One of the best television westerns of all time comes to DVD in a terrific set, brought to you by CBS/Fox and Paramount. The six disc set comes with 39 half hour episodes, with starring Richard Boone. Boones' booming, distinctive voice and self confidence added much to the character of Paladin, a mysterious hired gun, who was known for quoting Shakespeare and knowing royalty. The knight chess piece was his symbol, both on his holster and business card, which simple read, "Have Gun, Will Travel, Wire Paladin, San Francisco."

The disc are handsomely housed in thin, plastic cases, which then fit into a larger slip case of cardboard. Each disc contains six or seven half hour shows. Guest stars on the show reflect the times but some very familiar faces pop up in some episodes including Charles Bronson, Angie Dickenson, Strother Martin, Jack Lord and June Lockhart. Each half hour episode is tightly woven together and contains an intro piece in San Francisco, and then gets right to the action of the plot. At times, Paladin is bounty hunter, bodyguard, hired gun, and detective. What really makes the series cool is the opening. Bernard Hermann's pounding score starts up as we see a closeup of a gun and holster. A hand slowly draws the gun and points it at the camera. We then hear some of the dialog that Paladin will say during the show. The gun is then holstered again and the opening credits role. Very, very cool! At over 16 hours, no one would dare say this is not a good deal of entertainment. The shows were top quality in writing and acting. This show features the best of what was considered the golden age of television and is a "thinking man's western".

Due to age, the episodes are uneven in quality. A lot of film grain is apparent in some scenes, and dirt sometimes mars the picture for a few seconds. The black and white picture is sharp with good contrast, which bring out more flaws. Tweaking your set to soften the picture up a bit may help view these shows from the late 50's if it really bothers you. Sound is Dolby mono and comes through the left and right channels of a home theater set up. It is a bit shallow due to its origins. I didn't notice any film noise or flaws in the soundtracks.

Each episode contains cast bios and extra information in text form in a feature called Wire Paladin. Here is were you learn about cast members, Paladin the character, and about Boone. There is a lot of interesting information here. In one episode where Paladin helps out a Mennonite family, an old mother character is played by an actress that was the oldest living actress in America at the time (in her 90's), and born during the Civil War! Don't skip this feature as there is a lot of good stuff here.

A great series for anytime, this DVD set will bring back many memories for some, and will also find new fans. "Have Gun, Will Travel" was a true western original, and has never been duplicated. It's amazing why no one has attempted to remake it into a film, as the character is certainly interesting and intriguing. Maybe no one can top Boone as the character. This disc set is a treasure to classic television fans and thanks to Paramount for finally allowing us to enjoy it on DVD.