Have Gun Will Travel: Season Four, Vol. 1

Kick-Butt Review and Recap
For anyone not aware, Season Four of HAVE GUN-WILL TRAVEL was the second best season of the series (following the superb Second Season). Frank Pierson was the producer, having recently replaced Sam Rolfe, the creator of the TV western. Rolfe came to blows with Richard Boone and conflict behind the camera led to Rolfe leaving the series and quitting on CBS. Pierson got along VERY well with Boone, allowing the actor to take control of the series (including directing a few episodes). Season Three was mildly weak as a result of Boone's insistence that each episode be filmed in two days instead of three, so he and actor Martin Gabel could play the starring leads in Norman Corwin's THE RIVALRY on Broadway. The season's filming had to conclude early in order for them to appear on schedule. With Season Four, there was no rush-job and each episode was made with care. In fact, at Boone's pleasure, the series became a text book example of how an actor can explore the character he played and you...

Best Season of the Series
After a couple years of hesitation, CBS has finally released HGWT Season Four. In my honest opinion, Season Four is the best season of the series. Hey Girl replaces Hey Boy (the actor departed for a career opportunity that ultimately failed) and there is chemistry between Paladin and Hey Girl. I think it should be noted that the radio program of the same name had Missy Wong before the TV version premiered Hey Girl and I suspect the radio program influenced the decision to replace Hey Boy with a female.

Some of the best episodes of the series appear in Season Four. I noticed that CBS also decided to release only half of the season. True, they will make more money splitting the season in half, rather than package the entire season in one box set as they did with the three prior seasons. It comes down to economics. The second and third season failed to meet the studio's expectations so this was a compromise. And God bless CBS for continuing the release of HGWT Season Four...

Have Gun Issues
Like many reviewers, I was not thrilled with CBS' decision to do a high-price split season with Season 4 of "Have Gun Will Travel". I did purchase the set, but it wasn't an automatic decision and I stalled on making the purchase for a few weeks to see if the price would be adjusted. However, once I received the set I did notice that the picture quality appeared to be superior to the quality of the first 3 seasons that were released. The picture and audio seem much crisper. And as far as I can tell, CBS did not mess with the original music, as they unfortunately have done with such a classic TV series as "The Fugitive". I was disappointed that they did not include the "Wire Paladin" feature that was a part of the first 3 seasons, which gave you background information on the episodes and the guest stars that appeared in a particular episode. Overall, I'm glad that the show is being released again and I hope that if sales for this half season are not as spectacular as CBS hopes...

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