B.J. and the Bear

B.J and the Bear was a late 1970's action show created by Christopher Crowe and Greg A. Larson, whom you might remember as the creator of many of the top TV shows throughout the 1980's and 1990's, including The Fall Guy starring Lee Majors.

A smarmy big rig trucker named B.J. McKay, played by the smarmy Greg Evigan, traveled around Georgia hauling freight with his trusty sidekick named Bear. Bear wasn't a real bear...he was actually a chimpanzee named after the coach of the University of Alabama's football team. In later episodes B.J. settled down in California to run Bear Enterprises, a new trucking firm. Scripted hilarity ensued.

The antagonists were corrupt lawmen and politicians. Actually, they were so absolutely inept that I'm surprised they weren't used as an entrance exam for entering Congress. Sheriff Elroy P. Lobo, played by Claude Akins, probably had the highest IQ except when it came to hiring deputies. Greg A. Larson quickly spun off Lobo as a separate series, but it didn't last long when B.J and the Bear began to fade. The only smart law enforcement officer was The Fox, played by Conchita Ferrell, who was working on reigning in the corruption.

When the show returned after a longish hiatus, B.J. moved his Bear and his truck to California. The main antagonist switched to evil politician Rutherford T. Grant, played by Murray Hamilton. Grant was in charge of the Special Crimes Action Team (which ironically spells SCAT), but he also secretly a co-owner of TransCal, a competing trucking company.

A typical episode involved B.J and the Bear delivering loads while the idiots conspired to prevent him. Another common one involved B.J coming to the rescue of some barely-clad sweet young thing. One can easily spot the influences that the Dukes of Hazzard had on the late 70's shows. When they moved to California, Grant kept B.J. from hiring competent truckers, so he was forced to hire seven hot babes instead. Yes, that was worded correctly..."competent" meant men drivers on the show. The jiggle squad included actresses Judy Landers and twins Candi and Randi Brough. I'm sure feminism was set back one year for every episode, of which there were 47 total over three seasons (1978-1981).

B.J. used a Kenworth K-100 Aerodyne semi, of which there were six on the lot. Evigan drove two of the trucks and the rest ended up getting wrecked in the process of filming, including one truck where the chimpanzee went on a rampage and destroyed the interior.

These days, you can buy the complete series, usually combined with The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, on DVD and Blu-Ray. Greg Evigan still tours and signs autographs, and there is still, to this day, an active fan club for the show.

Thank you, Mr. Pickle for that review of the details of this show. Your report was concise and contained information that was relevant to the modern reader. You have also saved me the trouble of explaining these details.

What I would like to share with you is what everyone is thinking when they hear about or see a clip of this show:

Why would anyone put this crap on television?

Now I am open minded and full of love. This is true. Besovi guaranteed that when made me a prophet of Besovi's Word. This being said I stand by the emotive nature of how obvious question is stated.

In the 1970s there was some seriously weird shit going on with television programming. It was all completely idiotic. Ridiculous people with special abilities thrown into stupid situations every week. There may have been worse programs. None of them got a second season. This show ran for three. It involved a man and a monkey driving a truck together and treating women like sex objects. Which was the point of all 1970s television. Treating women as sex objects and people of color as punchlines to jokes. It was awful People lived through that. Their minds still ain't right. Maybe you are one of them. Do you have violent impulses? Do you treat women as sex objects? Do you like jokes where the punchline contains a racially insensitive word? Then you would have loved television in the 1970s.

This show came at the tail end of this. Everything shinier and more bizarre fashions were worn as television went into the 1980s. Even explosions were clean. You could blow up car to wash street in the 1980s. In the 1970s things more grubby. Things like Kojak were on.Tough cops got justice throwing people through walls. Got better at covering their tracks in the 1980s. In 1990s everyone shrugged on television. And then everyone starts feeling bad about behavior they showed in 1970s and 1980s on television. All lead characters became drunks. Very convoluted and upsetting backstories. This is way of television. Know it. Understand it. Rise above it.

B.J. and the Bear was a bridge. Between 70s and 80s. Dirty became clean as it progressed. Soon half-naked women drove trucks. Ratings were sought. "Tits and ass" is legacy of the 1970s. Know it. Understand it. Rise above it. You must not wiggle your ass for cash. Do it for love. Someone will want to see. Someone worth caring about. Or spread it around. If it is just enough. But not too much. It is the way of Besovi. B.J. and his ladies did not know Besovi. They knew trucks. They knew schemes. Did they know love? Monkey love. It is okay to love monkey. Please no sex involved. Dead wrong. Not way of Besovi. Care for monkey. Do not violate. Helpless but also powerful. Stronger than human. You rape - you die. End of story with monkey.

If you want to watch this show it is hard to find streaming. You don't want to look for it that hard. You are able to purchase it in stores on online. Money is best spent on other things. Helping poor is one example. Do not buy this series and own. Give money to a homeless man. B.J. need love when show was on the air but not on the air any longer. What you see on DVD is just an image. Like a ghost. Spend money on other pursuits. Let this show remain where it belongs. In the 1970s.