Originally a story editor for CBS, John Meston left that behind in 1953 and went to work full time writing Gunsmoke. The next three years, Meston essentially wrote every episode, numbering around forty scripts a year. Both Meston’s contemporaries and researchers since saw this period as when Gunsmoke came into its own, truly defining what an adult western would be and becoming the classic show it is known as today. William Conrad described Meston’s writing as “seasoned and highlighted by red streaks of magnificent violence” and having “a final total compassion with whatever the problem was.” As a western aimed at adults, Gunsmoke pulled very few punches, especially where violence was concerned. Under the guiding hand of Meston, the program would feature many gruesome scenes and actions, often more horrifying than most of the horror programs on the radio. From the wholesale slaughter of entire families to men being tortured ruthlessly by outlaws or Indians to entire massacres and the aftermath of rotting corpses on the ground, Gunsmoke painted a wildly vivid and violent West for Marshall Dillon to protect. The show was populated with people who represented and ran the gamut of emotions, all colliding at some point with Dillon. The characters then acted as a balance, showing compassion or fear or a desire for vengeance, all very human reactions. Listen to the Sparkling Audio Quality in Radio Archives restoration of Gunsmoke, Volume 11.
