Daniel Boone was
a real life frontiersman and American pioneer whose exploits and explorations
were impressive enough to make him one of the country’s first folk heroes. This
television series does not look to paint an accurate representation of history,
but instead focuses on enhancing the legend of Boone. There are definite
timeline issues in the narrative, but the spirit of the adventurer is captured
in the same manner I imagine word of mouth originally embellished Boone into
celebrity.
Available for
the first time thanks to the 20th Century Fox TV Archives, all six
seasons of this 1964 series have been released in a box set in time for the 50th
Anniversary. The complete series includes 165 episodes, included in this
36-disc set for fans and new viewers alike. The first season of the series was
in black-and-white, but the remaining five switched to color.
All of the adventures of Boone and
his family in the new frontier fell into a now-missing family adventure genre
of television. Though fans should be grateful that this series has made it to
DVD at all, you should also be aware of the fact that the production is only
possible through Fox’s DVD-R process, creating packages as they are demanded.
It is difficult to tell much degradation to the image with a series this old,
but the very idea of having a package made of recordable discs still carries a
stigma for some consumers.
Part of the
reason this show was so successful was the casting, with the legendary Fess
Parker in the iconic role of Boone after having already played Davy Crockett to
perfection in the 1950s. Though Parker had roles in plenty of other classic
films, such as Old Yeller (1957) and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1962), he
would never reach greater fame than he did by playing these two real-life
legendary adventurers. The first season introduces Parker as Boone, a
frontiersman living in Kentucky
The show also
had a successful way of creatively bringing other historical figures into the
narrative, however ridiculous they often were. In the third season George
Washington comes to visit, and in the final season Boone has a reoccurring
alliance with Johnny Appleseed, as well as helping Benjamin Franklin to
preserve free speech. Mostly, however, Boone just helped those in need, whether
it was an escaped slave or a French prince. Anyone who was in need could count
on Boone to save the day.
Entertainment Value:
6.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6/10
Historical
Significance: 8.5/10
Special Features: 0/10
2 comments:
Freaky deaky!
My favorite episode is "Mamma Cooper" from season 6, with Ethel Waters in the title role.
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