From 1955-1964, American television was awash in adult Westerns, accounting for as much as one-quarter of all prime-time programming. During its six seasons (1957-1963), I>Have Gun--Will Travel was recognized as one of the best shows on television-politically the most liberal, and intellectually and aesthetically the most sophisticated, largely due to the influence of its star, Richard Boone. Part 1 places the series in its larger historical context, exploring why the Western was so popular in this decade (Chapter 1), and examining how the early history of television as a medium and a...