So, I was watching TV the other day, →[More:] and a rerun of Gunsmoke was on TVLand. This, in and of itself, is not so unusual since the show was on for 20 freaking years so they've got a lot of reruns to go through. But the show was better than I remember. It was an episode about a small-town sherrif who's become a petty tyrant and Marshall Dillon brings him back into line.

What was weird about it was how many of the guest stars and bit players I recognized as bit players from other shows. The evil lawman was played by the dude who was Michael Landon's sidekick on Highway To Heaven. The saloonkeeper was played by the guy who played Speed on The Odd Couple and Lt. Moynihan on Quincy. The Greatest American Hero even put in an appearance. And the Deputy was played by none other than Nick Nolte (whose haircut and sports jacket made it seem as if he'd arrived in 19th century Kansas via time machine from the disco era.). It was like some weird fossil record of pop culture trapped in amber.

Plus, it was the first credited screen appearance of Jimmy McNichol(Kristy's less illustrious brother) and the final screen appearance of one Steve Raines, who apparently made a career of playing cowboy barflies. Another character had almost 200 (!) screen appearances going back to the twenties. another had even more

This hour of television is a crucial nexus, a Rosetta Stone. Of what, I have no idea.