Ep. 3: British East Africa, September 1909

Matinee Idyll

New member
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Yikes, this one takes me back. Not seen it since the late 90's on a television broadcast (so my memory is quite hazy). I remember something about a game Safari run by Teddy Roosevelt (who I remember quite disliking), and his attempts to shoot a rare species of antelope (am I even on the right track?)

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I remember it being quite a beautiful episode, one of my favourites of the Corey Young Indys. The relationship between Indy and the young African boy was lovely and believable, the actors really convincingly portrayed that childlike enthusiasm for life and shared love of adventure.

The linking of Frederick Selous to the older Young Indy was neat too (they did this quite alot - Howard Carter, Piccasso, T.E Lawrence).

So not alot to say, given I've not seen it in many years and don't recall many details. I don't remember what Old Indy's bookends were about though, anyone?

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Matinee Idyll

New member
I think this episode is a great example of the show getting by on minimal 'action'. The tone of the series neither demanded high octane action sequences every 5 minutes, nor would it have been at all believable. To have a 9 year old kid 'cracking skulls' or pistol whipping Teddy Roosevelt would have been absurd and distracted from the point of the episode - that Indy was a humanist and ethical young boy.
 

Bullwhip

New member
I vaguely remember the bookends but:

Indy attends the Annual Celebrity Tennis Shoe Auction and Dinner at the Metropolitan Foundation For Educational Quality and is seated at a table with a group of strangers. Two of the women argue about wearing furs. The one woman talks about redressing the balance with nature that mankind has destroyed. The woman with the fur coat orders veal for dinner which infuriates the other woman. Indy tells them that their discussion about the balance of nature reminds him of when he once went on safari with Teddy Roosevelt in Africa in 1909. He tells them the story and then leaves after dinner. The rest of the people at the table are left wondering what the point of his story was.

http://www.innermind.com/youngindy/info/indy.htm


IIRC, this episode has Henry, Sr. reciting his fraternity toast with an old friend and it's done beautifully by Lloyd Owen.
 

Matinee Idyll

New member
Ahh yes, that's ringing a bell. A fine episode, with a strong moral core.

I find it curious that an argument directed at the show is the way Corey is a snooty rich kid, where River was a more gung-ho, adventurous type.

We have to keep in mind that between 1909 and the opening sequence of LC, Anna had died and his father began ignoring him (even more so). This would have sparked the rebellious streak we see in LC, the same Indy who would end up running away from home to join the Mexican revolution, and then off to the First World War.

It's annoyingly ironic that the few of us who really loved the show (with Old Indy in its original incarnation) are the one's who'll be the most dissapointed when the official DVDs come out.

Any way at all we can get in contact with Rick McCallum or someone, at this late stage? The only fans who care about the show (and will be the ones buying it) want the series as it originally aired!
 
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Flannery10

New member
I think this episode, especially the bookends with George Hall, made me realize something. When I watched the Harrison Ford movies, I always thought of Indy as a smart man, who knew what to do in every situation. But in the bookends, Indy presents himself as a wise man, who knows exactly what's going on in the world:

"This was a land I'd read about in adventure books, but what I saw was different. I didn't know it then, but I was looking at the Garden of Eden, before the fall of man. "

A quote by Old Indy, something a poet couldn't have said any better. To compare the beautiful land of Kenya (British East Africa then) with the Garden Eden, and the heartless shooting of animals there representing the fall of man was perfect and it makes me realize how much I miss the bookends and the original episodes.
 

Matinee Idyll

New member
Exactly! As fantastic as the films are, what you see is really what you get. Perfection, but there's really nothing beneath the surface - Young Indy, despite being a 'childrens show' has many more layers and is infinitely more rewarding methinks.

Nice one Flannery.
 

Violet

Moderator Emeritus
I've got the Young Indy comic of this episode and I've read the novel, but haven't seen the episode. The morals was far from lost in the novel and comic despite all it's colour.
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Medlicott Sings "Who Killed Bambi?"

Oh my God! I just realized something insane. Over the past 16 years, I've watched this episode numerous times
and always thought the actor playing Medlicott looked familiar but I never checked his hame.

He was played by Edward Tudor-Pole from the old punk bad Tenpole Tudor!
If you've ever seen the Sex Pistols movie "The Great Rock'n'Roll Swindle" he is
the guy singing "Who Killed Bambi?" and also auditions to replace Johnny Rotten.

Here is one of their better songs, "Songs of a 1000 Men", so you can see how he used to look and act:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBbD20CUHJo&feature=related

"Who Killed Bambi" is amazingly bizarre. Hard to put into words but you'll either love it or absolutely HATE it.
So, if you want have a listen, here's a link to someone's animation that uses the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drwSUXbonao
 

InexorableTash

Active member
Continuing my "I need to read something to fall asleep, and I want it backlit and free", I downloaded African Adventure Stories by John Alden Loring, 1914. The dedication turns out to be by Teddy Roosevelt, thanking Loring for being one of the three naturalists to accompany Teddy on his safari in British East Africa as seen in this episode of YIJC!

Copyright has expired so it's available as a freebie on Google's Books site (although other vendors will happily sell you a copy).

http://books.google.com/books?id=_DYPAAAAYAAJ

WARNING: Contains excruciatingly offensive racism. Contains the "great white hunter" trope at its worst, and other such paternalistic colonial stereotypes. Also, as might be expected from the episode, it contains graphic and disturbing accounts of the slaughter of animals and rampant ecological destruction. Even descriptions of migrating herds of elephants numbering the thousands are depressing, given how much their numbers have dwindled due to our species' affection for blood and ivory.

(The last book I read was Jack London's The Sea Wolf which similarly describes herds of seals stretching to the horizon, ripe for slaughter for their furs, surely an endless bounty provided by nature for man's exploitation. I need to pick a cheerier genre to read next, like the zombie apocalypse or something.)
 

Goodeknight

New member
I just returned Friday from "British East Africa," Kenya. This was always one of my favorite Young Indy episodes. As Matinee Idyll noted, it didn't need action every five seconds. For me it's one of the most memorable for the beauty of the scenery, the wildlife, and Indy's interaction with the Masai.

I spent a few days with the Masai in Kenya, and they're great people -- especially one's father from the game parks. Those tied in to the tourist trade tend to be waiting to make a fast buck, while those tied to the land and their heritage are much more peaceful, interesting, and down to earth.
 

phantom train

New member
I saw this episode when it was first broadcast (Spring '92). Amazing, and is by far my favorite of the little Indy (Corey Carrier) episodes. Though the story was obviously great, what truly impressed me was the incredible, breathtaking African scenery/landscapes. I think this episode was the one where I truly realized how much money/work/time was going into the show, since it was so obvious it was filmed on location!
 

Stoo

Well-known member
InexorableTash said:
Continuing my "I need to read something to fall asleep, and I want it backlit and free", I downloaded African Adventure Stories by John Alden Loring, 1914. The dedication turns out to be by Teddy Roosevelt, thanking Loring for being one of the three naturalists to accompany Teddy on his safari in British East Africa as seen in this episode of YIJC!

Copyright has expired so it's available as a freebie on Google's Books site (although other vendors will happily sell you a copy).

http://books.google.com/books?id=_DYPAAAAYAAJ
Thanks for the heads-up, Tash. That sounds like a good read. Stereotype, colonial attitudes don't bother me because I read a lot of that material and they always give a real sense about the Western frame of mind in those empire-building days.
goodeknight said:
I just returned Friday from "British East Africa," Kenya.
I envy you, goodeknight! Two of my friends have been to Kneya and said the same thing as you, regarding how friendly the Masai were.:)
phantom train said:
I saw this episode when it was first broadcast (Spring '92).
Same here. A few months before, there was a 2-part, made-for-TV, Sherlock Holmes movie called, "Incident at Victoria Falls", which aired in January '92. I recorded it. Teddy Roosevelt has a prominent role in the story and, at one point, Holmes (Christopher Lee) & Roosevelt (Claude Akins) are riding on the front of a locomotive so it was funny to see Indy & Roosevelt do the same thing in the "British East Africa" episode a few months later.
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Bump

Watching this episode again the other day made me realize that the story can actually be categorized as a treasure hunt. Granted, the 'treasure' isn't mystical in any way but it's elusive and is found by a pursuing a key clue so the tale definitely fits into the realm of a quest. I've always liked this episode, because of the actual history it depicts, but now I like it even more.(y)

Plus, it reminded me that, during one of my trips to London last year, I went to the Natural History Museum for the very 1st time. At the top left of the giant staircase in the main entrance hall is a nice statue of Frederick Selous.

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So cool that Paul Freeman (Belloq) was in 2 Young Indy episodes playing Selous. (I also *think* that he played someone else in the "British East Africa" chapter during a really brief shot. If it's not him, the guy sure does looks the same?AND he is dressed similar to Belloq!:eek: Do any of you know whom I'm talking about?)
 
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