BJ and the Bear S2 E4: Pogo Lil

Originally aired October 20, 1979
Directed by Bernard McEveety
Written by Richard Kelbaugh

Anne Lockhart plays Pogo Lil. (Her real name is very Eastern European. We'll stick with her nickname/ handle.) Lil is a trucker. She has a run-in with B.J, almost sending B.J., Bear and the rig off a cliff. (Unfortunately, my copy of the episode is missing the pre-credit sequence where this occurs. So, I don't know exactly what happens.) After this near-death experience, Lil and BJ become good friends. From that point on, the episode breaks down into two interweaving storylines: 1) two goofy debt collectors trying to get money from Lil & 2) set-up for, and then the actual, Big Rig Races at Country Comfort. Lil is going to win! Or is BJ? Or maybe it's Hammer, who returns for some comedy bits by a pool. Regardless, there will be wackiness, rig racing and BJ sings Lil a midnight song by a campfire. It's all here, folks.

Here's Lil!

Throughout the episode, something weird keeps happening. The first three episodes of this season are very much about lady truckers and lady engineers. The first two episodes are about proving that lady truckers are as good as male truckers. (Although the ladies do get flummoxed by the guys every time, except at the end... where BJ and Hammer actually save the day.) BJ is always and firmly on the side of the lady truckers...  So, why, in this episode, is BJ constantly questioning Lil's competence? Yes, she is overenthusiastic. Yes, she can be sloppy. But, BJ's attitude towards her treads a calmer version of "Lil, women can't drive rigs." And that kind of taints the episode for me.

 The set-up of the joke

The aftermath of the joke

Most of Pogo Lil is very generic BJ and the Bear. BJ falls for a young lady. She's in trouble. BJ gets involved in the trouble. A song is sung. Soft rock pops up on the soundtrack. Comedy villains. Final race/ chase. Bear makes some noises and drinks booze/ ogles ladies. "Very Generic" works for some shows. A generic Green Acres episode can be very funny. A generic Rockford Files can be a thrill. Generic BJ and the Bear is a little trickier. Because the show is such a mix of generic topical pop culture elements already, a generic episode is not so great. An episode of this show either needs to: 1) subvert the generic elements (I don't believe the show ever does this.) 2) Tell a story dealing with the elements themselves. (There will be several of these in this season.) 3) Tell a good story. Pogo Lil does none of these three things.

There needs to be the feeling that someone is trying here... mainly because 1) Bear hasn't really done anything on the show for a while. So, the show is mainly BJ and the ladies he meets. 2) In this season, probably because of the Lobo spin-off, they've really upped the comedy portions of the show.* And, being honest, the comedy elements of this show were never that great. There's usually a lot of noise and wacky music. But, actual laugh-out-loud (or even amusing) comedy isn't something BJ and the Bear does well. Pogo Lil is loaded with "comedy" bits that are tiresome. The two scenes by the pool with BJ, Lil and Hammer have such an obvious payoff that I knew it was coming the moment I saw the pool. And, when it happens the second time, I sighed.

Even Bear has seen this one too many times



Is it hanging around Country Comfort that's doing this? I hope not because we're going to be doing more of that in the future. Are they out of interesting stories to tell about BJ and Bear? No. Future episodes will restore the interest. The one thing I know for certain is that very mildly entertaining episodes like this one could have led to the ratings dropping so precipitously during the season. Anne Lockhart is the best part of this episode and she's playing an annoying character. It does seems like no one else is trying. There's no spark in the episode. One could look away for ten minutes and return to the episode without having felt like they missed a thing. One could also watch those same ten minutes and feel like they've watched nothing. The episode requires effort to keep focused on it. That's a problem.

For the ladies!

I know that the show does better than this in future. But, the episodes of a show consisting of a generic mix of topical pop culture tropes can never be generic themselves. At that point, the show fades into the background and becomes visual Muzak. 

Two Gun Lil!

*For some reason this episode is making me overdose on the numbering of things. There are two reasons for that: 1) I'm wrestling with why I just don't like this episode. 2) I like doing this in reviews and don't do it nearly enough.  

BJ And The Bear S2 E3: Cain's Cruiser

Originally aired on October 13, 1979
Directed by Christian I. Nyby II
Written by Robert L. McCullough

(As always, for some reason, I can't the screenshots to stop stretching. Sorry about that.)

Note: There is a new trucker introduced here named Frenchie. He wears a beret.

Second note: I believe Glen A. Larson was given a set of "Comedy Incidental Music" albums for a birthday. And, to possibly save some money, he had the editors score this episode and the two before it with tunes from those records. The wacky music here really has gone through the roof. Almost everything is scored with "wah wah wah" or dippy music...  even moments that shouldn't be "wacky."

 Erin Grey in the Proto-KITT

Erin Grey plays Samantha, an engineer who has designed the most technologically advanced, indestructible police cruiser. It's sort of KITT from Knight Rider but it looks clunkier and it doesn't talk. But, it does everything else. It goes through brick walls. It goes very, very fast. It can monitor tire pressure, vital signs and heartbeats on the people that it follows...  But, it's very expensive and the company who made it needs to sell one now. So, Sam and Mr. Morley, the company rep, go to Bishop County, where the police force is run by the notorious Captain Cain, played by Ed Lauter.

 Cain!

Cain is a 100% by the book officer who overspends hilariously to make sure his county has the finest everything. He is continually harassing the truckers who go through his county, including a young man name B.J. and his best friend Bear. He's also after a trucker who is hauling illegal aliens up "from the Gulf." (The episode keeps calling these people "aliens." My wife expected to see actual X-Files-style aliens. Their terminology may be very topical but it's slightly misleading.) He signs a lease on the Super Cruiser and begins Super Harassing the truckers, including Frenchie, a guy named Cooper and Tommy, the only one of the "7 Lady Truckers" who remains from the season opener.

 Super Car, outside and in

Yes, Country Comfort is back! And they still play terrible Eagles-esque soft rock all the time. (At one point, BJ says "Bear's favorite tape" and pops in The Eagles Greatest Hits 1971-1975. Bear is a chimp though. So I don't expect him to have good taste in music.) Bullets shows up. As mentioned, Janet Louise Johnson's character Tommy shows up. But, that's it. All the other characters are new ones that we won't see again. That seems a little odd to me. Out of the--  how many? 10, 12--  however many characters they introduced in the last 2-parter, only Bullets and Tommy are back? It seems odd.

 At the Country Comfort hot tub

 "I was just in a hot tub with Erin Grey!"

Cain is clearly ruthless when it comes to ticketing these truckers. In fact, he has to be because the county doesn't have the budget for the cruiser so everyone has to increase their ticket quota. Sam becomes disgusted by Cain and goes to visit BJ at Country Comfort...  in the hot tub...  in a bikini. BJ has great times. A lot of great times. They arrange an elaborate scheme to get the cruiser from Cain and catch the trucker hauling the "aliens." And it is one of those epic chase sequences where they break about 20 or 30 laws but everything's fine in the end. I'm going to refer to the law in these scenes as being "Larson's Law." You're under his jurisdiction now. And things are illegal until they're not.

The episode is pretty standard BJ and the Bear fun. It has action, beautiful women, mean sheriffs, good looking BJ and lots of shots of cars and rigs on dusty, dusty roads. Cain is a formidable character who may be incredibly overzealous but, unlike Lobo and Wiley & The Fox, he's not doing anything illegal. I applaud them trying to top load as many Lobo replacements as they could in the show. Is it repetitive? Well, yes. of course it is. Could it all be the setup for something bigger down the line? Possibly.

 Popsicle Time!

To me, the most fascinating thing about this episode is the geography of everything. So...  BJ passes through Bishop County a lot. Mention is made of the "aliens" coming up from the Gulf. Cain says that a truck filled with the "aliens" was spotted near New Orleans and is going to be passing through Bishop County. So, apparently, Bishop County is near New Orleans. But, Bishop County is a desert-like, dusty place, which doesn't fit being near New Orleans. It looks more the Southwestern United States (maybe in the Los Angeles area). On top of that, the truckers are all able to get to Country Comfort very easy at the end of the day. So, Country Comfort is near Bishop County, which might be near New Orleans.  And, Wiley & The Fox's jurisdiction is near Country Comfort also because they visit the truck stop at the start of the previous episode.

 All's well that ends with cuddles

They go out of their way to be unhelpful on this, apart from the mention of New Orleans and the Gulf. When Tommy is given a ticket, she holds her thumb over the address of the courthouse. So, this is conjecture. It seems odd thought that the past three episodes take place, apparently, in such close proximity. In Season 1, BJ and Bear seemed to travel all over the country (except when they kept ending up in Orly County). Now, things have apparently changed. I'm interested to see how the rest of the season will play out. Is this nitpicking? Sure. Is that the point of doing reviews like this? Absolutely.

So, we have a new Sheriff on the show. We see some reoccurring characters. And, Bear gets to do some stuff here, well, mainly he plays pinball and gets to kiss a lady at the Country Comfort bar. Bear has great times too.

End it with some Erin

B.J. & The Bear S2 E2: Snow White and the Seven Lady Truckers, Part II

Originally aired October 6, 1979
Directed by Christian I. Nyby II
Written by Michael Sloan and Glen A. Larson

"I love you, B.J. ...  I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..."
"It's OK. You can love me."
"I can?"
"Yes."

BJ, Snow White and all those kids

(Where did those kids come from?)

Part 2! That satisfies my questions at the end of the previous review. This is the second of a 2-part story. I had thought if all the Country Comfort characters, along with Sgt. Wiley and the Fox, came back in this episode but under a new title, the season would now be following this huge cast getting in adventures every week. But, "Part 2" means that the show might still have the semi-anthology format of Season 1. The season, itself, will reveal whether this is true.

 BJ, Bear and Bullets

This episode begins (well, it begins with 4 minutes of recap including an interesting moment I missed when I watched the previous episode*)...  It begins immediately following the previous one. Still at Country Comfort. BJ and Hammer have washed all the mud off. Hammer will stand by his bargain. So, the viewer thinks "Hmmm, why not include this scene at the end of the previous episode? Why put it at the beginning of a new one?" All is revealed rather quickly.

The Fight.

Wiley lifting The Fox

Sgt. Wiley and The Fox show up. Wiley gets the news about the fight. And, Hammer says, more or less, "Don't talk to me. Talk to Riker." Riker? The semi-psychotic, poorly mustachioed second-in-command of the Highballers? Yes. It turns out that only Hammer is going to stop bothering the ladies. For the rest of the jerks, it's business as usual. Sigh... And then, we get more of Wiley and The Fox arguing, more of the Sheriff being dopey. About 17 minutes in, this reviewer realized that he was re-watching Part 1 but he wasn't. It was Part 2. They were just doing the same thing over again.

 Wiley And The Fox

Stranglehold!

Examples: Snow White is going to lose everything if she doesn't get a haul. B.J. helps her get a government-related load. Riker chases her down and harasses her. Just like Hammer did to B.J. in the first episode. Then, in one of the funniest scenes, Wiley and The Fox get into a full on brawl on a dock. B.J. intervenes. He gets arrested and Bullets, the head of Country Comfort, is shown bailing him out a few minutes later. B.J. was arrested and bailed out in the previous episode. How many times can you be arrested and get out on bail within a few short days? (Granted, this could be Wiley being wily.) Then, near the end, a convoy of lady truckers, with BJ and Snow White at the front, gets diverted by Wiley onto a suspicious route.

 Looking good on the phone

Now, the bail thing is left hanging. Does BJ have to go to court twice? The Riker chase bit has a zing at the end, which the first part lacked. But, it is still the exact same sort of scene. And the re-routing of the convoy even has BJ saying "Again?" This made me think of the way a lot of Saturday Morning cartoons (especially Hanna-Barbara ones) would structure their shows. The heroes would meet the exact same villains every week (Drak Pack). The only change would be in the bad guy's MO. Everything else would be the same. I thought, for a moment, that this might be where BJ and the Bear is going...  We'll see on the next episode.

There is as little character development here as there was in the previous episode. But, we know the characters (as well as we'll know them) now so I was able to focus on the revolving nature of the story. Sometimes it revolves within the episode. BJ is called about a government haul. He gives it to Snow White. The next day, another government agency (the one from the TV movie) call him to haul some old money to the furnaces. That employs BJ and all of Snow White's gals. It's a strange bit of plotting because the contents of the first haul dismantles Riker's truck. (I'm trying not to spoil.) Then, the writers go back to a plot thread from the first BJ adventure to provide a conclusion for this one. But, both of these hauls are government-related. It's so convenient that BJ gets these calls so close together that it's almost ham-fisted. The writers may have seen this was odd plotting because BJ goes out of his way to make sure everyone knows that the government agencies don't know about each other. Still weird, though.

 Show White attempts to re-create the opening credits ending

It was better with the billboard

Then, there's the big ending. SPOILERS! Riker and the Highballers hijack the ladies' trucks, filled with old money, with the help of Wiley and the Fox. But, BJ and Hammer are on top of it and help save the day. Except we're not sure why Hammer is there. (A dubbed line from Wiley semi-explains it.) The whole ending becomes a little confusing. Possibly I'm watching a syndicated version and a moment or two is missing. But, it's weird because they spend 3/4 of the episode repeating the previous one but then botch the explanation of the ending. It's easily figured out but not clear in the actual on-screen dialogue. (My episode might be edited. BJ tells Snow White that they have the old money contract. The show cuts immediately to Honey and Riker (apparently they're a couple(!)) and she blabs about it. Trying to find out the details, Riker becomes threatening and semi-violent in a kind of gross scene.)

Guys are jerks

There are a few problems with this episode. Wiley and The Fox get a lot of time to themselves. Does this mean they'll be regulars throughout the season? I can answer that but I'll let it hang there for the moment. The lady truckers, apart from Snow and Honey, do not get developed at all. There's the whole Repeat The Plot thing. (Which might work if this episode had a brand new title and the show was going to repeat itself like this ad nauseam.) It feels like they wanted to start the season big but didn't quite know how. Then, there's the problem with Bear. Bear does nothing here. He drinks a bit. He's there for a gag or two but they've got zero for him to do. Possibly because there are so many supporting characters.

 If it's Glen A. Larson, it'll explode in the end

Now, it sounds like I might have hated this episode. No. It's nicely paced and far too charming and fun to hate. But, that doesn't mean it can't be disappointing. It's not the BJ & The Bear I signed on for for the first season. I understand that things change. I'm willing to carry on. We've got another 19 episodes in Season Two. Let's take this journey together and see where we go. You can travel with Snow White. I'll go pick up Honey.

 Hey You! Keep Watching!

* In the recap of Part 1, there is a moment I didn't mention in the previous review. Wiley is arresting BJ. He stops and says, something like "Red rig. Young man with a leather jacket. Traveling with a chimp. You're the legendary BJ McKay." Yes! The popularity of BJ's first season has followed him into the second. Love it!

The Perfect Portion Cookbook by Anson Williams(!)

Did you read the title of this post? Yes... Warren "Potsie" Weber, AKA Anson Williams, wrote a cookbook. I'm in. Sign me up.

Potsie In The Middle

Anyone who knows my writing knows that I'm a big Happy Days fan. A couple of years ago, I wrote an article for Popmatters entitled "Jumping the Shark and Surviving." It was a (very) detailed history of the show explaining why The Fonz jumping the shark was NOT the creative end of the show. Christmas 2015 - I wrote a 2-part article connecting two of my favorite Christmas episodes. I plan on getting in-depth, episode by episode, into the Post-Richie seasons soon. (More obscure shows have taken precedence for the moment.) Plus, back in early 2014, when the Hallmark Channel was airing the show from 2PM-5PM, Monday through Friday, I watched the entire run of the thing. (About 250 episodes.) So, yes, I'm a fan.

As a fan, I always keep an eye out for Happy Days-related stuff. (Mainly, now, for the rest of the series to hit DVD.) Yes, I have the Fonz for President album. Yes, I have several of the spin-off novels. Yes, I have every issue of CRACKED Magazine with a character from the show on the cover. There are also ancillary items out there that involve people related to the show but are not about the show itself. (I can get out of hand with these. When I was big into Garfield, I bought a cat care book featuring The Big G. Even though I wouldn't have a cat for 15 years.) Last week, I found out about a very cool book...

The Perfect Portion Cookbook by Anson Williams, Bob Warden & Mona Dolgov

Yes, I will have 100 calories worth of that.

Thanks for asking.

What?! Everyone's favorite singing hunk from the suburbs of Milwaukee wrote a cookbook! Answer: He did. I had known Anson Williams has been directing for decades. But, I didn't know about this passion. So, what else can a Happy Days fan do? I obtained a copy of the book and sat down with it.

Notice: The Fonz is eating the sundae.

Potsie has, very cleverly, stopped The Fonz at 100 calories

by "losing" an arm wrestling match to Ralph Malph

(And this was the late 1950s!)

I have been working on losing a few pounds as of late. I'm getting older. My metabolism is slowing. And, frankly, I love a good meal. So, the premise behind this cookbook seemed right up my alley: A series of "comfort food" recipes proportioned off into 100 calorie chunks. One could enjoy really yummy food in manageable portions. I kept my fingers crossed...  and tried a few of the meals.

Chicken Piccata - The picture looks very promising. The meal was prepared...  and it was fantastic. Very, very tasty meal. It did take a large chunk of my willpower to eat exactly the portion I was supposed to eat. But, I kept thinking WWPWD? And I knew that I should stop when I was supposed to. (I also drank a big glass of water afterwards. That fooled my stomach.)

Enchilada Bake - Again, delicious dish. I make a very yummy enchilada meal myself and this compared very favorably with what I whip up. And again, the only issue: my rusty willpower.

Scalloped Potatoes - I really liked this one as this was the only potato meal I could stomach as a child. Plus, they don't go au gratin on you. This is proper scalloped potatoes without cheese. Very good stuff.

Egg White and Broccoli Frittata - This was my absolute favorite meal (so far). I would make it every day for breakfast if I had the time.

At the moment, those are the four recipes that I have made from the book. 4 for 4. I can't wait to whip up some more. My enthusiasm to dive in further is greatly assisted by the fact that the book itself is really beautifully laid out. Here are some scans of food photos from the book:

 I'm convinced.

It's a very attractive book. On its best pages, it's more than a functional cookbook. It's almost an art book. I like that. A lot. The actual recipe pages are nice to look at as well. Here are a few scans:

I recommend this book very highly. Beautiful design, delicious recipes and the promise of calming your diet down to keep you fit and trim. Plus, it's Potsie, for Heaven's Sake!

Potsie leading a college class on heart health.

The only disappointment: No introduction from Donny Most. You can't have it all.

Fonzie's Funeral. Hilarious 2-parter.

Perfect end to the review.*

Thank you, Mr. Williams.

*Although, no one here recommends gagging yourself and then tying yourself to a chair to cut down on calories. (I don't care how funny Ralph is.)

What Ever Happened to Bear?

This post is part of the TV Sidekick Blogathon. Click here to check out the other posts from a lot of awesome people writing about a wide array of sidekicks.

For three sweet seasons, the world was invited into the truck/ home of Vietnam Vet/ ladies man B.J. McKay to follow him on his adventures across America on the television extravaganza B.J. and the Bear. "Trucking and Loving" was the motto. Along with B.J., there was another member of this big rig: Bear. Bear was an ex-Vietnam Vet also. He was gregarious. He was opinionated. He could be a bit crazy, especially when he was drinking. Plus, he was a chimpanzee. A 20-year-old chimp who enjoyed the public eye for a few years on this well-loved and well-remembered show. He even appeared on the much-lauded Battle of the Network Stars, for Heaven's Sake. (It's the episode everyone remembers because when Bear and B.J. arrived at Pepperdine University the name "Greg Evigan" appeared on the screen. Who?, America said. It turns out that was the name of the guy who did the captions for the network. He was having a laugh. See below for a screenshot of that moment.)

Bear and his best friend B.J. McKay*

But, what become of Bear? A chimp's average lifespan is around 50 years. So, he must have had a life beyond his time with B.J. There isn't a whole lot of info out there. But, constant research has helped me piece this together...

Even the Caption Guy wants to be immortalized

Battle of the Network Stars!

Bear beat Howard Hesseman in the first run on the obstacle course.

Then, he won the event by outracing Robert Hays in the Finals.

Apparently, right after the cancellation of the show in Summer 1981, Bear went on a bit of a wild tear down in South America. He spent a lot of time in Brazil. He was a guest of honor at Carnival. One source says that in mid-'82 he was one of the first recipients of a "Brazilian Wax." If so, one would think there would be pictures of this somewhere. I've found nothing. Bear could have bagged that hair and sold it at Classic TV conventions. (Interesting side note: All chimpanzees speak Portuguese.) 

In 1983, he's back in the U.S. auditioning for a brand new show that seemed right up his alley.  Documents from the Network show that he was first in line to star in the sitcom Mr.Smith. It was a sitcom about a chimp who becomes President of the United States. For some reason, at the last moment, the network decided to go with an orangutan instead. Bear was heartbroken. Not least because the star of that sitcom achieved something Bear never did...  he appeared on the cover of CRACKED Mazagine.

Could've been Bear

Auditions didn't go well from there. Bear had plenty of money from his time in the limelight so that wasn't an issue. It was the constant rejection that was wearing this once-vibrant simian down. The Japanese occasionally called him up to do some commercials, mainly for bananas or beer or the new Tokashito Banana Beer. The straw that broke the chimp's back in this post-starlit world can be summed up in two words: Going. Bananas. A brand-new Saturday morning live-action show featuring a simian star that Bear lobbied for. He had B.J. write a letter of recommendation. Fred Silverman sent the production crew a series of flower arrangements and nut rolls. But...  I'll be damned...  at the last minute, the network decided to go with an orangutan.

I am less than bananas over this

This was the last straw for Bear. He moved to Europe. "Bumming Around" was the way his friends described his life at that time. Letting his hair grow long, hitchhiking through the Bavarian Alps, getting debauched. Or as debauched as a chimp can get, which is pretty debauched. In 1986, he fell in with German director Wim Wenders and his gang. Bear and Wim worked together on Wenders's film, Wings of Desire. Bear co-wrote the screenplay, under the pen name Richard Reitinger. Bear was actually the person that got Peter Falk (they'd been friends for years) involved with the movie. Although they were broken-hearted when it didn't get nominated for an Academy Award, the film was well-loved and did win awards in Europe. This adventure in writing re-kindled a passion of Bear's that he had forgotten.

Hanging with Wim in Berlin

Before I go any further, let me say that Bear had exhibited strong writing talents back on B.J. and the Bear. As the show went along and Bear got more clout, he began to insist upon writing episodes of the show. Under the pen name "Tom Sawyer," he wrote four episodes of the third season. According to old interviews, it was Audrey Landers (who appeared as Cain's daughter in two episodes) that convinced him to write. Her and Bear had been a "couple" for around a year. Apparently, she helped him write and he helped her get her music career going. (We'll have to wait for an autobiography from Audrey to get the full scoop.)

In a brief email interview I had with B.J., he told me that Bear's scripts were always well-written, charming, action-packed and filled with beautiful ladies. Because Bear wrote by hand, the scripts were generally 200 to 210 pages longer than an average script. But, you got used to it. McKay told me the only problem on set during the final season of the show's run was the addition of Judy Landers as Stacks. Bear had recently broken up with Audrey and now found himself in love with Judy. Apparently, there was much tension when the two of them started dating. (Judy's autobiography will clear everything up.) Regardless of all the tension in 1980, by 1985, Bear was setting the Sisters up with their own SOV action film in Germany called Deadly Trigger (aka Deadly Twins) and all seemed to be right in their world.

 Judy?

Audrey?

Why choose?



Anyway...  sorry for the gossipy sideline... When Bear returned to the U.S. in the early 1990s, he was able to get a job as a Script Doctor through his connections. He was good friends with Alan Spencer and John Sayles, both of whom are considered two of the best Script Doctors in the industry. His first job was a final revision to the Clint Eastwood feature The Unforgiven. Even though Bear's name is nowhere on there, Eastwood readily admits that it was Bear who pulled that script together at the last moment.

Bear and his third wife, Shelly, circa 1993

Well, for the next 20 years, Bear spent his time doing this unsung work and becoming one of the best in his field. His biggest collaborator was Michael Bay. When Bear passed, in 2011, Bay said "There was no one alive who could bring together a Transformers script as cohesively as my best friend Bear." Bear ended up having a nice home up in the Hollywood Hills. He never settled down with one woman but there was a never-ending flow of starlets going up to his place for late night "parties." Even though one hears rumors of Hollywood weirdness, Bear was never really considered "weird". He was a completely normal script doctoring superstar chimpanzee that liked to dress in overalls.

Bear At Home:

Beer, Bear & Ladies

It's from BJ and the Bear, however,  that most folks know him best. Playing sidekick to the great B.J. McKay. McKay, himself, is retired. He lives in Wisconsin, keeping away from the limelight as much as possible. He occasionally visits conventions to sign autographs and mingle with fans. Sometimes he'll bring the rig to a show or take it mud bogging. But, mostly, he goes fishing and writes Riptide/ Game of Thrones fan fiction. Above his mantelpiece in his downstairs living room, hangs a giant autographed photo of his best friend Bear. Nothing speaks to their friendship more than that.

* For some reason, screenshots taken from B.J. and the Bear episodes always wind up stretched out. My apologies.



My Film Discoveries of 2015

Head on over to the Rupert Pupkin Speaks blog to read my column on some very entertaining films I watched in 2015...

2015 Film Discoveries

Thanks, RP!