The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.

[Christopher]

Fun show, am I wrong in thinking that it started the Fox-Cancels-Beloved-Scifi-Show trend that continues to this day?

No, I believe that would be Alien Nation.

Well, first off, FOX brought back Alien Nation for a series of reunion movies. They may have made the choice to cancel it for financial reasons (because they wanted to expand their lineup to more nights and they could produce four sitcoms for the same cost), but they nonetheless believed in the show and wanted to find a way to bring it back, and they eventually did.

Second, it doesn't "continue to this day," not in the sense implied. The executives running FOX today are completely different people from the ones who ran it when, say, Firefly was on, and they've shown they're willing to stand behind their genre shows and give them every chance.

The bottom line is, most TV shows get cancelled young, period. It doesn't matter what network or what genre -- putting a TV show on the air is a risky proposition, and most attempts will fail within the first year. Genre shows are particularly hard to keep on the air because they're more expensive to make and tend to draw in narrower audiences. So it's always a gamble, and most attempts will fail. The real reason FOX has cancelled so many genre shows is simply that it's bought so many more genre shows than any other broadcast network ever. So it really gets an unfair reputation.

As for Brisco, I'm not sure how "beloved" it was, really. It's got a cult following, but mainly because Bruce Campbell has a cult following. I don't remember it having the same kind of devoted fanbase at the time it was on that, say, Firefly did.

 

[Aragorn]

Fun show, am I wrong in thinking that it started the Fox-Cancels-Beloved-Scifi-Show trend that continues to this day?

No, I believe that would be Alien Nation.

Well, first off, FOX brought back Alien Nation for a series of reunion movies. They may have made the choice to cancel it for financial reasons (because they wanted to expand their lineup to more nights and they could produce four sitcoms for the same cost), but they nonetheless believed in the show and wanted to find a way to bring it back, and they eventually did.

Second, it doesn't "continue to this day," not in the sense implied. The executives running FOX today are completely different people from the ones who ran it when, say, Firefly was on, and they've shown they're willing to stand behind their genre shows and give them every chance.

The bottom line is, most TV shows get cancelled young, period. It doesn't matter what network or what genre -- putting a TV show on the air is a risky proposition, and most attempts will fail within the first year. Genre shows are particularly hard to keep on the air because they're more expensive to make and tend to draw in narrower audiences. So it's always a gamble, and most attempts will fail. The real reason FOX has cancelled so many genre shows is simply that it's bought so many more genre shows than any other broadcast network ever. So it really gets an unfair reputation.

As for Brisco, I'm not sure how "beloved" it was, really. It's got a cult following, but mainly because Bruce Campbell has a cult following. I don't remember it having the same kind of devoted fanbase at the time it was on that, say, Firefly did.

You're wasting your breath. This type of intentional tunnel vision mentality will never go away from this board. It's like when people throw out "raped my childhood" or accuse something of being "90210" but don't actually follow up on it. It's just easier to say "case closed" or "enough said" without actually typing a second sentence.

 

[DWF]

Fun show, am I wrong in thinking that it started the Fox-Cancels-Beloved-Scifi-Show trend that continues to this day?

No, I believe that would be Alien Nation.

Well, first off, FOX brought back Alien Nation for a series of reunion movies. They may have made the choice to cancel it for financial reasons (because they wanted to expand their lineup to more nights and they could produce four sitcoms for the same cost), but they nonetheless believed in the show and wanted to find a way to bring it back, and they eventually did.

Second, it doesn't "continue to this day," not in the sense implied. The executives running FOX today are completely different people from the ones who ran it when, say, Firefly was on, and they've shown they're willing to stand behind their genre shows and give them every chance.

The bottom line is, most TV shows get cancelled young, period. It doesn't matter what network or what genre -- putting a TV show on the air is a risky proposition, and most attempts will fail within the first year. Genre shows are particularly hard to keep on the air because they're more expensive to make and tend to draw in narrower audiences. So it's always a gamble, and most attempts will fail. The real reason FOX has cancelled so many genre shows is simply that it's bought so many more genre shows than any other broadcast network ever. So it really gets an unfair reputation.

As for Brisco, I'm not sure how "beloved" it was, really. It's got a cult following, but mainly because Bruce Campbell has a cult following. I don't remember it having the same kind of devoted fanbase at the time it was on that, say, Firefly did.

The reruns on TNT and the theme music on the Olympics helped keep the show in the public eye. Zack Stenz said that there was talk of Brisco County TV movies before Julius Carry died, he mentioned that in the thread for Carry on the Exisle.

 

[Too Much Fun]

I hope nobody minds me sort of hijacking this thread to deposit thoughts as I watch the series for the first time. All the recent posts make me feel like I haven't been giving enough praise to Julius Carry. One of the best things about watching this show now is that I don't think I ever would have known about him if I hadn't become interested in it.

Looking at his filmography, it appears he didn't act in any films I could see myself ever ending up watching someday. He guest starred on a few shows I watched growing up, but I don't remember ever seeing him before. I started watching this show because of Bruce Campbell, but I think he has as much to do with why it works as Campbell does.

I really love the dynamic with the two characters where they're not quite buddies and not quite enemies, but something between. They are competitive and often rude to one another, but also care about each other's well-being and have some begrudging respect between them without ever getting mushy. It's a really well written and well-acted association and fairly original as far as I'm concerned.

One thing I was worried about early on was that Bowler would be depicted as a buffoon too much, which could get old as a joke fast, but I'm glad to see him becoming more. In the episode I just watched called "Riverboat", he got to have a lot of dignity as he used his toughness and pride to achieve some success as a boxer. It was nice to see him triumph like a hero for once.

The parade of spectacular guest stars continues with Xander Berkeley showing up and another welcome appearance by Kelly Rutherford. I actually thought she betrayed Brisco...she's a crafty one. I love how John Blye's gang has so many diverse characters in it, some wacky, some deadly, and some both.

The anachronisms running gag continues to amuse me as well, with the invention of denim! It's too soon to say if this will end up being what I'd consider one of my all time favourite shows yet, but I can already say it definitely has one of my favourite TV show themes ever. I can't get that melody out of my head. I love it so much! I hope it's used in Olympics again, becuse I would really enjoy that after having seen the series.

 

[Aragorn]

I watched this show as a kid when it aired but didn't remember much of it, so I watched it again on DVD a couple years ago and the first thing I noticed is they used the exact same jail set every time no matter what town they were supposed to be in. But I guess they had a throwaway line in an episode where that type of jail construction was referred to by model name.

Also found it funny that one of the bad guys was named Doc McCoy.

Anyone give Campbell's follow up show Jack of All Trades a shot? I think it was paired in syndication with Cleopatra 2525.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VNsjjYRgjc[/yt]

 

[Christopher]

The anachronisms running gag continues to amuse me as well, with the invention of denim!

Actually that's an anachronism in the wrong direction, since at the time Brisco County, Jr. takes place, Levi Strauss had been making denim clothing for 40 years and had held a patent on blue jeans for 20 years.

 

[Too Much Fun]

I'm still watching this show. After an alarmingly long streak of mediocre to poor episodes (three in a row!), it got back on track in a huge way with episode 11. Interestingly, those three duller episodes did not include Kelly Rutherford's character, and just as I started to worry that this series was out of gas (not even halfway!), it rebounded with an episode where her character was not only central to the plot, but even part of its title!

"Deep in the Heart of Dixie" was my favourite episode since the pilot. It seemed to have just about everything. Action (even a big explosion!), romance, comedy, and something fun for every character to do. Dixie's history was revealed and I was surprised by how many ways the characters suddenly advanced. Brisco and Dixie started to take their relationship more seriously than ever by wondering where it might go, while Brisco and Bowler talked about becoming partners.

This episode also continued the tradition from the excellent first few episodes of featuring a Star Trek alumnus in a prominent role. This time, it was one of my favourite multiple time guest stars, David Warner. He was, of course, playing an evil, sadistic, aristocrat-like villain with a dry wit and a twisted sense of whimsy, who loves to gloat very articulately. Even though he always kind of sounds the same whenever he plays a villain, I was surprised by how much Warner's Ra's Al Ghul seemed to bleed into the part. This makes sense since he was playing the character on "Batman: The Animated Series" at the time.

Highlights included Warner constantly speaking in metaphors with the quirkiness of a character in a Tarantino movie, ambushing Brisco in a church confessional, and poisoning his own henchman in front of the other henchmen for failing (bragging with delicious malice the whole time, and timing it so his victim hears every vile word before keeling over).

On top of all the Warner and Rutherford goodness, there was the humour of Brisco and Bowler disguising themselves as a nun and a monk, the novelty of a cuckoo clock time bomb, an adorable Socrates crush, a catfight between Dixie and a super hot enemy spy, Brisco and Dixie FINALLY getting intimate again (it's about damn time!), and some wonderful banter between them.

She [as he's carrying her away]: "Brisco, put me down!"
He: "All right, you look bad in a wig and you were too easy to find!"
She: "No, I mean let go of me!"

I love this relationship. I heard if there was a second season, they would have settled down. It's a shame this never happened...I would have loved to see that. What an asset Kelly Rutherford/Dixie was to this show. Maybe she should be considered its good luck charm. To the other fans out there, do you remember specific favourite episodes? I wonder if it can get even better than this one. Hard to imagine!

 

[Checkmate]

My favorite character in the show was Comet the Wonder Horse. Particularly the episode where he gets pissed at Brisco for wanting to take a faster transport, only to wind up at the destination before Brisco does. (Of course, Brisco finds a train ticket stub tucked into his saddle, but that's neither here nor there.)

 

[auntiehill]

^I love Comet. Hubby really liked "Pistol Pete" and how he kept turning up. He got a big laugh out of the "Don't touch Pete's piece!" gag.

 

[Too Much Fun]

Yeah, I forgot to mention (because there was so much else going that I wanted to rave about) how even Comet has some really great moments in the Dixie episode. Brisco leaps off him to catch a speeding train, and later Comet is clearly pissed off about it. He eats the flowers Brisco brought Dixie for their date.

 

[Too Much Fun]

My favorite character in the show was Comet the Wonder Horse. Particularly the episode where he gets pissed at Brisco for wanting to take a faster transport, only to wind up at the destination before Brisco does. (Of course, Brisco finds a train ticket stub tucked into his saddle, but that's neither here nor there.)

I think I've just seen the episode you were referring to, although there was nothing about a train ticket (maybe in a later episode?). In the craziest instance of historically inaccurate technology coming into play yet on this series, Brisco encountered a gang who had MOTORCYCLES!

Absolutely ridiculous, but it worked. Brisco and Bowler's reactions to these 'machines' and ways of describing them were very amusing (wheels made of rubber? that's a stupid idea!) and Comet's jealousy was a splendid running gag. Whoever trained the horses on this show did a marvelous job. The way Comet emoted with sounds and facial expressions to show anger at Brisco favouring a motorcycle over a horse was too cute.

 

[Christopher]

Actually having motorcycles in Brisco County wasn't much of an anachronism at all. The first motorcycles to go into production for sale to the public were made in Germany in 1894. Motorcycles began showing up in the US in 1895. So Brisco was only a year or two ahead of reality.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_history

And rubber tires have been around since the 1880s.

 

[Too Much Fun]

Well, that may be, but those motorcycles sure looked surreal in a Western, and this is certainly the first time I've ever seen them in a Western (and I've seen my fair share of Westerns). You can't tell me they weren't at least WAY ahead of their time by having a reference to television in that episode, right?

 

[Christopher]

You can't tell me they weren't at least WAY ahead of their time by having a reference to television in that episode, right?

Well, that depends on what the reference was. The first proposal for a form of television technology was patented in 1884, although the term "television" wasn't coined until 1900, and actual working technologies weren't developed until the early 1900s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_television

And believe me, I'm as surprised as anyone to discover how long these things have been around. Well, not denim; I knew that had been around in the 19th century. But while I was expecting both motorcycles and television to be older than we tend to assume, I wasn't expecting them to be quite as old as they actually are.

 

[Checkmate]

One of Brisco's character traits was that he had a keen idea of what the future held. There was also another character actually from the future, not to mention a mad scientist with similar insights as Brisco.

So references to future technologies isn't really that shocking since it was fully intended from the start.

 

[Too Much Fun]

As Bowler would say, "DAMN!". All this history of technology stuff is a huge surprise to me. The TV reference was actually very subtle...it took me a moment to figure out.

The professor had invented the kind of two-way glass that cops always use for interrogation. From a room behind the glass, they could see the criminal they caught being intimidated, while the criminal couldn't see them.

Watching the criminal get beat up from behind the glass, Bowler says, "Someday, I want one of these windows in my house...you know, so I can turn it on anytime, like a lamp? Watch stuff like this!".

I forgot to mention there was also a fun little subtle technology allusion in another episode where they'd acquired a crude device for recording peoples' conversations. Brisco suggested that one day people would be able to use a device like this to listen to their favourite song any time they want.

Flabbergasted, Socrates responded by saying something like, "What kind of a person would want to listen to the same song over and over again?". I love this show. I can't decide which running gag I like more between the impossibly smart horse or the curiously dead-on future technology predictions/prototypes.

 

[sojourner]

Well, that depends on what the reference was. The first proposal for a form of television technology was patented in 1884, although the term "television" wasn't coined until 1900, and actual working technologies weren't developed until the early 1900s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_television

And believe me, I'm as surprised as anyone to discover how long these things have been around. Well, not denim; I knew that had been around in the 19th century. But while I was expecting both motorcycles and television to be older than we tend to assume, I wasn't expecting them to be quite as old as they actually are.

Strangely enough, I had learned about the time period of the motorcycle from another failed show known as Q.E.D., which was set in a similar time period but in London, England. It had a similar quirky feel to it as BCJ, though with less humor.

 

[A beaker full of death]

Well, that may be, but those motorcycles sure looked surreal in a Western, and this is certainly the first time I've ever seen them in a Western (and I've seen my fair share of Westerns).

Perhaps you missed Big Jake.

 

[Too Much Fun]

Seems I have to dig deeper to find this thread every time I want to post in it again. I hope folks don't mind if I keep it alive until I finish the series. 8 episodes to go! Midway through the season, I feel the show is beginning to run out of gas a bit.

Some of the self-contained episodes that don't include Kelly Rutherford/Dixie or the ongoing storyline with Bly, his gang, and the Orb are starting to feel like weak filler. I'm disappointed that the show didn't last more than one season, but at the same time, I'm beginning to doubt that it could have remained as inspired as its early episodes in subsequent seasons.

The episode with a guy clearly meant to be Elvis was pretty lame. I like the idea of Elvis existing in the 1890s...it reminds of the theories about his exceptional talent coming from the fact that he was an alien or some other otherworldly being (as suggested by "Men In Black").

I can suspend my disbelief enough to believe Elvis could exist in this period because he was some immortal being (or maybe this guy was meant to be his ancestor?) but the guy playing pseudo-Elvis was just excruciatingly annoying . I didn't care for the hokey "Fountain of Youth" episode (although Blye was enjoyably slimy as usual there) either. The vaguely Clue-like mystery of the Bounty Hunters' Convention episode was a bore as well.

On the bright side, there are still some clever and endearing bits. I liked Comet getting mad at Bowler, then refusing to accept a fake apology from him. He neighs disapprovingly at Bowler's insincerity before Brisco explains, "he knows the difference!". The show also continues to feature mainstays of other beloved sci-fi shows of my past.

For example, J.G. "General Martok" Hertzler and Mercedes "Harmony" McNab of "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" fame showed up (in mediocre episodes, unfortunately). It's strange to see McNab as a sweet, vulnerable, talkative, and innocent kid too young to have any sex appeal.

I'm so used to thinking of her as a hottie airhead, I forget she was once a child and could play roles other than a sexy bimbo. Reminds me of seeing Eliza Dushku in "True Lies". It's a jarring reminder that she wasn't just born a sex bomb.

 

[Christopher]

Mercedes McNab also appeared as a child in both Addams Family movies. In the first, she was the girl scout who tried to sell cookies to Wednesday, and in the second, she was a rival of Wednesday's at the summer camp (it's unclear whether they were both the same character).