Have Gun – Will Travel: The Fifth Season, Volume
Two (1962/CBS DVD)
Picture: C+ Sound: C Extras:
D Episodes: A
The man in black returns once more in this, the second of two volumes that
bring us the fifth season of Have Gun - Will Travel. Richard Boone once again puts forth an
excellent performance as Paladin, and while his age is beginning to show in
these later episodes, he is still quite convincing in the role.
As in earlier seasons, the writers have done a commendable job at keeping things
interesting for our hired gun. His cool demeanor and desire to solve situations
with brain power and logic before resorting to a weapon sets him apart from
many of his counterparts that have come before or since.
The picture is in black and white, and keeps its original full-frame aspect
ratio of 1.33:1. While it isn't perfect
all the time it is fairly crisp, with few examples of neglect or careless
transferring. The audio track provided
is once again in Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, and while not as great as the video
(there are pops and other unwanted noise that have not been cleaned up), it is
pretty good when considering its age.
The episodes contained in this volume are as follows:
1) The Exiles
2) The Hunt
3) Dream Girl
4) One, Two, Three
5) The Waiting Room
6) The Trap
7) Don't Shoot the Piano Player
8) Alice
9) The Man Who Hit Moonshine
10) Silent Death, Secret Death
11) Hobson's Choice
12) The Coming of the Tiger
13) Darwin's Man
14) Invasion
15) Cream of the Jest
16) Bandit
17) Pandora's Box
18) Jonah
19) The Knight
Included in the set are episode summaries and original airdates, listed on the
artwork for viewing reference. While it is nice to have this information, it
does not make up for the fact that there are no extras on these discs, that is
a shame, but the three discs here still plenty of bang for your buck.
Talk of a movie reboot of the franchise has been off and on over the last few
years, but it is unlikely, no matter how good the result, that they will be
able to top this incarnation. Perhaps if
they do, however, it will ignite enough interest for us to be treated to
Blu-ray editions of the series with some new bonus content to sweeten the pot. Until that day, be sure to grab this set!
- David Milchick
