The Richard Boone Show

I was five, yes,five, when this show first ran. Until recently, I judged on a single, wonderful episode, "Vote No on Eleven" which I somehow managed to see. Jeannete Nolan was nominated for an Emmy for her portrayal of a bag lady. Recently, I have been able to catch some episodes on You Tube, and what I have seen is truly excellent.It is very sad that this show failed to be a hit, as Richard Boone and Buck Houghton put a lot into it. The cast of the show was uniformly excellent.The shows music was by Henry Mancini, except for the first episode, "Statement of Fact' which featured music by Bernard Hermann.

I can add little to the well-made comments of the ex-Georgian (now safely in Mass.) regarding THE RICHARD BOONE SHOW. It was indeed unique on television in the 1960s and beyond.

The producers probably thought the name would attract viewers, but obviously not enough. I would like to think this rotating cast of characters and situations was "ahead of its time," but perhaps there was no such time. Series, a.k.a. "prime time" television watchers apparently did not like the insecurity of no characters or settings to which they could become attached. Always there was something new, even unique, c.f. the afore-mentioned episode by Odets. THE RICHARD BOONE SHOW was not in keeping with Ray Bradbury's notion of "television family" -- which the host's expositions from the Green Room could not replace. To be best of my recollection, Richard Boone disappeared from television with this noble experiment.

I recall seeing this in reruns in the mid 80's on a local (Detroit) UHF station (Channel 62)...Didn't the opening voice over say "These are the actors...and this is the play", or something along those lines? A great show that was way ahead of it's time.I also remember the Robert Blake parts that were mentioned. Sadly, Boone pretty much disappeared after this grand, failed experiment, only to surface occasionally in the odd movie role.I first encountered him on the old "Hec Ramsay" television series in the mid seventies, which was the last role he was identified with. It would have been very interesting if he had NOT turned down the McGarrett role in what eventually became Hawaii Five-O...

This TV series was never aired in France. But the French audiences missed something fantastic. This is definitely not a crime show, but an excellent drama one. Here, the particularity is that you have always the same actors playing in most of the episodes. And, in every story, independent tales, they all played different characters. In one show, for instance, Richard Boone played the lead, and in another one, you hardly recognized him in a supporting character. Please read all my comments, for each episode, I have commented them all. For most of them, I really enjoyed. And I realize that Richard Boone was really a terrific actor, a true one. Maybe best than he was in big screen films, where the majors always take him for only heavies characters. The best I wish you is to get one day this outstanding TV show. One last thing, in this series, you have Guy Stockwell too; remember him as Chuck Heston's brother in WARLORD. He was not a great actor, yes, but I appreciated him here, in all those episodes.

As a somewhat geeky kid of 8, I'd somehow usually manage to stay up a little late on the nights when The Richard Boone Show was on. It was in a way an echo of earlier TV classic shows like Plahouse 90, in that each week there would be a new show with a new cast, but the twist was this was all done by the show's repertory company. The company was filled with excellent actors; some of whom were already quite well known and respected, like Harry Morgan (who directed a few episodes), Jeanette Nolan, Guy Stockwell, Lloyd Bochner and the always excellent Michael Constantine. Also on hand was Robert Blake, a long time veteran but a few years away from starring roles in "In Cold Blood" and later TV's "Baretta". Part of the excitement was each week that the spotlight would shine on the chosen cast. Richard Boone added substance to the show in his tasks as narrator, sometime ensemble actor and if memory serves even worked as an episodic director on the show as well. The writing of the show was varied and of quality with some great writers in the company like Clifford Odets. It was a disappointment to me that the show did not last beyond one season. It was a gem that for some sad reason did not click with the ratings. It would be great to see the show on Nick or some cable station sometime.

Oh for the days when great writers, directors and actors populated TV with shows other than Police and Medical soaps, reality shows and sitcoms. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy many sitcoms, but I miss the variety of good dramas and even the variety shows like Ed Sullivan, Hollywood Palace, The Danny Kaye show, etc.

If you ever see this show listed or shown anywhere-- do try and catch it.