User reviews

I saw these Adventures of Young Indiana Jones years ago and I honestly thought I imagined them because they disappeared for years. I would always tell people there were all these stories about Indy in World War I, and people didn't believe me. I was so happy to see the entire series is now on Disney+ and I can see them again.

Watching them years later, I'm surprised at how well they hold up. Sure, they didn't have the same budget as the films, but in many cases they did shoot on location and you really get a feel for Europe during the war.

Secondly, can I just shout at how GOOD Sean Patrick Flanery was as the eponymous Young Indy. Not only did he have the looks to match a younger Harrison Ford, but he also captured the character perfectly, if a much more earnest and innocent version of Indy (when and how he became more cynical I don't know).

Unfortunately, we never got another season and got to also see younger versions of characters from Raiders, especially Abner and Marion Ravenwood or Sallah, but we do get a backstory of the troubled father-son relationship between the Joneses.

If production values where the only standard, nothing done before or since on television can come close. Shot around the world, with a famous and would be famous international cast and crew. Giving us a fully orchestrated score, 16mm film, 100's of extras, period costuming and set design. Utilizing digital effects (when that was a brand NEW technology) for every episode. The list goes on. Come on what film/television maker or studio would ever back a project as bold and EXPENSIVE as this, except George Lucas?

These episodes begin with a 9 year-old Indy, played by Corey Carrier, starting out on an around the world trip with his parents. They pick up again with a 16 year-old Indy, played by Sean Patrick Flanery, starting out with a simple trip to Mexico and ending up with him in the Belgium army fighting against Germany in World War I. Eventually, these around the world adventures end up with Indiana Jones back home in America shortly before he starts college--"Dr. Jones, I presume;)"

However, the fact is that many of the episodes have more in common with Discovery Channel Docu-Dramas than Indiana Jones movies. The inclusion of famous people every episode is not so bad--it was started with The Last Crusade (remember Hitler's cameo?). It is the almost grade school like history lessons we are treated to EVERY episode that tests one's patience. In some of the episodes the lessons are well placed. In other episodes, the story must stop completely while we LEARN.

Adventure should have been presented first. History's lessons should have been in the context of the story and characters. Instead the story and characters are simply along for the ride. It seems, at times, like Indy is simply watching the TV like the rest of us.

Originally aired as 1 hour episodes, out of sequence I might add, the series varied its style and structure very well. We got a Corey Carrier episode, less adventure more cultural information. And then we got a couple of the more adventurous Sean Patrick Flanery episodes. And lets not forgot the wonderful performance of George Hall, playing a 90+ year old Indy and acting as book-end narrator for most of the first two seasons.

Now a comment on these 2-episode feature length VHS/DVD cuts. The episodes have been spliced together, also out of sequence. Extra footage was shot to merge the episodes together. The added footage shows different hair styles, different costumes, and Corey Carrier's age changes between episodes. Where's George Hall in these DVD's?--his portrayal has been completely removed, as though it never existed. If George Lucas wanted a true representation of this series, he should package them complete, both as they aired and also, in feature-length presentation. DVD's have this ability, two separate versions of the same film/show.

In the end, the audacity of the series, the production, and larger than life stories that Indiana Jones experiences win out. History 101 aside, these episodes are well shot, acted and produced. As the series progressed the character Indiana Jones grew closer to the one we all know and loved in the films. If you can manage to get through the less adventurous episodes, you'll find a grand introduction to one of motion pictures BEST characters.

Now lets hope Lucas has learned some lessons from this show in the creation of his new Star Wars live-action TV show. Like this Indiana Jones series, the Star Wars series is being self produced by Lucas, without a network and without limits. If he focuses on entertaining us FIRST, he'll be able to put in whatever life's lessons he wants SECOND, we might not even mind their presence.

When you think of Indiana Jones, you think of action, adventure, and him punching (or shooting) Nazis. But in this tv series it's more like an adventure but with a little action in his ww1 episodes. Other than that, you watch as Indy gets himself into trouble (getting sold into slavery in Morocco) and other things like that. If you didn't know what you were watching while watching it you would have never guessed it was Indiana Jones. But still an excellent storyline

We are surrounded by garbage. Look at what the TV industry tries to pass off as entertainment and I think you will agree. For every quality TV show produced there are several not worth watching. One of the gems was the "Young Indiana Jones" series. It was funny, somewhat educational, showed historical incidents from an interesting prospective, if not always accurate – one a younger viewer would enjoy enough to watch. It was very well written and touched on the facts laid out in the movies showing Indy as a middle aged Nazi fighter. In a one-hour show we were taken on a trip from today, to a time about 90 years ago, and back to today. It showed how an incident from this long ago as meaning in today's world. A life touched during WWI can make a huge difference in what happens today. A vacation taken with Teddy Roosevelt in 1906 can be tied t things happening today in a very interesting way. I would recommend this show for anyone – all ages will enjoy this show. For a TV show the production value was very good. The world shown was as correct as possible given today's limitations. The cars were right, the clothes were correct, and the locations were beautifully filmed. For a T show this is great entertainment.

The series shines with its likable characters and self-contained episodes that capture the adventurous spirit George Lucas masterfully brought to the big screen. While the series doesn't achieve the same level of bombast as the films, that would be too much to expect from a TV production. Instead, it delivers a delightful mix of humor, action, and adventurous entanglements that are consistently entertaining.

The first season offers an enjoyable journey through the early years of Henry "Indiana" Jones, before he became the legendary archaeologist we know from the movies.

Admittedly, not every episode in the first season is a hit, but the majority are engaging and captivating. It's a shame that more episodes weren't produced, as the series had the potential for many more exciting stories.

Overall, "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" is not a groundbreaking masterpiece, but that was likely never George Lucas's intention. The series offers a charming and entertaining addition to the well-known Indiana Jones films, told with great attention to detail and a heart for adventure.

First of all, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank George Lucas. He has been bashed quite often, recently for the Star Wars prequels and the new Clone Wars movie, but "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" is one of his greatest works ever, and even though it was never as popular as he had hoped for, he tried everything to keep the series going for as long as possible. Thank you for that! Now, don't expect something like the Indiana Jones movies when buying or renting this, because in that case, you will be disappointed. Archaeology is only featured in 2-3 episodes and there is a lot less action. But, if you are interested in seeing an exceptional TV Series, that invites you to be entertained and educated at the same time and you want enjoy a wonderful journey through the first two decades of the past century, this might be what you've been looking for.

The character of Young Indiana Jones is portrayed by two actors in this series. Corey Carrier starrs as an 8 year old Indiana Jones, who travels around the world with his parents, the strict professor of medieval studies Henry Jones, Sr. and his caring mother Anna. They are also joined by Miss Seymour, an Oxford tutor, who teaches Indy everything about the history and culture of the countries they visit. Indy usually gets separated from his parents and Miss Seymour and explores everything on his own. Then a 16 year old Indy is portrayed by Sean Patrick Flanery. Indy participates in the Mexican Revolution and, being inspired by their causes and their resolute way of taking action against their enemies, decides to sign up in the Belgian Army and fight in World War I. In Mexico he also meets Remy, a Belgian, who will accompany him in many of his adventures.

Most episodes start and end with so-called bookends, 3 or 4 minute segments starring George Hall as an Old Indiana Jones, who usually tells the stories of his youth to stubborn and arrogant people, with the purpose of making them better persons. Those bookends often provided some historical background for the episodes, but were cut out for the DVD releases in 2007. A shame, in my opinion.

The series starts of great, already, with an awesome pilot that takes Indy to Egypt and Mexico, hunting down a tomb robber. After that the series leads Indy to many exotic locations, including British East Africa, the Congo, Barcelona, Petrograd, Vienna, Peking, the Ganges River, the South Pacific Islands etc. The cinematography is absolutely spectacular and on a big TV screen the images look magnificent. In this series, the world is shown more beautifully than hardly ever before.

Lucas created this series for historical purposes, and Indy is involved in many events that actually took place, like the Mexican Revolution, a safari with Teddy Roosevelt, or the Battle at Verdun. There he also meets many famous people of that time including Pablo Picasso, Howard Carter, Sigmund Freud, Charles de Gaulle, E.M. Forster, Ernest Hemingway and many others.

Besides that, the series also features quite a bunch of famous actors in supporting roles, like Elizabeth Hurley as Indy's first great love in London, Vanessa Redgrave as her mother, Catherine Zeta-Jones as a dancer and spy in a mission in Palestine, Daniel Craig as a German officer, Jeffrey Wright as Sidney Bechet, Friedrich von Thun as Albert Schweitzer and Christopher Lee as Austrian Foreign Minister Czernin. Harrison Ford actually reprises his role as an Old Indiana Jones in one of the episodes.

The series has been nominated for many awards, including 25 Emmy awards, but wasn't very successful when first aired, mainly due to the fact that people expected a huge action series, similar to the movies with Ford. Don't make that mistake. Like I said before, if you want to be entertained and educated at the same time, treat your eyes with the most beautiful locations on Earth and meet historical persons, watch this series. You definitely won't be sorry!

I loved the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. They were great stories full of adventure and always related around historical events. If you are reading this and you loved it also, I have something you can do. The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles is not currently released on DVD. But there is something you can do about it. If you go to Amazon and search for the Chronicles on DVD, It will say that it is not released and has no date set. It will allow you to vote by putting in your email to receive a notice when it is released. Then see if you can get your friends to do the same. I would love to see the Adventures again, but it won't happen unless we speak up. :-)

Perhaps my memory has blurred over the years or I'm looking upon this series from the point of the view of the child I was when I used to watch it but 'The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles' was a rather delightful television series aimed at young fans of the 'Indiana Jones' trilogy. The series focuses in on Indy at two stages of his young life. We see a pre-adolescent Indy, between the ages of around ten to twelve, living in far-flung locations as he travels with his archaeologist parents and receives his school lessons from stern but fair governess Miss Seymour. We also see Indy as in his late teens as he becomes more a man than a boy.

Corey Carrier and Sean Patrick Flanery, as little and teenage Indy respectively, give decent performances in their roles. Young Indy is portrayed to be a typical young boy, eager for adventures but, at times, clueless to what is going on around him. The older Indy is more resourceful and self-aware, showing signs of becoming the hero we are familiar with from the films.

There were some rather bland episodes which could have done with more superior script-writing and character depiction. And it would have been a nice touch to focus more on young Indy's relationship with his parents, particularly since the discord between him and his father is a major storyline in the final film of the trilogy 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'. Also, there was no need to have so many cameos from famous historical figures, which cheapened the series slightly since it's unrealistic to think Indy met so many people who would go down in the history books.

That said, 'The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles' was entertaining and offered an interesting insight into the people and events which influenced on Indiana Jones as a child and helped shape him into the man we know in the films. It's a shame the series isn't on DVD as it would be good to reminisce on the show which kept me interested in the 'Indiana Jones' franchise when I ran out of films to watch.

In fact one of the best things on television ever. The production values! The world locations! The casts! The action sequences! The star directors involved! Did George Lucas personally spend half his vast fortune providing the budgets?

Indiana Jones, as a young man or child, has a series of adventures, highly entertaining ones as he gets older and takes part in various revolutions and the First World War, and on the way encounters many of the great or notorious figures (and important ideas) of the early twentieth century. He has romances with Mata Hari and a suffragette played by Elizabeth Hurley. His mum is chatted up by Puccini, his dad teaches him about democracy in Athens. He befriends Tolstoy, Schweitzer, Hemingway, Kafka, Erich von Stroheim and Lawrence of Arabia to name but some. Even as a reasonably educated grown-up I learned a lot, in particular about lesser-known fronts of WWI; but all in the form of thrilling Boy's Own adventures - some of the war episodes especially are as good as any film.

Amid uniformly excellent casts Sean Patrick Flanery as the university-aged Indiana and Lloyd Owen as his father must be singled out. But almost every role is filled by someone great, usually a stalwart British character actor. (To give some idea of the expense and trouble that must have been gone to, Harry Enfield, then already a huge star here, appears in one episode as a chauffeur who if I remember rightly doesn't even talk.)

Really this is the best thing George Lucas has ever done. (I hope at some point he does something similar for other periods of history - I would love him to get the rights to the Flashman books, for example.) Tremendously entertaining, and a good thing to get hold of for a youngster you'd like to learn a bit of history.

Let's start out by reminding everybody that this TV series was aimed at an audience of children and young teenagers, so images of young Indy battering Nazis to the death with his bare fists wasn't part of the plan. It's totally different in tone from the films, which are intended to reprise old-time movie serials. The series is education-oriented, thus all the brushes with famous names of history. Production values ARE pretty good - it won 10 Emmys, out of 23 nominations! BUT...

Episodes were directed by Nicolas Roeg, Mike Newell, Terry Jones, and Carrie Fisher among others, but despite beautiful cinematography almost all the shows I've seen are pretty bland, and it's mostly the writers' fault. The series just lacks energy, and the characters, particularly Mrs Jones (Ruth de Soza) aren't very engaging - her star turn in "Florence, 1908" lacked any real passion to the point of being embarrassing. Margaret Tyzack, as Indy's governess, is by far the best actor and tends to outshine everybody else - she gets some real opportunities for character development, which is more than can be said for Lloyd Owen, who plays Professor Jones Sr.

Corey Carrier plays Indy age 10, while Sean Flanery plays the character ages 17-21. Flanery is very bland. I thought Carrier was OK for a precocious kid, but nothing special - though this may be the writers' fault. I LOATHE cutsey-pie stuff like the "Vienna, 1908" episode!!! (Note that a list of episodes can be found at Wikipedia.) 70 episodes were planned; but apparently only 44 were produced - I've only seen the episodes off the DVD volume one boxset, so... Maybe things got better... "Benares, 1910" was the only episode I thought was really GOOD - the series relatively slow pace works for the subject matter. "Princeton, 1916" tries to give us some thrills, but... the story just isn't interesting enough - "Mexico, 1916" works a LITTLE better - thanks partly to a two-fisted cameo by the future General Patton, and nice work by the supporting actors.

There's a noble effort here to work the historical characters - and their contributions - into the stories without being too preachy. So I'd say, if you want to give a kid with a taste for adventure a taste for early 20th century history, these are decent stories, BUT....

A HUGE irritation with the DVDs is that to pad out the series, a set of "documentaries" are included, which apart from being not what I paid to see, are highly historically suspect, at least the jingoistic Irish one, which is the only one I bothered to watch all the way through.

Definitely one of the best series ever put out on TV. The historical intrigue was always interesting. Young Jones meeting Lawrence of Arabia, Picasso, and (my favorite) a very notable young Vietnamese revolutionary always kept your interest up. Plot lines, although sometimes a little trite, were usually well-done and faithful to history. Definitely a good successor to the movies with just enough action to boot.

Too bad it's not still on TV.

When I first Saw The Young Indiana Jones chronicles . I was impressed with the fact it had old Indy tell us the stories. something that has been left off the DVDs sadly. But even without old Indy. We see Henry Jones Jr. shaping into the hero he becomes. George Lucas once said he had Indy's life plotted out. And that Indiana Jones had a extraordinary life. From the Very First episode we see Young Indiana Jones strike up a life long friendship with Lawrence of Arabia. Well before fame found him. The shows introduce historical figures and Indy interacts with them. And it's a lot of fun. Lucas had Indy's life plotted out right up to the Raiders of the Lost ark. And according to him he's got it well plotted after Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Lucas carefully arranged the show to fall into three segments. 1) The Early years. Which deals with Ten year old Indy's adventures. And shows him getting all sorts of advice and we see Young Indy develop traits well know he will use. The adventures are more of a philosophical nature mostly.

2) The War Years. This deals with Indy's service during WWI and the trench scenes are gut wrenching. You want realistic here it is. Volume two is action packed but the weak side is it deals with too much of Indy's romances.

3) The Years of Change. The War is over and Indy returns home only to find nothing has changed. and so he goes to school to become the archaeologist he is today. But he takes several detours along the way. Including a stint in Hollywood. The best thing here is Indiana Jones and the mystery of the blues. Harrison Ford reprises the role of Indy in the beginning and end. But the story is filled with everything you would expect from 1920's Chicago. Including A young Eliot Ness. You like the movies watch the series. You like Indiana Jones watch the series and see how a hero is shaped into becoming the Hero he is. This is maybe one of TV's finest shows ever put out there.

The adventures of young Indiana Jones is a fantastic, funny, and also educational series. I highly recommend this series to anyone, but you will like it best if you are a die hard Indyfan like myself. Corry Carrier, Sean Patrick Flannery, Ronny Coutteure, and George Hall all do a legendary job of acting! The best thing about The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles is that over the coarse of 22 episodes it really clears up Indy past and gives you the inside story about the adventures, hardships, and romances Indy went through in his years as a kid, years in WW1, and college years. There are three volumes in the series. They are, The Early Years, The War Years, an The Years of Change. The Early Years is the funniest, and probably the most heartwarming, funny and enjoyable. The War Years has the most action and tragedy. For many of the episodes I was on the edge of my seat. The Years of change is the most diplomatic, it doesn't have as must action, though certain episodes such as Treasure of the Peacocks Eye, masks of Evil, and Mystery of the Blues do. The best episode in my opinion is Mystery of the Blues because it has a cameo with Harrison Ford. The whole episode is Indy having a flash back on a memory.

Everyone please send a feedback request to release The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles in HD or UHD on Disney Plus. There is a whole new generation which never saw this aweome series.

I cannot agree with Krumski from Cincinnati, Young Indianna Jones is fresh, production values are better than many films made at the present.

I think Sean Patrick Flanery does a great job of playing Indianna Jones after all he is supposed to be 16/18yrs of age, how would he act....l also think the bringing real life characters into the series made it more realistic as a whole, l think it`s a great series and only wish l had more of them, l only have about 5...

Maybe we in the Uk and not as demanding.....:-)

zorro

9/10 for the series

This was one of my favorite tv series and... oh wait, it STILL is!!! Indiana Jones, whether in the movies, or on TV, ROCKS!!! The tv show had Indiana Jones meeting real life history makers and was actually quite educational, which I enjoyed. Of course, episodes like The Treasure of the Peacock's Eye show Indy starting to get into what will become his future career - archeaology. The episodes showing him fighting in The Great War - later known as World War I, are really cool too and really paint an accurate as possible picture of what it really was like. It showed different events in Indy's life that shaped his values and ideas and made him into what he is now. Sean Patrick Flanery did a great job as Indiana Jones. The show rules!

It was a ratings flop but that wasn't George Lucas' fault: network t.v. is too small a format for the life of Indiana Jones (even if he is fictional!)

Among other places, young Indy travels to Egypt, Dublin during the Easter Uprising and eastern Africa in World War I. He meets up with historical personages like young, fey Mid-East scholar T.E. Lawrence, more Irish writers and rebels than I can recall here, General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck and his friend, Karen Blixen (a.k.a. Isak Denisen). And, as the phrase goes, that ain't all!

About only ten episodes were made but each of them is really a cinematic production in its own right, light-years better than your typical movie-of-the-week or mini-series.

The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles was the Best TV series ever. Each episode Indy took you into WW1. You got to see what war was really like through a soilders eyes. Indy's adventure with the French Intelligence were always full of suspense. I was always amazed by the scenery. And could not believe that each episode was filmed on location. By watching this series, it made me enjoy the movies so much more. I am so happy that people who might have missed the series can get a chance to see it again on video.

a war and the roots of a hero. that could be all. but the stories, the humor, the adventure spirit, the memories about Indiana in Spielberg versions does it a rare memorable series. not exactly for details but for the state of spirit, for the inspired manner to present a grow - up, for the small pieces and, sure, for the performance of Sean Patrick Flanery. he does an admirable job and that fact is the axis of the series charm. vulnerable, courageous, naive, wise, the ideal good guy and the discoveries about himself in a delicate manner. I admit, it is one of my favorite series. it is not easy for explain but could be useful the fact than, after two decades , the memories about it remains at high level.

I do not know the source of the fascination in this case. maybe the dose of adventure, history, a credible Sean Patrick Flanery who gives to a too well known character a sort of sensitivity, vulnerability and new nuances of courage. important is only a detail - The Young Indiana Jones Chronicle is a great series. because it has the science and art and force and precision to represent a trip in time. because the clothes and the atmosphere preserves the air of authenticity. because the humor is at right place. because it uses in smart manner the old clichés of genre. short, it is an useful, fascinating delight. and this is the only significant motif to see it.