by Moe Zilla

Created on: February 17, 2008

"Have Gun, Will Travel" opened with the barrel of a gun pointed at the camera, while Richard Boone voiced dialogue from the upcoming episode. Its suspenseful opening music was written by Bernard Herrmann, but though the sequence promised strong words and showdowns - they didn't always end in violence.

Paladin was a romantic character, a lone gun for hire living in a grand San Francisco hotel. But he was fast, smart and confident - enough to control any situation. Living in luxury, he'd receive newspapers from around the country, scanning for interesting cases where his services could make a difference. Mailing his famous business card would bring him a fresh adventure. ("Have gun - will travel," it read. "Wire Paladin - San Francisco.") Paladin would easily determine who was honest and who was threatening. If things got too dangerous, he knew he could draw his gun quickly.

It was only in its sixth year on the air that the show explained the full meaning of the heroic symbol that Paladin represented. In that famous episode, he plays two parts - remembering himself as a younger man, and an older man he'd been hired to kill. The older man reminds him of the importance of defending the defenseless against the powerful, and Paladin later realizes that he shouldn't have accepted this assignment. Inspired by the old man's word, he adopts them as his creed, along with the name "Paladin." At that moment he becomes not just a character in another western, but an icon of righteousness itself.

"Paladin, Paladin, where do you roam?" asked the show's closing song, highlighting one of the show's great appeal. There was different set of characters each week, and a new location, with Paladin a proudly single man, traveling the old west. But it was this freedom that let him fight for right as he himself saw it. In one episode he defended the poor Chinese laborers on a railroad, using his gun to ensure justice was served even in a time of discrimination. TV Guide ultimately declared this one of the 100 greatest moments in television history.

While some episodes were more exciting than others, they all seemed to offer pieces of a fascinating life. There was a mystique to the man with the chess pieces drawn on his gun belt. It was easy to understand what Paladin did - but it was much more intriguing to wonder why. His lone, noble and mysterious code is what finally made him a heroic icon.

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