bob said:
Talents?, Young Indy has no talents! he maintains a mental age of 8 for most of the series. To be honest i would rather believe that Indy didnt actually fight in WWI as it really raises so many questions and Indy does not seemed in any way changed by the experience, his role is still the same as is his wide eyed and innocent personality.
Oh? Speaking a dozen languages with flawless accent isn't a talent? (I'm presuming it was flawless since no one ever stopped him and said, "hey, you're no russian-swede-belgian-german-etc.!") Perhaps I should've referred to it as a skill, or said it was his Personality that was better suited to the spy business than pointless soldiering. How about charm? He never had trouble ingraciating himself and making friends in any culture he was dropped into...another plus for a spy.
Young Indy was always portrayed as more idealistic than the film Indy, but he gained a far greater sense of realistic expectations and viewpoints across the board as time went by. The kid gained Some wisdom along the way. He learned lessons every week and they added shadings to his character and his actions. WWI gave him a wider and more cynical world-view that translates directly to what would become the Harrison Ford Indy. And there are Still nearly 20 Years seperating the Chronicles and the Films... Lots of opportunity for Indy to become ever more cynical and selfish, the mercenary archeaologist in it for the quick buck. I've never had trouble reconciling the two presentations of Young Indy and Harrison Indy as being the same person at different points in his life.
Sure, Young Indy remained pretty upbeat and kept a fairly positive outlook about life in general for a kid who'd seen WWI, but that's just him. Maybe it just made him value the good life even more. America in the 20s was worlds apart from wartime Europe...he could relax and reintegrate and go to college and have a good time without too many reminders of those dark war days. But they made him tougher and wiser. I'd disagree that he didn't Change from what he was in 1916...he was definitely more interesting by 1920, and was likewise even more interesting in the 30s. We obviously saw two different series.
He didn't remain a wide-eyed Innocent, not at all, but he did retain a wide-eyed Interest in the world around him, always intrigued by the good stuff...women, music, culture, intellectual pursuits, etc. I like that about him. And that Is his role in the Chronicles, but it's a good one. It suits the show. The whole weaving in-and-out of real history is so well done, I sometimes half-expect to look in an encyclopedia and see, "Jones, Indiana." I liked the more idealistic Indy as well as a series of stories set in a more realistic world that doesn't rely so heavily on the supernatural fantasy element or cartoonish villains. But I don't have a problem making the transition to Middle Indy in the films, either. (And Young Indy Did wind up fighting a form of Dracula, after all, though I thought that was one Poor episode.)
Oh, about the wide-eyed thing, I also liked that even Old Indy, after all these years, still had that touch of the kid's outlook, the sense of wonder and optimisim. I agreed with the interpretation that Indy would become a friendly curmudgeon in his old age. Somewhere in-between the Young Indy and Middle Indy personalities. (Heheh, of course, they say when people get old enough they sometimes revert to childhood in their senility and loss of inhibitions.)
The one missing link for me is seeing the answer to just how and why Young Indy went from where we last saw him to becoming a Professor like his Dad? And also, when does he get into the mercenary business that would lead him into working for guys like Lao-Che in Temple Of Doom? I wanted the show to continue so we might've seen that day when Young Indy would don the traditional Indywear (Leather Jacket, Whip, Khakis, Pistol) for the First Time and go out questing for the Big Score. A new movie set in the latter 20s to tell this story could be fun.
*end of ramble*