Introducing someone to Young Indy...

Crack that whip

New member
So I told one of my gaming associates all about the show, and she was intrigued, and after weeks of 'teasing' we finally broke down and started acquainting her with Indy's early escapades, via my DVDs. Aware that they originally weren't shown in chronological order anyway, I wound up just sort of cherry-picking a few to show her - Phantom Train of Doom, Oganga: The Giver and Taker of Life and Love's Sweet Song - and she now seems hooked. I've told her about the reconfiguration of the show and the omission of the bookends and all that, and so far it's not an issue; she's enjoying the series anyway, and now that she's more or less hooked I think I'm going to just show her the rest in (the new) chronological order, but I'm wondering whether I ought to instead try to show her the original episodes that I do have, assuming my ancient homemade VHS tapes are still viewable.

Thoughts?
 

Flannery10

New member
If they are viewable and the quality is somewhat good, show her the originals. In my opinion, they work a heck of a lot better than the cheaply made 90 minute re-edits with linking segments.
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Now that you've teased her with some of the best episodes it's hard to say which direction to take but
I would definitely hold off on Old Indy for the meantime. (He's reserved for those who can't get enough.)

It also depends on what she's into. My girlfriend (of 10 years, egads!) appreciates intelligent sci-fi but thinks
that my Indy addiction is idiotic. Recently, we watched "Istanbul" together and she became instantly glued to
the screen. After a few more episodes, I wanted to see "Prague" (we were going back there again, next day).
It ruined her interest and if I'd showed her Old Indy, she probably would've vomited. That said, I bet she'd enjoy
"Love's Sweet Song" very much (and you were wise to show it).

Be careful revealing Old Indy to the uninitiated.:p If you're going to promote any originals, I'd start with
"Curse of the Jackal"...above all.
 

Crack that whip

New member
Alas, Young Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Jackal's not a easily-doable option; I did tape it back in the day, and not long after I mailed the tape to a friend of mine overseas so she could see it, assuming I'd one day be able to buy a nice commercial copy (d'oh!). I therefore don't have that particular episode, though I believe I have nearly all the others that aired in the US, albeit not always in the best of shape even to begin with (because of issues with broadcast quality, differences between VCRs, etc.). It had occurred to me I might be able to make use of the old Indy segments some kind soul has uploaded to YouTube ;) , perhaps watching a bit of YT and then a chunk of DVD, etc., but that's rather unwieldy. I've been meaning to get a new copy (if only for myself!).

Ah, well. Someday. For now, the important thing is that I got her totally intrigued in the show, and she's really enjoying it so far based upon the handful of ones I've shown her. As it happens, she's both very interested in Lawrence of Arabia and also has an interest in dramatic (fictional and not) portrayals of real-life historical figures, so this particular show has been a pretty easy sell so far, to put it lightly. :) I hadn't even realized she was also interested in Irish history, and during the first half of "Love's Sweet Song," as certain historical events were unfolding, she reacted with surprise and appreciative recognition of said events. On the whole, she seems to like it an awful lot so far.
(y)

I gather prior to my showing her the show she enjoyed and appreciated the Indy movies, but not to an extent she'd be considered particularly a fan, but she's interested. She hasn't seen the latest movie yet but has expressed an interest in doing so, and we might see it soon (it's still playing at the discount theater here, and of course it'll be out on DVD in less than two weeks), but I think The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones / The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles is likely going to be her favorite screen production about Henry Sr.'s amazing kid.
 
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Crack that whip

New member
Stoo said:
Now that you've teased her with some of the best episodes it's hard to say which direction to take but
I would definitely hold off on Old Indy for the meantime. (He's reserved for those who can't get enough.)

It also depends on what she's into. My girlfriend (of 10 years, egads!) appreciates intelligent sci-fi but thinks
that my Indy addiction is idiotic. Recently, we watched "Istanbul" together and she became instantly glued to
the screen. After a few more episodes, I wanted to see "Prague" (we were going back there again, next day).
It ruined her interest and if I'd showed her Old Indy, she probably would've vomited. That said, I bet she'd enjoy
"Love's Sweet Song" very much (and you were wise to show it).

Be careful revealing Old Indy to the uninitiated.:p If you're going to promote any originals, I'd start with
"Curse of the Jackal"...above all.

Well, I had already mentioned that not all fans cared for either the idea of seeing contemporary old Indy in general and/or George Hall's performance in particular, at the same time letting her know that (IMO, of course) most of the episodes worked better with the context provided by the framing bookends, even if one doesn't necessarily care for the bookends themselves. I certainly wouldn't think the Old Indy segments would kill the show for this particular newcomer to the show, but of course that's something that will vary from viewer to viewer.

At any rate, it doesn't seem to matter now. After I showed her those first three movies, she independently went and sought out the beginning of Young Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Jackal on YouTube (I'd already told her how the original pilot had been more dramatically reconfigured than most episodes, with the two halves each becoming half of a different new movie, etc.; she might've gone and watched a little StooTV :eek: ), and she doesn't seem to have had a violent reaction to George Hall's Indy, :p :D though I don't actually know yet what she thought. She simply asked me about the lead-in to young Indy's first adventure (Egypt '08 - ooh, it's been a century since Indy began his globetrotting; we should've planned an event to mark the occasion:p ), saying she didn't really know how viewers could be just plopped into Indy's travels without any of the explanatory narration, and I informed her that My First Adventure does open with Corey Carrier's Young Indy delivering a variation on the narration that begins Old Indy's story to the kids in the museum. A good sign, I think (though an even better one would be the enthusiasm she displayed for the three I already showed her).
(y)
 

vf wing

New member
Good luck to all trying to enrich their significant others' lives. I sort of did the opposite today by determining a potential romantic interest was pretty much out of the equation when she stated her disdain for KOTCS. :(

But, I do want to add one thing for those trying to introduce someone to the show via the DVD releases: I suggest showing them the special features first. Although I thought the Cupid episode was probably the weakest I've seen yet, I understood and appreciated the character of Franz Ferdinand far better after seeing the documentary on his life and times. The docs haven't really given anything away about the episodes thus far and have helped me to separate the facts from the fictional content.

The doc on Tolstoy brought me to tears a couple of times. And are making me squirm with anticipation of the episode to follow!
 

Crack that whip

New member
It's going well so far! The other day we finally got around to going back to the beginning (now that I've whet her appetite ;) ) and watched My First Adventure and Passion for Life, and I'm pleased to report that despite the expected "disconnect" from the melding of episodes with Indy/Corey at different ages, she loves it so far. (y) We're going to go through the whole saga in order (or as close to it as the DVDs get, anyway), running from My First Adventure all the way up to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which she missed in theaters.
 

sandiegojones

New member
I'm a big history lover, but I never really liked Young Indy. It premiered when I was 12-13 and I watched the first few episodes when they aired. Some of the episodes were okay, but for the most part I prefer a real in depth documentary (although the idea for the series was creative before it got like Forrest Gump). I like facts and some things in the show are stretch the truth a bit.

I do love the films though. Perhaps this show could have been great with River Phoenix.
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Crack that whip said:
She simply asked me about the lead-in to young Indy's first adventure (Egypt '08 - ooh, it's been a century since Indy began his globetrotting; we should've planned an event to mark the occasion:p)
Ah...but we didn't have to. 'Twas already planned for us and it was called "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull".
May 2008, exactly 100 years after Henry Jones, Jr. leaves Princeton.
Crack that whip said:
she loves it so far.(y)
Better get a tray of iced tea ready for the Mata Hari episode. Things might get a little..um...hot (being in Florida and all).:eek:
 

vf wing

New member
Well, I'll have to revise my earlier recommendation. To anyone familiar with the films and curious about the tv show, I'd definitely show them Mystery of the Blues right off the bat. Not only does it feature the Ford bookends and Williams themes, but the episode itself is quite possibly the best executed story of the entire run.
 

Crack that whip

New member
We just finished the series last night, and she loves it! She was sad to see it come to an end and is looking forward to seeing The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles when circumstance permits (to see the original Old Indy bookends, and any other additional material she can), as well as the four feature films, which we'll start in the next couple days, possibly today (she's seen each of the original three, albeit not all that often, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom she's seen only once, back when it came out). It helps that she's a huge T. E. Lawrence enthusiast and he has such a significant presence in the show (probably the next thing we watch after KotCS will be Lawrence of Arabia). She also loves Remy, who I'm sure will prove her favorite Indy sidekick. Anyway, it's an all-around success - she's hooked! I just hope she enjoys the movies nearly as much as the TV show...
 

Crack that whip

New member
... aaand she enjoyed Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, too! I think we'll watch Raiders of the Lost Ark today; I expect we'll get all the way up to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull no later than the end of this week, in fact.

At this point this topic is probably not particularly specific to the Young Indy forum, but most of this little project has been about showing her the show, so...
 

vf wing

New member
When you break it down into hours, there's nearly four times as much filmed material in the tv show than in the films :cool: That's not even counting the documentaries!
 

Crack that whip

New member
Yeah; in our endeavor, the movies feel almost like an afterthought, coming after the TV series.

They're still much enjoyed, though, of course. We watched Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade last night, and she enjoyed both; partway through Raiders she said she'd forgotten what a good movie it was - she'd seen it a number of times before, just not as often or recently as most here; she'd seen Crusade perhaps a couple times and Temple once, upon its release, and I'm pleased to say she appreciated all three.

Our evenings tonight, tomorrow and Saturday are already slated for other things, so we'll finish off with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull sometime Sunday. I hope she enjoys it, but even if she doesn't, I think I've made at least a casual Indy fan of her, and possibly a more devoted one - mostly not because of the movies but because of the TV series. It's such a shame it doesn't get more attention, but I'm cautiously hopeful it'll eventually be discovered by a lot of those people who would really appreciate it.
 

Crack that whip

New member
Aaaaaaand... she liked the last movie, too! Dare I hope to have officially made a fan of her?

Certainly, I think I can say she loves the TV show, anyway...

:)
 

Joosse

New member
I recently introduced my wife to Young Indiana Jones, as she enjoys the movies as much as I do. Well, maybe not that much, but she sure thinks their fun.:)

I'm just using the order that they are in on the DVD's now. She liked the ones with Corey Carrier. But when we came up to Spring Break Adventure, she loathed it. Hated every part.:(

Thee result is now that she doesn't want to see any more Young Indy.:(

What did I do wrong?

Why is the first part of Spring Break so terrible?:mad:
 

Crack that whip

New member
Beats me. :confused: I'm not entirely fond of everything about the new linking material between the Princeton and Mexico segments, but I really enjoy both segments themselves, especially Mexico. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. You can talk to her, so you're in an infinitely better position to find out what she hated about "Spring Break Adventure."

That said, there are other adventures later in the chronology I enjoy even more, and which embrace a widely varying range of tones, themes, subjects, locales, supporting players, moods, etc., so I certainly hope she'll give the series another shot. I'm almost certain there'll be something in those SPF installments that she'll enjoy, just so long as she'll permit herself to get to it...
 

Sven

New member
Bumping up another old thread for a statement.

I started to introduce the Young Indy series to my wife some days ago and she loves it, even she isn't especially interested in history. We watch the re-edited versions in a chronological order and finished "My First Adventure", "Passion for Life" and "The Perils of Cupid" so far. I added some informations about the historical background and the persons in the story instead of the missed old Indy.

I never thought that she would enjoy it - surprise, surprise... :D

BTW: anyone in here who creates (or is interested in) props based on the chronicles? I have a lot of ideas and would like to get in touch with some other aficionados. :)
 
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