The TV Western may have largely died out (with one massive exception), but "Gunsmoke" lived on in the form of constant reruns ...

A 16th-season Gunsmoke two-parter introduces Dirty Sally and Cyrus Pike who would go on to headline their own short-lived Western series.

Where Yellowstone only ran a few seasons, Gunsmoke produced over 600 episodes in its decades on the air, and that's not to mention all the thematic distinctions between them as well. Nevertheless ...