YEE-HAW!!!

Brisco_dvdsJust got these in the mail, and I can’t wait to watch them (though at the moment I’m still making my way through the new Doctor Who season that was just released).

For those of you who missed it, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. was a 1993 TV series that blended two of my favorite things . . . the Old West and science-fiction. Two great things that go great together (sometimes . . . like this time . . . or Firefly).

(It also blended in some of my other favorite things, like humor and action and romance and whiskers on kittens and brown paper packages tied up with string . . . well, maybe not the last couple.)

I didn’t see the series when it was on the air (because Fox’s advertisements for it make it look a lot more salacious than it actually is), but I discovered it in reruns on TNT and really enjoyed it.

Unlike many of the series on the air back then, it had a definite story arc spanning the entire season (I just love big story arcs) with significant character evolution a surprises as the story evolves. In fact, the main character, Brisco County Jr. (played by Bruce Campbell) starts the series as an ex-Harvard law professor turned bounty hunter to being the agent of 19th century robber barons who want him to track down the gang that killed his father to being a secret agent for the government.

Along the way we run across mysterious orbs from the future that give people superpowers (or kill them), evil robots, neurotic outlaws, a 19th century version of Elvis, Comet the Wonder Horse, and a bunch of anachronistic humor (before Hercules and Xena made it popular)–all of it fitting into a single, overarching Wild West saga.

And then there’s the show’s great theme music, which just makes you feel like it’s a warm, hopeful new day on the range, where anything can happen . . . and will.

Unfortunately, Fox aired the show in the Friday Night Death Slot and it didn’t get picked up for a second season.

Fortunately, the show’s creators did a rousing two-part season finale that tied up all the outstanding plot threads, so it works well as a season-long miniseries.

It took Warner Brothers FOREVER (13 years!) to release it on DVD, but now that it’s out you can

GET THE ADVENTURE!

Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

9 thoughts on “YEE-HAW!!!”

  1. Hey, Jimmy, just FYI, Bruce Campbell’s little-seen but cute syndicated series Jack of All Trades. also just came out on DVD. Worth a look. It’s whimsical and loopy. I suspect you’d like it, if you liked Brisco County.

  3. My score (timed) was 19 out of 25, which put me in the second highest ranking: “You hit the sheriff, but you did not hit the deputy.”
    Two more points and I would have made the top, “Very fancy!” category.
    That’s not bad for the series having been off the air for years.

  4. Dear James Aikin, I enjoy your show. I am writing about the picture of the Pope in the JP II intercession pack. I vividly remember this photo but have been unable to find it to download. Can you please tell me where I can find it. Thank you John Damiani.

  8. Curse you Mr. Akin! Having been made aware of the availability of BCJ on DVD, I have been forced to make the purchase as a gift for My Precious (who loved the show.)
    I am still convinced that only thee and we ever watched it.

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