"Just The Way You Are" - A Brisco/Dixie ship Manifesto
Title: Just the Way You Are
Fandom: the Adventures of Brisco County Jr.
Pairing: Brisco County Jr./Dixie Cousins
Wordcount: Over 2,000
Notes: Somewhat image and video-heavy
DIXIE: "Brisco...I have this vision problem."
BRISCO: "How So?"
DIXIE: "Every time I see you, everything else goes right out of focus!" - Brisco in Jalisco
***
INTRODUCTION:
They're one of the most unique couples in 90's television. Brisco County Junior and Dixie Cousins are, in their own way, eternally modern and wonderfully accurate to the period portrayed in the show.
Brisco and Dixie are a couple that, in a show that tends to prefer large action scenes and vivid over-the-top characters, are real, grounded, and utterly mature in their behavior with one another. Here's what makes them so very special - as a couple, and as individuals:
BRISCO COUNTY JR.
(Click for a larger image)
Amanda Wickwire: "What's your name?"
Brisco County Jr.: "Brisco County."
Amanda: "Is that where your from?"
Brisco: "No, that's who I am."" - Pilot Episode
Brisco County Junior, the son of US Marshall Brisco County and Grace County, grew up in a small town in California. His mother was murdered in a wagon crash rigged by the Black Lotus Gang, and afterwards Brisco was raised by his mostly-absent father and, whenever his father was out of town, by the Cavendishes. Brisco and his father had an contentious relationship, as Brisco felt he didn't pay him any attention. In response, Brisco went back East to college, where he attended Harvard and won a legal degree. Since he never actually cared for practicing as a lawyer, sometime after his graduation he began roaming the country as a bounty hunter. When his father was murdered by John Bly and his gang of twelve, Brisco returned home, where he was hired by Socrates Poole of the Westfield Club as a freelance bounty hunter to take care of Bly's gang and bring them to justice.
Brisco's quest was complicated by The Orb, a mysterious object of supernatural origins which had the power to heal wounds, among other metaphysical tasks. He's accompanied througout the stories by his intelligent (and even shiftless) horse, Comet, and his father's pearl-handled six-shooter.
Romantically, Brisco seems to love and leave a woman a week - well, everyone except for Dixie. His first serious girlfriend was a woman named Frances he'd met in college, whom he almost married, only to have her leave with his best friend. He has since that time loved and left half a dozen women in various California boarder towns - everyone from his childhood playmate, Annie Cavendish, to Iphenignia Poole, Socrates' lawyer sister.
But no woman in his life has consistently caused such a stirr in his world as Dixie Cousins.
DIXIE COUSINS:
"who's gonna file me under love?" - From Dixie's signature song, "I'm Gonna File My Claim"
Dixie Cousins was born Myrna Symons (though that might not have even been her birth name). The child of settlers, Dixie's parents died in a raid while they were going west, and she was raised by a Cherokee tribe for some time after that. From the Cherokees she was given to a Mennonite family, who eventually died of yellow fever. She spent the remainder of her childhood (fifteen years) in the Los Scados Mission, where she was apparently a favorite of the mother superior. She also has a sister named Dolly, though it's not entirely certain if Dolly and Dixie are blood relatives.
It's unknown how Dixie ended up transitioning out of the convent (though she does say in 'Deep in the Heart of Dixie' that she felt she was unsuited to the order). In any event, while she was still naive, she fell in with Doc McCoy and, after he wooed her, became his wife for some time. When she discovered his ruthless nature she left him, and sometime after that became a saloon singer under the name Dixie Cousins.
A morally complex woman, Dixie also gets involved in righteous causes, sometimes because they benefit her, sometimes because she wants to do the right thing. She has a repertoire of a number of different songs, including most prominently "Who's Going To Help Me File My Claim?" which she does in three different versions (regular, Latin and "with a French flair")
Before she met Brisco (and besides Doc), Dixie had any number of assignations with men of ill repute; when they met, she was a mol for Big Smith, one of the Bly Gang members that Brisco was sworn to bring to justice. Her other flirts include revolutionary Emilio Pena.
But no one gets to her the way Brisco does.
THE RELATIONSHIP:
Dixie: "Brisco, whatt're we gonna do?"
BRISCO: "That seems to be the eternal question for us..." - AKA Kansas
Briso and Dixie first encounter each other in the pilot episode, in what is roughly May of 1894.** When he tracks her down, knowing she's an in to Big Smith's gang. He first sees her onstage performing at the Horseshoe Club and is frozen silent and dumb at the sight of her. He and Socrates follow her out of the club, where they discover she's sneaking out of town on a stagecoach. Stealing the passenger’s passport and ticket *, Brisco poses as Roscoe Merryweather, a salesman of grooming tools.
Their initial interaction is purely carnal. Peering at her breasts while pretending to sleep, Dixie asks him if they've "reached the mountains yet".
BRISCO: "Oh, I was just gettin' there."
They flirt outrageously until their coachman is shot on the job. She and Brisco bail out of the speeding stagecoach, ending up lying stomach-to-stomach on the ground. Before anything else can happen, they're interrupted by Big Smith, who nearly executes Brisco after Dixie says Smith's name in his presence. Dixie covers for Brisco, who rescues himself by using the cover ID Kansas Wylie Stafford (the real Stafford is a famous gunfighter who's killed five men). Smith takes Brisco to Sutter Creek, where Brisco begins to put the screws to Smith, ultimately ending up in a gunfight with his entire gang, which he wins with skill, intelligence, and wit.
He also wins Dixie's hand for the night. He immediately tries to pump her for information, trying to figure out if she's trying to take over Big Smith's gang. Dixie plays it coy.
DIXIE: "We really are dancing a dance here, Kansas? I knew you'd be a good partner."
He pries information out of her about Smith's plan to steal a gold shipment (which turns out to be Bly's), and they fall into bed together. He leaves her to thwart Smith, and the next day, they meet up. She expressed her disappointment that he didn't stick around for a morning-after breakfast
BRISCO: "Sorry, Dixie. I'm an early riser."
Smith uncovers Brisco's true identity thanks to Comet's lust for apples and Lord Bowler's lack of stealth. They never say an official goodbye. Being tied to the tracks of a train will do that to a relationship.
* Pilot-Brisco has a different moral scheme and makeup than his canon brother. He's also rude to several people in official capacities, which his mild-mannered series cousin would never do.
*** Date estimated from the date on Brisco County Sr.'s tombstone.
That was originally scheduled to be Dixie's sole appearance in the series, but thanks to the strength of Kelly Rutherford and Bruce Campbell's chemistry, Dixie became a recurring guest in his life.
They next meet during "Brisco in Jalisco". Brisco and Socrates are in town investigating an illegal arms shipment. They stay with an important general. Dixie has been hired to entertain the Generalissimo. She immediately targets Brisco during her number, dropping into his lap to his discomfort during 'Help Me File My Claim'.
He discovers that she's actually working to assist a revolutionary named Emilio, who's also one of her lovers, overthrow the General ("Every revolution needs a lady of liberty. Besides, I've always wanted my face on the front of a coin..."). They come up against Pete Hutter, who's scheming to take the arms shipment for himself, and Brisco and Dixie are forced to bunk down for the night in a barn, Brisco encounters Dixie once again. They begin making out in a haystack, only to be interrupted by a fire lit by the anti-revolutionary forces who want them both dead:
Brisco: "There's a fire..."
Dixie: "I know..."
Brisco: "No, in the barn, Dix!"
They manage to get out alive, and ultimately put down both the General and Pete Hutter by teaming up to double-cross Pete and play the General against him.
When Brisco and Dixie say goodbye again, it's with a note of wistfulness:
Dixie: "Why don't you stay?"
Brisco: "Aww, this isn't my place."
Dixie: "When will I see you next?"
Brisco: "That's up to you, Dix..."
They end up kissing and embracing again, and this time it's clear that they're mutually effected by it.
In "Riverboat", Dixie pops up in the middle of a plot by Brisco and Bowler to get Socrates' money back from Brett Bones, one of Bly's Gang, after Soc loses it in a poker game. In an episode that piles intrigue upon intrigue, Brisco and Dixie fiegn a breakup to fool Brett, and are ultimately relieved to sneak a kiss with one another:
Brisco: "I've been wanting to do that ever since you first got here!"
Dixie: "Me too!"
After they entrap Bones, Brisco and Dixie end up back in San Francisco. She asks him if all of it was an act, even the part where he got jealous.
Brisco: "No, I'm not that good of an actor."
Maybe, Dixie suggests, next time they can pay the part of lovers.
Brisco: "Maybe next time it won't be an act at all."
Dixie: "What is it about you, Brisco?"
She asks him to take the long way home with her, and he says he can't due to all of his responsibilities, then melts into her embrace and kiss. She tells him to send her a telegram anytime and boards the stage.
In "Deep in the Heart of Dixie", their dynamic is changed by the fact that Dixie is on the run from the law. She has a wax cylinder imprinted with the sound of Bly making a deal with a presidential candidate, something she accidentally received while making a recording of her own voice (she was the paramour of the guy who patented the machine).
Brisco finds Dixie in LA, singing in a black wig onstage in a dive club. He nearly carries her out of the club in an attempt to convince her to do the right thing:
Dixie: "Put me down, Brisco!"
Brisco: "All right, you look bad in a wig and you were too easy to find!"
He finds out that she left the cylinder in a mission and - refusing to take her request to be left alone so she can go to Jalisco while he goes north, ends up accompanying him back to San Francisco, where they come up against Bowler (working as a special government agent) and the presidential candidate Dixie accidentally exposed.
Brisco: "You're already as good as gold, Dix."
They end up jumping a train to escape the man, and Brisco is slightly injured in the scuffle:
Dixie: "At least it's not your good hand."
Brisco: "Eh, I shoot with my left, anyway."
Dixie: "That's not what I meant."
He's upset with her, even after she thanks him for showing up to rescue her, and she wonders why.
Brisco: "I just don't understand why you keep falling for the wrong guys all the time."
Dixie: "Well, a girl gets lonely. Besides, I don't have much of a choice when the right guy keeps walking out the door, do I?"
After she hurts him while tending to his wounds:
Brisco: "Ouch! that's not helping!"
Dixie: "Well, maybe this will!" *she kisses him*
They then make love in the pile of hay, but not before further hashing out their relationship:
Brisco: "Whatt're you looking for, Dix?"
Dixie: "What everyone else is looking for. The right place. The right time. And the right man. Not necessarily in that order. How far north did you say this train goes?"
Cornered again when the train stops, Brisco and Dixie save each other from the politician's posse once again. They begin riding for the mission, and Bowler tries to take her in again. It's ultimately Dixie's suggestion that the two of them team up (so you could say she's responsible for their becoming friends). The three of them are picked up on the road by a group of gauchos who show Dixie that she did indeed have a coin minted in her honor and she is a heroine of the revolution. Brisco and Comet end up walking behind the buckboard until evening, where they bunk down for the night. Comet's sulking because Brisco left him behind, and Dixie says she knows how he feels.
Brisco: "Oh, I didn't forget, Dixie. That was the best train ride I ever took."
Dixie: "Oh, is that all there is for us? A train ride there, a motel room here, a hay barn somewhere else?"
He says she knows how he feels for her, and she tells him to humor her and tell her. Brisco stammers.
Brisco: "I have feelings for you...STRONG, strong feelings."
Dixie: "Is that the best you can do?"
She tells him to come out with it.
Dixie: "The truth is always good. Unless it hurts. Then lie to me."
Brisco admits he's not ready for a commitment, and Dixie says that that's too bad, because she is, and wants to get offstage to boot. He admits that it's more about what his mother went through, being married to a US Marshall. He's afraid history will repeat itself.
Dixie: "You know what our problem is?"
Brisco: "What's that?"
Dixie: "Timing."
Not when it comes to kissing in the moonlight, though, which is what they do.
They head to the mission, where we find out Dixie was raised. Managing to avoid being killed again by the senator, they escape and make it back to the Westfield club, where Socrates' secretary is revealed as a double agent who's trying to get the cylinder from Dixie. After blowing up the Westfield club, the entire gang makes it out alive, and the cylinder and Dixie end up in the right hands.
After all of that, Brisco dresses up and buys flowers, ready to take Dixie on a legitimate date. She seems to stand him up, so he gives the flowers to Comet to eat, but then she appears.
Brisco: "I was beginning to think that you changed your mind."
Dixie: "I did. And then I changed my mind again. Now I'm here."
Brisco: "So where do you wanna go?"
Dixie: "Wherever we end up."
For the first time, they don't have to leave one another, and end up walking off into the moonlit San Francisco night together.
In "AKA Kansas," Dixie's ex-husband, Doc McCoy, resurfaces. We learn that he's also one of the men who murdered Brisco's father. Since Dixie has an in with McCoy, Brisco asks her to flirt with the man to get information, while Brisco once again poses as "Kansas" Wylie Stafford. Dixie, whose relationship with Doc ended on a menacing note, is less than comfortable with doing so (she mentions that she is, in fact, scared of Doc).
Brisco: "All you have to do is get McCoy to tell you what he's going to do with that big canon...and that shouldn't be too difficult."
Dixie comes through, but he worries that she tried to sleep with Doc to get the information. She ultimately accuses him of caring more about trapping Bly than her, and Brisco immediately springs to his feet, telling her it isn't true. At that point they're interrupted by Doc and the real Kansas Wylie Stafford. Doc places them both in jail under the guard of Stafford, and Brisco uses flattery to get close to Stafford, but Bowler interferes, knocking him out. Brico asks Dixie if she still has feelings for Doc, but she tells him it's complicated and to 'go get his man'. All three escape to foil Doc's plan.
Doc and Brisco get involved in a gunfight, at what point Doc uses his love (and Brisco's love) for Dixie against Brisco:
Doc: "I can forgive her for her sins, can you?"
Brisco: "Soon as I take care of you."
Doc: "To tell you the truth, Brisco, without Dixie I don't care if I live or die. I figure we'll both go. Poor Dixie, what's she gonna do then?"
The idea alone is enough for Brisco to feign giving up, though he manages to get himself free by shooting Doc down and punching him out. Ultimately, he safeguards the canon and saves the Orb. Then he and Dixie take a quiet stroll together. They wonder what they should do with the love they feel for each other but cannot admit to:
Dixie: "I'm not a back-up singer, I need to be center stage, but with Bly I can't have that with you."
Brisco: "It's not going to be forever."
Dixie: "I'm talking about now. And I'm not good at handling the emotional ups and downs of waiting for you."
Brisco: "Oh Dix, I wish things were different. I wish we lived in a perfect world where guys like John Bly didn't exist. But the fact of the matter is he does. I've got a job to do and that's to get him and I've got to get it done."
Dixie: "I hope when you do you come looking for me."
Brisco: "I will. Back at that monastery where you grew up, right?"
Dixie: "Tell yourself that."
Then, the moment arrives, and it's gorgeous:
Brisco: "Dix...There's something I've gotta say....I uh...Dawgoneit..."
Dixie: "Don't say it."
Brisco: "I love you."
Dixie: *simultaneously* "I love you, too."
Neither of them know what to do with their feelings, but are fortunately interrupted by a photographer. They decide to get their pictures taken:
Dixie: "Photography's incredible how in one second you can capture a moment forever."
Brisco: "That's exactly what I wanna do."
Dixie: "How do you want to remember me?"
Brisco: "Just the way you are, Dix."
The next time we see them together, in Wild Card, they're on the outs and broken up. Brisco and Bowler, while doing guard duty for a bank stage, witness a robbery which is in fact perpetrated by Dixie. They head to the nearest town, Reno, where they find that Dixie's sister, Dolly, has a casino and nightclub show much like her sister's *. She's also involved with the son of a mob boss, who has swindled her casino out from under her. Dixie committed the robbery to get Dolly enough money to buy the casino back.
Dixie's not happy to see Brisco.
Brisco: "I'm surprised to see you without your mask."
Dixie: "I'm surprised you remember what I look like without it."
They hire Whip Morgan with the proceeds of the robbery to take out Dino in a card game and get the casino back. It doesn't work out - Whip gets beaten up by the casino's enforcers and they take the money and deed back. Meanwhile, Dolly and Dixie begin a rivalry over Brisco.
Dolly: "You never told me how handsome he is."
Dixie: "Now you know why."
They figure out that the money they were guarding was, in fact, dirty money from a corrupt senator that he intended to have shipped to the Tataglias. They let Brisco formulate the new plan, in which they create a dummy casino independent of the one the Tataglias have stolen. Meanwhile, Dolly makes a pass at Brisco, and Whip tries to flirt with Dixie, though on Dixie's part she's clearly using Whip to make Brisco jealous.
While Whip and Brisco brawl with the mob's henchmen, he tries to siphon out Dixie and Brisco's relationship status. Brisco's response is succinct.
Brisco: "Whip, there's something you should know. Dixie is my girl."
Whip apologizes - and Dixie and Dolly have it out, too:
Dixie: "Tell me, Dolly, do you really like him? Or do you want him because I he's mine?"
Dolly: "A little of both, I guess. But it doesn't matter, anyway."
Dixie: "Why's that?"
Dolly: "I pulled out all the stops, Dix. I get the feeling you're the one he really dreams about."
Unfortunately, Dixie is tied to the robbery by her shoe, and carried by the Dusters to the Tataglias. Brisco comes to save her, and they kiss passionately.
Dixie: "Now that's what I call a rescue!"
Whip ends up successfully defeating the Tataglianos in poker, though it takes a gunfight to restore things to order again. Dixie and Brisco officially make up:
Dixie: "Nothing like a little stage robbery to bring us back together, eh, Brisco?"
Brisco: "It's always something, isn't it Dix?"
Dixie: "As long as it's always something."
* Don't ask how an orphan such as Dixie could possibly have a sister. Continuity headaches are hard on the brain.
In Dixie's final episode, "And Baby Makes Three," it's made clear that Brisco and Dixie have been getting even closer recently - she plays directly to him during her stage show. Bowler wonders what's up between them.
Brisco: "I'm sorry, Bowler, but I've got nothing exciting to report. But if I do, believe me, you'll be the first one to know...right after Comet."
Pete Hutter drops a baby in Dixie's arm mid-show and absconds. Team Brisco is quickly chased down by members of the Black Lotus gang (Brisco saves Dixie from being run over by a speeding wagon), and it turns out the baby is the future emperor of China. The baby's left in their temporary custody; Dixie finds herself a reluctant mother and Brisco tries to convince her she'll be a natural.
Dixie: "Oh, don't try to sweet-talk me, Brisco, I'm not in the mood."
But she bonds quickly with the baby, whom they nickname 'Jesse' at Whip Morgan's suggestion. The leader of the Black Lotus' kidnap Jesse and Dixie and stash them in a mansion during a house party and Brisco, naturally, rescues them while posing as a waiter.
Dixie: "I like the look. Maybe I can get you a job parking horses."
She had been knotting together the sheets, planning on making a rope ladder and climbing her way down.
Brisco: "Forget the sheets, I'll get you out of here."
Dixie: "I just love it when you rescue me."
They successfully escape, only to have Pete Hutter steal the baby again. They track him to Chinatown, where Pete has hidden the baby in a basket of laundry - Dixie recognizes him by his cry. Brisco tries to rush Dixie back to San Francisco, only to be interrupted once again by Pete Hutter. He saves Dixie and the baby from them, and from the leader of the Black Lotus'.
When they finally return the baby to his rightful parents, Dixie and Brisco are informed that an offer has been extended to Dixie to accompany the emperor back to China, where she has reached a level of acclaim for her bravery as 'the golden angel'. At Brisco's urging, she agrees to go:
Dixie: "So what should I do?"
Brisco: "Well, your president calls."
Dixie: "So do you, Brisco."
Brisco: "Aww, Dix, I can't ask you to stay for me."
Dixie: "It's all right if you do."
Brisco: "What if you start wondering what you missed?"
*She kisses him*
Dixie: "We mean a lot, Brisco. That won't ever go away."
Brisco: "Then I'll see you when you get back?"
Dixie: "Darn right, you will."
*He dips and kisses her*
Brisco and Comet watch Dixie ride off with the emperor, and, in the end, Brisco is left to sigh to his horse.
Brisco: "Yeah, Comet. Me too."
Extended Canon:
In several interviews and the documentary on the Brisco DVD set, it was revealed that in season two, Brisco and Dixie were set to marry and settle down in a small town, among the cast of characters they had established.
Why I 'Ship It:
First of all, Kelly Rutherford and Bruce Campbell have chemistry that's like white lightening in a bottle - impassioned, sizzling and gorgeous. Brisco and Dixie, meanwhile, have a fabulous, grown up sort of relationship - they talk out their emotions maturely for the most part. He doesn't shame her for having been with men other than him, and she doesn't make a big deal about his previous lovers - it's fun watching the realization that they love one another dawn on them over the course of the series, right to the bittersweet goodbye. It's one to dive into and savor. They come a long way from the pilot and it's discernable by the time you see "Baby Makes 3 just how much."
Fic and Fandom:
The Brisco/Dixie ship goes by the portmanau "Brixie".
Ficwise, there's a very small selection material, and no centralized fandom to speak of. My favorite piece is Patriarchal Blessing, in which Brisco and Dixie's relationship plays a strong part. I've written Chocolate on the Fourth Of July and Halfpenny Horseopera.
Here's an assortment of music videos for the pairing, as made by eofanfreakusa:
Always
If I Never Knew You
What Hurts The Most
Other Resources:
The Ultimate Adventures of Brisco County Jr. Guidebook is the best general resource about the show's episode. There's also a section on Bruce Campbell's Official Wesbite dedicated to the show.
The entire show is available for free on youtube, and on DVD at varying prices (the author suggests surfing Amazon for the best price), and also for free streaming on Netflix if you have an account.
Thank Yous:
to gypsyjr for letting me use her screencaps, as always!
Fandom: the Adventures of Brisco County Jr.
Pairing: Brisco County Jr./Dixie Cousins
Wordcount: Over 2,000
Notes: Somewhat image and video-heavy
DIXIE: "Brisco...I have this vision problem."
BRISCO: "How So?"
DIXIE: "Every time I see you, everything else goes right out of focus!" - Brisco in Jalisco
***
INTRODUCTION:
They're one of the most unique couples in 90's television. Brisco County Junior and Dixie Cousins are, in their own way, eternally modern and wonderfully accurate to the period portrayed in the show.
Brisco and Dixie are a couple that, in a show that tends to prefer large action scenes and vivid over-the-top characters, are real, grounded, and utterly mature in their behavior with one another. Here's what makes them so very special - as a couple, and as individuals:
BRISCO COUNTY JR.
(Click for a larger image)
Amanda Wickwire: "What's your name?"
Brisco County Jr.: "Brisco County."
Amanda: "Is that where your from?"
Brisco: "No, that's who I am."" - Pilot Episode
Brisco County Junior, the son of US Marshall Brisco County and Grace County, grew up in a small town in California. His mother was murdered in a wagon crash rigged by the Black Lotus Gang, and afterwards Brisco was raised by his mostly-absent father and, whenever his father was out of town, by the Cavendishes. Brisco and his father had an contentious relationship, as Brisco felt he didn't pay him any attention. In response, Brisco went back East to college, where he attended Harvard and won a legal degree. Since he never actually cared for practicing as a lawyer, sometime after his graduation he began roaming the country as a bounty hunter. When his father was murdered by John Bly and his gang of twelve, Brisco returned home, where he was hired by Socrates Poole of the Westfield Club as a freelance bounty hunter to take care of Bly's gang and bring them to justice.
Brisco's quest was complicated by The Orb, a mysterious object of supernatural origins which had the power to heal wounds, among other metaphysical tasks. He's accompanied througout the stories by his intelligent (and even shiftless) horse, Comet, and his father's pearl-handled six-shooter.
Romantically, Brisco seems to love and leave a woman a week - well, everyone except for Dixie. His first serious girlfriend was a woman named Frances he'd met in college, whom he almost married, only to have her leave with his best friend. He has since that time loved and left half a dozen women in various California boarder towns - everyone from his childhood playmate, Annie Cavendish, to Iphenignia Poole, Socrates' lawyer sister.
But no woman in his life has consistently caused such a stirr in his world as Dixie Cousins.
DIXIE COUSINS:
"who's gonna file me under love?" - From Dixie's signature song, "I'm Gonna File My Claim"
Dixie Cousins was born Myrna Symons (though that might not have even been her birth name). The child of settlers, Dixie's parents died in a raid while they were going west, and she was raised by a Cherokee tribe for some time after that. From the Cherokees she was given to a Mennonite family, who eventually died of yellow fever. She spent the remainder of her childhood (fifteen years) in the Los Scados Mission, where she was apparently a favorite of the mother superior. She also has a sister named Dolly, though it's not entirely certain if Dolly and Dixie are blood relatives.
It's unknown how Dixie ended up transitioning out of the convent (though she does say in 'Deep in the Heart of Dixie' that she felt she was unsuited to the order). In any event, while she was still naive, she fell in with Doc McCoy and, after he wooed her, became his wife for some time. When she discovered his ruthless nature she left him, and sometime after that became a saloon singer under the name Dixie Cousins.
A morally complex woman, Dixie also gets involved in righteous causes, sometimes because they benefit her, sometimes because she wants to do the right thing. She has a repertoire of a number of different songs, including most prominently "Who's Going To Help Me File My Claim?" which she does in three different versions (regular, Latin and "with a French flair")
Before she met Brisco (and besides Doc), Dixie had any number of assignations with men of ill repute; when they met, she was a mol for Big Smith, one of the Bly Gang members that Brisco was sworn to bring to justice. Her other flirts include revolutionary Emilio Pena.
But no one gets to her the way Brisco does.
THE RELATIONSHIP:
Dixie: "Brisco, whatt're we gonna do?"
BRISCO: "That seems to be the eternal question for us..." - AKA Kansas
Briso and Dixie first encounter each other in the pilot episode, in what is roughly May of 1894.** When he tracks her down, knowing she's an in to Big Smith's gang. He first sees her onstage performing at the Horseshoe Club and is frozen silent and dumb at the sight of her. He and Socrates follow her out of the club, where they discover she's sneaking out of town on a stagecoach. Stealing the passenger’s passport and ticket *, Brisco poses as Roscoe Merryweather, a salesman of grooming tools.
Their initial interaction is purely carnal. Peering at her breasts while pretending to sleep, Dixie asks him if they've "reached the mountains yet".
BRISCO: "Oh, I was just gettin' there."
They flirt outrageously until their coachman is shot on the job. She and Brisco bail out of the speeding stagecoach, ending up lying stomach-to-stomach on the ground. Before anything else can happen, they're interrupted by Big Smith, who nearly executes Brisco after Dixie says Smith's name in his presence. Dixie covers for Brisco, who rescues himself by using the cover ID Kansas Wylie Stafford (the real Stafford is a famous gunfighter who's killed five men). Smith takes Brisco to Sutter Creek, where Brisco begins to put the screws to Smith, ultimately ending up in a gunfight with his entire gang, which he wins with skill, intelligence, and wit.
He also wins Dixie's hand for the night. He immediately tries to pump her for information, trying to figure out if she's trying to take over Big Smith's gang. Dixie plays it coy.
DIXIE: "We really are dancing a dance here, Kansas? I knew you'd be a good partner."
He pries information out of her about Smith's plan to steal a gold shipment (which turns out to be Bly's), and they fall into bed together. He leaves her to thwart Smith, and the next day, they meet up. She expressed her disappointment that he didn't stick around for a morning-after breakfast
BRISCO: "Sorry, Dixie. I'm an early riser."
Smith uncovers Brisco's true identity thanks to Comet's lust for apples and Lord Bowler's lack of stealth. They never say an official goodbye. Being tied to the tracks of a train will do that to a relationship.
* Pilot-Brisco has a different moral scheme and makeup than his canon brother. He's also rude to several people in official capacities, which his mild-mannered series cousin would never do.
*** Date estimated from the date on Brisco County Sr.'s tombstone.
That was originally scheduled to be Dixie's sole appearance in the series, but thanks to the strength of Kelly Rutherford and Bruce Campbell's chemistry, Dixie became a recurring guest in his life.
They next meet during "Brisco in Jalisco". Brisco and Socrates are in town investigating an illegal arms shipment. They stay with an important general. Dixie has been hired to entertain the Generalissimo. She immediately targets Brisco during her number, dropping into his lap to his discomfort during 'Help Me File My Claim'.
He discovers that she's actually working to assist a revolutionary named Emilio, who's also one of her lovers, overthrow the General ("Every revolution needs a lady of liberty. Besides, I've always wanted my face on the front of a coin..."). They come up against Pete Hutter, who's scheming to take the arms shipment for himself, and Brisco and Dixie are forced to bunk down for the night in a barn, Brisco encounters Dixie once again. They begin making out in a haystack, only to be interrupted by a fire lit by the anti-revolutionary forces who want them both dead:
Brisco: "There's a fire..."
Dixie: "I know..."
Brisco: "No, in the barn, Dix!"
They manage to get out alive, and ultimately put down both the General and Pete Hutter by teaming up to double-cross Pete and play the General against him.
When Brisco and Dixie say goodbye again, it's with a note of wistfulness:
Dixie: "Why don't you stay?"
Brisco: "Aww, this isn't my place."
Dixie: "When will I see you next?"
Brisco: "That's up to you, Dix..."
They end up kissing and embracing again, and this time it's clear that they're mutually effected by it.
In "Riverboat", Dixie pops up in the middle of a plot by Brisco and Bowler to get Socrates' money back from Brett Bones, one of Bly's Gang, after Soc loses it in a poker game. In an episode that piles intrigue upon intrigue, Brisco and Dixie fiegn a breakup to fool Brett, and are ultimately relieved to sneak a kiss with one another:
Brisco: "I've been wanting to do that ever since you first got here!"
Dixie: "Me too!"
After they entrap Bones, Brisco and Dixie end up back in San Francisco. She asks him if all of it was an act, even the part where he got jealous.
Brisco: "No, I'm not that good of an actor."
Maybe, Dixie suggests, next time they can pay the part of lovers.
Brisco: "Maybe next time it won't be an act at all."
Dixie: "What is it about you, Brisco?"
She asks him to take the long way home with her, and he says he can't due to all of his responsibilities, then melts into her embrace and kiss. She tells him to send her a telegram anytime and boards the stage.
In "Deep in the Heart of Dixie", their dynamic is changed by the fact that Dixie is on the run from the law. She has a wax cylinder imprinted with the sound of Bly making a deal with a presidential candidate, something she accidentally received while making a recording of her own voice (she was the paramour of the guy who patented the machine).
Brisco finds Dixie in LA, singing in a black wig onstage in a dive club. He nearly carries her out of the club in an attempt to convince her to do the right thing:
Dixie: "Put me down, Brisco!"
Brisco: "All right, you look bad in a wig and you were too easy to find!"
He finds out that she left the cylinder in a mission and - refusing to take her request to be left alone so she can go to Jalisco while he goes north, ends up accompanying him back to San Francisco, where they come up against Bowler (working as a special government agent) and the presidential candidate Dixie accidentally exposed.
Brisco: "You're already as good as gold, Dix."
They end up jumping a train to escape the man, and Brisco is slightly injured in the scuffle:
Dixie: "At least it's not your good hand."
Brisco: "Eh, I shoot with my left, anyway."
Dixie: "That's not what I meant."
He's upset with her, even after she thanks him for showing up to rescue her, and she wonders why.
Brisco: "I just don't understand why you keep falling for the wrong guys all the time."
Dixie: "Well, a girl gets lonely. Besides, I don't have much of a choice when the right guy keeps walking out the door, do I?"
After she hurts him while tending to his wounds:
Brisco: "Ouch! that's not helping!"
Dixie: "Well, maybe this will!" *she kisses him*
They then make love in the pile of hay, but not before further hashing out their relationship:
Brisco: "Whatt're you looking for, Dix?"
Dixie: "What everyone else is looking for. The right place. The right time. And the right man. Not necessarily in that order. How far north did you say this train goes?"
Cornered again when the train stops, Brisco and Dixie save each other from the politician's posse once again. They begin riding for the mission, and Bowler tries to take her in again. It's ultimately Dixie's suggestion that the two of them team up (so you could say she's responsible for their becoming friends). The three of them are picked up on the road by a group of gauchos who show Dixie that she did indeed have a coin minted in her honor and she is a heroine of the revolution. Brisco and Comet end up walking behind the buckboard until evening, where they bunk down for the night. Comet's sulking because Brisco left him behind, and Dixie says she knows how he feels.
Brisco: "Oh, I didn't forget, Dixie. That was the best train ride I ever took."
Dixie: "Oh, is that all there is for us? A train ride there, a motel room here, a hay barn somewhere else?"
He says she knows how he feels for her, and she tells him to humor her and tell her. Brisco stammers.
Brisco: "I have feelings for you...STRONG, strong feelings."
Dixie: "Is that the best you can do?"
She tells him to come out with it.
Dixie: "The truth is always good. Unless it hurts. Then lie to me."
Brisco admits he's not ready for a commitment, and Dixie says that that's too bad, because she is, and wants to get offstage to boot. He admits that it's more about what his mother went through, being married to a US Marshall. He's afraid history will repeat itself.
Dixie: "You know what our problem is?"
Brisco: "What's that?"
Dixie: "Timing."
Not when it comes to kissing in the moonlight, though, which is what they do.
They head to the mission, where we find out Dixie was raised. Managing to avoid being killed again by the senator, they escape and make it back to the Westfield club, where Socrates' secretary is revealed as a double agent who's trying to get the cylinder from Dixie. After blowing up the Westfield club, the entire gang makes it out alive, and the cylinder and Dixie end up in the right hands.
After all of that, Brisco dresses up and buys flowers, ready to take Dixie on a legitimate date. She seems to stand him up, so he gives the flowers to Comet to eat, but then she appears.
Brisco: "I was beginning to think that you changed your mind."
Dixie: "I did. And then I changed my mind again. Now I'm here."
Brisco: "So where do you wanna go?"
Dixie: "Wherever we end up."
For the first time, they don't have to leave one another, and end up walking off into the moonlit San Francisco night together.
In "AKA Kansas," Dixie's ex-husband, Doc McCoy, resurfaces. We learn that he's also one of the men who murdered Brisco's father. Since Dixie has an in with McCoy, Brisco asks her to flirt with the man to get information, while Brisco once again poses as "Kansas" Wylie Stafford. Dixie, whose relationship with Doc ended on a menacing note, is less than comfortable with doing so (she mentions that she is, in fact, scared of Doc).
Brisco: "All you have to do is get McCoy to tell you what he's going to do with that big canon...and that shouldn't be too difficult."
Dixie comes through, but he worries that she tried to sleep with Doc to get the information. She ultimately accuses him of caring more about trapping Bly than her, and Brisco immediately springs to his feet, telling her it isn't true. At that point they're interrupted by Doc and the real Kansas Wylie Stafford. Doc places them both in jail under the guard of Stafford, and Brisco uses flattery to get close to Stafford, but Bowler interferes, knocking him out. Brico asks Dixie if she still has feelings for Doc, but she tells him it's complicated and to 'go get his man'. All three escape to foil Doc's plan.
Doc and Brisco get involved in a gunfight, at what point Doc uses his love (and Brisco's love) for Dixie against Brisco:
Doc: "I can forgive her for her sins, can you?"
Brisco: "Soon as I take care of you."
Doc: "To tell you the truth, Brisco, without Dixie I don't care if I live or die. I figure we'll both go. Poor Dixie, what's she gonna do then?"
The idea alone is enough for Brisco to feign giving up, though he manages to get himself free by shooting Doc down and punching him out. Ultimately, he safeguards the canon and saves the Orb. Then he and Dixie take a quiet stroll together. They wonder what they should do with the love they feel for each other but cannot admit to:
Dixie: "I'm not a back-up singer, I need to be center stage, but with Bly I can't have that with you."
Brisco: "It's not going to be forever."
Dixie: "I'm talking about now. And I'm not good at handling the emotional ups and downs of waiting for you."
Brisco: "Oh Dix, I wish things were different. I wish we lived in a perfect world where guys like John Bly didn't exist. But the fact of the matter is he does. I've got a job to do and that's to get him and I've got to get it done."
Dixie: "I hope when you do you come looking for me."
Brisco: "I will. Back at that monastery where you grew up, right?"
Dixie: "Tell yourself that."
Then, the moment arrives, and it's gorgeous:
Brisco: "Dix...There's something I've gotta say....I uh...Dawgoneit..."
Dixie: "Don't say it."
Brisco: "I love you."
Dixie: *simultaneously* "I love you, too."
Neither of them know what to do with their feelings, but are fortunately interrupted by a photographer. They decide to get their pictures taken:
Dixie: "Photography's incredible how in one second you can capture a moment forever."
Brisco: "That's exactly what I wanna do."
Dixie: "How do you want to remember me?"
Brisco: "Just the way you are, Dix."
The next time we see them together, in Wild Card, they're on the outs and broken up. Brisco and Bowler, while doing guard duty for a bank stage, witness a robbery which is in fact perpetrated by Dixie. They head to the nearest town, Reno, where they find that Dixie's sister, Dolly, has a casino and nightclub show much like her sister's *. She's also involved with the son of a mob boss, who has swindled her casino out from under her. Dixie committed the robbery to get Dolly enough money to buy the casino back.
Dixie's not happy to see Brisco.
Brisco: "I'm surprised to see you without your mask."
Dixie: "I'm surprised you remember what I look like without it."
They hire Whip Morgan with the proceeds of the robbery to take out Dino in a card game and get the casino back. It doesn't work out - Whip gets beaten up by the casino's enforcers and they take the money and deed back. Meanwhile, Dolly and Dixie begin a rivalry over Brisco.
Dolly: "You never told me how handsome he is."
Dixie: "Now you know why."
They figure out that the money they were guarding was, in fact, dirty money from a corrupt senator that he intended to have shipped to the Tataglias. They let Brisco formulate the new plan, in which they create a dummy casino independent of the one the Tataglias have stolen. Meanwhile, Dolly makes a pass at Brisco, and Whip tries to flirt with Dixie, though on Dixie's part she's clearly using Whip to make Brisco jealous.
While Whip and Brisco brawl with the mob's henchmen, he tries to siphon out Dixie and Brisco's relationship status. Brisco's response is succinct.
Brisco: "Whip, there's something you should know. Dixie is my girl."
Whip apologizes - and Dixie and Dolly have it out, too:
Dixie: "Tell me, Dolly, do you really like him? Or do you want him because I he's mine?"
Dolly: "A little of both, I guess. But it doesn't matter, anyway."
Dixie: "Why's that?"
Dolly: "I pulled out all the stops, Dix. I get the feeling you're the one he really dreams about."
Unfortunately, Dixie is tied to the robbery by her shoe, and carried by the Dusters to the Tataglias. Brisco comes to save her, and they kiss passionately.
Dixie: "Now that's what I call a rescue!"
Whip ends up successfully defeating the Tataglianos in poker, though it takes a gunfight to restore things to order again. Dixie and Brisco officially make up:
Dixie: "Nothing like a little stage robbery to bring us back together, eh, Brisco?"
Brisco: "It's always something, isn't it Dix?"
Dixie: "As long as it's always something."
* Don't ask how an orphan such as Dixie could possibly have a sister. Continuity headaches are hard on the brain.
In Dixie's final episode, "And Baby Makes Three," it's made clear that Brisco and Dixie have been getting even closer recently - she plays directly to him during her stage show. Bowler wonders what's up between them.
Brisco: "I'm sorry, Bowler, but I've got nothing exciting to report. But if I do, believe me, you'll be the first one to know...right after Comet."
Pete Hutter drops a baby in Dixie's arm mid-show and absconds. Team Brisco is quickly chased down by members of the Black Lotus gang (Brisco saves Dixie from being run over by a speeding wagon), and it turns out the baby is the future emperor of China. The baby's left in their temporary custody; Dixie finds herself a reluctant mother and Brisco tries to convince her she'll be a natural.
Dixie: "Oh, don't try to sweet-talk me, Brisco, I'm not in the mood."
But she bonds quickly with the baby, whom they nickname 'Jesse' at Whip Morgan's suggestion. The leader of the Black Lotus' kidnap Jesse and Dixie and stash them in a mansion during a house party and Brisco, naturally, rescues them while posing as a waiter.
Dixie: "I like the look. Maybe I can get you a job parking horses."
She had been knotting together the sheets, planning on making a rope ladder and climbing her way down.
Brisco: "Forget the sheets, I'll get you out of here."
Dixie: "I just love it when you rescue me."
They successfully escape, only to have Pete Hutter steal the baby again. They track him to Chinatown, where Pete has hidden the baby in a basket of laundry - Dixie recognizes him by his cry. Brisco tries to rush Dixie back to San Francisco, only to be interrupted once again by Pete Hutter. He saves Dixie and the baby from them, and from the leader of the Black Lotus'.
When they finally return the baby to his rightful parents, Dixie and Brisco are informed that an offer has been extended to Dixie to accompany the emperor back to China, where she has reached a level of acclaim for her bravery as 'the golden angel'. At Brisco's urging, she agrees to go:
Dixie: "So what should I do?"
Brisco: "Well, your president calls."
Dixie: "So do you, Brisco."
Brisco: "Aww, Dix, I can't ask you to stay for me."
Dixie: "It's all right if you do."
Brisco: "What if you start wondering what you missed?"
*She kisses him*
Dixie: "We mean a lot, Brisco. That won't ever go away."
Brisco: "Then I'll see you when you get back?"
Dixie: "Darn right, you will."
*He dips and kisses her*
Brisco and Comet watch Dixie ride off with the emperor, and, in the end, Brisco is left to sigh to his horse.
Brisco: "Yeah, Comet. Me too."
Extended Canon:
In several interviews and the documentary on the Brisco DVD set, it was revealed that in season two, Brisco and Dixie were set to marry and settle down in a small town, among the cast of characters they had established.
Why I 'Ship It:
First of all, Kelly Rutherford and Bruce Campbell have chemistry that's like white lightening in a bottle - impassioned, sizzling and gorgeous. Brisco and Dixie, meanwhile, have a fabulous, grown up sort of relationship - they talk out their emotions maturely for the most part. He doesn't shame her for having been with men other than him, and she doesn't make a big deal about his previous lovers - it's fun watching the realization that they love one another dawn on them over the course of the series, right to the bittersweet goodbye. It's one to dive into and savor. They come a long way from the pilot and it's discernable by the time you see "Baby Makes 3 just how much."
Fic and Fandom:
The Brisco/Dixie ship goes by the portmanau "Brixie".
Ficwise, there's a very small selection material, and no centralized fandom to speak of. My favorite piece is Patriarchal Blessing, in which Brisco and Dixie's relationship plays a strong part. I've written Chocolate on the Fourth Of July and Halfpenny Horseopera.
Here's an assortment of music videos for the pairing, as made by eofanfreakusa:
Always
If I Never Knew You
What Hurts The Most
Other Resources:
The Ultimate Adventures of Brisco County Jr. Guidebook is the best general resource about the show's episode. There's also a section on Bruce Campbell's Official Wesbite dedicated to the show.
The entire show is available for free on youtube, and on DVD at varying prices (the author suggests surfing Amazon for the best price), and also for free streaming on Netflix if you have an account.
Thank Yous:
to gypsyjr for letting me use her screencaps, as always!