I have a lot to thank my parents for. They introduced me to a varied style of entertainment when I was very young. Even if it wasn’t a favorite form for them, they wanted to expose me to it in order for me to make up my own mind. But there was no denying that they had their favorites and if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be as well-rounded as I am. My mom’s personal favorite was the western. She loved “Gunsmoke”, “The Cisco Kid”, “Wyatt Earp” and many others. I’ve seen ‘em all and still love watching most of them. My all-time favorite though, is the one most people have heard of, but never seen. “Have Gun, Will Travel”, was easily one of the smartest and best written of all the westerns of the day. “Have Gun, Will Travel” premiered on September 14, 1957, and ran for six highly successful seasons. It made a star of Richard Boone and rightly so. Boone played Paladin, a gun-for-hire who was much more than he seemed on the surface. Seemingly wealthy, he kept track of potential clients by reading a myriad of newspapers.

He would send them a simple calling card, along with a copy of whatever article he was reading, which simply asked that if they needed assistance they should ‘Wire Paladin.’ He had a standard fee of $1,000 and would travel just about anywhere to collect.

What’s sad is that the series is rarely seen in syndication because it’s often considered to be too violent, which is absolutely ridiculous. There’s plenty of other shows that were and are equally violent and in most cases, even more so. Thanks to Paramount however, those of us lucky enough to have seen and appreciate the series had the opportunity to re-visit it when they released the first season on DVD last year. Now, a full year later, they are finally releasing the second season in a 6-disc set, which includes all 39 episodes and comes packaged in a handsome box set. The design is very elegant, with the cover being a mostly solid dark brown color, with a picture of Paladin and the title and chess piece logo he used on his calling card embossed on the cover and spine. The discs are individually packaged in slim cases, and fit in the slipcover. The inside of each case has the synopsis of the episodes on that disc.

I don’t think I remember seeing a bad episode, and watching them again I saw that my memory is thankfully intact. I had to invite my mom over to watch a few with me, which she was more than happy to do. She hasn’t seen an episode since the late sixties and just about went nuts when she saw the set. There were a few standout episodes though that I don’t remember ever seeing. The season opener “The Manhunter” finds Paladin having to face hostile townfolk and kin, when he is forced to kill a man wanted for murder. In “The Scorched Feather”, which stars Lon Chaney, Jr., Paladin is hired to protect a man from a Comanche war chief bent on killing him. But when he finds out why he wants him dead, it’s quite another story. I think one of the best of the season, though is “Death of a Gunfighter.” Here Paladin is hired by some townspeople to help catch a gunfighter wanted for several murders, however when he learns of their means to catch him, he turns his back on the job.

If there is any question about the quality of the series, one can simply look to the list of writers and actors who worked on it. No one can claim that Gene Roddenbery was anything less than a gifted and creative writer and he penned over 20 episodes of the series. As for actors, throughout the run of just the second season you can find the likes of Charles Bronson, Dianne Cannon, Harry Morgan, Vincent Price, Denver Pyle and the aforementioned Lon Chaney, Jr. With star players like that, you can’t go wrong.

Initially I thought there weren’t many extra features on the set, but there actually was. You won’t find commentaries or documentary features (which I hope will be rectified on later season sets), but each episode comes with its own set of facts about writers, actors, and other bits of trivia. You can access these on the menu pages for each episode.

DVD fanatics might have some reservations about the quality of the transfers, as there are quite a bit of imperfections left on the image. But as far as I’m concerned, when it comes to older series like this, who cares? As long as the spots and specks aren’t distracting, and they aren’t, I’m just happy to have the series available. If you’re at all a fan of the older westerns, but are unfamiliar with “Have Gun, Will Travel”, I cannot recommend this set enough. If you are already a fan of the show, this is a must-add to your collection.

Episodes:
The Manhunter,
In an Evil Time
The Man Who Wouldn’t Talk
The Hanging of Roy Carter
Duel at Florence
The Protege
The Road to Wickenburg
A Sense of Justice
Young Gun
The Lady
A Snare for Murder
The Ballad of Oscar Wilde
The Solid Gold Patrol
Something to Live For
The Moor’s Revenge
The Wager
The Taffeta Mayor
Lady on the Stagecoach
Treasure Trail
Juliet
Hunt the Man Down
The Scorched Feather
Return of the Lady
The Monster of Moon Ridge
The Long Hunt
Death of a Gunfighter
Incident at Borrasca Bend
Maggie O’Bannion
The Chase
Alaska
The Man Who Lost
The Return of Roy Carter
The Sons of Aaron Murdock
Comanche
Homecoming
The Fifth Man
Heritage of Anger
The Haunted Trees
Gold and Brimstone

Starring: Richard Boone
Extras: Production Notes, Cast Biographies, Behind the Scenes Episodic Information
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: 5/10/2005
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Have Gun, Will Travel: Season 2 a B+.