Riverboat (1959–1961)

Stars:

Darren McGavin, Dick Wessel, Jack Lambert

Cast

Series cast summary:
Darren McGavin	...	Captain Grey Holden (42 episodes, 1959-1961)
Dick Wessel	...	Carney Kohler (41 episodes, 1959-1961)
Jack Lambert	...	Joshua Walcek (23 episodes, 1959-1960)
Burt Reynolds	...	Ben Frazer (20 episodes, 1959-1960)
Michael McGreevey	...	Chip Kessler (17 episodes, 1959-1960)

Storyline

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Genres:

Adventure | Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 September 1959 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Meladare Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (44 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Burt Reynolds left the show in the middle of the first season because of behind-the-scenes disputes with Darren McGavin. He was replaced by Noah Beery Jr. when the show's second season began.

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Goofs

Despite taking place in the Antebellum South, there were no African Americans on the show.

User Reviews

Not as good as I remembered

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.