u/grin_ferno

https://youtube.com/watch?v=yJDv-zdhzMY&si=CJaQnXB1EG2q49M4

Amazing machine. The 7" screen is so nuts. Such a blast!

Thought I'd have a little fun with some new possible color combos. The white is growing on me more and more! What do you think?

$349 for AES+, wireless stick, mem card and Metal Slug was too much to resist. The white is growing on me! Haven't owned a new white console since 360 came out.

I personally love it!

Got her out to stretch the legs, and get her all cleaned up!

If you blinked during the fall of 1983, you probably missed The Rousters! It was this weird blip on the radar from Stephen J. Cannell—the guy behind many massive hits like The A-Team—but this show was different. It felt less like a polished Hollywood production and more like a grit-and-denim love letter to the fringes of society.

The setup is pure Cannell: Chad Everett plays Wyatt Earp III, a direct descendant of the legendary Wild-West lawman. But instead of cleaning up Tombstone, he’s working as a "troubleshooter" for down-on-it's-luck Sladetown carnival (owned by Hoyt Axton's Jack Slade). It’s a great premise—a man trying to carry the weight of a heroic legacy while dealing with the reality of rusted ferris wheels and carnie politics.

The real magic, though, is the cast. You’ve got Chad Everett playing it cool and stoic, paired with a pre-Ernest Jim Varney as his brother, Evan. Before he was "Ernest P. Worrell," Varney was showing off some serious range here. He’s a lovable disaster; a hyperactive con man who’s constantly dragging the family into trouble. Watching his rubber-faced comedy bounce off Everett’s "straight man" vibe is solid 80s gold.

Then you have a young Mimi Rogers, who really grounds the whole carney atmosphere. She plays Ellen, the carnival's teacher/tutor, a lion tamer and the daughter of the carnival’s owner. She wasn't just there as a love interest for Wyatt; she felt like a real person trying to keep the wheels from falling off the operation. It’s wild to see her here right before she became a star—she already had that "it" factor.

Round it out with Maxine Stuart as their eccentric (i.e. deranged) mother, and you’ve got a fantastic ensemble!

NBC buried the show on Saturday nights, and not surprisingly, it only lasted six episodes before getting the axe, which is a shame. It was a "tonal unicorn"—not quite an action show, not quite a sitcom, but something wacky and quirky and it captured that blue-collar, carnival subculture perfectly!

The Rousters is a classic TV time capsule. It reminds you that the early 80s were a time when TV could be genuinely weird and character-driven. If you’re a fan of Cannell’s dialogue or just want to see Jim Varney and Mimi Rogers before they were household names, it’s well worth hunting down. It’s a show about family and finding dignity in a traveling carnival—a true slice of forgotten Americana.