wjefferyholt Having watched the first three seasons of "Have Gun Will Travel" I was pleasantly surprised with some unique characteristics of the series; the most obvious point was the intelligence of the character and the contrasts in the well mannered gentleman, and the gunman for hire. But the one thing that caught my attention the most was that Paladin is one of the only dramatic characters I have ever seen on television or in movies where the lead laughed. Not just an ironic laugh, but a genuine belly laugh at the sight of the human comedy being played out in front of him. His total lack of racism, political ideology, or hypocrisy makes for a unique character. Though I liked the first three seasons,it is the fourth that knocked me over. It must have changed production companies, and had a shot in the arm as far as budget, because everything goes from good to great in one season. The first show of the fourth season "The Fatalist" brought in Robert Blake whose nuanced performance so overshadows the actors from previous seasons, that you feel that it was a major change of the producers who stopped bringing in the old near the end of their career character actors from the Republic Pictures school of acting, to one where you where looking at the changes brought in by the method acting crowd who where just starting to take over TV at that time. Even actors that had been seen in the earlier seasons, such as Denver Pyle, James Coburn, and Hal Needham, all seem to be able to fill the screen in a different and better way than just a year or too earlier. Also, the music is crisper, the camera work cleaner and more artfully shot, and an odd observation, there are more extras filling out the scenes; before the limited crowds gave a lot of the earlier shows a very stage sense to it. Anyway the improvement to the quality to the show from the first three season to the fourth caught me by surprise because in all my TV viewing I have never seen a program improve so dramatically and in such a worthwhile way.

lhughes41 In this world of dark anti-heroes it is refreshing to see a yesteryear hero espousing values perhaps long past. Yet Paladin is a man of complexities despite generally doing the 'right thing.' After all, he is a hired gun. It is not a naive series. Complex story lines, and the good guys don't always win. Finally, who can resist a series featuring episodes written by Gene Rodenberry.My wife and I came across this series from a Netflix recommendation... one not coupled to a Western. The name rang a distant childhood bell of recognition and we tried it out. We haven't looked back.Hope you'll take 25 minutes to try one episode and trying something very refreshing.Luke and Jessica

martin-fennell Hi. I listened to two episodes of the radio version this morning. They were heyboy's revenge, and Winchester quarantine. In the former, we learn heyboy's real name. Although I wonder why he couldn't have been called by his real name. I'm guessing calling the character Heyboy would be seen as pretty un pc these days. I did notice that in the radio version he was played by a white actor (ben wright) who was English and had a talent for accents and in the TV version by an Asian actor Kam Tong. In Bonanza they had an Asian actor playing hop sing (Victor Sen Yung) whereas in movies (correct me if I'm wrong here) white actors were still playing orientals, Indians etc. Does this mean that TV was more progressive in it's outlook than radio or movies? I have done very little research, so am prepared to be shot down for that comment. In the second episode Paladin helps out an Indian who has been educated in the ways of the white man. The character and his wife are treated with dignity. When i think of John Dehner, and Richard Boone, I think of them primarily as villainous characters; Dehner in TV series and Boone in movies. so it's interesting to me at least, that their most famous roles was as good guys. Dehner did mention in The story of Gunsmoke, that he much preferred his time on Gunsmoke than he did on HGWT. Oh, by the way, I used to think the character's name was Will Travel :) M

tim-1979 In 1974, a Portuguese(!) cowboy from Rhode Island(!) named Victor De Costa won a federal court judgment in his second suit against CBS for trademark infringement, successfully litigating his assertion that he had created the Paladin character and the ideas used in the show -- which were somehow stolen by HGWT's producers. (Rather dubious since HGWT's original concept was that of a modern day globe-trotting detective.) He claimed he began billing himself as Paladin after an Italian man stood up at a horse show and called him a "paladino." He claimed he'd adopted the phrase "Have Gun, Will Travel" after someone shouted it at him while he was on a bucking bronco. At his appearances he always dressed in black, he handed out hundreds of HGWT business cards, and he even carried a concealed derringer. The physical resemblance between Mr. De Costa and Richard Boone was nothing less than striking.Although monetary damages were not immediately awarded, De Costa stood to gain a tidy sum, as court testimony indicated that HGWT had made more than $14 million for CBS (a titanic amount in the 1950's-60's), plus millions more in product licensing. A year later, a court of appeals overturned the lower court, ruling that the plaintiff had failed to prove that the public had been deceived -- i.e., there had been no likelihood of confusion in the minds of the public -- a necessary requirement for a suit over trademark infringement. However, De Costa kept pursuing his legal options, and in 1991 -- more than 30 years after his first lawsuit was originally filed -- he was awarded over 3 million dollars after quietly trademarking the Paladin character and business card in the late 70's. Unfortunately, Mr. De Costa passed away at the age of 83 before he could receive a single penny.(hgwt.com)