qormi Darren McGavin seems like the kind of riverboat captain you wouldn't want to work for. He has his nose in everything and gives new meaning to the term,"micromanaging". He knows everybody's business, personally greets each passenger, conducts bed checks, inspects all cargo personally, and constantly offers advice. He's like a cross between Sigmund Freud and Dear Abby as he instantly diagnoses people's behavior disorders and offers unwarranted, contrary opinions.Oh - and the chicks really dig him while barely noticing 23-year-old stud Burt Reynolds. Then, he has to be the most macho guy in the West. Burt Reynolds cringes at gunfire while McGavin fearlessly delves into the fray, dodging ricocheting bullets and planting a well-timed fist to the face while sporting a rakish grin. No wonder Reynolds quit halfway through the first season. You can't compete with God. This show, which was half frontier Love Boat and half frontier Untouchables managed to chug along for two seasons.

Jim I watched the 3 DVD set of the Riverboat series and was surprised at the poorly conceived stories and mediocre acting. I think that I was more in love with the idea of traveling along on the river in what appears to be an authentic paddle wheel river boat. All of the scenes of the boat moving along the river are what seem to be what I remembered most.What really stands out are the parallels between Riverboat and Star Trek. Of course the name of both ships was the Enterprise. One of the characters in the crew that the captain interacted with had a heavy Scottish accent. Probably the one thing that stood out the most was comparing Darren McGavin and William Shatner. Both played captains that were full of bravado, and both way over the top with swagger. It's almost as though William Shatner was playing an intergalactic version of Captain Grey Holden.I hardly remembered Burt Reynolds, and after watching him in these DVDs, he seemed like a real stiff. Definitely not as good as I remembered from my childhood.

jwbkatfish I remember that the name of the Riverboat was the "Enterprise". The only episode I can recall is one that involved a young lawyer named Abe Lincoln defending a bridge builder that Capt. Holden's Enterprise damaged. I believe Lincoln won the case. The "Star Trek Enterprise" series left out the "Riverboat Enterprise" in their opening credits when they featured other Enterprises, (sailing ships, aircraft carriers and shuttles, etc.)I always thought it was unfortunate it was left out... Riverboat was a show that I've been trying to recall for some time. I believe that it was on Sunday nights. Will miss you Darren Jerry 2/26/05.

guyinnanaimo This was a very good television series for its day. What should be noted is that McGavin and Reynolds had a feud during this television series. I seem to recall it was around who's the actual star/salary paid/whatever?. To my knowledge, these two haven't been friendly since ~ almost 50 years! They don't mention each other's name when commenting about this show. It's VERY hard to ensure we get a "maximum 1000 words or a minimum of 10 lines" as per your posting guidelines, when our comments, while they may be valid after your review, may not meet this criteria. Perhaps you could consider LOWERING this guideline for some of us avid contributors!?