Then Came Bronson

Whenever I have described my personal feelings about life to my friends, I have used the 'opening' bit described here (...Man, I wish I was you." "Yeah? Well, hang in there.") I am not anyone big or famous, but I have traveled a lot and loved my life. I have never jumped out of a perfectly good airplane, or jumped off of a cliff to avoid a perfectly good trail to the bottom, or strapped barrel staves to my feet to go flying down a mountain to certain doom, but have done what I want and have enjoyed every minute. I don't want to die saying, "Man, I wish I was you." None of us should ever be afraid to do what we want. If you are happy screaming down a mountainside looking to kiss a tree, you are doing what you like. I think that this movie sends that message. If it is time for a change, see it and accept it. If life is rough today, it will be better tomorrow. You just need to 'go forward into that good night.' I thought this was a great movie for the ideals it presented (except for Jim's Sportster starting 'first time, every time.')

BRONSON reran on TV for awhile in the 1970s and then simply disappeared, It would be great to catch up with the show someday on A&E or Bravo or TV Land. A young Michael Parks, who was already an established TV and movie actor, played a James Dean-ish character in a knit cap who traveled the U.S. on his hog, learning little life lessons through the people he met each week. Old formula (think ROUTE 66 and THE FUGITIVE) with a bit of a twist, and a very appealing lead in Parks. GREEN LANTERN and GREEN ARROW were to follow BRONSON's lead with a memorable story arc in the 1970s that had them riding hogs and traveling the nation. Parks also got to sing on the show, and wasn't half bad. Parks has aged badly over the years, but his lined face and booze-and-butts voice has played to his credit, particularly in stone cold killer roles in THE CHINA LAKE MURDERS and on WALKER Texas RANGER.

A great TV series that tells the story of a nomadic motorcycle rider, Jim Bronson (Michael Parks). Each of the 26 episodes told of an adventure involving Bronson and the people and places he encounters on his travels. Each show ends with a lesson learned and Bronson heading down the highway, to the tune of " Long Lonesome Highway". (Performed by Parks)

The opening scene of each episode is a classic, Bronson and a businessman in a station wagon exchange dialog that will make you want to leave the rat race, and buy a motorcycle.

Highly recommended if you are able to catch an airing of this program. I am sure many of the situations will be somewhat dated if viewed from a modern perspective, but it still captures the essence of what makes motorcycling appealing to many people.

In 1969 my mother got tickets for five kids to go to the Preview House movie theater on Sunset Blvd at Stanley Ave to see the movie, "Then Came Bronson". We had never been to the Preview House so we were amazed to see the gadget you held in your hand while the movie played. It weighed about half a pound and had a black plastic dial in the middle that you could move from Boring to Super Exciting and whatever other stupid phrases they used in between. If you thought the movie was doing well you jammed it up and if you thought it was bad you cranked it down...simple. We really liked the movie although at the tender age of 10 I was jolted by the suicide scene where Martin Sheen takes the big leap off of the Golden Gate Bridge. When it became a TV show a number of months later we felt like we had been part of it all. The TV show version aired at a strange time in the Los Angeles market...I remember it being on Sundays around 5 PM which we could never figure out. I totally agree with the earlier review (I Know mine is not a review...just a memory). "Then Came Bronson" had a reality aspect to it but with better production values than the other two reality shows of the time (ie Dragnet and Adam-12).

In 1969 I had recently bought my first used bike. When the kids came along i gave up riding. when i retired recently, like so many others ,i bought a new bike a cruiser

Then and now i still hear that song in my head. "gion down that long lonesome highway bound for the mountains and the sky. Going down that long lonesome highway going to do things my way". "My way" hasn't always been possible but it's what i dream about as i ride along Its a dream that we all should have. Its the dream that counts not whether you make it all or not.

Thanks to Michael Parks and to whoever put the words to that song.