The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, Volume 1 [DVD](1992)

These are great for history, not sure it is totally accurate but what history lesson is?There are some great stories here but nothing like the Indiana Jones films, just tight scrapes the young Henry Jones Junior gets in to.Not the adventures I was expecting but then again what could you expect from a 10 year old boy.Worth watching, as there are some great references and historic interests along the way.

I had been waiting for the DVD set of this for years to replace my vastly incomplete recordings from the TV as well as fill in some gaps. I fought the temptation to fire off a review after watching one disc and have instead waded my through it all.Initially I was a little dismayed by the composite nature of the episodes: the conjoining of two episodes to make one 'film'. Coupled with that is the removal of Old Indy, it did not bode well. Previously I had thought either a strict chronological ordering of the individual episodes would have worked best. However, I can see Mr Lucas' reasons - it does cut down on the volume of opening/closing credits. The other way might have been to simply order the episodes as they had been aired. This might have ironed out the `Curse of the Jackal' gripe that other reviewers have noticed. As to Old Indy, for this first volume, I haven't missed him. But, I'm not sure how volume two will pan out: I remember, for example, in 'Petrograd July 1917' Old Indy's part is exceptionally good and if not crucial, certainly adds some tremendous gravitas.As to the production, I do not find the inconsistencies in the actors' ages in the intermediate spliced sections that connect the original pairs of episodes annoying. To my mind, there is a charming ingenuousness here that leaves me feeling "well, good for you for trying to do this". It also helps indentify which sections have been added.Volume one was always going to be the weaker draw compared to the second. Let's face it, Indy the Youth is far more interesting than Indy the Kid, who I had always found annoying. But I retract that having watched these volumes. Corey Carrier and S.P. Flanery do a fair job of consistency in mannerism - they both have the same shrug and puzzled, doubtful air. I sometimes do find the whole Scottish thing for Indy's father bizarre, though marvel at how the choice of Sean Connery in one feature film has dictated the whole direction of the series. In 'London, May 1917' Indy and Elizabeth Hurley vie with each other in a linguistic competition which Hurley wins with Welsh, saying how can someone with the name of `Jones' not know Welsh. How indeed? And how many Scotsmen have the surname Jones? However, Lloyd Owen is fine in this role, and for me the most enjoyable episode is the Greek one, where we get to see more of Owen as well as indulging a picaresque adventure in the sultry Greek countryside. The acting is a bit hammy, but it doesn't detract; even the clothes-eating goats which look suspiciously like sheep are acceptable if one suspends one's disbelief.With regards to the extras, these have been done fairly well; that was until I got to 'Black Jack Pershing' - selective history to say the least. I appreciate that time is short, but why not mention his role with leading Afro-American troops (the bowdlerized origin of his nickname) and his participation in two of the U.S. Army's less worthy 'victories' of Wounded Knee (1890) and the Moro Crater Massacre (1906)? A bit more balance is needed. Likewise with the Irish Rebellion: looking at the list of contributors we doubt that we are in for an impartial account of what was a fascinating and important historical incident. Watch the extras but keep a pinch of salt near at hand.Overall, a delightful series whose weaknesses are far outweighed by the positive things. I look forward to showing these to my sons (when they're a little older). The value of the educational aspect is that it gives viewers enough information to go off and do their own research if they wish. It deserves to endure and finally get the recognition that has so far eluded it.

Thank you.

This review is a combined one for all three seasons of Young Indiana.I remembered watching some of these as a youth. They sparked a free-spirited ambition in a lot of boys and girls of the era I'm sure. When I saw them on offer at amazon I figured I'd snap them all up to re-live some of my past, being an Indie fan anyway.Turns out, I'd probably not seen over 50% of the full series as I couldn't remember a lot of it.Season one sees Indie (Henry Junior) as a boy, played by Cory Carrier, who never really seemed to carry on in acting. His father was talently played by Lloyd Owen who sounds the spit of Sean Connery's depiction in the earlier feature-films, which really helped with the feeling of continuity. Margaret Tyzack rounds out the key characters from my opinion, playing the part of Indie's tutor, Miss Seymour. I don't feel Indie's mother was much of a character and was incidental to most of the series.During the season, you see him being the insolent youth you expect, perhaps rather big-headed and overly arrogant in his portrayal (perhaps reasons why Cory didn't go on to much more?). They travel from place to place, meeting various important and note-worthy people from that era.As you enter season 2, Indie quickly ages into the dashing figure of Sean Patrick Flanery, and we see his portrayal through "The War Years" where he progresses up through the ranks in the Belgian Army with his pal Remy. Again, various note-worthy occasions, and the odd dash of archeology, but mostly it's his cheeky mis-adventures through the era that endears. I would say this is my favourite season and contains the episodes that I recalled from my youth.Finally, we come to season 3 where Indie eventually comes out of the War, yet seems to regress into the shadow of his former pre-war life, struggling to get to grips with a stable career. I half-expected this season to be all about the archeology, but it kind of skits round that point. [spoiler alert!] Remy gets swept aside relatively suddenly like some old sock, and various episodes of this season come across as a bit slap-stick and rather un-fitting of the series as a whole. A bit disappointing really.On the whole, I really did enjoy the series, although as I have mentioned, it perhaps didn't quite go down the road of archeological exploration that I was perhaps hoping for, and that was certainly encouraged in the first season.One thing that certainly is a boon in this series on DVD is the wide selection of well-shot documentaries that cover the themes at the time. These are all well worth viewing, and help to lend an educational arm to the series to help you learn a bit more about how some of the stories came to being.The series has been editted about so that episode merge in the right places to form decent length viewings, and it is all done in a relatively seamless fashion.Despite it's failings, I would still rate the whole series 5-stars at the price I got it for on amazon (about £9 per season at time of purchase). If you end up paying more, I'd probably drop the rating down to 4-stars, and considering that the current price on amazon is around the £18-19 mark, I'll let it sit at 4 for now.

Explains a lot of what made Indy, Indy. Entertainment for all. Lots of action and thrilling adventures.

Una serie viejita ,però entretenida con un Indiana infantil ,en correlación con actores reales de la historia,obvio la calidad de la produccion

good product

Avevo visto la serie anni fa quando era stata trasmessa (doppiata in italiano) in TV e mi era da subito piaciuta molto, con la sua mescolanza di storia e finzione.Questo cofanetto non è doppiato, quindi bisogna goderselo in lingua originale: le avventure del primo cofanetto (dell'infanzia / prima giovinezza di Indiana Jones) sono appassionanti e mi sono piaciute molto.Comprato anche il secondo cofanetto!

I didn’t see this first time around but was expecting, given the pedigree, something more interesting. The stories just meander in an unexciting manner (more interested in introducing characters and events from history than telling a story) that each episode drags to the point I’m writing this review instead of watching. What is odd is that the dvd extras are better than the shows. Lots of interesting documentaries that are quite educational and interesting. Hence the episodes are just one star and the extras/documentary’s are three/four stars.