Get out the popcorn. It's November.

Yesterday, I showed you a pretty good Western series from Australia. Today, I'll show you a terrible one from the US. Even back in the 1960s, we chortled at Daniel Boone – especially the memorable shot of Dan and Mingo staring up into the frontier sky…only to see a jet contrail. Ah, Hollywood.

Today's Short Subjects: First, let's get risible about Daniel Boone. Mr Boone, a native of Pennsylvania, was a genuine pioneer in the colonial days. But he was not well served by the film industry, being portrayed by Fess Parker, who also played Davy Crockett. Crockett, a Congressman, was the victim of mythmakers even in his own day, although he himself was a progressive, and a staunch opponent of Andrew Jackson's government and its racist policies. Anyway, actor Parker was singlehandedly responsible for the boom in coonskin caps during my early childhood, so he has a lot to answer for (though not as much as Andrew Jackson). Mickey Katz, that gifted Borscht Belt musician, did his own version of the theme song, Duvid Crockett. Enjoy this Yiddish reimagining of the classical schlock.

Now, just to remind ourselves of the kind of music Daniel Boone would really have listened to, here's an actual tune from the time.

Now watch this awful TV show.

Today's Feature Film: Watch this episode of Daniel Boone. You will notice that, while life on the frontier lacked such amenities as supermarkets and drive-in movies, people acted pretty much the way they did in the world's Golden Age, i.e. the 1950s. Men were men, women were women (and had nice hair), boys (but not girls) were the hope of the future. And Indians were portrayed by Ukrainian Jewish singers. Blah.

It's mostly harmless.

I can't say as ever I was lost, but I was bewildered once for three days.

Daniel Boone

That must have been when he saw the jet contrails.