Brisco County

This is one series you either get or you are far too enamored of reality. It was obviously made by a group of people who escaped from an institution featuring padded halls, probably on some other planet in a galaxy far, far away where the residents were tortured by watching too many old westerns spiced by the occasional grade "B" science fiction movie and bedroom farce. Billy Drago has never been better, utterly over the top and so far off the wall that he is in the next room; John Pyper-Ferguson gets to speak some of the most bizarre lines in television history; Bruce Campbell is simply perfect as the titular lead; and nobody lets down the side in acting. The music by Bunch, Edelman and Graziano is among the best ever composed for a television series, perfectly complimenting the Western theme of the series and the absurdity of the incidents chronicled. The writing of the first episodes is unsurpassed though it, as so many series, fails in some later ones. Still the most amazing writing: where else can one find a character criticize Impressionism, refer to Existentialism, and make references to "The Wizard of Oz"? And, by the way, Sergio Leone should sue over the gunfight in the pilot. I have been forced to wait far too long for the DVD, and purchased it on the day of release. I must say that "Brisco County Jr." is even funnier than I had remembered. I cannot recommend it highly enough, though not for children who would miss most of the jokes anyway. Simply great, if quite entertainingly bonkers with the most absurd one liners.

Bruce Campbell played Brisco County Jr, bounty hunter son of a much revered marshal who was gunned down by a smarmy villain by name of John Bly (Billy Drago). Brisco forms an uneasy alliance with Lord Bowler (AKA: James Lonefeather), a hulking Civil War Union soldier turned fellow bounty hunter, a lawyer, and a mad scientist played by John Astin in his various missions and personal quest for vengeance that often found him up against various technological advancements like motorcycles and also a funky alien gizmo that looked like a big gold orb with spikes and possessing various "magical" properties. Kelly Rutherford played Brisco's on again/off again girlfriend.

Even though I wasn't big on westerns I was really excited when this show came on and I enjoyed watching it every Friday night. It had action, adventure, comedy, and the last episode actually had a naked time traveling FBI woman! (Sorry, had to get that out of my system)

Despite its high entertainment value, this show got canceled while "The X-Files", which debuted the same year, went on to become one of Fox's longest running staples for reasons I can't fathom.

Adventures took the TV Western in a direction that hadn't been seen since Maverick and The Wild Wild West: light-hearted comedy. As an additional twist, they tossed in the TV-parodying elements of Maverick (we see 'Dr. Quintano, Medicine Woman' and Terry Bradshaw leading a team of football players/bounty hunters), and the futuristic (by 1890's standards) gizmos of the West (motorcycles, dirigibles). Throw in the story arc of John Bly, master villain of the future, and you've got a story that is a very weird blend of so many elements its hard to describe. Bruce Campbell show she has the stuff to be a series regular, but another strength of Adventures... is the continuity and the supporting cast - many of which are given a chance to show up often and get some character development. Catch it on TNT.

Without a doubt, THE ADVENTURES OF BRISCO COUNTY JR. was one of the most unusual shows on television at the time. One part Bond, one part Indiana Jones, one part western, and one part sci-fi, it was also one of the most fun shows. It had the right combination of cast, characters, comedy, action, and adventure. And unlike the shows that would try it later (HERCULES, XENA, and others), BRISCO knew how to make its contemporary stylings work. The show never took itself too seriously. Billy Drago was a great villain as John Bly, a character that appeared in a story arc running through the season. Whenever Brisco wasn't busy tracking Bly, he was busy searching for one of Bly's gang or some other bad guy. It was also interesting to see the buddy cop concept (one white, one black) in a western setting. Bruce Campbell and Julius Carry had great chemistry. The interplay between them was often hilarious. I also liked how Brisco and Bowler weren't friends at first, but rather were more like competitors, and only after several episodes of crossing paths and being forced to work together did they learn to like one another and partner up. Of course, Kelly Rutherford was hot as Brisco's on-again/off-again love interest, saloon singer Dixie Cousins. Many episodes featured some nice father/son moments as Brisco found himself talking with the ghost of his legendary bounty hunter/father, well-played by Lee Ermy. Those scenes, while sometimes brief, were always a nice addition. It's tame violence and family-friendly stories helped make it an audience favorite and develop a following that continues to this day, but Fox ultimately decided to pay attention to THE X-FILES instead, and they canceled BRISCO after just one season, despite it's big audience and decent ratings. But I'm glad the show was then and not now, as it would have been canceled after just the third episode to make way for some lame drama or comedy. Cudos to Carlton Cuse and (the late) Jeffrey Boam for creating such a good show.

There were a lot of Briscoe County fans who went postal when it was canceled. I had mixed feeling about it. Yes, it was one of the best TV series of all time, but I'd seen too many other great series turn mediocre after the creative well ran dry. Given a choice between ending where it did and seeing it slip into formulaic mediocrity, I was satisfied. The original story arc was neatly wrapped up with lots of diverting side trips along the way.

I've always been a big fan of shows that aren't easy to categorize. This was one such show. A western with elements of SF, overlaid with clever writing and wit without self-consciousness. Each character was eccentric in his/her own way and great fun to watch.

There isn't a bad performance in sight! Bruce Campbell as Briscoe is perfect, as always. It's to his credit that the late Julius Carry as Lord Bowler was able to routinely steal scenes from him. Kelly Rutherford as Dixie does the best Mae West since the original. John Astin as Professor Wickwire is excellent, as usual. Billy Drago as John Bly has to be one of the creepiest villains ever, and John Pyper-Ferguson as Pete Hutter has to be one of the funniest and most bizarre villains of all time. All of the "minor" roles, stating with Comet "the wonder horse" are equally excellent.

But what makes the characters stand out is uniformly excellent writing from a team of certifiable eccentrics in their own right. With the talent in front of and behind the cameras, everything just clicks!

WB finally brought out a boxed set of DVDs and it's great! I just watched it again and felt compelled to update this review. The only sad note was learning of the death of Julius Carry this year. Highly recommended!