THE ADVENTURES OF BRISCO COUNTY, JR.
(FOX, August 27, 1993-May 20, 1994)
Boam/Cuse Productions, Warner Bros. Television
After the success of Indiana Jones and the Last
Crusade, FOX executive Bob Greenblatt
approached Jeffrey Boam and Carlton Cuse, who had worked on
the story and development of the film, to develop a television series with a
similar style. Taking inspiration from serials like the movie had, Cuse and
Boam combined the most common genres—Westerns and science fiction—with a
healthy dose of comedy to bring The
Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. to screens. The series focused on
lawyer-turned-bounty hunter Brisco County, Jr. (Bruce Campbell) being hired to track
down and recapture John Bly (Billy
Drago) and his gang. The Bly Gang was responsible for the murder of his
father, Marshall Brisco County (R. Lee
Ermey). Bly was on the hunt for a mysterious Orb of supernatural power,
which he sought to use to conquer his home—in the future. Aiding Brisco was
fellow bounty hunter, Lord Bowler (Julius
Carry), and his employers’ liaison, Socrates Poole (Christian Clemenson), as well as
his incredibly smart horse, Comet (Copper, Boss, Ace Strip & Comet).
The show made use of anachronistic
technology to enhance the humor, aided by inventor Professor Albert Wickwire (John Astin), had its act
structure broken up by cliffhangers and titles to further emulate the serials
that inspired it, and took a different approach to Westerns by having Brisco
use his mind to escape trouble over his gun (he typically shot it at objects
rather than people when he did use it). Despite a strong push by the network,
the series was ultimately doomed by being shown in the Friday night death slot
and was cancelled amidst poor ratings after a single season. The show has gone
on to have a loyal cult following, and after extensive requests by fans was
finally given a DVD
release in 2006. The series’ theme, composed by Randy Edelman, went on to be used by NBC for their coverage of the 1996 Olympics and
the 1997 World Series.
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