her father's employee. Knowing little about Wade, Polly agrees quickly to marry him, but Chester discovers that Wade already has a wife.

The episode was rated 7.87 from 15 votes.

Gunsmoke - S8E26

#10 - Anybody Can Kill a Marshal (Season 8 - Episode 26)

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Two men want to rob the bank in Dodge, but are unwilling to try it while Matt lives. A man agrees to accept the job of killing the marshal, attaching some rather peculiar conditions to his acceptance.

The episode was rated 7.88 from 16 votes.

Gunsmoke - S8E24

#9 - Blind Man's Bluff (Season 8 - Episode 24)

Billy Poe is falsely accused of murder by a dying man, and flees to another town while Matt follows him, and encounters dangerous resistance from other men who hate lawmen.

The episode was rated 7.91 from 11 votes.

Gunsmoke - S8E28

#8 - I Call Him Wonder (Season 8 - Episode 28)

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An orphaned Indian boy latches on to a cowboy in need of work and the two of them find all doors closed to them in Dodge.

The episode was rated 7.93 from 14 votes.

Gunsmoke - S8E11

#7 - Abe Blocker (Season 8 - Episode 11)

Abe Blocker, an aging mountain man, tells Bud and Mary Groves to get off their homestead or die. Bud tells Matt. He goes looking. Abe shoots at Buck's hooves. Abe's wife and child died in childbirth. Matt tells Bud he talked to Abe to no avail. Joe tell Matt the Groves have been scalped. Matt finds big moccasin prints, and start trailing Abe. He sees him thrice but he disappears. Matt gives up and returns to Dodge. Quint says he's killed again, Jim Kelly and Pete Brice. Emmet's forming a posse. Gant says Joe Clark has been killed. Abe appears to the posse, and starts picking them off. Gant hits Abe. Matt tells Quint if he 's hit that bad no need to track him. Matt finds Abe in the cave near where his wife and child is buried. He dies trying to kill Matt.

The episode was rated 7.93 from 15 votes.

Gunsmoke - S8E37

#6 - Jeb (Season 8 - Episode 37)

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A prized Appaloosa, grazing alone and apparently without owner on the prairie, proves to be the ruin of more than one man.

The episode was rated 8.00 from 14 votes.

Gunsmoke - S8E36

#5 - The Odyssey of Jubal Tanner (Season 8 - Episode 36)

Aaron, sweet on saloon girl Leah and wanting to make her his wife, is attacked and killed by Colie Fletcher. When Matt goes after him, Colie runs into Jubal Tanner, wounds him, and steals his horse. Jubal, ungrateful to those who help him, meets Leah, and each helps the other's outlook.

The episode was rated 8.00 from 12 votes.

Gunsmoke - S8E33

#4 - Quint-Cident (Season 8 - Episode 33)

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A woman newly widowed is powerfully attracted to Quint, but when he gently turns her down, she vows to make him pay for scorning a white woman.

The episode was rated 8.00 from 13 votes.

Gunsmoke - S8E29

#3 - With a Smile (Season 8 - Episode 29)

A rancher's spoiled son believes even after he is convicted of murder that his father's wealth and influence will save him from the hangman.

The episode was rated 8.07 from 14 votes.

Gunsmoke - S8E35

#2 - Daddy Went Away (Season 8 - Episode 35)

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Chester is sweet on a widow dressmaker. When the widow is not only intent on marriage but eager to make changes in Chester as well, he has second thoughts--especially after a talk with her child suggests that the widow may still be a wife.

The episode was rated 8.08 from 13 votes.

Gunsmoke - S8E38

#1 - The Quest for Asa Janin (Season 8 - Episode 38)

A young man is convicted of killing the saloon girl he wanted for his own. Matt is so sure that the young man is really innocent that he goes on the road after another suspect to prevent an unjust hanging.

The episode was rated 8.25 from 12 votes.

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