I have heard no other OTR program that leaves me eager to listen to every episode. One of the best of U.S radio tex56 2007-04-29 23:17:47 2007-04-29 23:17:47 5 It is a very tough call between Dragnet and Gunsmoke, but I guess the incredible sound effects and the high quality writing, along with the talented cast of regular and guest supporting actors give Gunsmoke a decided edge in my own humble opinion. William Conrad had such a wonderful voice for radio and he also was a better actor in every respect than James Arness. Conrad's only drawbacks to playing Marshal Matt Dillon in the television version of Gunsmoke were his height and especially weight. Many people probably don't even know that he was a fighter pilot in World War II. He made the role of Matt Dillon his own on radio and I don't think Arness could ever have held a candle to him. I have watched the t.v. series many times for years before ever hearing the radio version and I definitely think the radio version is far superior in every respect. On t.v. both Dillon and the other regular characters (Doc Adams, Miss Kitty Russell and Chester Proudfoot (Goode on t.v.) and also (later Festus Haggan on t.v.) were seen less and less as the years went by and more guest stars were primarily given the reins and on-screen time. Matt Dillon was out-of-town far too much in the later t.v. episodes, often leaving Dodge City in the highly questionable hands of Festus and Newley, the town's blacksmith. While the t.v. show is a great classic, no question, as proven by the length of the time it was on the air, the radio show was consistently better in keeping Matt Dillon in Dodge City where he always belonged. Gunsmoke is the greatest radio show of all time mikefromgeorgia 2007-05-21 10:13:57 2007-05-21 10:13:57 5 mikefromgeorgia (below) is correct that it's a tough call between Dragnet and Gunsmoke (although you could consider other shows, such as Jack Benny, Amos 'n' Andy, Lights Out, X Minus One, and others, Dragnet and Gunsmoke were 'reality'); their longevity alone speaks for their quality. They simply wouldn't have lasted as long as they did, nor sustain their large audiences, were the writing and the acting not excellent. What both had, of course, was continuity; the main character was created, developed, and had excellent supporting characters who also were developed. What both shows had, of course, were premier leading actors. All of Jack Webb's shows before Dragnet were of high quality and seem to lead to his role Joe Friday; Bill Conrad estimated that he was in 7,000 roles in radio, as either a leading or supporting actor. One can't go wrong with listening to either collection, Dragnet or Gunsmoke. Both will make you appreciate the magic of old time radio, which provided something that neither television show could; the use of your imagination, enabling you to see "what really happened to Joe Friday and Matt Dillon". The top tier of Old time Radio XMinusOne 2007-08-15 03:36:19 2007-08-15 03:36:19 5 I am indeed listening to every single episode of Gunsmoke, but I would suggest two other OTR shows which I consider tied with Gunsmoke for first place. The first is Night Beat, with Frank Lovejoy, and the other is Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar........very specifically a particular period of Johnny Dollar shows: the five part, weeklong, 15 minute installment shows from the mid fifties with Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar. Tied for First d-boy 2009-06-26 17:33:42 2009-06-26 17:33:42 5 Of the 480 broadcast episodes of GUNSMOKE only six are missing, including five of the first ten episodes broadcast in 1952. A few years ago I found the scripts for the first year of Gunsmoke. From those scripts, I have written detailed plot lines summaries for the five missing 1952 episodes. You will find them at: http://forums.oldradio.net/forum13.html&sid=b417fd58f9ed1af657fba339154cb670 Look for the threads starting with Plotline For Missing Episode: Gunsmoke: Missing Episodes otrwash 2009-11-02 20:46:33 2009-11-02 20:46:33 0 5 5.00