Whoa, hold the phone! I’ve just run across something far more improbable even than a for-real hyperdrive! According to the official Web site of Bruce Campbell, the King of the B-Movies, Warner Bros. is actually going to release The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. on DVD!
If you’ve never heard of Brisco, don’t feel bad. You’re not alone. The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. was a short-lived TV series that ran in the early ’90s. As I recall (which, to be honest, isn’t very well), the show was a quirky blend of science-fiction and western tropes; like all of Bruce Campbell’s work, it also included a generous dollop of goofy humor. It was my first introduction to a guy who has since become one of my favorite actors, but even I wasn’t sure what to make of it at the time. Apparently, no one else was either, because it was cancelled after just a single season. (I believe its timeslot was subsequently given to another weird little genre show that no one has heard of, something called The X Files.)
I look forward to seeing Brisco again, although I plan to rent it before I buy. Maybe, like Joss Whedon’s Firefly, it’ll find the audience on shiny silver discs that it never managed to grab on the airwaves. However, if I hear we’re getting Max Headroom on disc, too, I’m really going to be frightened, for that will mean that Hell has frozen over and the damned are skating back to La Jolla…
I think the good news is that one season wonders are finally seeing the light of day. There are a number of shows that didn’t grow legs and work their way into a second season that I’d love to see again. I’ve got the Brisco pilot on VHS somewhere. A fun, tougue-in-cheek western that sadly grew pretty boring towards the end of the only season. It was a great premise, but seems to just have run out of steam early on. Perhaps a bit more time to figure itself out would have mattered, however this from the same guy who thinks the one season wonder, Nowhere Man should have outlast Voyager.
I thought Nowhere Man was pretty good myself. There’s a whole list of one-season (or less) wonders that I’d like to see again, especially Tales of the Gold Monkey and Voyagers. I wouldn’t think it’s too likely they’d ever show up — I don’t think they have cult followings nearly as large or vocal as Bruce Campbell’s fans — but the way studios seem to be emptying their vaults, you never can tell…
Tales of the Gold Monkey? I dunno if I could ever look at Stephen Collins again and think “Adventure!” – too much 7th Heaven I guess…
would be awesome to see that show again though. TOTGM that is….
Thankfully I’ve not watched enough of 7th Heaven to be tainted by its saccharine. Stephen Collins remains, in my 80s-vintage mind, Jake Cutter, dashing South Pacific cargo pilot. Or, at the very least, Captain Decker in Star Trek: The Motion Picture.