[Myrtle]

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The "and it's not even close" answer is Gunsmoke. But for reality and great acting, the current Deadwood sets the bar very high.

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Totally agree on the Gunsmoke nomination.

Each episode was a variation on a morality play, where the issue of right, wrong and the difficult choices between the two played out in a western seeting.

The writing was clear & crisp, and the many different issues were clearly delineated, and the object lessons were put squarely in front of the viewer.

Gunsmoke was the finest of the genre of the day, but not the only one.

Rawhide, Have Gun will Travel, The Rifleman and Cimmaron Strip were other worthy contenders.

I enjoyed Kung Fu; it had the same "morality play" basis, but was a bit of a stretch on the 'reality' side.

FWIW, they all sprung from the great John Ford/John Wayne movies of the 40's.

A study in morality best summed up by the character John Bernard Books in John Waynes last movie, The Shootist:

"I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them."