B. J. and the Bear | |
---|---|
Genre | Comedy |
Created by |
Glen A. Larson Christopher Crowe |
Written by |
Glen A. Larson Michael Sloan Frank Lupo Tom Sawyer Christopher Crowe Sidney Ellis Rick Kelbaugh |
Directed by | Gil Bettman Bruce Bilson Daniel Haller Bruce Kessler Christian I. Nyby II Michael Preece Charles R. Rondeau |
Starring |
Greg Evigan Claude Akins |
Theme music composer | Glen A. Larson |
Opening theme | B. J. and the Bear |
Composer(s) | William Broughton Stu Phillips |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 3 |
No. of episodes | 48 |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Glen A. Larson Michael Sloan |
Producer(s) | Lester Wm. Berke Joe Boston Richard Lindheim Robert F. O'Neill |
Cinematography | Frank Beascoechea Charles Mills Frank Thackery |
Running time | 45–48 minutes |
Production company(s) |
Universal Television Glen A. Larson Productions |
Distributor | NBCUniversal Television Distribution |
Release | |
Original network | NBC |
Audio format | Monaural |
Original release | February 10, 1979 | – August 11, 1981
Chronology | |
Related shows | The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo |
B. J. and the Bear is an American comedy series which aired on NBC from 1979 to 1981. Created by Glen A. Larson and Christopher Crowe, the series stars Greg Evigan. The series was produced when the CB Radio/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 theme song, also titled "B. J. and the Bear" was written by Glen Larson and performed by Greg Evigan.
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 a 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.