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1* AngstWhatAngst: Played with in the pilot in regards to Brisco not seeming too broken up by his father's death. He reasons that with the old man a lifelong lawman, he had a very long time to prepare for him dying on the job. However, at the much later graveyard scene, Brisco is clearly in mourning and regrets not resolving their problematic relationship. Later episodes show that while he maintains his professionalism, Brisco doesn't take his father's death lightly and still misses him.
2* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Music/RandyEdelman's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6i9AAtuk8o theme music]] (as well as his score for the PilotMovie). Creator/{{NBC}} sure thought it was awesome; when Edelman was commissioned by NBC Sports to compose a new theme song for its NFL coverage, he threw it into a portfolio he sent their producers. They liked it so much that the ''Brisco County Jr.'' theme would resurface on their Major League Baseball coverage, and, most prominently, as part of its traditional soundtrack for the UsefulNotes/OlympicGames (typically on the "coming up tomorrow" segments).
3* CargoShip: Pete and Pete's Piece
4* EnsembleDarkhorse:
5** Pete Hutter was meant to be killed in the pilot, but Boam and Cuse were so impressed with the actor that it became a recurring role, complete with RunningGag of surviving in very unlikely circumstances.
6** Dixie Cousins very much so. She was always intended to be a recurring character (unlike Pete), but as part of a LoveTriangle with Brisco having to decide between her and Amanda Wickwire. However, the actress made such an impression in the PilotMovie that the writers altered their plans to retain only Dixie as a LoveInterest.
7** Professor Wickwire. A nice, quirky borderline-MadScientist, who - unlike his daughter - was retained from the pilot to be a recurring character. Helps that he's played by Creator/JohnAstin, too.
8** Sheriff Aaron Viva may qualify, as he originally made a one-off guest appearance only to then play a major role in the two-part finale.
9* EscapistCharacter: Brisco, arguably: Harvard lawyer, lawman, doctor, scientifically skilled, impossibly good shot, master of fisticuffs, card sharp, lady's man, ever cool, always on top of the situation... Possibly a [[ParodySue Parody Stu]], given the tongue-in-cheek nature of the show. In his autobiography, Campbell recalls that it soon got hard to read the pilot script, as his hands were shaking with excitement that this part was actually still available.
10* FriendlyFandoms: With ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', due to both being fusions of westerns and sci-fi that were cancelled very quickly. They even share a prop, as Bowler's Steve [=McQueen=]-style cut-down Winchester carbine became Zoe's.
11* HarsherInHindsight: At the end of "High Treason, Part 2," there is talk of further adventures for Brisco and Lord Bowler, but Bowler stresses "after a hiatus" first. The episode was shot as a season finale (hence the hiatus joke), but the series was cancelled over the summer break.
12* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: Let's face it, Creator/BruceCampbell is one of those actors who really needs to do nothing more than be himself to get the audience invested. But a few scenes in this show, like Brisco's visit to his father's grave at the end of the pilot, show that he really can be an effective dramatic actor when he wants.
13* HilariousInHindsight: Pete Hutter's actor John Pyper-Ferguson went on to appear in ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'', where he plays an Inhuman who can blow himself up and then reform without a scratch, in what feels a lot like the natural culmination to the RunningGag of Pete's increasingly implausible survival.
14%%* MagnificentBastard: John Bly
15* RetroactiveRecognition:
16** A ''very'' young [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Mercedes McNab]] in "The Brooklyn Dodgers."
17** Most people recognize Music/RandyEdelman's ''Brisco'' theme from NBC's extensive use of it during their Olympics coverage rather than the show itself.
18** [[Series/TheWestWing Janel Maloney]] is a young frontier wife and mother in "Pirates!".
19* SpiritualAdaptation: The series works well as one for ComicBook/LuckyLuke, with its protagonist who has ImprobableAimingSkills, outlandish plots which sometimes edge into AffectionateParody and especially both having a very similar CoolHorse taken Up To Eleven.
20* TooGoodToLast: The Friday night block in which it led in ''Series/TheXFiles'' was one of the best one-two punches in TV history.

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