Run, Joe, Run

I loved Run Joe Run! It's a little hard to remember all the details but I remember always rooting for Joe's owner to catch Joe so he could clear Joe's name & be reunified again. Alas, it never happened & we never even got a closing final episode to tie up the loose ends and...no spin off or movies were ever made. Poor Joe is still running wild out there, with many villains out to get him with his only real friend searching in vain! Come Home Joe, Come Home! :)

OK, I need to write more lines before I can submit so...I think Joe was written during the sad story line days of the mid 70's. There were so many tearjerking songs written then...remember "Wild Fire" (horse), "Shannon" (dog), "Seasons in the Sun" (guy dying), "Rocky" (girl dying), "Judy Mae" (boy's dad dying after finding his new wife & son in bed!)...I know there were many more songs about dying during that time. I wonder why? Musta been all the drugs from the 60's!

Great short lived show. I have always been a dog lover and this show captured my attention when I was a young lad. I was always rooting for Joe to keep running and outsmarting the authorities. I guess it touched the deep part of the human spirit that always roots for the underdog or falsely accused. I remember that I was so disappointed when the show stopped coming on Saturday mornings. It was a nice switch from all of the animated shows that were on. I went on to have a wonderful German Shepherd named "Keesha" that lived to be over thirteen (13) years old. The show would often bring out the human aspects of dogs and I saw these very attributes in my German Shepherd. I know that it would be easy to have duplicated a "Lassie" type plot, but they took this show and added the drama of being a fugitive and made it something more. I wish we could have another show come out like this to entertain young and old alike.

Fond memories of my youth, watching a German Shepard save the day, only to have to take off moments before his trainer rolled up in his Jeep. A modern reincarnation of Lassie, Joe not only told of 'Timmy' down a well, he managed to nab the bad guys for the police and otherwise save the day.

The trainer in his Jeep stands out in my mind... all these years later, the driver drove it without a roof or doors, and he *never* used his seat belt. If anyone would be wearing a belt in the '70s, you'd think it would be a guy with no doors.

Years later, this same theme would be repeated on A-Team, Incredible Hulk, etc.

This show was about a German Shepard dog who after he returns home with his military trainer from Vietnam,is falsely accused of attacking his owner. However,Joe is a very good dog. He is on the run helping out folks who are in great danger or in trouble,and he doesn't stick around on any rewards or get a special pat on the forehead for his good deeds. He is on the run from the military who want him destroyed if he is captured.

In case this sounds like an episode of the 60's TV series,"The Fugitive",well it is. I'm surprised that it ran for three seasons on NBC,which was most seen on Saturday Mornings during the 1970's. However,the story idea was impressive,even though it had a German Shepard in the David Janssen role as the fugitive on the run from low-lifes,bounty hunters,and the local police,not to even mention the military commander who plays the Barry Morse role as the one who wants Joe alive. The network executives who thought of this should be commented,and also I would love to see this series back on the air,not to mention making it to the big screen.

I remember seeing the promos for this series and my brothers and I thought it looked kind of interesting but after a short time it just became repetitious and depressing. A stately, do-gooding dog who is falsely accused of attacking his trainer is chased from town to town, never able to just become the beloved household pet that all dogs long to be. The series was certainly original in that it was the first (and thankfully last) German Sheperd soap opera on television. Rather depressing and I am not surprised that it is not in syndication the way other Saturday morning shows from my youth are like Scooby Doo. How the writers thought that this would become a big hit with children I will never know and what a premise ???!!! In 1974 our military couldn't come up with a task force to look into how exposure to Agent Orange harmed our troops but they evidently had the time and personnel to chase this one dog all over this great land of ours. Even at age 9 I should have realized how ridiculous this idea was. By the way, I am shocked that this series is actually remembered by 4 people outside of family. This is one OBSCURE show.