THE ADVENTURES OF BRISCO COUNTY - THE COMPLETE SERIES (2004)

The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. - The Complete Series (1993)

Actors: Bruce Campbell, Julius Carry, Christian Clemenson, John Astin, Billy Drago
Directors: Tom Chehak, James A. Contner

Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Widescreen, NTSC
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only)
Number of discs: 8
Run Time: 1 260 minutes

DVD Features:

Audio Commentary
Other Documentaries:The History of Brisco County: A behind-the-scenes documentary with cast and creator.
Featurette:1.) "Tools of the Trade" - mini featurettes on special aspects of the show narrated by Bruce Campbell. 2.) "A Brisco County Writer's Room" - Roundtable discussion with the writers & producers fo Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
Other:1.) "A Reading From The Book of Bruce" 2.) "Brisco's Book of Coming Things" - interactive menu launching mini-featurettes about the signature references to futuristic elements of the show, narrated by Bruce Campbell

Movie: * * *
Disc: * * *

The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. is a short-lived television show that ran only one season back in 1993. Starring one of the most criminally underutilised actors of our time, namely the cartoon-jawed Bruce Campbell best known as Ash in the Evil Dead movies and Army of Darkness, the series can be best described as a Western with some sci-fi elements thrown in. (As opposed to Firefly which was a sci-fi show with some Western trappings.)

Another influence is of course (as you might have gathered from the protagonist’s name) the Indiana Jones movies and it should come as no surprise that one of Brisco County’s creators was a scriptwriter on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. (Expect some Back to the Future-style looniness too.)

Set in 1894, Brisco County Jr. is a bounty hunter in pursuit of the gang which killed his lawman father, Brisco County Sr. Thrown into the mix is a mysterious orb of obviously extraterrestrial origins which contains supernatural powers. Early on we see a group of Chinese labourers discovering the orb whilst working on a railway tunnel; the orb giving them supernatural powers. There is a supporting cast of regular characters — both heroes and villains — weaving in and out of the show. One running gag is how the show foreshadows future events, for instance there is one character which does an unconscious impersonation of Elvis (who of course wasn’t even born back then).

THE DISCS: All 27 episodes of this 40-minutes long show are included on seven discs. An eighth disc only contains special features. All episodes are in the original full screen aspect ration in which it was broadcast. Sometimes the image seems a bit grainy and pixellated, especially the browns. Packaging is a neat fold-open carton container, booklet included. The special features are worth checking out, even though some of the info is inevitably repeated in the audio commentary by actor Bruce Campbell and writer Carlton Cuse on the pilot episode. Also fun is Bruce Campbell reading a relevant chapter dealing with the show from his autobiography.

WORTH IT? There is some unexpected humour to the show and it is wildly ambitious in the amount of stunt work, special effects and so forth featured in each episode. The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. tries to be as quirky as the name of its title character, but the show is never quite as off-beat as it believes itself to be.

Reminiscent of the TV shows of its time, Brisco County Jr. makes for pleasant and undemanding viewing and young boys ought to lap it all up, but the series never truly harnesses the madcap and manic talents of Bruce Campbell to the same degree that the Evil Dead movies did.

RECOMMENDATION: Check out a few episodes before deciding on a purchase. Clocking in at a total running time of 1 260 minutes, you’re definitely getting value for your money though . . .