It seems like every week, there is at least one DVD release that's gets me a more excited than the rest, but this week there are two. Both star the incomparable Bruce Campbell. The titles are full season sets of "Jack of All Trades" (which was unfortunately not available for review) and "The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr." It was this second title that I was most looking forward to. "The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr" was a great western series that followed the exploits of the son the famous lawman, Brisco County (R. Lee Ermey). As the series began, County Sr. is gunned down during a daring escape of the John Bly Gang while on en route to their incarceration. Brisco County, Jr. is hired by a coalition of rich robber barons to track down and apprehend the members of the gang.

His liaison to his employers is an uptight lawyer by the name of Socrates Poole (Christian Clemnson), who is constantly appalled by County's methods. Also on the trail of the Bly Gang is a bounty hunter, Lord Bowler (Julius Carry), who wants to beat County to the punch, but instead often ends up as an unwilling ally.

The series premiered on Fox as a Friday night companion to "The X-Files" and while that series went on to a successful nine season run, "Brisco County" barely made it to the end of its first. As was the typical way of Fox at the time, they had no faith in the series so made sure it failed by running episodes out of order and pre-empting it at their whim. They've done this with many a good series, and being treated this way, "Brisco County" went the way of cancellation. But not before it gained a cult following of astronomical proportions.

There were two main reasons for this popularity, the first and foremost being the casting of Bruce Campbell (If you’re asking yourself who that is right now… shame on you). You see, Bruce Campbell is the undisputed King of B-Movies (a fact you might have gleaned from my earlier reviews). Thanks to the “Evil Dead Trilogy” and his long friendship with director Sam Raimi, Campbell’s list of hardcore fans could circle the globe a few times. This ‘cult status’ is also explained by his myriad of appearances in other B-movies (“Maniac Cop 1 & 2”, “Moontrap” and “Sundown”) and cameos in big budget flicks (“Spider-Man 1 & 2”, “Congo”, and “Escape from L.A.”). He has also ventured into the area of more successful series, including a stint on “Ellen”, and guest-starring roles on “Xena”, “The X-Files” and “Homicide: Life on the Streets.” The guy is so popular that he still headlines conventions around the country and stars in videogame movies of the “Evil Dead” series.

Bruce Campbell is a man if many talents, having stepped behind the camera to direct episodes of ‘Xena”, and more recently his first feature film, “The Man with the Screaming Brain.” Back in 2001 he even made the foray into authorship, writing the autobiography “If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B-Movie Actor”, offering a hysterically funny look into his varied life and career. Thanks to Campbell’s trademark sarcasm the book also took a lot of potshots at the Hollywood Wheel. Much to the surprise of… well… everyone… the book actually ended up on the New York Times Bestseller list for several weeks. (I do recommend reading it!)

His follow-up book came out last year, “Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way” and went in a totally different direction in terms of genre. This time, it was a work of fiction… sort of. It chronicles the fictional story of Campbell’s offer to move up from the B-List by working on a fictional Mike Nichols’ film called, “Let’s Make Love,” a romantic comedy starring Richard Gere and Renee Zellweiger. While it was different in style from his first book, it was no less funny.

Anyhow, back to the point, Campbell's involvement in this series (his first as star), brought in the viewers, though Fox didn’t seem to notice. What kept them coming back (when the series actually aired) was the overall concept and style. It was a western, with the action taking place just prior to the turn of the century. Campbell fit right into the genre of western hero, but was able to make the character one that would appeal to a wide audience. For those familiar with his career, there were the trademark bits of sarcastic wit, for everyone else he had the steely-jawed good looks and heroic stature of a young John Wayne. The series itself rarely took itself seriously, opting to make it more of a comedy adventure… but it rarely went too far over the line into farce. If you saw Campbell's other series, "Jack of All Trades", it was nothing like that one, which was more of a one-note anachronistic joke.

But the series was not just a western. Throughout its run there was a running storyline about an 'orb' which was discovered in a mine. This 'orb' is being sought out by everyone because it appears to have unearthly powers. This gave the series a bit of a sci-fi slant, but only enough to make it interesting. As it continued, the strained friendship between County and Bowler grew, and in many ways I began to be reminded of one of my favorite western series, "The Wild, Wild West." As a matter of fact, some of the comparisons became more direct and obvious.

The series was a fun one, and Campbell, who has never shied away from getting the crud beat out of him in other projects, delivers more of those goods here. Whether riding his horse, Comet, through woods and getting slapped in the face by branches or being strapped to spinning wheel of fortune dodging axes, you can expect to see the actor committed to his seemingly masochistic attitude towards his characters.

"The Adventures of Brisco County" was easily one of the most anticipated series releases onto the DVD market in years, and Warner Brothers did not disappoint. The 8 disc set offers up all 27 episodes of the series as well as the kind of extra features Bruce Campbell fans crave. Most importantly is the inclusion of a commentary by Campbell himself on the Pilot episode, and if you've ever heard him on other DVD releases you might know what to expect. His odd brand if self-deprecating humor is intact and every single one of the commentaries are a joy to listen to. Here he is joined by one of the show's creators, Carlton Cruse, and the two have a great time.

As for the other special features there's not a wasted one in the bunch. In the series, County would often speak of 'the coming thing', of which he was referring to what the future held. There is a video version of his book of coming things, narrated by Campbell. There is also a history of the show, which features the cast discussing their experiences. You'll also find a 'writer's room' featurettes where some of the staff writers talk about their work and what they have done since. In 'Tools of the Trade', we are given the opportunity to learn a little about what might have been if a 2nd season had happened. Finally, there is a reading by Campbell from his aforementioned book, "If Chins Could Kill." Inside the set, there is a booklet with comments and thoughts from Campbell.

"The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr." joined the ranks of 'series that should have succeeded' years ago, and it's about time a DVD set was released. The price for the set is a little high, but I'll be amongst the first to say it is well worth it.

Episodes:
Pilot
The Orb Scholar
No Man's Land
Brisco in Jalisco
Socrates' Sister
Riverboat; Pirates
Senior Spirit
Brisco for the Defense
Showdown
Deep in the Heart of Dixie
Crystal Hawkes
Steel Horses
Mail Order Brides
A.K.A. Kansas
Bounty Hunter's Convention
Fountain of Youth
Hard Rock
Brooklyn Dodgers
'Bye Bly
Ned Zed
Stagecoach
Wild Card
And Baby Makes Three
Bad Luck Betty
High Treason Part I
High Treason Part II.

Starring: Bruce Campbell, Julius Carry, Christian Clemenson
Extras: Commentary by Bruce Campbell and Carlton Cuse on the pilot, Brisco's Book of Coming Things: video catalog of the show's signature references to future items and ideas, "The History of Brisco County" - retrospective documentary, Tools of the Trade: interactive Brisco lore featurette gallery, A Reading from the Book of Bruce, A Brisco County Writer's Room: round table with key series creative personnel, Booklet liner notes by Bruce Campbell
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: Warner Brothers
Release Date: 7/18/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr: The Complete Series an A.