Pucket's New Year: Gunsmoke (January 1, 1956)

“Pucket's New Year” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast January 1, 1956. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Marshal Matt Dillon and Chester rescue Ira Puckett, an elderly buffalo hunter stranded in a blizzard after his skinner Jed Lorner abandoned him. Doc treats Puckett's frozen foot but must amputate, ending his hunting days. Now crippled and struggling to find purpose in Dodge City, Puckett seethes with pride and a desire for revenge against Lorner.

Dodge City, Kansas and the surrounding prairie during winter, with the main action occurring after a severe blizzard and continuing into New Year celebrations.

Characters: Matt Dillon, Chester, Ira Puckett, Jed Lorner, Doc, Kitty

Listen for: The tension between Puckett's fierce independence and his forced dependence on others; Matt's effort to prevent Puckett from committing murder; Puckett's struggle to accept his new limitations.

Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.