History Series / Bearcats

Hank Brackett (Rod Taylor) and Johnny Reach (Dennis Cole) were freelance adventurers who drove around the southwestern U.S. in a [[http://www.carlustblog.com/2008/08/car-lust--stutz.html Stutz Bearcat]] sports car instead of riding horses. The two of them took on problems that no one else could solve, and their fee was a blank check – on the theory that if you could put a dollar value on your troubles, you really didn't need their help.

%%* ExcitedShowTitle

[[quoteright:336:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Bearcats_2345.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:336:Johnny, Hank and their CoolCar.]]

''Bearcats!'' was a short-lived (13 episodes plus a 2-hour pilot film) 1971 Creator/{{CBS}} series, a [[TheWestern Western]] set in the year 1914.

The early 20th-century setting allowed the writers to add relatively modern elements such as the aforementioned Bearcat, oil companies, [[SouthOfTheBorder Mexican]] [[UsefulNotes/TheMexicanRevolution revolutionaries]], [[{{Kaiserreich}} Imperial German]] spies and UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, and [[MoreDakka belt-fed machine guns]] to the usual [[TheWildWest Wild West]] milieu. The show ended up as something of an AnachronismStew anyway – for instance, one episode featured a Renault FT-18 tank (the tank was not invented until 1915, and the Renault FT did not appear until 1917), another a Curtiss JN-4 biplane (first flight 1915) in Mexican Air Force colors (Curtiss "Jennies" were exported only to Britain). [[NegativeContinuity The show's continuity was a little soft from week to week]], particularly with regard to those Mexican revolutionaries – one week, Hank and Johnny were working with the Mexican government against the rebels, the next, they were siding with the rebels against the corrupt Mexican government, and so on.

''Bearcats!'' was a short-lived 1971 TV series (13 episodes plus 2-hour pilot film ''Powderkeg''), a [[TheWestern Western]] set in the year 1914.

Hank Brackett (Rod Taylor) and Johnny Reach (Dennis Cole) were freelance adventurers who drove around the southwestern U.S. in a [[http://www.carlustblog.com/2008/08/car-lust--stutz.html Stutz Bearcat]] sports car instead of riding horses. They took on problems that no one else could solve, and their fee was a blank check--on the theory that if you could put a dollar value on your troubles, you really didn't need their help.

The early 20th-century setting allowed the writers to add modern elements such as the aforementioned Bearcat, oil companies, [[{{Kaiserreich}} Imperial German]] spies and UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, [[SouthOfTheBorder Mexican]] [[UsefulNotes/TheMexicanRevolution revolutionaries]], and [[MoreDakka belt-fed machine guns]] to the usual [[TheWildWest Wild West]] milieu. It ended up as something of an AnachronismStew anyway -- one episode featured a Renault FT-18 tank (the tank was not invented until 1915, and the Renault FT did not appear until 1917), another a Curtiss JN-4 biplane (first flight 1915) in Mexican Air Force colors (Curtiss "Jennies" were exported only to Britain). [[NegativeContinuity The show's continuity was a little soft from week to week]], particularly with regard to those [[SouthOfTheBorder Mexican revolutionaries]]--one week, Hank and Johnny were working with the Mexican government against the rebels, the next week they were siding with the rebels against the corrupt Mexican government, and so on.

* ExcitedShowTitle
* NewOldWest

** on the two leads, and many of the guest stars as well. Actual 1914 hairstyles were nowhere to be seen.

* FollowTheLeader: ''Bearcats!'' was on both sides of this trope.
** The show is similar to ''Series/TheWildWildWest''.
** The 1972 animated series ''WesternAnimation/TheHoundcats'' takes half its premise from this series and the other half from ''Series/MissionImpossible''.

* SeventiesHair: on the two leads, and many of the guest stars as well. Actual 1914 hairstyles were nowhere to be seen.

The 20th-century setting allowed the writers to add modern elements such as the aforementioned Bearcat, oil companies, [[{{Kaiserreich}} Imperial German]] spies and UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, [[SouthOfTheBorder Mexican]] [[UsefulNotes/TheMexicanRevolution revolutionaries]], and [[MoreDakka belt-fed machine guns]] to the usual [[TheWildWest Wild West]] milieu. It ended up as something of an AnachronismStew anyway -- one episode featured a Renault FT-18 tank (the tank was not invented until 1915), another a Curtiss JN-4 biplane (first flight 1915) in Mexican Air Force colors (Curtiss "Jennies" were exported only to Britain). [[NegativeContinuity The show's continuity was a little soft from week to week]], particularly with regard to those [[SouthOfTheBorder Mexican revolutionaries]]--one week, Hank and Johnny were working with the Mexican government against the rebels, the next week they were siding with the rebels against the corrupt Mexican government, and so on.

* RaisedByNatives: Johnny reached had been raised by Indians.

The 20th-century setting allowed the writers to add modern elements such as the aforementioned Bearcat, oil companies, [[{{Kaiserreich}} Imperial German]] spies and UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, [[SouthOfTheBorder Mexican]] [[MexicanRevolution revolutionaries]], and [[MoreDakka belt-fed machine guns]] to the usual [[TheWildWest Wild West]] milieu. It ended up as something of an AnachronismStew anyway -- one episode featured a Renault FT-18 tank (the tank was not invented until 1915), another a Curtiss JN-4 biplane (first flight 1915) in Mexican Air Force colors (Curtiss "Jennies" were exported only to Britain). [[NegativeContinuity The show's continuity was a little soft from week to week]], particularly with regard to those [[SouthOfTheBorder Mexican revolutionaries]]--one week, Hank and Johnny were working with the Mexican government against the rebels, the next week they were siding with the rebels against the corrupt Mexican government, and so on.

The 20th-century setting allowed the writers to add modern elements such as the aforementioned Bearcat, oil companies, [[{{Kaiserreich}} Imperial German]] spies and WorldWarOne, [[SouthOfTheBorder Mexican]] revolutionaries, and [[MoreDakka belt-fed machine guns]] to the usual [[TheWildWest Wild West]] milieu. It ended up as something of an AnachronismStew anyway -- one episode featured a Renault FT-18 tank (the tank was not invented until 1915), another a Curtiss JN-4 biplane (first flight 1915) in Mexican Air Force colors (Curtiss "Jennies" were exported only to Britain). [[NegativeContinuity The show's continuity was a little soft from week to week]], particularly with regard to those [[SouthOfTheBorder Mexican revolutionaries]]--one week, Hank and Johnny were working with the Mexican government against the rebels, the next week they were siding with the rebels against the corrupt Mexican government, and so on.

The 20th-century setting allowed the writers to add modern elements such as the aforementioned Bearcat, oil companies, [[{{Fatherland}} Imperial German]] spies and WorldWarOne, [[SouthOfTheBorder Mexican]] revolutionaries, and [[MoreDakka belt-fed machine guns]] to the usual [[TheWildWest Wild West]] milieu. It ended up as something of an AnachronismStew anyway -- one episode featured a Renault FT-18 tank (the tank was not invented until 1915), another a Curtiss JN-4 biplane (first flight 1915) in Mexican Air Force colors (Curtiss "Jennies" were exported only to Britain). [[NegativeContinuity The show's continuity was a little soft from week to week]], particularly with regard to those [[SouthOfTheBorder Mexican revolutionaries]]--one week, Hank and Johnny were working with the Mexican government against the rebels, the next week they were siding with the rebels against the corrupt Mexican government, and so on.

* ExcitedSeriesTitle

* FollowTheLeader: "Bearcats!" was on both sides of this trope.

The 20th-century setting allowed the writers to add modern elements such as the aforementioned Bearcat, oil companies, [[{{Fatherland}} Imperial German]] spies and WorldWarOne, [[SouthOfTheBorder Mexican]] revolutionaries, and [[MoreDakka belt-fed machine guns]] to the usual [[TheWildWest Wild West]] milieu. It ended up as something of an AnachronismStew anyway because they often DidNotDoTheResearch -- one episode featured a Renault FT-18 tank (the tank was not invented until 1915), another a Curtiss JN-4 biplane (first flight 1915) in Mexican Air Force colors (Curtiss "Jennies" were exported only to Britain). [[NegativeContinuity The show's continuity was a little soft from week to week]], particularly with regard to those [[SouthOfTheBorder Mexican revolutionaries]]--one week, Hank and Johnny were working with the Mexican government against the rebels, the next week they were siding with the rebels against the corrupt Mexican government, and so on.