The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles



The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles was a TV series that ran from 1992 to 1996, which explored the childhood and youth of the character Indiana Jones. The series primarily starred Sean Patrick Flanery as Indy aged 16-20, but also had several episodes with Corey Carrier as Indy aged 8-10. The show was written by George Lucas of Star Wars fame (and also producer of the Indiana Jones films), and was produced by Rick McCallum.

Story
Many of the stories have Indiana meeting and working with famous historical figures. For example, Curse of the Jackal prominently involved Indy in the adventures of T. E. Lawrence and Pancho Villa. Indy also encountered figures such as Louis Armstrong and Winston Churchill.

Each episode featured an elderly Indiana Jones (played by George Hall) in the present day encountering people who would spur him to reminisce about his past adventures. Initially the plan was for the series to alternate between the adventures of Indy as a child and as a teenager, but eventually the episodes featuring Flanery's version of the character dominated the series.

Harrison Ford, who plays Indy in the movies, made an appearance as Indy (age 50) in the episode "The Mystery of the Blues" that aired in March 1993. Paul Freeman, who played Rene Belloq in Raiders of the Lost Ark, portrayed an unrelated character named Frederick Selous in a couple of episodes.

Filming
The series was unusual in being shot on location around the world. Partly to offset the cost of this it was filmed in 16mm rather than 35mm film. The series was designed so that each pair of episodes could either be broadcast separately, or as a 2-hour movie-length episode.

TV Airing
The pilot episode was aired by ABC in the United States in March 1992. It was a two-hour television movie called Young Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Jackal. Eleven further hour-long episodes were aired in 1992 (seven in the first season, four were part of the second season). Only 16 of the remaining 20 episodes were aired in 1993 when ABC cancelled the show.

USA Network later broadcast the unaired episodes and also produced eight more episodes (each part of two-part television movies, making four TV movies) that were broadcast in 1994-1996.

Season 1

 * 1: The Curse of the Jackal, Egypt 1908 (1) (Aired: 4 March 1992)
 * 2: The Curse of the Jackal, Mexico, March 1916 (2) (Aired: 4 March 1992)
 * 3: London, May 1916 (Aired: 11 March 1992)
 * 4: British East Africa, September 1909 (Aired: 18 March 1992)
 * 5: Verdun, September 1916 (Aired: 25 March 1992)
 * 6: German East Africa, December 1916 (1) (Aired: 1 April 1992)
 * 7: Congo, January 1917 (2) (Aired: 8 April 1992)

Season 2

 * 8: Austria, March 1917 (Aired: 21 September 1992)
 * 9: Somme, Early August 1916 (1) (Aired: 28 September 1992)
 * 10: Germany, Mid-August 1916 (2) (Aired: 5 October 1992)
 * 11: Barcelona, May 1917 (Aired: 12 October 1992)
 * 12: The Mystery of the Blues, Chicago, April 1920 (1) (Aired: 13 March 1993)
 * 13: The Mystery of the Blues, Chicago, May 1920 (2) (Aired: 13 March 1993)
 * 14: Princeton, February 1916 (Aired: 20 March 1993)
 * 15: Petrograd, July 1917 (Aired: 27 March 1993)
 * 16: The Scandal of 1920, New York, June 1920 (1) (Aired: 3 April 1993)
 * 17: The Scandal of 1920, New York, July 1920 (2) (Aired: 3 April 1993)
 * 18: Vienna, November 1908 (Aired: 10 April 1993)
 * 19: Northern Italy, June 1918 (Aired: 17 April 1993)
 * 20: The Phantom Train of Doom, German East Africa, November 1916 (1) (Aired: 5 June 1993)
 * 21: The Phantom Train of Doom, German East Africa, November 1916 (2) (Aired: 5 June 1993)
 * 22: Ireland, April 1916 (Aired: 12 June 1993)
 * 23: Paris, September 1908 (Aired: 19 June 1993)
 * 24: Peking, March 1910 (Aired: 26 June 1993)
 * 25: Benares, January 1910 (Aired: 3 July 1993)
 * 26: Paris, October 1916 (Aired: 10 July 1993)
 * 27: Istanbul, September 1918 (Aired: 17 July 1993)
 * 28: Paris, May 1919 (Aired: 24 July 1993)
 * 29: Prague, August 1917 (Aired: 0/0/0)
 * 30: Florence, May 1908 (Aired: 0/0/0)
 * 31: Palestine, October 1917 (1) (Aired: 0/0/0)
 * 32: Transylvania, January 1918 (Aired: 0/0/0)

Season 3

 * 33: The Hollywood Follies, Hollywood, August 1920 (1) (Aired: 15 October 1994)
 * 34: The Hollywood Follies, Hollywood, August 1920 (2) (Aired: 15 October 1994)
 * 35: Treasure of the Peacock's Eye, London/Egypt, November 1919 (1) (Aired: 15 January 1995)
 * 36: Treasure of the Peacock's Eye, South Pacific, November 1919 (2) (Aired: 15 January 1995)
 * 37: Attack of the Hawkmen, Ravenelle, Germany, 1917 (1) (Aired: 8 October 1995)
 * 38: Attack of the Hawkmen, Ahlgorn, Germany 1917 (2) (Aired: 8 October 1995)
 * 39: Travels with Father, Russia 1910 (1) (Aired: 16 June 1996)
 * 40: Travels with Father, Athens 1910 (2) (Aired: 16 June 1996)
 * 41: Tangiers 1908 (Aired: 0/0/0)
 * 42: Morocco 1917 (Aired: 0/0/0)
 * 43: Palestine, October 1917 (2) (Aired: 0/0/0)
 * 44: Princeton 1919 (Aired: 0/0/0)

Film versions

 * Chapter 1: My First Adventure
 * Chapter 2: Passion for Life
 * Chapter 3: The Perils of Cupid
 * Chapter 4: Travels with Father
 * Chapter 5: Journey of Radiance
 * Chapter 6: Spring Break Adventure
 * Chapter 7: Love's Sweet Song
 * Chapter 8: Trenches of Hell
 * Chapter 9: Demons of Deception
 * Chapter 10: Phantom Train of Doom
 * Chapter 11: Oganga, the Giver and Taker of Life
 * Chapter 12: Attack of the Hawkmen
 * Chapter 13: Adventures in the Secret Service
 * Chapter 14: Espionage Escapades
 * Chapter 15: Daredevils of the Desert
 * Chapter 16: Tales of Innocence
 * Chapter 17: Mask's of Evil
 * Chapter 18: Treasure of the Peacock's Eye
 * Chapter 19: Winds of Change
 * Chapter 20: Mystery of the Blues
 * Chapter 21: Scandal of 1920
 * Chapter 22: Hollywood Follies

Home video releases
In the early nineties, a laserdisc boxset of 15 episodes was released in Japan, along with a documentary on the series. In 1999, re-edited versions of the series were released on VHS. However, only twelve of the planned twenty-two tapes were produced. According to producer Rick McCallum, as of April 2007 the complete series is being prepared for DVD release; the first set of episodes will be available by Christmas 2007.

Trivia

 * Vic Armstrong, Harrison Ford's stunt double in the Indiana Jones films, directed the first half of Chapter 13: Adventures in the Secret Service.
 * Besides being world's most prolific stuntman, Vic Armstrong is also a respected second unit director.
 * Writer, director and three-time Oscar nominee Frank Darabont wrote the screenplay for 5 episodes of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. He was also hired to write the script for Indiana Jones IV in 2004. But unfortunately, his script got turned down by George Lucas a year later.
 * Actor Paul Freeman, who played villain Belloq in Raiders of the Lost Ark, returned in the TV-series playing a character named Frederick Selous. His character appears in 2 chapters
 * Chapter 2: Passion for Life
 * Chapter 10: The Phantom Train of Doom
 * Actor Vic Tablian, best know for being the only actor playing 2 different roles (Barranca & Monkey Man) in Raiders of the Lost Ark, also has a role in the TV-series. He plays a character named Demetrios. A character who appears in 2 chapters.
 * Chapter 1: My First Adventure
 * Chapter 6: Spring Break Adventure
 * Actor William Hootkins, who played Major Eaton in Raiders of the Lost Ark, also has a role in the TV-series. He plays a character named Diaghilev in Chapter 14: Espionage Escapades.
 * Actor Roshan Seth, who played Chattar Lal in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, also has a small role in the TV-series. He plays Sheikh Kamal in Chapter 16: Tales of Innocence
 * A few chapters of the TV-series were directed by successful directors:
 * Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park 3, Hidalgo and The Rocketeer) directed Chapter 6: Spring Break Adventure.
 * Simon Wincer (Free Willy, The Phantom and Operation Dumbo Drop) directed Chapter 8: Trenches of Hell, Chapter 11: Oganga, The Giver and Taker of Life and Chapter 15: Daredevils of the Desert.
 * Terry Jones (actor/director of the famous British comedy group Monty Python) directed a part of Chapter 14: Espionage Escapades.
 * Here follows a list of well known actors who also appear in some chapters of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles:
 * Max von Sydow - Chapter 3: The Perils of Cupid
 * Elizabeth Hurley & Vanessa Redgrave - Chapter 7: Love's Sweet Song
 * Ian McDiarmid - Chapter 9: Demons of Deception
 * Christopher Lee - Chapter 13: Adventures in the Secret Service
 * Terry Jones - Chapter 14: Espionage Escapades
 * Catherine Zeta-Jones & Daniel Craig - Chapter 15: Daredevils of the Desert
 * Jeroen Krabbé - Chapter 19: Winds of Change
 * Anne Heche - Chapter 21: Scandal of 1920
 * Oliver Ford Davies (Sio Bibble in the Star Wars prequels) played the ship's captain in Chapter 1.
 * Vic Tablian (Barranca and Monkey Man in Raiders of the Lost Ark) played Demetrios in Chapter 1.
 * The bridging segment where T.E. Lawrence confronts Demetrios was shot in Tunisia on August 11, 1997, during the production of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, with Joseph Bennett and Vic Tablian returning to reprise their roles and doubles playing the parts of Pierre, Indy, and Helen.