Bruce Campbell’s short-lived sci-fi Western series The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. is arguably the biggest missed opportunity in his entire oeuvre. Audiences weren’t ready for the series when it originally aired in the early ‘90s, and that stopped it from ever realising its full long-term potential. However, the show’s legacy lives on thanks to a dedicated legion of fans who want to see Campbell return to the Old West for more wacky adventures. Campbell hasn’t ruled out the possibility, either.
Written by Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Jeffrey Boam (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade), The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. sees Campbell play a Harvard-educated lawyer who travels the Old West searching for the outlaws who murdered his father. A deliciously evil John Bly (Billy Drago) leads the baddies, and the gang just so happens to have access to a mystical orb that grants special powers. Along the way, Brisco also encounters train robbers, ghosts, ninjas, and a 19th-century sheriff who likes to impersonate Elvis Presley. The series is pure pulp, offering everything from adventure to romance to horror to quirky characters at every turn. More than anything, its charms are more seductive than the dancing girls at the local saloon.
Sadly, Fox cancelled the show in 1994 after 27 episodes. The finale is satisfying, all things considered, but Campbell has unfinished business as Brisco and wants to saddle up again. “I would actually be willing to do a Brisco revisited,” he told Houston Chronicle. “Carlton Cuse and I have stayed in touch. It’s an armchair conversation, but if there’s a healthy way to make these things work, it works. If someone can go, ‘Here’s what you would do for a two-hour TV movie or six-hour limited series.’”
Campbell has also pitched a great idea for an Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. revival that would allow him to participate while passing the torch on to other actors. But will it ever happen?
Bruce Campbell’s Idea for an Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. Revival
It’s been 29 years since The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. aired its final episode, and much has changed in that time. Notable stars such as Julius Carry, R. Lee Ermey, and Billy Drago have passed away. Meanwhile, Bruce Campbell is 65 years old and no longer interested in taking on action-packed roles; however, that doesn’t mean he can’t reprise the character in more subdued ways.
While speaking to Slash Film, Campbell detailed how the series can be meaningfully revived, but it might involve his character taking a backseat. “The Adventures of Brisco County” is … you would bring him back following the death of Lord Bowler to find out who killed Lord Bowler [Carry], and you have potentially a Brisco son with [Brisco’s love interest] Dixie [Kelly Rutherford] that we don’t know about, and maybe a Bowler’s son that we don’t know about, and maybe those guys team up.”
Of course, that’s not to say that Campbell’s character wouldn’t saddle up again. The actor said that his beloved bounty hunter would get in on the action occasionally, but the cusp of the story would revolve around the younger generation. Of course, we shouldn’t get our hopes up for an Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. revival anytime soon, as the idea is too good to be true.
