I Talk Extensively About Brisco County Jr.

I'm sorry that yesterday's title didn't have much relevance to the post. It was going to refer to a set of thoughts I originally started in the post, then decided to save for today. Then i forgot to come up with a new title. Whoops.

OK, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. I was watching the DVD with all the special features on it this morning, and one of the things the writers and actors brought up was that with the series, they were trying to create of combination of the old Western serials, and the old sci-fi serials. Which might explain why I was struggling to figure out which Western hero Bruce Campbell's character Brisco County Jr. reminded me of. He's not a mostly quiet and grim person, ala Clint Eastwood. He's not an imposing authority figure like John Wayne, or a goofy singing cowboy like Roy Rogers*. He's not a Lee van Cleef, Charles Bronson, Gary Cooper, or I assume, Randolph Scott.

Assembled masses: Randolph Scott?! *all remove their hats as heavenly chorus sings 'Randolph Scott!'*

Yeah, that guy. Brisco actually reminds me of Zorro. Serious when it's required, but with both romantic and playful streaks as the situation allows. Maybe with Brisco that relates to those sci-fi serials, or maybe that's just Bruce Campbell being Bruce Campbell. It works, because the series isn't played too grim. One of Brisco's interests is seeking out 'the coming thing', as the story is set in 1893-1894, the dawn of the 20th Century nearly upon them. This works nicely with his stated motivations for pursuing John Bly (Billy Drago) and his gang. Even though they killed Brisco's father while escaping custody, Brisco is adamant he's after justice for them, not vengeance. If it was the other way around, it would imply Brisco was stuck in the past, concentrating on what's already happened, which is more High Plains Drifter in tone. Brisco takes the work seriously, but is determined to not be consumed by it.

While Brisco does meet people over the course of the series with whom he has past history, he also meets many new people, many of whom have new ideas. There's Sheriff Aaron Viva (Gary Hudson) of Hard Rock, with his idea of "day glasses" to address his sensitivity to light, and being able to walk up to the window of a restaurant, request food, and have it brought right out to you, so you can continue on your way. Or there's Professor Wickwire (John Astin), with his "inner space suit" and "lighter-than-air-ship". There's seemingly always something new being cooked up for Brisco to encounter, which encourages his positive outlook and tendency to roam.

There are villains of course, some menacing, others amusing, some that can be both. One of the major driving points for the story is the pursuit of John Bly and his gang, and in the first 20 episodes it's typical for an episode to focus on just one member. I get the feeling Bly's gang was much like the Defenders, with him as Dr. Strange: If he needed them, he'd put out the call and they'd show up. Otherwise, they might run amok pursuing their own interests. And every villain has his own style. There are counterfeiters, pirates, safecrackers, strongarm types, daredevils, gamblers and so on. There are also several unaffiliated (as far as I can tell) bad guys who show up for maybe one episode, like Frenchy Bearpaux or Utah Johnny Montana.

The two recurring villains are John Bly himself, and Pete Hutter (John Pyper-Ferguson). It's funny, in the commentary, all the other actors insist that Billy Drago is the nicest guy you'll meet, but that he is terrifying to be on screen with. Campbell says Drago can go long periods of time without blinking, and he does have an intense stare, plus his teeth seem sharp and narrow somehow, so when he smiles you get the impression he's thinking about ripping your throat out**. He moves with this loose-limbed gait, as though he's the most relaxed guy in the world, which I imagine is related to how confident he is he'll succeed at his plans. There's also something about his voice I can't place, a certain dead quality to it. He's gets emotions across fine, but it's like there's something missing from him. I may just be projecting, based on what I know about the character.

Then there's Pete. He's the comedy relief villain, but he also gets the best lines in the series, so he's like a little slice of the Earthworm Jim show set loose. 'I scoff at your moronic interpretation of hoosegow architecture!' being just the first one that leaps to mind. Despite being frequently at odds with Brisco (or Buuuuuh-risco, as Pete pronounces it), Pete's not totally evil. He's never killed a man***, and he's never violated any agricultural quarantine laws. Beyond that, he can be mixed up in nearly anything, but they never go as planned. Pete's the sort of character that gets tricked and used, but can't figure that out until he's already in trouble. Though he is very adept at surviving apparent deaths, to the extent his not being dead becomes a running gag, as does his attachment to his gun, called "Pete's Piece". Do not touch Pete's Piece! Pete, for all his bumbling, is a bit of a kindred spirit to Brisco, as Pete also knows about subjects you wouldn't expect an outlaw to be well-versed in, such as Impressionism and existentialism. He's not as focused on the future, but he he is well aware of the wider world.

Brisco has his allies, from Socrates Poole (Christian Clemenson) who serves as the go-between for Brisco and his employers, to Lord Bowler (Julius Carry) who starts as a rival, but later joins forces with Brisco, to Brisco's horse, Comet (which was actually five horses, each with specific purposes). With Poole, you have, to borrow from the Buffy universe, a Wesley figure. The uptight fellow out of place in the adventuring, but who slowly grows into it. Poole is never at home out in the wilderness, but he does get smarter about how much a horse can carry, and more eager to assist Brisco.

Bowler is good at his work, and the sort who tries to hide his better nature underneath cynicism. He might have come by that honestly, as Bowler's part Native American, part African-American, so I'd think he dealt with prejudice prior to meeting Brisco. Still, Bowler's a good fellow at heart, though he's less interested in the coming thing than Brisco is, but he does think of the future, just in more personal terms, such as what he'll do when he retires from manhunting.

I couldn't discuss the series without mentioning the ladies. There are quite a few women in the series, from traveling singers to mail-order brides, lawyers, sheriffs, blacksmiths, and spies. Yes, most of the swoon into Brisco's arms at some point in the episode (I'm not positive on this, but I'd say he kissed at least 7 different ladies in the course of 27 episodes), but he's the hero, and I guess that's to be expected. And they're typically good at what they do, and if they need Brisco's assistance, it's because the situation is beyond their normal experiences.

Not that it doesn't get him into trouble now and then, especially with Dixie Cousins (Kelly Rutherford), the recurring romantic interest. She's the traveling singer, but she has connections with more than one member of Bly's gang, and she's not above getting her hands dirty to deal with a problem. This means Brisco finds her on the opposite side of a situation from him, or there's at least the possibility she's playing him. Which makes her a bit of a wild card. She likes Brisco, Brisco likes her, but their goals aren't always compatible. Still, the chemistry is there, which is a plus. It'd be rough to have this recurring relationship and it doesn't seem genuine.

I'm not going to say much about the orb, because I don't know what to say. Whatever the plot requires, the orb can facilitate. It does tie-in with Brisco's looking to what's coming, though that isn't apparent for awhile. Watching the series, I was surprised to see the arc with Bly wrapped up before the end of the season. It seemed the sort of thing you'd end with. Then I heard during the commentary that the show was canceled off-season, so they hadn't realized one year was all they'd get, so they went ahead and started up another way for Brisco and Bowler to get involved in hijinks. It didn't come into play much, but there were only 7 episodes to use it, so it probably needed more time.

For some reason, the last two episodes had a bunch of NFL players as guest-stars****, including Terry Bradshaw. I was intially critical of Bradshaw's performance, but when I remembered I'm not supposed to be taking this completely seriously, it got better. Bradshaw helped that along by telling his elite crew of trackers to "huddle up" before an attack, and later giving a fiery speech about being winners, and how America loves winners, and so on. It broke my own attempts to view his as a serious, grim threat, and I sat back and enjoyed the show.

I don't know if that's as long as the post last June about The Invisible Man, but it felt like it. Comic reviews tomorrow, assuming the UPS guy doesn't screw the store over again!

* Perhaps Roy Rogers wasn't goofy. I don't really know. But you tell me he sang a lot, and wore sequined shirts, and I'm going to think goofy.

** See, I kind of hate saying that about a guy when everyone insists he's a swell guy. it sounds mean, but I guess it's credit to how good an actor he is.

*** Well, he's never been found guilty of murder, but I was sure he killed one of his guys in a botched attempt to gun down Brisco in a duel in the first episode. Maybe it doesn't count as murder since they both fired?

**** One of them was former 49ers linebacker Ken Norton Jr., playing an expert tracker. I think he says his first line in Spanish, and they provide subtitles. After that, he speaks in English, but they still provide subtitles. So he's ordered to follow Brisco and Bowler as they make an escape, and replies "That thing leaves no tracks.", while the subtitles say "The situation seems intractable. Don't you agree?" I was cracking up.