I just completed a screening of the first season of The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones (or as they were known in the 90's, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles). What is amazing to me is this series was the true forerunner to the Star Wars prequels with the same storytelling motions (and mistakes). While Young Indy was more enjoyable on average, the series still fell short of its own goals and was always uncertain of its own demographic. The season also suffered from weak supporting characters, most of whom were removed as the focus concentrated solely on Indy.
(Note: The re-edited episodes I watched have two separate stories per single episode, so the number that follows an episode title refers to which story. Ex. My First Adventure (2) refers to the second story of the episode My First Adventure.)
When we are first introduced to young Indy (aka Henri Jones Jr.) he is ten years old. (Sound familiar?) Most of the first season is spent on his adventures as a ten-year-old (played by Corey Carrier). Now there are a few problems with this. For starters, it was sometimes difficult to tell that it was actually Indy I was watching. He didn't have any of his signature items, like the fedora and whip, and was just a boy doing boyish things. Which leads to the second problem. Indy couldn't carry the show for some episodes. Like I said, he was a boy doing whatever little boys do and that sometimes meant he was reduced to a supporting character while the more adult plot happens around him. Anakin Skywalker had the same problem in The Phantom Menace. For example, in My First Adventure (1), which featured a murder mystery during an archeological dig, Indy was often just there to have things explained to him while solving the actual mystery was left to a young Lawrence of Arabia.
The stronger episodes with the ten-year-old Indy were those that had Indy as a more central character. To be fair, they were often less action packed, but had more drama to them. Travels With Father was a good one to check out. (1) deals with Indy running away from his parents while in Russia (I know this sounds like one of those boyish things I mentioned, but since the main story is actually about this, I can let it go). He spends the rest of the episode traveling with Leo Tolstoy. It's a good story with some heart as the old man and young boy experience czarist Russia while discussing their family troubles. Eventually, the two convince each other to go back home. (2) addresses the actual title as Indy and his father, Henry, travel to a Greek monastery and have some trouble along the way as they lose their driver, their clothes, and nearly their lives. This a great character building episode for the two because we know Indy will later practice a very rough and dangerous version of archeology, which he gets a little taste of here, and we see Henry Sr. as a very book smart person, and not very comfortable in dangerous situations.
With regards to Henry and the other members of the Jones family, there's much to be desired. While Lloyd Owen gives a good performance as Henry Jones Sr., the character is often very one dimensional as the stern father. Miss Helen Seymour (played by Margarat Tyzack) is much the same, only as the stern tutor. Which brings me to Ruth de Sosa as Anna Jones, Indy's mother. She's probably the weakest character of the season. Not only is de Sosa's performance very flat, but the character doesn't seem to have much to her other than just being 'the mom'. Episodes like The Perils of Cupid (2) and Journey of Radiance (2) which were more about her, only served to show what little she had as a character. In The Perils of Cupid (2), Mrs. Jones falls for an Italian opera star and the two have an affair. The affair seems very shallow because there doesn't seem to be any reason for him to fall for her, other than he finds her physically attractive. Because the character gets so little development, there's no good emotional connection for the audience. Unfortunately, she died off screen midseason, taking any chance of good drama with her.
About two thirds through the season, we suddenly switch from Indy as a boy to Indy as a seventeen-year-old (this should also sound familiar). The rest of the season takes place after the first scene of The Last Crusade since Indy finally has the fedora (although no mention is made of those events). These episodes fix most of the issues by having Indy (played by Sean Patrick Flannery) be the central character we recognize. It has a little rocky start with Spring Break Adventure (1), which shows Indy in high school getting caught up in an industrial espionage case while trying to take his girlfriend to the prom. It's a little Scooby-Doo, but we at least get a sense of what it was like growing up in the 1910's. My favorite scene is when we see Indy towing a broken down car with a horse. (2) has a very good story with Indy going into Mexico and getting caught up in the revolution. We see Indy's first gunfight, fist fight, and he even gets another crack at the whip (pun intended), all to recover an artifact stolen in My First Adventure (1). Now that's the Indiana Jones we know. Love's Sweet Song (1) has Indy in Ireland during a rebellion. This story is a little weaker because there are multiple conflicts and most are unrelated and don't really advance the plot. Fortunately, the season ends on a much stronger note with (2). In this story, Indy is in England and joins the Belgian army with his friend Remy. Before he gets called up, he has a romantic relationship with a young suffragette, played by Elizabeth Hurley. What I find so interesting about this story is that the two actually go through the same motions that Anakin and Padme did in Attack of the Clones. He faces danger with her, meets her family, listens to her talk politics, takes her on a picnic, and eventually leaves her to go off to war. This all happened ten years later in Attack of the Clones, but here it felt much more real. This is a perfect example of why Lucas should stick to story and not actually pen the script.
With just the first season under my belt, I agree with most fans that Sean Patrick Flannery episodes are stronger than Corey Carrier's, but it's not a reflection on the actors. They both did a good job with what they were given. Flannery has the advantage by being closer in age to Harrison Ford, and thus closer to the being the iconic hero. Quite frankly, I'm astounded that no one realized this when work began on the Star Wars prequels. The list of carbon copy mistakes is long. Cory Carrier precedes Jake Lloyd, Sean Flannery precedes Hayden Christensen, Henry Jones precedes young Obi-wan, Season 1 led up WWI, Episode I and II set up the Clone War. It's no wonder the prequels were so weak as Lucas started copying himself instead of relying on the collaborative process. I'll see how things go in season 2 with Indy's adventures in The Great War.
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