I loved James Garner as Maverick and when he was doing the show, he was the best Maverick. But I saw Jack Kelly the most on the show (since he was on the most) and he became my favorite. He grew on me after a while. I even like Roger Moore a little, but to me, Kelly was my favorite. They were all good Mavericks. But Kelly became my sentimental favorite.
shareI started watching because of Garner but I have to admit Kelly has also edged his way into my favorites.
Garner is of course wonderful and I love him too but Brother Bart just completely won me over. I know I would not be a big of a fan if not for him. I tried to deny it at first but I love Bart the best. Looking back it was his performance in Prey of the Cat that sealed the deal for me.
As for Beau I feel I haven't seen enough eps to form a solid opinion yet but so far my favorite Moore ep is the Rivals, where he doesn't play Beau.
I would have to agree. When I was a kid, I loved the way Garner played Maverick. His expressions of exasperation and confidence made me chuckle.
But re-watching the Maverick episodes on Encore makes me appreciate Kelly more each episode.
I feel like Garner appealed to the kid in us, but as an adult, I think I like the way Kelly interacted with his friends. You could see his wheels turning when he was trying to figure the best way out of a problem.
Don't get me wrong, I loved Garner and watched a LOT of his other movies and after reading his book, I liked him even more, but I feel like Kelly's version of Maverick is my new favorite.
I've noticed quite a few people say they have come to appreciate Kelly more as an adult. Of course I didn't grow up with Maverick and only recently discovered it, I wonder if I would have favored Bret if I watched as a child. I mean I LOVE them both. My favorite aspect of the series is their relationship as brothers but I tend to enjoy Bart's episodes most of all. I think Bart had a better mix of comedy and drama making him feel more real & well rounded.
Garner's autobio is next on my list, but I just finished reading Kelly biography and it's pretty sad at parts. I feel he didn't have the best career because of both bad luck and choices but probably the biggest thing that hindered him was he had a drinking problem which definitely had a negative affect on his career.