Daniel Boone

This is a great TV show for all ages. The kind of show that 'should,' and, most likely will, among other things, teach children to respect their parents, and...elders, alike; and, how a functional family works when they 'work together.'

I remember watching "Daniel Boone" when I was about three (around the forth season) and how much I enjoyed it. Now, the "Inspiration" (INSP) channel has brought it back. I watched two episodes yesterday (May 20, 2015), and, it's as good as I remember it being. It's the kind of 'family-friendly' television that parents can allow a small child to watch alone without the fear of them seeing or hearing something inappropriate, vulgar, overly violent, and/or something that may give them nightmares.

What else is great about this show is the scenery. Wonderful settings with open fields and thick forests; as well as beautiful streams and rivers. Serenity and peace in a wilderness that is absolutely breathtaking. Anyone who likes the outdoors is sure to like this; and, with any luck, this show, and, others like it, will get more children to get off of their computers and into the wild.

The characters are played by good actors who people remember - Fess Parker (Daniel Boone), of "Old Yeller" (1957); and, Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier (Gabe Cooper), the man who broke Sirhan Sirhan's hand while taking his pistol away after he shot Robert Kennedy, thus, saving others from being killed. (I guess that's what happens to your han(d) when you have a name like Sirhan Sirhan!?!?).

It was television shows like this, and..."Grizzly Adams;" "The Waltons;" "Bonanza;" "The Big Valley;" "The Virginian;" "Little House on the Prairie;" "The High Chaparral;" "Gunsmoke;" etc., that made me want to spend a lot of time exploring various forests and all they have to offer; and, made me want to become a Cub Scout and learn even more. Plus, all of these TV shows are 'child-friendly.'

Bottom line - "Daniel Boone" is great family-fare; and, it's great for children of all ages. :)

First, this wasn't a documentary. So yes it is extremely inaccurate especially today with being able to research on the internet that didn't exist when this was filmed. Also, if you read the backstory that they really wanted to do Davy Crockett so they sped this out. This is why small stature Boone had a theme song saying he was "a big man". Time periods are disjointed, Boone goes to places he never really did, Native Americans are wrongly portrayed in numerous ways.

Despite all that, this is a show for entertainment and family values. There's always an overriding them of honesty, doing the right thing, taking care of family, and law and order. So it should be enjoyed for what it is, and not placing too much on the fact that this isn't a documentary.

This is a generally well acted version of the famous frontier explorer . Fess Parker (he starred another historical character in similar style as ¨Davy Crockett¨ ; in fact, he portrayed Boone wearing a Coon Skin Cap , a carryover from his portrayal as Crockett) is well cast in the title role , he's an idealized Daniel Boone who takes on outlaws , mean settlers and tangles skirmishes with Indians . As frontier hero Daniel Boone conducts surveys and expeditions around Boonesborough , running into both friendly and hostile Indians , just before and during the Revolutionary War . There appears Daniel Boone along with family , his wife (Patricia Blair) , children : Israel (Darby Hinton) and Yemima (Veronica Cartwright : future passenger in Alien) ; furthermore , his friends : the Indian Mingo (Ed Ames) , Yadkin (Albert Salmi) , among others .

This is an enjoyable series produced by 20th Century Fox and famed producer Aaron Rosemberg , including gorgeous outdoors and stunning musical score by Lionel Newman . Entertaining action adventure detailing chapters in the stirring life of legendary pioneer , notorious for his leading some settlers from North Carolina into Kentucky . Throughly agreeable and full of kind of boyhood images , this family series was finely performed by all involved . There is also a compilation of various episodes that appeared originally on TV and were released theatrically . Other cinematic renditions about this historical character Daniel Boone are the following ones : ¨Daniel Boone (1936)¨ with George O'Brien and ¨Trail Blazer¨ with Bruce Bennett .

The episodes are freely adapted on fictitious deeds , but some of them based on true events , these are the actual facts : Daniel Boone (1734-1820) , who wore a beaver hat with flat brim , was a long hunter , Indian fighter and trail-blazing pioneer . Daniel was born in Pennsylvania . Moving to North Carolina he settled in the Yadkin Valley , supporting his family by hunting , often making long trips for profitable animal skins. Boone was impressed by the Indians hunting grounds of Kentucky and determined to make his home in this unsettled, fertile land rich with game . In 1773 he left Yadkin with his own and several families and headed west. The journey was thwarted by hostile Indians who killed six of the party including Boone's elder son . Boone, however, vowed to complete the emigration and with a band of hardy woodsmen , he set forth and blazed a trail, through the Cumberland Gap of the Appalachian Mountains to the Kentucky River, where they built a fort named Boonesborough . The Wilderness Road became the main pioneer over which poured the first waves of migration to the West. In 1778 Boone was captured by Shawnee Indians but he escaped to warn Boonesborough of an impeding Shawnee attack . Later he moved on to Missouri, then part of the Spanish territory of Louisiana, but the purchase of 1803 by US deprived him of this land . He died aged eighty-six in his son's farmhouse in Missouri.

"Daniel Boone" is a show that has flown out of almost every pigeonhole into which the TV critics have tried to stuff it.

It's not really a Western (most action takes place East of the Mississippi), but it has all the elements of a classic Western.

Action/Adventure? Sure, lots of it, but with plenty of food for thought provided by the family and social issues that are woven into most plots.

Drama? Yep, but with elements of humor that bring some episodes into the range of Comedy.

History? ahem Well, let's just say that this Dan'l must have lived in an alternate world (see, Science Fiction, too!) where time travel allows for episodes where President George Washington appears one week, while the next week the American War for Independence is still being fought.

Regardless of how one might label this series, "Daniel Boone" is a show that has something for everyone!

The "Daniel Boone" series is uneven in its qualities, but overall its a good program. Fess Parker presents a stoic, humble and admirable Daniel Boone, who fights for fair play. Blood and gore is kept to a minimum, but there is still plenty of adventure and suspense. The acting by lesser characters is sometimes poor, especially in some of the middle and later episodes, but Parker, Ed Ames, Patricia Blair and Dallas McKennon keep things good. And the show is meant to be fun. While it often presents a moral, it doesn't have the dreary, preachy quality that so many shows from the '70s onwards have.

There are historical inaccuracies, such as Eastern Woodland Indians living in teepees rather than wigwams, Whites not always wearing the costumes of the time, a mixed-up chronology, and Daniel having the ability to quickly dash off from Kentucky to the eastern colonies almost at will. And some episodes with historical figures such as Lafayette, Aaron Burr, Beaumarchais and Patrick Henry are fictionalized. On the other hand, the show preserves some of the spirit of the frontier and the period, which is not often seen these days. Also, the real Daniel Boone was a humane, honorable man who was highly respected by many Indians and Whites of his day, as he is portrayed in the series.

Its very striking how different "Daniel Boone" is compared with current-day movies and TV shows. In "Daniel Boone," Daniel and his half-breed friend Mingo are definitely heroes. Mingo, who was taken to England as a boy and educated at Oxford, has a deep love for classical European literature, music and philosophy. The goodness of the American Revolutionary cause is assumed. While some of the enemy British soldiers and Indians are treacherous, several of them are also shown as being decent and honorable. Daniel and many of his friends believe in and fight for freedom, private property, law and civilization. Some of the white frontiersmen are bad, but some are good, and many are just trying to find a better life in Kentucky for their families.

If "Daniel Boone" was produced by the politically-correct and supposedly "open-minded, enlightened" Hollywood people of today, Daniel would be a psychologically-conflicted man, continually fighting his rapacious urges that stem from his white culture. Mingo would decide to go completely native and would be continually ashamed of his British education. Daniel's Indian enemies would be shown as wholly noble and innocent, and they would never commit any atrocities unless in retaliation for worse ones done by the Whites. The American Revolutionaries would get their only legitimate ideas from the Indians. And the worst villains of all would be the English, since in today's Hollywood the pre-Socialist English are considered the world's worst villains ever. Anyone who has closely studied history knows that these politically-correct stereotypes are far from the truth, but its shocking how prevalent they are today.

Therefore, with its flaws, "Daniel Boone" still presents entertaining stories, admirable characters, and some of the fighting spirit and concern for fair play of the past, and that's enough for it to earn good marks with me.