*Then Came Bronson* was a short-lived adventure/drama television series that aired on NBC from 1969 to 1970, and was produced by MGM Television. The series, created by Denne Bart Petitclerc, began with a movie pilot on Monday, March 24, 1969. The series was greenlit for one year and began its first run on September 17, 1969. The pilot was also released in Europe as a feature film. Series overview
The series featured James Dean lookalike Michael Parks as the protagonist Jim Bronson, a newspaperman who becomes disillusioned after the suicide of his best friend Nick (Martin Sheen) and, after a heated argument with his editor, "working for the man." In order to renew his soul, Bronson becomes a nomadic vagabond searching for the meaning of life and experience what life has to offer (as revealed in the series pilot). During his travels, he shares his values with the people he meets along the way and lends a helping hand when he can. Bronson rides a Harley-Davidson Sportster motorcycle and, as such, was viewed by some as a modern version of the solitary cowboy wandering the American west. The motorcycle had previously been sold by Bronson to his friend. After it is left at the suicide scene by his friend, it is purchased back from the widow. Curiously, though the opening promised a journey of self-discovery, the premise of each episode was that Bronson enters someone else's life at a crucial point and acted as a catalyst for change. When Bronson encounters an Amish community, for example, a local boy becomes enraptured of the outside world and steals Bronson's bike to run off to Reno, Nevada. In another episode, located in Reno, Nevada, Bronson meets his cousin Eve on her wedding day and lends her money for the wedding service, but she runs off to the casinos and blows it. Yet, Bronson is committed to pacifism and often redirects a competitor's anger into self-examination. Always, like a true catalyst, he rolls out of every episode unchanged. The show sometimes faced the perception that it was a knock-off of the movie *Easy Rider*, but it actually preceded the release of that movie. Scenes were mostly shot outdoors, which made for spectacular views, and Michael Parks employed the low-key "James Dean" method of acting. Some shows were funny, some sad, some serious. The bike *Bronson's bike*, a 1968 XLH 900cc Harley-Davidson Sportster, figures in many episodes. In one episode he entered several bike races; in another, he made an emergency run to fetch a doctor. But in some stories the bike was merely transportation. *Info from Wikipedia.com* * * ** * *** --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
