Look at that guy in "Kung Fu." He beats the bad guys time and again. "Kung Fu" was a weekly must-see for young adult males in the early 1970s. It was "appointment TV" for them. The show was largely a ponderous type of western drama of the type that was common then. But about 45 minutes into each episode, the hero was displaying his martial arts, maybe for just a brief time, and my male peers had their eyes bugging out.
"Route 66" was a TV show about these dudes just "heading out there" and seeking adventure, which of course they find thanks to carefully tailored TV scripts. Plausible? Does plausibility really matter? I have read that "Wagon Train" was the precursor to the classic "Star Trek" TV series. It's counter-intuitive: a western leading into sci-fi. But it's logical. Again we have our heroes simply venturing out there.
Maybe it's all a reflection of the American spirit of moving westward and opening a continent. A lot of mythology grows up around that. Seriously, prostitutes probably had more to do with opening the U.S. West than gunslingers. "Cowboys" in reality were laborers who smelled of manure. Was the frontier ethos really in contradiction to the "big government" of the East Coast? Oh no, government and its levers of power were essential to opening the West. The best example is the Hoover Dam.
As a kid I thought about taking a long-distance bicycle trip. I got a book on the subject. I thought maybe I could prepare some correspondence that could be shared in the newspaper. It sounds enticing in theory. Of course, my mature mind of today tells me such a trip would be boring and of more significance, dangerous. The danger is accented tenfold in our current age of distracted driving. Many years ago I'd sometimes take Highway 59 North (on the shoulder of course) back to Morris from Perkins Lake on my bike, if the wind was behind me. I'd take county roads on the way out there. A strong wind out of the north would make the trip back seem effortless. It was exciting. No way would I do it today.
Vagabond on a motorcyle
The random adventure plot premise was really put forward by the TV series "Then Came Bronson." The guy traveled by motorcycle. The show is associated with our whole entertainment landscape of the 1960s, even though it came along at the tail end. Michael Parks was the star. It's not surprising that I feel special affection when remembering the series. The protagonist was a newspaper guy. He gets disillusioned "working for the Man." This comes after a dispute with his editor.
The Morris MN newspaper of today exists only to achieve a certain profit margin by any machinations that are practicable - there is no transcendent or benevolent purpose.
Parks as Jim Bronson becomes a vagabond who searches for the meaning of life. He shares his values with the people he meets. He rides a Harley-Davidson Sportster motorcycle.
The series did not last long. There is a flaw that we might identify: although his travels sprout from an urge of self-discovery, he embarks on each episode destined to enter someone else's life at a pivotal point. He acts as a catalyst for change.
The series is close to my heart because Bronson is a pacifist! Our nation was torn apart by the Viet Nam war in the 1960s. We must resist urges to be nostalgic about the 1960s. It was a harrowing time. A Simon and Garfunkel song does not offset that. Bronson can re-direct an antagonist's anger into self-determination. No martial arts! Bronson rolls out of every episode unchanged.
Martial arts, no, but music, yes. Parks was a gifted singer. He recorded three pop/jazz albums. Parks sang over the closing credits of each episode. Of note, several of Bronson's production staff and cast members had previously worked on the original Star Trek series. We saw James Doohan ("Scotty" on Star Trek) appear in "Bronson."
The iconic opening
Let's remember here the most famous part of "Then Came Bronson" which was the opening! Who could ever forget? It was such a metaphor for the show's premise and for the zeitgeist of the 1960s. Bronson rides up to a red light in San Francisco. He chats with a typical commuter, presumably a harried soul who wears suit, tie and a formal hat.
The driver asks "taking a trip?" Bronson asks "what's that?" The question is repeated and Bronson says "yeah." The commuter asks "where to?" Bronson says "Oh, I don't know. Wherever I end up, I guess." The driver says "man, I wish I was you." Bronson responds "really?" The driver says "yeah." Bronson then gives his signature line: "Well, hang in there."
I guess the U.S. was supposed to "hang in there" during the unpleasant stuff of the '60s, chiefly the Viet Nam war. God bless the Bronson character for his pacifism. BTW "Mad" Magazine did a neat satire of the Bronson show opening. I found it online a few years ago by typing in the right keywords.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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