The Adventures Of Young Indiana Jones: Volume 2: The War Years

Over the years there have been many action-adventure franchises in film and on television. They all can boast of handsome leading men, beautiful women, gun fights chases and all forms of action. In this extremely crowded field one franchise stands out above the rest, ‘Indiana Jones’. The three existing films have broken box office records and captured the imagination of a generation. There was also a foray into television with ‘The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles’. While not as successful as the movies this series has become a cult classic and a formal part of the legend of Dr. Jones. With a new Indy Jones movie on the horizon, the first in some 19 years the fans are gathering waiting for this next fix of action and adventure. Paramount has come up with a novel way to keep the fans happy until that opening day of the film. They are releasing theme oriented DVD box sets of the exploits of Young Indy. The first box set was released only a month ago featuring the episodes that dealt with Indy at his youngest. Now, the second set is here. This one looks at Indy during the time of the Great War, World War One. Since the television series was not presented in chronological order this adds a much needed continuity to the episodes.

Paramount is one of my favorite studios for DVD box sets. They have been releasing classic shows from the fifties right up to modern hits. While some of the older series are plain vanilla when the do a mega set like this they pull out all the stops. This nine disc set is incredible. There are eight feature length episodes, most of which originally aired as made for TV or direct to video movies. Instead of having to search around for them they are all right here in one place. Each disc not only has a movie but contains extras specific to the theme of the episode. There is a ninth disc with more general extras just to add to the already excellent value of the set. In all there are some 26 documentaries, historical overviews, interactive timelines and games. You can enjoy this set for a long time after you finish the feature presentations.

For most young people World War One is a distant foot note in history. Considering it ended about 90 years ago it is easy to understand this viewpoint. This series takes history and makes it alive. This set transcends any generation gap mostly due to the enthusiasm of the protagonist a youthful Indy played extremely well by Sean Patrick Flanery. In each of the eight installments here young Indy is pulled into one aspect of the war or another but always on the side of the Allies. He visits famous locations and battlefields on his travels around the world. He also comes into contact with and influences some of the most pivotal people of the time. Using this character the writers are able to do the near impossible, make history fun to watch. Casting Flanery was an excellent move for the producers of this series. Any actor is going to be compared to the real Indy Jones, Harrison Ford, but Flanery has done his best to make this portion of Indy’s life his own. This series was not Indy-lit as many feared. It is a great extension to the Indiana Jones saga and stands on its own as fun entertainment.

Special Features:

Watching this I had to be impressed with the sheer scope of the set. Paramount has outdone their usual standards and that is a lot to say. While some of the episodes are not among the best of the series they all are filled with action, romance and history. After seeing these tales of his youth it is no wonder that Jones grew up to be the adventurer he became. The special features are extremely well done and insightful. They each add the necessary historical placement and background to fully appreciate the episode. This is intelligent family programming that is fun to watch.

Posted 12/13/07