We raised a bit of a ruckus last year when we didn’t include anything from television on our list of all-time best westerns. But, honest, we were only trying to be fair. Trying to compare, say, a 95-minute film to an eight-hour miniseries, or a 12-chapter movie serial to a 430-episode TV classic, struck us as pretty dang close to impossible.
Trouble is, after polling readers, editors, academics, and critics, we encountered another challenge: How do you compare a long-running series to one of the limited variety? Or a TV movie to a miniseries?
So, we opted to highlight the classics in three different categories: TV series, TV movies, and limited run/miniseries. Each list here represents a Top 10 in descending order. And if you don’t see your favorites, don’t fret yet: You can access expanded lists in each category on our website.
1 GUNSMOKE (1955-1975)
The longest-running western in the history of American television — and, along with Law & Order, one of the longest-running TV dramas of any sort — Gunsmoke almost immediately transformed James Arness into a home-screen superstar for his portrayal of Matt Dillon, the straight-shooting marshal of 1870s Dodge City, Kansas. But Arness wasn’t the only attraction. He was backed by a colorful array of supporting players — most notably, Milburn Stone as the crusty Doc Adams; Amanda Bake as saloon owner (and implied love interest) Miss Kitty; Dennis Weaver and Ken Curtis as, respectively, deputies Chester B. Goode and Festus Haggen; and, for three seasons, Burt Reynolds as half-breed blacksmith Quint Asper. When the series finally moseyed over to TV’s equivalent of Boot Hill in 1975, Los Angeles Times columnist Cecil Smith noted its cancelation with an eloquent tribute to its high quality and lasting impact: “Gunsmoke was the dramatization of the American epic legend of the west. Our own Iliad and Odyssey, created from standard elements of the dime novel and the pulp western as romanticized by Buntline, Harte, and Twain. It was ever the stuff of legend.” Sounds right to us.
2 BONANZA (1959-1973)
was must-see TV for millions during its 14-season, 430-episode run on NBC. And even now, more than 40 years after its (1979-86) — but actresses seldom stuck around very long. Indeed, it quickly became a running gag that any woman who fancied one of the Cartwright men (even in flashbacks) either changed her mind or met an untimely demise. remained pretty much a bachelor party from start to finish.
