The Pilot Movie that started it all...
"The Foundlings"
" I haul anything anywhere buck and a half a mile no questions asked, as long as it's legal. Anyone crosses me up all the bets are off. I can turn in my load for the reward, salvage, anything I can get out of it, that's the way I operate. That's also what brought me one of the nuttiest loads I ever carried " - BJ Mckay
The pilot episode was a 2 hour movie that was aired in Feb. 1979. This movie was what started the series "BJ and the Bear" The movie starts with the opening scene of BJ outrunning what he thought were highjackers, turns out he was carrying over $10,000,000 in used money and the highjackers were actually feds keeping a watch on the money BJ was hauling.
BJ winds up picking up some cargo in a field a mile outside of Orly. He was contracted to do some hauling for a girl named Florence Besch.
Florence is the girl who breaks out the "foundlings" and helps the girls escape from Mr. Perkin's ranch (not Deputy Perkins until second episode) These girls were going to be turned out as slaves until Florence broke them out. Turns out that a crooked Sheriff, Elroy S. Lobo is running the entire operation. Sheriff Lobo starts setting up roadblocks and searches, which eventually BJ ran into.
BJ didn't realize the girls he was hauling are the "foundlings" that the police were searching for. Florence threatens BJ with a gun and tells him to run the blockade.
Without going into much more detail, the chase is on and BJ was now a criminal that had to be caught. BJ agrees to help the girls escape, which also was the reason the truck had been painted yellow by BJ and the girls. The plan of painting the truck backfired when they had to escape with the paint still wet.
The chase was on which included BJ running two more roadblocks.
BJ headed to an army base where BJ and the girls steal a medivac chopper which BJ use to fly in Nam. Sheriff Lobo has been chasing BJ by air in a helicopter.
While BJ and the girls were flying, Sheriff Lobo fires at the chopper and forces BJ to land short of the county line.
Needless to say BJ and the girls were surrounded when they landed and BJ was ordered to surrender the girls.
Since BJ had stolen the chopper the military showed up to arrest BJ for theft and destruction of government property, turns out that Sheriff Lobo decides to take on the army to get the girls back. He is easily outnumbered and Sheriff Lobo was arrested. BJ and the girl's turned state's evidence and BJ was released from jail.
Interesting facts about the pilot movie
These pilot episodes of BJ and the Bear and other TV shows explain alot of information. This pilot episode was filmed entirely in Northern California in 1978, hence the different truck showing in the episode, according to the www.imdb.com web site.
In the case of BJ and the Bear it explained that BJ had been in Vietnam, also explained that he use to fly a medivac chopper in Vietnam. BJ also told how Bear was named after the University of Alabama football coach "Bear Bryant" He also told about how Bear would take care of him in the prison camps. BJ explained how and why he bought the truck.
Any other information such as guest stars or production staff can be found by clicking here
A Special Thanks! to Blaze for all the photos!
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