'Gunsmoke' leads off wild bunch of Westerns

Saddle up, pardners. This latest batch of new-to-video Westerns is led by the debut on DVD of "Gunsmoke," two volumes of episodes from both the long-running show's early and later years, and each volume with bountiful bonus features.

Also, some new-to-DVD Westerns by filmmaker Sam Peckinpah will be released on Tuesday, including "Ride the High Country," one of the all-time greats. (Peckinpah also shows up as a director on some "Gunsmoke" episodes.)

• "Gunsmoke: 50th Anniversary, Volume One" (CBS/Paramount, 1955-64, not rated, b/w, $36.99, three discs).

• "Gunsmoke: 50th Anniversary, Volume Two" (CBS/Paramount, 1964-74, not rated, b/w and color, $36.99, three discs). James Arness stars as marshal Matt Dillon in this great TV Western, with Amanda Blake as Kitty and Milburn Stone as Doc. For the first nine years, Dennis Weaver co-starred as Chester (and Weaver participates in many of the first set's bonus materials), and later, there were Ken Curtis as Festus and, for three seasons, Burt Reynolds as Quint.

Watching these episodes again only reinforces how good the show was, certainly more adult and serious than other Westerns at the time, and occasionally touching on such hot topics as interracial marriage. And there are plenty of guest stars who would go on to greater things, some of whom do audio commentaries on their episodes (see list below).

Fans may be asking, does this mean we won't get the complete "Gunsmoke" series in full-season sets? It would be nice if these sets were teasers, with full seasons to follow.

The first set has 17 black-and-white shows, concentrating on the early half-hour episodes, with hourlong shows on the third disc. Bonus features include the original first-episode introduction by John Wayne, color home movies by Weaver, separate appearances by Arness and Weaver on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and an interview with Arness and Blake at the Museum of TV & Radio.

The second set has 12 hourlong episodes, eventually switching to color, with Blake's appearances on "The Mike Douglas Show" and "The David Frost Show," among the bonuses.

Extras: Full frame, new introductions by James Arness, audio commentaries (by Arness, Weaver, Angie Dickinson, George Kennedy, Barbara Eden and Adam West on "Volume One," and Arness, Ed Asner, Bruce Dern and Buck Taylor on "Volume Two"), featurettes, bloopers, Emmy clips, promos, photo galleries, optional English subtitles, chapters. (Also available in a double-box set, $68.99.)