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Young Indy - worth watching?

Gaith

Gaith

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As a casual Indy fan and a history buff, I've always had a mild interest in the Young Indy series, and now that I've finally got Netflix, am wondering if I should give 'em a try (and, if so, how much of one).

These blog/reviews (the last one written only days ago) seem well-written and astute, so, going by them, the most worthwhile episodes (full list here) are (summaries and judgments from the aforementioned blog):

11. “Oganga, The Giver and Taker of Life”
A truly profound and compelling story. The moral outrage at the indecencies of war – including the deportation of Schweitzer out of Africa by the French, simply because he was German – is a stark contrast to his hopeful, optimistic, and self-reliant philosophy. If you were to watch just one chapter of the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, this should be it.

17. “Masks of Evil”
A thoroughly entertaining and successful installment. From start to finish it does a fantastic job of creating a dark, foreboding atmosphere and delivering on some truly riveting sequences. While there are some legitimate criticisms, this is simply one of the best chapters of the entire series.

19. “Winds of Change”
A remarkably enjoyable episode, despite its slower more deliberate pace. Indeed, it’s the perfect episode to portray the maturation of Indy as a character. There will be time later for more adventures, but, for now, Indy learns some valuable lessons about life and the need to make the world a better place.


Anyone have personal opinions, or know of other reviews?
 
I think so. I watched them all last year as a build up to Indy 4. Granted, there are some that are kinda dull and slow paced. For example, the second half of The Perils of Cupid where they are in Florance and Indy's mom is tempted by Puccini is dull (yet, the first part where 11-year-old Indy is trying to court Princess Sophie is really enjoyable).

Also, all of the movies are two episodes merged together with footage shot later to connect them. Some of the time, this is done successfully. Other times, not as much (particularly with the Corey Carrier episodes).

Teen Indy is much more interesting as they get into World War I and the history behind that. The later episodes, after the war, are really just fun romps.

My favorite episodes has to be Scandal of 1920. Indy is trying to balance dating three girls while working as a stage hand at the latest George Gershwin production. Things to terribly wrong and continues to snowball. It really is a hoot.

Espionage Escapades is another episode that is just a romp from start to finish. I particularly liked the second part where Indy is trying to get a phone installed into his hotel room so he can receive an important phone call, but encounters a ton of bureaucracy preventing him from doing so.

Mystery of the Blues is a mixed bag. For one, it features Harrison Ford as "Old Indy" reflecting back. It also features a neat plot of a murder investigation where Indy, Eliot Ness, and Earnest Hemmingway (a recurring character in the later part of the series) try to tie it to the Chicago Mob. The down side is that the plot doesn't really begin until about 3/4 of the way through the movie. The first half and then some features Indy learning about the blues and the African American way of life in Chicago. It is interesting, but it kinda goes nowhere in the end.

In the end, even the weaker episodes are still pretty good as Sean Pactrick Flannery and to an extent Corey Carrier carry the role of Indy well and it becomes enjoyable watching them play out their scenes.

I should note that if you are expecting stories along the lines of the movies, you will be disappointed. There are elements, but the overall tone/direction of the series is very, very different.
 
I watched these shows live on TV back in the day. I mostly remember these two:

1) Indy is stuck in a prison with Charles De Gaul.

2) Indy gets lost in Africa and ends up on a mission to blow up a German train with a big gun on it. (This may have been a 2-parter.)

I have no idea if these are the best, but if I remember those 2 out of all the others that has to mean something good, right?
 
Entertaining in their own way, but very different from the movies. Indeed, the fact that you posted this thread in SF/Fantasy shows that your expectations for the series are not going to be met. Unlike the movies, Young Indiana Jones is strict historical fiction, pretty much devoid of anything supernatural. The show was meant to be educational, and IMHO was pretty good at it. But if that's not what you're looking for, you might be disappointed.
 
Well, as I said, I'm a history buff, so I don't mind that aspect. I've just seen enough crapola from The Flanneled One that if I watch more, I want it to be good. :)
 
I enjoyed the hell out of them when they first ran, but i disliked that they had him kinda bogged down in WWI for so long. And after a while I think they lost the fire. The one about Jazz and the one about Hollywood were fairly pathetic, IIRC.

The DVDs eliminate the "Old Indy" framing stories, which, IMHO, is a real stupid move and a genuine loss.

One of my favorites is the one set in London early in WWI where Indy falls for an exquistely young Liz Hurley.
 
Forbin said:
One of my favorites is the one set in London early in WWI where Indy falls for an exquistely young Liz Hurley.
Click to expand...

That was a pretty good one too. That show had a ton of future stars in it. There is one episode, Daredevils of the Desert, that featured both Catherine Zeta-Jones and Daniel Craig.

It is kinda fun spotting them.
 
I didn't care much at all for the little kid Indy episodes. But I really enjoyed the Sean Patrick Flannery episodes. (And as mentioned above, especially the one with Liz Hurley. Also the Hollywood episode and the one with George Gershwin were two favorites).

Too bad the bookends with "Old Indy" have been edited out of the DVD series. Loved the one with Harrison Ford, though.

Overall, definitely worth watching. But don't do a marathon. Series like this were meant to be seen in installments so you could think about them between episodes. Marathons rob you of getting to use a little imagination, and anticipating the next episode.

--Ted
 
^ I don't think I'll ever understand the re-editing of the Young Indy episodes into "movies." I know Lucas claims that he always intended it to be as such, but many of the episodes combined into movies seem forced in order to be together and rarely have anything to do with one another. I don't see why they couldn't just keep it as is.

Although, I did like that they put the episodes on the DVD in chronological order, as opposed to production order.
 
I remember enjoying the series quite a bit during its original run. I agree that it was quite different from the movies in many ways. But it also had that Indy feeling to it at the same time. Some stories were weager, I agree. Though overall I think the show was pretty good. However, it has been a long time since I've seen it so...

Oh, and what on earth is that nonsense with the DVDs about and leaving out old Indy? I'm glad you guys mentioned it. I'd been considering picking up the DVDs and re-watching at some stage. But not like this.
 
At least they eft the Harrison Ford bookend in. Not that I have got that far yet, the first 4 or 5 episodes were so yawn-inducingly boring that I have not managed to being myself to get any further into the series.

I'm told it's just a case of getting past the really young Indy episodes and onto the teenage Indy episodes though, so i WILL get to it one day.
 
Hmm... I was skimming the reviews on that Blog...

I thought reviewer was far too harsh on the Corey Carrier episodes. The one with Indy sick in China is actually one of my favorites.

The tv movie format was an attempt to re-purpose and resell the series. Like it or not the original format was not that successful ratings wise. This new chronological format was incompatible with the Old Indy footage and narration. I am not sure what the great mystery is there???
 
^
What mystifies me, personally, is that most of the people buying this are presumably going to be the ones who watched the show back in the day. And I know had I picked up the sets and found that old Indy was suddenly just gone, I'd have been pretty disappointed.
 
Apparently the Old Indy segments were imposed by network fiat and weren't something Lucas wanted to be part of the show in the first place. If that's the case, I can understand removing them from the episodes. However, they should've been included separately as deleted extras, both for the benefit of those who liked them and simply as a matter of archival completeness.
 
^
Interesting. I'd never heard that they were forced on Lucas before. I agree that that would make a difference. I also agree that they could or should have been added as deleted scenes at least.
 
I got the Volume 2 DVD and I just recently saw 4 more in VHS from the library. Aside from the handful of pure on WWI episodes I find it intensely boring and I'm a history buff. To me, Indiana Jones is defined as 1930s high FANTASY adventure. So to have an entire Indy TV series without a single paranormal element is just... completely wrong.
 
I watched a few episodes and it just didn't work for me. Okay, so it wasn't meant to be the same as the movies, but personally I don't see the point in that. The movies were fast-moving, escapist, exciting and fun. The tv show was serious, slow and ponderous. If Lucas wanted to make an educational series, then he should have framed it round a different character, IMHO.

FWIW, my fave Indy movies are the first two. I found TLC too jokey and derivative of ROTLA and I just thought KOTCS was a mess.
 
Mr Light said:
To me, Indiana Jones is defined as 1930s high FANTASY adventure. So to have an entire Indy TV series without a single paranormal element is just... completely wrong.
Click to expand...

Whereas I liked it much better without all the supernatural stuff and casual violence that defined the film franchise. True, it wasn't quite the same Indiana Jones, more a different character with the same name, but that's okay. It's not like I believed for a second that Sean Patrick Flanery would ever grow up into Harrison Ford. (Although I thought Corey Carrier did a good job of sounding like a juvenile Ford, somehow. His speech rhythms were similar.)
 
Plus, isn't "Temple of Doom" supposed to be Indy's first encounter with the supernatural? He didn't believe any of it in that movie, and then even in Raiders he was very pessimistic about the Arc having any power as I recall.
 
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