Growing up my parents were fairly obsessed with the X-files. So obsessed in fact that they banned me from watching it with them. It's selfish but in retrospect understandable; they didn't want to deal with my questions or fears while they were trying to enjoy their favorite bit of TV.
However, I was allowed to watch the show seen before the X-files, that was briefly mentioned in this weeks article, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. A western starring the extremely charismatic and handsome Bruce Campbell. Now, you might think that Joss Whedon was completely revolutionary when he sought to combine the western genre with Sci-Fi Fantasy, but our favorite Lost creator Carlton Cuse was doing this years before.
Brisco's narrative centers around an ex-lawyer turned bounty hunter seeking revenge for the murder of his father the Marshal, Brisco County Sr, by the criminal John Bly. Along the way Brisco Jr. meets up with the zany inventor Professor Wickwire, a chemist, physicist and experimentalist! The Professor constantly supplies Brisco with new inventions to aid him on his bounty hunts. One such invention is the amazing rocket car, which is a rocket converted to run on train track rails.
Most episodes feature either a new technological inventions (from motorcycles to denim jeans) or references to future fads (Elvis impersonators and sobriety tests). Brisco also referenced other TV shows on at the time, naming one character Dr. Quintano, medicine woman. Brisco is not only on the hunt for the the lawless but also "the coming thing." This "thing" is never named but embodied in these many advancements and discoveries. The numerous references to future events allows for a great amount of sarcastic and tongue in cheek humor.
Brisco County Jr. is yet another postmodern, self-referencing, genre crossing show. Like the X-Files, most weeks feature a new villain but they are all part of the same master story line. And like Twin Peaks, numerous genres are employed to tell the complete story. Bruce Campbell himself is a legend for his part in Sam Rami's Evil Dead films, and his cult following and acting style are responsible for the legacy that Brisco leaves.
Finally, a major plot in Brisco is the hunt for the Orb, which was discovered in a mining cave and gives the possessor superhuman strength and abilities. In one episode it is used to save Brisco's life and he begins the search for it when he realizes Bly and his gang may use it for evil. We later discover that the Orb is an electromagnetic wave particle net that harnesses energy captured from the space-time grid and it was sent to the old west from the future. Does this sound like anything else Cuse has had a hand in?
Basically, what I surmise from this is that Brisco County Jr. will to come to the future and save all the Losties just in the nick of time in true Brisco fashion. To read more click here!
1 comment:
You know, I was so pissed off at FOX TV for canceling "BRISCOE COUNTY JR.". I became a Bruce Campbell fan, because of it. And I loved it a lot more than "X-FILES".
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