B. J. and the Bear

B.J. and the Bear is an American action comedy television series which aired on NBC from February 10, 1979, to May 9, 1981. Created by Glen A. Larson and Christopher Crowe, the series stars Greg Evigan. The series was produced when the CB radio and trucking craze had peaked in the United States, following the 1974–1976 television series 'Movin' On, the number one song "Convoy" (1975) by C. W. McCall, as well as the films White Line Fever (1975), Smokey and the Bandit (1977), Convoy (1978), and Every Which Way but Loose (1978). The TV show, The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, is a spin-off of this series.

The theme song, also titled "B.J. and the Bear", was written by Glen Larson and performed by Greg Evigan.

Premise and storylines

Greg Evigan stars as Billie Joe "B.J." McKay, a professional freelance itinerant trucker who travels the country's highways in a red and white Kenworth K-100 Aerodyne (a COE semi truck) with his pet chimpanzee Bear (named after Bear Bryant, the famed football coach for the University of Alabama). In the pilot movie, it is stated that he had spent two years in Vietnam as a medical helicopter pilot, had been a captain and earned the Distinguished Service Cross. He was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam at the Hanoi Hilton for four months in 1973 after his helicopter went down over the DMZ. Episodes typically deal with B.J. uncovering or getting mixed up with crime in the area he's traveling through, and a local resident — usually, a young, beautiful woman — appealing to him for help.

A frequent guest star in the first season is Sheriff Elroy P. Lobo (Claude Akins, who previously starred in the trucking series Movin' On), whose character eventually spun off onto his own show The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo along with guest character "Waverly" Ben Cooper.

Two episodes in season two, "Eyes Of Texas" (1979) and "The Girls On The Hollywood High" (1980), were designed as prospective pilots for a series about a pair of private detectives called Heather Fern (Rebecca Reynolds) and Caroline Capodi (Lorrie Mahaffey in the first one, Heather Thomas in the second). The latter episode has cameo appearances from John S. Ragin and Robert Ito as their characters from Quincy, M.E. (also a Glen A. Larson series).

In 1981, when the show returned for its third season with the two-part episode "B.J. and the Seven Lady Truckers" (not to be confused with the season two opener "Snow White and the Seven Lady Truckers", also a two-parter), B.J. has settled down to run Bear Enterprises, a trucking company based in Los Angeles. His nemesis is Rutherford T. Grant (Murray Hamilton), the corrupt head of the state's Special Crimes Action Team, who is a secret partner in a competing trucking company. Because of Grant's harassment, B.J. is unable to hire experienced truckers, and is forced to hire seven beautiful young female truckers, consisting of Grant's daughter Cindy (Sherilyn Wolter), twins Teri and Geri (Candi and Randi Brough), no-nonsense Angie (Sheila Wills), Samantha (Amanda Horan Kennedy), Callie (Linda McCullough), and a busty blonde nicknamed "Stacks" (Judy Landers), along with a female dispatcher, Stacy (Susan Woolen).

Though Universal has not yet released BJ and the Bear on home video, streaming or VOD, bootleg DVDs can be found online for purchase.

Episodes

Pilot

1. The Foundlings - Oct 4, 1978

Season 1

1. Odyssey of the Shady Truth - Feb 10, 1979
2. Shine On - Feb 24, 1979
3. A Coffin with a View - March 10, 1979
4. Deadly Cargo - March 17, 1979
5. Never Give a Trucker an Even Break - March 24, 1979
6. Lobo's Revenge - April 7, 1979
7. The Murphy Contingent - April 14, 1979
8. Wheels of Fortune - April 21, 1979
9. Crackers - April 28, 1979
10. Lobo - May 5, 1979

Season 2

1. Snow White and the Seven Lady Truckers Part 1 - Sep 29, 1979
2. Snow White and the Seven Lady Truckers Part 2 - Oct 6, 1979
3. Cain's Cruiser - Oct 13, 1979
4. Pogo Lil - Oct 20, 1979
5. Cain's Son-in-Law - Oct 27, 1979
6. Run for the Money Part 1 - Nov 3, 1979
7. The Eyes of Texas - Nov 10, 1979
8. Mary Ellen - Nov 17, 1979
9. Gasohol - Nov 24, 1979
10. B.J.'s Sweethearts - Dec 1, 1979
11. Fly a Wild Horse - Dec 8, 1979
12. Silent Night, Unholy Night - Dec 15, 1979
13. Fire in the Hole - Jan 12, 1980
14. Siege - Jan 19, 1980
15. Through the Past, Darkly - Jan 26, 1980
16. Bear Bondage - Feb 2, 1980
17. B.J. and the Witch - Feb 9, 1980
18. The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful - Feb 16, 1980
19. The Girls on the Hollywood High - Feb 23, 1980
20. The 18-Wheel Rip-Off - March 22, 1980
21. The Friendly Double Cross - March 29, 1980

Season 3

1. B.J. and the Seven Lady Truckers Part 1 - Feb 10, 1979
2. B.J. and the Seven Lady Truckers Part 2 - Feb 10, 1979
3. The Fast and the Furious Part 1 - Feb 10, 1979
4. The Fast and the Furious Part 2 - Feb 10, 1979
5. Intercepted Pass - Feb 10, 1979
6. Down & Dirty - Feb 10, 1979
7. Beauties and the Beasts - Feb 10, 1979
8. Blond in a Gilded Cell - Feb 10, 1979
9. For Adults Only - Feb 10, 1979
10. A Bear in the Hand - Feb 10, 1979
11. Seven Lady Captives - Feb 10, 1979
12. S.T.U.N.T. - Feb 10, 1979
13. Who Is B.J.? - Feb 10, 1979
14. Detective Finger, I Presume - Feb 10, 1979
15. The Two Million Dollar Hustle - Feb 10, 1979

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