Frank Buck, a guy that went to Asia in the 1910s -1920s to hunt and collect animals for circuses and zoos, which were taking off like mad at the time, wrote a book "Bring 'Em Back Alive" in 1932 and like Tarzan, impressed a lot of kids

In the 1980s, actor Bruce Boxleitner kicked off his tv show career (right after starring in Tron) playing Frank Buck in a fun show, Bring Em Back Alive, which was how I knew about Frank Buck.  Then Bruce got the lead in Scarecrow and Mrs King with former Charlies Angels star Kate Jackson. He then got the starring role in Babylon 5, and NCIS.

By the way, Boxleitner makes 60 million dollars a year for royalties from NCIS

The 80s had a few fun adventure shows, though few had a good enough budget to excel more then the rest, or better writing, etc etc, but Magnum PI 1980-88 motivated other producers to try and cash in with, Simon and Simon 81-89, Bring Em Back Alive 82-83, A Team, 1983-87, and others making 1980s tv a lot of fun. 

It had to be a lot more fun, now that MTV was pulling teens away from sitcoms, and video games were getting home consoles, and malls were becoming a draw for teens with nothing to do... tv shows had to get adventurous

A couple of years ago I posted about the Rolls Royce that was featured in the show https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2016/03/built-for-maharaja-of-jodhpurs-hunting.html

Frank Buck (1884 – 1950) 

Beginning in the 1910s he made many expeditions into Asia to collect exotic animals, bringing over 100,000 live specimens back to the United States and elsewhere for zoos and circuses and earning a reputation as an adventurer. 

He co-authored seven books chronicling or based on his expeditions, beginning with 1930's Bring 'Em Back Alive, which became a bestseller. 

Between 1932 and 1943 he starred in seven adventure films based on his exploits.

He was also briefly a director of the San Diego Zoo, 

displayed wild animals at the 1933–34 Century of Progress exhibition and 1939 New York World's Fair, toured with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and co-authored an autobiography, 1941's All in a Lifetime.