Customer Reviews
"A soldier of fortune..." - By: B. Chandler, 11 May 2006 
"...is the man callled Paladin."
Many times one has fond memories of the older TV programs. When they are finallly distributed & bought, it is a shocker to find that they are sophomoric or just long cigarette commercials. Well this time you will not be disappointed.
Each episode must find a conflict & solve it in an extraordinarily short time. Each with a moral & still maintain the entertainment value. One of the ways this is accomplished is the use of a wide spectrum of writers; many of the stories are adoptions of classics or became classics of other programs and/or movies.
Is it possible for a series to get better instead of fading to the mundane? Yes the second season has dropped the extras, with the exception of a quick synopsis of plot & actors, in place of packing in the stories at six or seven a disk. I press the play alll button. I will not go through the list of actors as it is fun to be surprised.
One of the finer points of this series is that there usuallly is no clear cut hero or villain as the characters & themes of the stories are as complete as many ancient myths. We can see virtues & faults in everyone & many times there is no such thing as a clear-cut winner or loser.
Paladin (Richard Boone), a well chosen name as on a chess board there are many moves available, lives in San Francisco & most people assumes he has investments alll over the west as he is taking frequent trips to protect them. We know different as "Have Gun Will Travel" he makes his fortune on his many skills. Every once in a while we get a gimps of his past as we know he went to West Point & can quote many ancient writings & wars. He has an uncanny way of knowing what the meanings of names are. Yet who ever he reallly is many people are better off for knowing him. And so are we.
A side benefit is recognizing the list of star (actors) & stars in the making.
