Richard Boone was a thoughtful and serious actor, and so must have felt a great satisfaction in playing a 'thoughtful gunman' in the Old West.
Although Paladin often professed the desire to settle every situation without gunplay if possible, his rivals in most shows didn't afford him that opportunity. It's a rare show that Paladin didn't have to shoot someone ... sometimes a few someones.
Despite many story corners having to be cut to fit these stories into a 30-minute format, each story is interesting and compelling, virtually always with a twist that keeps them from being some of the many Western clichés.
Now that the series has been resurrected on Encore Westerns, generations who had no opportunity to appreciate this fine series in years past can now discover it for themselves. This is yet another example of how many television shows from the 50s and early 60s were far superior to most of what is filmed now.
Although Paladin often professed the desire to settle every situation without gunplay if possible, his rivals in most shows didn't afford him that opportunity. It's a rare show that Paladin didn't have to shoot someone ... sometimes a few someones.
Despite many story corners having to be cut to fit these stories into a 30-minute format, each story is interesting and compelling, virtually always with a twist that keeps them from being some of the many Western clichés.
Now that the series has been resurrected on Encore Westerns, generations who had no opportunity to appreciate this fine series in years past can now discover it for themselves. This is yet another example of how many television shows from the 50s and early 60s were far superior to most of what is filmed now.