Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

 Thinking about Then Came Bronson. Part One.

"Gee, I wish that I were you!"
"Just hang in there."

This iconic exchange was part of the opening sequence to every episode of Then Came Bronson. Jim Bronson is headed out of town and stops at a traffic signal next to a harried commuter. The motorist looks over at Jim sitting on his bike and asks if he is going on a trip, Bronson replies that he is. When he is asked where he is headed, Bronson replies, "I don't know, wherever I end up." The motorist then declares that he wishes that he could be in Bronson's situation. Bronson replies, "Just hang in there." then he rides off to chase that long  lonely highway.

This exchange encapsulates the theme of the entire series. Pursuing a life unencumbered by middle class responsibilities and restrictive relationships that stifle individual self development. It was the counter culture versus the Establishment. This was the zeitgeist of the times, 1969. The show tries to show how one individual freed himself of his responsibilities, thereby making himself open to experiencing new events and possibilities.

Jim Bronson is a newspaper reporter in San Francisco, and is frustrated by his editor's refusal to allow him to cover the socially relevant stories that he thinks are important. This leads to some real conflict and his boss tells him that he has to either toe the line or he'll find himself on the street.

Bronson is an avid motorcyclist and belongs to a club.

Jim has a friend that commits suicide by jumping off the roof of Fort Point. He and his buddy had built a Harley Sportster that his terminally despondent buddy had sold to a local bike shop just before he leaps off that roof. Bronson buys the bike back, quits his job, and decides that he has to find himself by taking a cross country motorcycle trip. He wants to discover America and maybe rediscover himself.

This is a theme that is steeped in American folklore and tradition. 

The man on the motorcycle is analogous to the lone cowboy roaming the West. Solitary figures on a quest. Free and unencumbered. 

Woody Guthrie sang; "This land is my land, this land is your land."

We'd already seen this portrayed by John Steinbeck in Travels with Charley. Steinbeck relates his adventures as a writer and journalist.

Jack Kerouac related his travels in, On the Road. This was his anthem to the Beat Generation, the precursors of the counterculture and Hippie movement. 

On television in the early 1960's this was most famously portrayed by the series Route 66.

There was even a show where it was a dog travelling solo down the highway. The littlest Hobo. 

Then there was the seminal movie Easy Rider. Captain America and Billy were true counter culture warriors, though they came in peace and only wished to be left alone.

1968 was the Summer of Love. The war in Vietnam was escalating, and protests against the draft, the free speech movement was going on in Berkeley at the University, and people were fighting to gain their civil rights. It was a tumultuous period.

Then came Bronson was a quieter, more thoughtful exploration of this zeitgeist. One that was more palatable to TV network executives and acceptable to the American viewing audience.

In many ways it was a replay of the premise of Route 66. Two clean cut individuals, dissatisfied with their present life situations set out to travel around the country. Hoping that someday they'll find somewhere where they can find their place and settle down. It's the Pioneer story, Go West Young Man! But in this case it's East, South, and North, he was already at the Pacific Coast.

Along the way they meet people that are experiencing challenges in their own lives. Buzz and Tod are the witness and sometimes catalyst in these situations. Once they are resolved, they jump back into their Corvette and head off to new adventures. 

It's interesting that this series TCB, is taking place in the same city of San Francisco, where the Hippie and counterculture were flourishing. However it's never shown, or even alluded to. 

Jim Bronson is an educated, clean cut individual, he is prone to thoughtful introspection. He is as apt to quote, Byron, Shakespeare, and even the Bible! None of the mumbly, sometimes  incoherent ramblings of the Easy Rider duo. He abstains from drugs, though he doesn't mind knocking back a beer or two. He is circumspect in his behavior and speech, courteous and polite, and he adheres to a high moral standard. He would never take advantage of the damsels in distress that he encounters. 

Some of the episodes dealt with social issues such as discrimination and mental health, and this was groundbreaking and ahead of it's time. But most dealt with personal issues, such as aging, belonging, and dealing with loss. Some were not that outstanding, and were just typical formulaic situational episodes.

Television had recently passed through a period of high quality dramatic series, such as The Naked City. That was a hard hitting and challenging drama that dealt with  serious human issues and dilemmas. 

It's nice to share the ride with a pretty passenger.

There's no question that a lot of the appeal of TCB was the motorcycle. I'm sure that many young people were transfixed by watching Bronson riding that bike. And what a bike it was! It was a mildly customized Harley Davidson Sportster, and this was at the apex of it's popularity and desirability. The show was a validation for current riders and it was aspirational for a generation of hopeful future riders. 

Motorcycles and motorcycling in general were not often covered by mainstream media. Especially in a positive light. This period was also the era of wild biker movies, like Hells Angels on Wheels. The only positive portrayals of motorcycling had been of traffic cops. Though there was the movie On any Sunday, but CHIPs was still years off in the future.

For myself, the appeal of a show like TCB and Route 66, was the idea of the freedom to travel whenever and wherever I wanted. It was the realization of what I was wishing for as I was waiting to grow up into a young adult. That period where I would have the full agency of a real adult, but without the baggage and responsibilities that I could see were carried by all the older adults around me. A time to really live. For the first time, a chance to call the shots in my own life story.

Alladin had his magic carpet that could transport him to a world of adventure. Bud and Tod had that Corvette, and Bronson had that wonderful motorcycle. These were the real dream machines of my youth. 

How I longed for the day when I would have my own machine.

Then Came Bronson was broadcast for only a single season in 1969-70. There was an initial pilot movie followed by 22 episodes. There was a repeat of the series broadcast in the 1980's. 

I don't recall watching any episodes when it was first aired. I would have been in the eighth grade in 1969 and would be graduating that June. After the Summer I would be starting high school at a boarding school. I didn't watch much evening television that year. I don't think that I was much of a motorcycle fan at the time as I was more focused on cars.

But the show obviously had an impact on many viewers.