The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.

infobox television
show_name = The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.


caption = Brisco County launch poster
format = western / Science fiction
runtime = 45 minutes per episode
creator = Jeffrey Boam
Carlton Cuse
starring = Bruce Campbell
country = USA
network = Fox
first_aired = August 27, 1993
last_aired = May 20, 1994
num_episodes = 27
imdb_id = 0105932
tv_com_id = 1797

"The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr." is a short-lived western television series with science fiction elements set in the 1890s, starring Bruce Campbell as Brisco County Jr. It could be considered a thematic descendant of the 1960s show "The Wild Wild West", since it combined elements of the science fiction and Western genres. It was one of the few western shows aired in the 1990s.

Plot

Brisco County Jr. is hunting down the John Bly Gang, who murdered his father. By the end of the series, only nine members of the 13-member gang were seen to be captured by Brisco on screen. They were, in order:
* John Bly (Billy Drago),
* Big Smith (M.C. Gainey),
* Jack Randolph (William Russ),
* Brett Bones (Xander Berkeley),
* Blackbeard LaCutte (Andrew Divoff),
* Juno Dawkins (Don Michael Paul),
* Doc McCoy (Christopher Rich),
* Ned Zed (Casey Siemaszko, though Ned's episode was shown as a flashback episode) and
* Pepe Bendix (Stewart Bick)

In episode 20: "Bye Bly," Brisco and Bowler mention several times that they caught all of Bly's gang.

tyle

The series featured a mix of tongue-in-cheek, self-referential humor (a running joke throughout the series was that County could actually understand the neighing of his beloved horse, Comet) and real drama, usually centered around County's troubled relationship with his late father and his growing fear that he will never be able to settle down.

Another main theme was that Brisco was always looking for "the coming thing" which he found with great regularity. While many were technological (motorcycles, blimps, tanks, and denim), many others were cultural. This includes references to future musicals such as "Annie Get Your Gun" and "Hello, Dolly" as well as cultural events such as Elvis impersonators, Dunkin Donuts, Led Zeppelin and sobriety tests.

The show also featured classic cliffhanger deathtraps halfway through each episode. They ranged from the classic sawmill traps to being tied up and thrown in quicksand.

Props

Two Mare's Leg pistol props from the show were later reused in the science fiction television series "Firefly" as a rifle by the character Zoe Washburne.cite conference | first = Joss | last = Whedon | authorlink = Joss Whedon | title = Have You Ever Been with a Warrior Woman?: Zoe's Pistol and Vest | booktitle = Firefly: Official Companion, Volume One | pages = 104 | publisher = Titan Books | year = 2006]

Theme music

Though the show only lasted one season, the series' majestic theme song composed by Randy Edelman found a new life as part of NBC's sports productions, namely during NBC broadcasts of Major League Baseball and the Olympic Games (played while announcing the upcoming events).

Characters

Brisco County Jr. (Bruce Campbell)

Brisco County Jr. is an ex-Harvard lawyer turned bounty hunter now on a quest to bring to justice the infamous John Bly Gang who murdered his father, Marshal Brisco County, Sr. (R. Lee Ermey). Along the way, he gets into a series of seriocomic adventures involving fantastic villains, beautiful women, and a mysterious brilliant golden sphere known as "The Orb". The Orb's paradoxical nature and seemingly supernatural power is the driving force behind the plots for about a third of the series' episodes.

Lord Bowler (Julius Carry)

Brisco's rival/partner, real name James Lonefeather. In the beginning of the series, Lord Bowler was a rival bounty hunter who competed with Brisco for monetary rewards. Towards the end of the series Bowler became Brisco's partner and friend. Bowler was frequently depicted wearing his bowler hat and carrying a sawed-off shotgun in a sheath on his back.

ocrates Poole (Christian Clemenson)

Socrates Poole begins as a milquetoast attorney for the Westfield Club, Brisco's employer. Poole and Brisco become close friends by the series' end.

Dixie Cousins (Kelly Rutherford)

A con-woman who is Brisco's true love.

Pete Hutter (John Pyper-Ferguson)

Pete is a mean but hapless gunslinger who "dies" in his first appearance - he was shot in a gunfight - but returns several times throughout the series as a comic foil to Brisco. He has a great affinity for his "piece" (his pistol), leading to the character's catchphrase, "Nobody touches Pete's piece." In the final episode, he declares that he is a "connoisseur of penal lodgings" in reference to jailhouse architecture.

Professor Wickwire (John Astin)

Professor Wickwire was an eccentric inventor who supplied Brisco with wacky gadgets that were precursors to modern inventions, such as a land-based rocket on railroad tracks or an "Inner Space Suit".

John Bly (Billy Drago)

Brisco's mysterious archnemesis. In the pilot, Brisco County Jr. is hired by "robber barons" to track down and arrest all thirteen members of the John Bly gang after they kill Brisco County Sr. while escaping from a train.

Guest stars

The series featured several notable character actors in guest starring roles, including: R. Lee Ermey as County's father; Denise Crosby as a sheriff in an all woman town; Sheena Easton as a rival bounty hunter; Jane Sibbett as a Norman Bates-like murderess; Terry Bradshaw as a rogue colonel who gives orders to his men like a quarterback; Robert Picardo as a corrupt small-town deputy; Timothy Leary as a self-referential spoof of himself, and M.C. Gainey as Bly's right-hand man, who is seemingly killed in the pilot episode only to return later in the series with superhuman powers, courtesy of the Orb.

In the pilot, veteran western actors Robert Fuller and James Drury made an appearance.

Episode list

Each episode ran for 1 hour (with commercials), except where noted.

Cancellation

The series ran for 27 episodes from August 27, 1993 to May 20, 1994 on the FOX television network on Fridays at 8 p.m., otherwise known as the Friday night death slot, just before "The X-Files" which also made its debut in 1993.

yndication

The show was later broadcast in syndication airing on the U.S. cable channel Turner Network Television (TNT) from January 1996 to January 2001, but has only been rebroadcast sporadically since. The series was released on DVD on July 18, 2006. On November 16, 2005, AOL and Warner Bros. announced that the series would be included in their new In2TV online television network, and available for viewing online.

DVD release

By early 2006, 5000 people on Tvshowsondvd.com voted for this show to be released on DVD. That site contacted Warner Bros about how many wanted it on dvd, so Warner Bros finally decided to release it on DVD. On March 27, 2006, Warner Bros. Home Video announced that an 8-disc DVD set containing the complete series of "The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr." would be released on July 18, 2006. The set includes commentary tracks from Bruce Campbell and Carlton Cuse; an interactive menu of Brisco's signature references narrated by Campbell; "The History of Brisco County, Jr." documentary; a feature called "A Reading from the Book of Bruce"; and another gallery hosted by Campbell focusing on the gadgets from the show.

The "Booklet liner notes by Bruce Campbell" listed under the Special Features on the back of the DVD box, is an episode guide that seems to have not been packaged with some units in the first release. All of the units sent to Canada were sent without the booklet, while the US units are complete. Those that live in Canada can email Warner Bros. asking for a booklet at this address [e-mail]. [ [http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Adventures-Brisco-County-Jr/6132] .]

Notes

External links

* [http://theoasis.com/brisco/ The Ultimate Brisco County, Jr. Guidebook]
* [http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=22466 DVD Talk's Review of The Complete Series]
* [http://www.warnervideo.com/brisco/us/html/ Warner's Official DVD release Website]