Have Gun Will Travel - Season 3

michael_ks · 01-12-2006, 11:55 AM

Anyone purchase this set yet? I received mine from Deep Discount yesterday. A quick scan through several of the episodes indicates that those that have the best transfers are quite probably the sharpest, clearest looking episodes of all three box sets. Unfortunately, a few episodes lack crispness and fine grain clarity--thankfully they are proportional in number to the good transfers witnessed in seasons 1 and 2.

This time around Paramount has packaged 2 discs per slim case, making for a slimmer box set (4 slim cases instead of six). What's annoying though is that now the plot synopses are covered by the discs, which in turn are held in place by somewhat inferior center tabs. (On one my cases, two of the tiny "tabs" snapped off when removing the disc--they were bent in manufacturing/handling). The menu set-up is much the same, however somewhere around the third or fourth disc there is an alteration to the layout for the "Play" and "Wire Paladin" selections.

Two other minor annoyances: a glossary box (first two had a satin finish) and the arrangement of episodes. 5 discs contain 6 episodes apiece, but disc two has 4 and disc 7 has 5. Why not arrange them like the first two seasons? They could have then packaged three slim cases with 2 discs in each. When I first read that there were 7 discs in this collection I was hoping the 7th would be devoted to extras--sadly, that is not the case.

All in all, highly recommended, because hey, it's Paladin in all his glory. Though we get a few more duds compared with the first two seasons, there are a number of 4 star segments, including: "First, Catch a Tiger", "Episode in Laredo", "Return to Fort Benjamin" and "The Unforgiven".

Jeff# · 01-12-2006, 06:29 PM

I believe it was the 4th season that had the first 2-part story in this series "A Quiet Night in Town".

michael_ks · 01-13-2006, 08:09 AM

Quote:

I believe it was the 4th season that had the first 2-part story in this series "A Quiet Night in Town".

Correct, Jeff. It was the first and only, in fact. A very engrossing story of four men who hang Paladin's prisoner for amusement and his ensuing efforts to mete out justice. "Hey Girl" takes over for the (majority) of the season. Kam Tong reappears near season end and remains with the show through the 6th year.

Jeff# · 01-13-2006, 09:33 AM

Thanks to my subscribing to Sirius Satellie Radio last month, on their Radio Classics (Channel 118), I heard the radio versions of GUNSMOKE and Have Gun, Will Ttavel for the first time -- and they're not bad!

Have Gun, Will Travel is one of the few series in history to start on TV (1957) and then come to radio a year later. The radio version was produced for a few years, but was outlived by the Richard Boone series. The radio version starred frequent guest star John Dehner in the lead role of Paladin.

GUNSMOKE on radio had William Conrad as Matt Dillon and Howard McNear (Floyd on The Andy Griffith Show) as Doc!

Chester Goode (TV version) was called Chester Proudfoot on the radio!

I wouldn't buy these for my CD collection, but it's hard to catch them on Radio Classics because Sirius has no regular schedule for these shows, including The Jack Benny Program, Fred Allen, The Burns & Allen Show, or The Life of Riley. Those are the only old radio shows that still work well now decades later. All of those performers made the transition to television, but the least talented of them -- Fred Allen was best used on the game show What's My Line? until his death in 1956.

Anyone know where to download these radio shows for free?

Brett*H · 01-13-2006, 09:49 AM

Jeff # ,check out live365.com

You can listen to many OTR shows there for free.I use it all the time to listen to many of the shows you mentioned while I surf the net or am just working on computer projects.If you have an audio capture device on your computer,you can record the streaming radio stations while you listen.

http://www.live365.com/cgi-bin/direc...1.x=17&I1.y=20

Many classic tv series of the 1950's and 1960's were radio shows long before they became the tv classics that we know and love.

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Jeff# · 01-13-2006, 12:05 PM

Thanks, Brett! I don't plan on recording any of those (unless somebody I know asks me to make a CD of them). I just hope I can listen without having to download first, but if I have to I will.

Yes, I'm aware that the many comedy series I listed started on radio in the 1930s and 40s before coming to TV. The digital upgrading of those sound tracks make then sound as good as new.

I'll bookmark that site and check it out.

Dave Scarpa · 01-15-2006, 12:05 AM

One thing I'm finding is there are alot more humor infused in this season than prior. There are alot more Roddenberry stories and he tends to write the lighter ones. Still I'm enjoying this season of Paladin.

HowardPaul · 01-15-2006, 06:11 AM

I have the first 3 seasons of Paladin. They are superb.
The video transfers are excellent with a rich range of B&W/grays. I bought them from Columbia House about a year ago.
Best
How

Jeff# · 01-15-2006, 07:03 AM

Yes, Gene Roddenberry was head writer on Have Gun, Will Travel for a while. Since he's so popular with the Trekkies, why is it that Gene's first TV series as Exec. Producer, the 1960s peacetime military drama "The Lieutenant" starring Robert Vaughn isn't on DVD yet?

Bert Greene · 01-20-2006, 01:06 PM

There does seem to be a larger number of light/humorous episodes in this 3rd-season. I'd never noticed that before. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't ("The Naked Gun" episode is terrific; "An International Affair" is rotten). Generally, I always had the notion that the 3rd-season was perhaps the weakest of the six. I was particularly pleased, though, to see an episode I'd never encountered before, "Return to Fort Benjamin"... and it was a knockout. So I'm certainly happy with the set. Let's hope more HGWT volumes are to follow! There are some really amazing episodes in those later seasons.