1. Stories Worthy Of Indiana Jones
The storylines of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom and The Last Crusade are action-packed, complex, symbolic and memorable. The narrative structure of all three Indiana Jones films is a fairly simple and familiar one, Jones is the protagonist, everything is fine; something changes his nice normal life; he goes out to try and put it back to this normality; theres a moment where things hang in the balance, but overall everything turns out okay. Along the way theres some bad guys (and girls), some Nazis (and Kali worshipers) and some good guys (James Bond, ahem, I mean Sean Connery). Also a monkey. And a man in a Fez. Now Ive mixed all the films up. Theres Russians too? Young Indiana Jones follows this same narrative structure, and despite being shorter in length per episode than its cinematic counterpart, manages to encapsulate the stories that make Indiana Jones so iconic. Theres Indy, of course, and then theres bad guys (and girls), some Germans (not Nazis, but whatever, the Kaiser isnt particularly good either), and some good guys too, and even better, good girls. Like the Indy from the films, he has recurring friends, with the large and visually imposing Ronny Coutteure playing his Belgian side-kick Remy. Remy isnt Denholm Elliotts Marcus, but he still plays the likeable bumbling fool, the antithesis of Indiana Jones. The stories themselves revolve around different adventures, escapades, explorations and discoveries of Indiana Jones. Much like youd put on The Last Crusade and expect to see some terrific fight scenes, a mysterious plot and Indy swinging from ropes and shooting guns; that is exactly what you get when you watch Young Indiana Jones. Indy is portrayed both narratively and visually as the action hero youd expect to see.
Conclusion
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles is a watchable and engaging TV series. It holds up well to a modern viewing; mainly because the set pieces, costumes and filming style make for a timeless show, but also because it is supported by an array of good actors and even good-er stories. Whats more, you can see some big name actors and actresses playing supporting roles in what was for some their very early days of acting. Elizabeth Hurley and Catherine Zeta Jones play Indys love interests, Vanessa Redgrave is a suffragette, Daniel Craig plays a sword wielding German officer, Christopher Lee appears as an Austrian count, whilst Peter Firth, Timothy Spall and Terry Jones all play a part. Even Harrison Ford makes a return as Indiana Jones, adding another little-known adventure in 1950s North America. His majestic use of a saxophone alone is worth watching the series for. That's not a euphemism. I think.