Champion of the World

It's Laurel & Hardy meets the Three Stooges time in Dodge City without the laughs. It should have been titled, The Skipper Meets The Professor". The plot is both tedious and predictable. Anyone not being able to see an eventual brawl between Bull and Dillon is probably still in diapers. Hale, for his part isn't able to manage his forced Irish accent though a single line much less an entire scene.

Unwatchable, unfunny cutting room floor material. Not worthy of a Gunsmoke episode.

Alan Hale Jr is again perfectly cast as a lovable, carefree stooge that only sees the good in people. He plays Bull Bannock -a rich ex-fighter that decides to move west to a nice town called Dodge City. He intends to buy the Long Branch but Ms Kitty is unwilling to sell.

Bull comes across a con-man named Professor which advises that he can get Ms Kitty to sell the Long Branch but will cost him some money to get the business contract signed. And with Bull believing all he hears, he gladly gives Professor all the money needed.

Instead of talking to Ms Kitty, the Professor begins causing problems at the Long Branch that he hopes will cause Ms Kitty to sell. However it cause the reverse effect making everyone believe that Bull Bannock is the one behind all the problems.

The professor takes Bull for thousands of dollars before the naive Bull learns that the Professor is a con-artist. And since he is an ex-prize fighter, he will take his skills not only to the Professor but also to Matt.

Even though the ending did not turn out in the usual way, the show had a nice touch. With Alan Hale Jr as the lovable giant- and the coy Dan Tobin as the Professor-- this was bound to be a good show. The perfect casting to a nice script.

Not great but solid, a good change of pace from the usual fist fights and shootings from the now terribly arthritic, but still legendary Matt Dillon, AKA James Arness. The plot can be plodding but is still a good period piece, and gets a lift from two good character actors, Hale, the Skipper, and Tobin who was in a classic Twilight Zone episode. Above all, it's better than the absolute garbage on TV today.

Bull Bannock is a retired prize fighter, and he is fed up with his life in New York City. He owns a saloon that few people patronize, and those that do are not interested in hearing his stories about his glory days as an undefeated fighter. Bannock decides to sell out and move to Dodge City to start a new life there.

After arriving in Dodge, Bannock soon meets The Professor, a con man who sees in Bannock an easy mark. Bannock is such a gullible fool that he believes everything The Professor tells him and allows himself to be swindled repeatedly.

One of the problems with this episode is that the audience feels no sympathy for Bannock. He obviously has more money than sense. Even the Dodge citizens can see The Professor is taking advantage of Bannock, but rather than say anything to Bannock, they just snicker behind his back.

Alan Hale, Jr. played the Bull Bannock role much as he played every role he ever had. This episode was filmed during the same time Gilligan's Island would have been filming the third season. There is nothing to distinguish Bull Bannock from the Skipper, other than Hale's terrible attempt at an Irish accent.

Dan Tobin is The Professor. Tobin often played similar roles during this same time. I first remember him as "Gentleman" Dan Caldwell in a Season 1 episode of The Andy Griffith Show. The Professor is essentially the same character as Dan Caldwell living in a different period of time.

There is simply nothing of substance to this episode. The situations are not funny. There is very little drama. Bannock and The Professor are not likable enough to care that much about the outcome.