Poster: Stuck In The '70's
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B.J. And The Bear ran on NBC from February 1979 until August 1981.
In the mid-1970's NBC had aired an adventure series about 2 truckers traveling around the country, titled Movin' On. A few years later, and about the same time CBS premiered its hit * Good ole boy* rural adventure series The Dukes Of Hazzard, this countrified version of Movin' On turned up on NBC. B.J. And The Bear was played more for laughs than adventure, and did seem to put stronger emphasis on pretty girls and wild car and truck chases, but it had a distinct family resemblance to its predecessor on NBC. B.J. McCay ( Greg Evigan), was a good-looking young trucker who traveled around the country in his big red-and-white rig, with a single companion, his pet chimp Bear. Although he logged a lot of miles, B.J. was based in rural Georgia, where he was confronted by a succession of corrupt local sheriffs-Elroy P. Lobo ( Claude Akins), who was later given his own series, Lobo, followed in the fall of 1979 by Sgt. Wiley of Winslow County ( Slim Pickens),and his 2 fellow lawmen, Sheriffs Cain and Masters ( Ed Lauter, Richard Deacon). The only honest cop B.J. seemed to encounter was The Fox ( Conchata Ferrell), who spent much of her time trying to trap the crooked cops. Tommy ( Janet Louise Johnson ), was a lady trucker friend of B.J.'s and Bullets( Joshua Shelley) ran the local hangout The Country Comfort Truck Stop. When B.J. And The Bear returned for its third season in January 1981 ( delayed several months by a actor's strike ), B.J. had settled down to run a trucking business in Los Angeles called Bear Enterprises. For B.J., however, corruption seemed to follow him wherever he went. His new adversary was Rutherford T. Grant ( Murray Hamilton),a corrupt politician who headed the state Special Crimes Action Team. Grant was a silent partner in TransCal, the largest trucking firm in the state, and stopped at nothing to stamp out potential competition. Because of Grant's intervention, B.J. found it impossible to get regular male truck drivers to work for him and had to settle for a crew of 7 young, beautiful lady truckers with names like Stacks ( Judy Landers), and Angie (Sheila DeWindt), including a pair of identical twins, Teri and Geri ( Barbra Brough, Candi Brough ), and Grant's daughter Cindy ( Sherilyn Wolter). The series was syndicated with its spin-of series under the title The B.J.-Lobo Show.
B.J. and the Bear Theme Lyrics
BJ and the Bear by Glen A Larson - B.J. and the Bear Lyrics
Hey there where ya goin',
Not exactly knowin'
Who says you have to call just one place home.
He's goin' everywhere,
B.J. McKay and his best friend Bear.
He just keeps on movin',
Ladies keep improvin'
Every day is better than the last.
New dreams and better scenes,
And best of all I don't pay property tax.
Rollin' down to Dallas,
Who's providin' my palace,
Off to New Orleans or who knows where.
Places new and ladies, too,
I'm B.J. McKay and this is my best friend Bear.
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