Sunday, September 10, 2023

What Might've Been: Bring 'em Back Alive (1982)

 Big game hunter Frank Buck was a big star in the 30's. He adapted his own memoir into a feature film, the first in a series. So it made sense nearly 50 years later that his exploits would be adapted for a new generation.

Bring 'em Back Alive was another victim of poor network scheduling. CBS placed it on Tuesdays in 1982, opposite Happy Days & Laverne & Shirley. NBC would enter the fray in the winter with The A-Team, and that finished Alive.

Bruce Boxleitner (ex-How The West Was Won) was cast as Buck. Film star Ron O'Neal ("Super Fly"), Clyde Kusatsu, & Cindy Morgan co-starred. Kusatsu, in particular, had a successful career as a character actor in television, even dabbling in comedy (Family Matters) during his career.

Let's take a look at a sample.


Boxleitner was part of a production company attached to the series. He would rebound a couple of years later with Scarecrow & Mrs. King, also for CBS.

My folks watched the show. I didn't. I would say they liked it, only to move off to The A-Team in January. Rating: B.

2 comments:

Mike Doran said...

Seeing this one after all these years, I couldn't help thinking about Harvey Jason, who ultimately became a permanent cast member as the sneaky Bhundi ...
... and how jealous I became when I learned that he was married in real life to the exquisite Pamela Franklin (still is, by the way) ...

Some guys have all the luck ...

hobbyfan said...

I've learned to accept things like that.