One of my favorites as a kid and, with episodes being re-run on Encore, delighted how well it holds up. Prefer Boone precisely because he is literate, intelligent, humane as well as humanistic as well as being understatedly masculine. I'd use the word 'Macho', which was current at the time and often used to describe Wayne, Boone and even Roy Rogers but the word's been corrupted by it's own origin - Latin swagger. American Macho, Wayne, Boone, et al was, and is, above all classy. Latin Macho is just silly, like queens (not a put-down) pantomiming ultra-masculinity.Back to the show, I was almost shocked by how intelligent and well written the scripts were. The writers defined the little world each episode took place in and kept to that world tightly, very much like very short short stories. Another surprise was the frequent, also understated, humor.Just finished reading all of the other reviews and really pleased to see how much everyone respects and enjoys this classic. We all seem to be echoing one another; delightful.A final comment: I was surprised by how modern the values were. The episode I recorded today, Don't Shot the Piano Player, is a beautiful mix of the show's elements and highlights its values; Pallidan refuses to speak for his client, and repeated declines a wager until she speaks up to accept it. At the end of the show, having won, there was a dance between him, his client and the guy they were trying to rescue that screamed out, the Individual makes his or her decision and every other Individual has to respect that decision, no matter what they think of it or the Individual making it.A Classic American value whose observance has waxed and waned since Colonial times.

In watching numerous episodes of Have Gun-Will Travel, I noticed that the producers endowed Paladin with an almost encyclopedic knowledge of wine, music, food, literature, etc. In fact, I'd have to say that Paladin's experiences paralleled -- and, in fact, far exceeded -- those of the cinematic James Bond when it came to recognizing and defining the intellectual and physical hallmarks of what is euphemistically referred to as "the good life." For example, in just a few episodes I've watched Paladin: • Identify, while blindfolded, a French wine not only by type but also the location in the vineyard of the grapes from which it was made. (In one episode he also identified several different American whiskeys by taste, which is an even bigger stretch because I recall a whiskey expert noting that the worst whiskey we have today is better than the best stuff they had back in the Old West.)• Quote extensively and accurately from Shakespeare, the classics (Homer, Aristotle), and the Bible, as well as legal statutes and rulings.• Reference numerous cultures he encountered during long trips to Europe and Asia.• Discern the different scents in a perfume bottle.• Display a proficiency in several languages, including Chinese and French.Of course, these facilities gave the character part of his appeal -- the ability to adapt himself to every situation, no matter how difficult or foreign it would be for the rest of us less experienced mortals.I would welcome a Have Gun-Will Travel movie, but the television episodes were only a half hour each, which dictated a taut, to-the-point script (half-hour dramas were very prevalent in the '50s). How do you translate that brevity to, say, a two-hour movie without losing or exaggerating, those elements that made the television show so successful? And, like the casting of James Bond, who do you pick to portray this multifaceted man of adventure and erudition?

Richard Boone was a thoughtful and serious actor, and so must have felt a great satisfaction in playing a 'thoughtful gunman' in the Old West.Although Paladin often professed the desire to settle every situation without gun play if possible, his rivals in most shows didn't afford him that opportunity. Its a rare show that Paladin didn't have to shoot someone ... sometimes a few someones.Despite many story corners having to be cut to fit these stories into a 30 minute format, each story is interesting and compelling, virtually always with a twist that keep them from being some of the many Western clichés.Now that the series has been resurrected on Encore Westerns, generations who had no opportunity to appreciate this fine series in years past can now discover it for themselves. This is yet another example of how many television shows from the 50s and early 60s were far superior to most of what is filmed now.

Television has, occasionally, left a worthy mark in our world. Mostly it's what's hot, faddish, trendish and popular at the moment. As years roll by the last "hot" is forgotten and bulldozed over by the current "hot" that pops up in our verbiage until the next "hot thing" takes over. Nothing lasts.This western (it wasn't a western, it just used the western setting for it's pallet, a wise choice) dug into the human condition and unleashed a series of morality plays that retain the power to "thunk our noggins" today.Yes, there's over-pumps to make a point and - yeah Paladin must be a couple hundred years old to have done everything he's done but he is, in a quiet way, one of the original superheroes (would make a great graphic novel.The series addressed issues decades ahead of its time.It was about the black, the white and the gray. And the unpopular ideas.Suggestive, challenging, heroic, humbling and holds its weight today.We could use Paladins today.Good stuff. Damned good stuff.