I watched this show regularly for its entire 20 year run. The best thing about this episode was John Wayne's introduction (to my surprise, he introduced himself as "Wayne" and not his full name). All the main supporting characters for the first several years of the series are introduced: Doc, Miss Kitty and Chester. I suppose it was shocking that the lead was shot in the very first episode but when I watched this episode last week, there was nothing about it to indicate that this would be such a long running series. The show is without an iota of humor (Festus later added a bit of humor), and Arness certainly was no great shakes as an actor. However, the business about pride or duty, as another reviewer mentioned, was intriguing. And maybe because the question even arose is why its referred to as an adult Western.
Review of Matt Gets It
