YIJC first aired in 1991 in Australia

reinthal

New member
The YIJC must have got an early trial run in Australia well before it aired in the USA as I remember seeing 'Curse of the Jackal' sometime between August and October 1991 on Channel Nine here in Australia. Supporting this memory, I distinctly remember watching it in the house I was living in Melbourne before I left in late November to go to Europe for two years and when I got back to Aus I never returned again to that house. I also remember me and my university housemate watching it together and being quite disappointed it with it. Nevertheless, I persevered and I can remember watching one of the next episodes which was the British East Africa 1909 episode. I'm not sure if I watched any more, I seem to remember they moved it to a less accessible time slot or suspended it altogether for a time; it originally screened in the evenings, I think on a Monday, though maybe 'Jackal' screened on a Sunday night at prime time to kick the series off.

Then about a year later while living in German-speaking Europe I caught "The Somme, early August 1916" episode one weekend, screening in the afternoon. Far from being disappointed this time I was totally enraptured by this episode; it was then I became a Young Indy fan. (It's still my favourite episode, but Oganga probably equals it.) Unfortunately, I did not get too many chances to see it again, just an episode or two again in Europe and one or two when they screened in the mid to late 90s around midday Saturdays when I was back in Australia (and was lucky enough to stumble upon them!) It wasn't until the DVD release that I got to see them all properly.

Anyway, can anyone confirm that it screened in Aus in 1991? If not, I can always go down to the State library here in Melbourne and spend half a day retrieving old newspapers and TV guides (no, I don't want to have to do that!)
 

phantom train

New member
Wow, this is news to me. I distinctly remember seeing the first?! trailer/ad for the YIJC in late December '91, right after the U.S. TV network airing of one of the IJ films.

The show didn't air in the U.S. until Spring '92.

However, the airing of the show in Australia in Fall '91 is entirely possible, given that the show had different air dates in non-U.S. countries.
 

Stoo

Well-known member
reinthal said:
The YIJC must have got an early trial run in Australia well before it aired in the USA as I remember seeing 'Curse of the Jackal' sometime between August and October 1991 on Channel Nine here in Australia.
That's very odd especially considering that the filming of "Curse of the Jackal" only finished in August 1991 and "British East Africa" was filmed in Sept-October 1991. Without knocking your memory, Reinthal, it would seem unlikely that the show aired as early as you remember due to the amount of post-production time necessary to finish the episodes in question.
reinthal said:
Anyway, can anyone confirm that it screened in Aus in 1991? If not, I can always go down to the State library here in Melbourne and spend half a day retrieving old newspapers and TV guides (no, I don't want to have to do that!)
To my knowledge, the show premiered in your neighbouring New Zealand on 31 May, 1993, more than a year after the U.S. & Canadian premiere. (I know that Australia and New Zealand are seperate countries but thought this detail was worth mentioning.)

Do any other Aussie Ravenheads have a recollection of such an early showing?:confused:

P.S. Welcome to The Raven, Reinthal!:hat:
 

JuniorJones

TR.N Staff Member
phantom train said:
Wow, this is news to me. I distinctly remember seeing the first?! trailer/ad for the YIJC in late December '91, right after the U.S. TV network airing of one of the IJ films.

The show didn't air in the U.S. until Spring '92.

However, the airing of the show in Australia in Fall '91 is entirely possible, given that the show had different air dates in non-U.S. countries.

I think it was August 1992.
 

reinthal

New member
Thank you guys for clearing this up. I racked my brains trying to work out where I had seen the premiere of Curse of the Jackal as I had the best part of two years away from the English-speaking world around the time of its release. I now realise that I must've seen it when I stayed in London in 1993 not Australia after all. I assume it first screened in the UK in early 1993?
 

Stoo

Well-known member
reinthal said:
I now realise that I must've seen it when I stayed in London in 1993 not Australia after all. I assume it first screened in the UK in early 1993?
Do you remember seeing "Jackal" as a 2-hour movie or split into 2 episodes? The dates I found for the U.K. on SKY1 were: 1993, May 2nd (part1) & May 9th (part 2).

After 3 other episodes, "British East Africa" supposedly aired on June 6th (the 49th anniversary of D-Day).

Does that fit with your recollection, Reinthal?
reinthal said:
Then about a year later while living in German-speaking Europe I caught "The Somme, early August 1916" episode one weekend, screening in the afternoon.
Would that be Austria or the German part of Switzerland, perhaps?
 

reinthal

New member
Hmmm... it couldn't have been Sky1 as that's a cable channel isn't it? I definitely saw it as a two hour long movie on free-to-air TV. Then the British East Africa episode a week (or two?) later. However, I was there in May 93.

I saw the Somme episode in Austria, but as it was only 6km from the Bavarian border it could've easily been a German channel (actually more likely than not, as we had more German channels on the cable service we had.) I was there from early Sept. to late Oct. 93. I'm not sure if I caught another episode after that. Anyway the Somme blew me away (especially the slow onslaught of the flamethrowers coming through the mist) and it stuck in my mind. Thereafter I always meant to catch as many Young Indys as I could but it took many, many years until the DVDs came out in 2007-08 for me to see more than a fleeting episode here or there by chance.
 

JuniorJones

TR.N Staff Member
UK airings

Sky (UK) for 2nd May 1993

Indysky1.jpg


BBC1 (UK) 19th November 1994

bbcundt.jpg
 

reinthal

New member
Great. The BBC1 listing you posted Junior implies that it's a repeat, i.e. screening in the early afternoon, well out of primetime, and in late 1994, though it doesn't explicitly say so. Since this would mean that it screened on the BBC at an earlier date, this fits in with my recollection that it was on free-to-air TV.

As for the Sky1 listing perhaps we can conclude that it screened on the BBC around that time, either shortly beforehand or shortly afterward? Either would fit in my time in the UK.

I think we can safely say mystery solved!
 
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JuniorJones

TR.N Staff Member
reinthal said:
Great. The BBC1 listing you posted Junior implies that it's a repeat, i.e. screening in the early afternoon, well out of primetime, and in late 1994, though it doesn't explicitly say so. Since this would mean that it screened on the BBC at an earlier date, this fits in with my recollection that it was on free-to-air TV.

As for the Sky1 listing perhaps we can conclude that it screened on the BBC around that time, either shortly beforehand or shortly afterward? Either would fit in my time in the UK.

I think we can safely say mystery solved!

Just to clairfy

Sky (UK) had exculsive rights to broadcast IJC and did so from Sunday 2nd May 1993 until the BBC gained rights starting Sunday 20th Nov 1994.

He's the listing for the 27th November 1994.

indys2.jpg
 

JuniorJones

TR.N Staff Member
...and now for Sky...

lavish.jpg


Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
Sky One - 7.00pm

A lavish new adventure series opens with a slightly tame two-parter in which nine-year-old Indiana Jones meets up with Tutankhamen’s discoverers on Egypt, and, in the second section joins the 1916 revolution Mexico at the age of 16. Along the way there is some pointed name-dropping with our hero bumping into T.E Lawrence in Egypt and meeting a young Lieutenant George Patton in Mexico. Later episodes feature none too subtle introductions to further historical figures. More importantly though, we are promised guest actors including Harrison Ford himself, and a fine line up of directors. The Egypt section tonight was directed by Jewel in the Crown’s Jim O’Brien and Nicolas Roeg, Gavin Millar and David Hare are all to come, George Lucas is the executive producer throughout.
 

reinthal

New member
Well, :confused: mystery re-opened then. Sky1 certainly ain't a free-to-air channel and I wasn't in the UK in 1994. This is bugging me...
 

JuniorJones

TR.N Staff Member
reinthal said:
Well, :confused: mystery re-opened then. Sky1 certainly ain't a free-to-air channel and I wasn't in the UK in 1994. This is bugging me...

Them are the facts, sir. :cool:

columbo-peter-falk.jpg
 
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Stoo

Well-known member
reinthal said:
I saw the Somme episode in Austria, but as it was only 6km from the Bavarian border it could've easily been a German channel (actually more likely than not, as we had more German channels on the cable service we had.) I was there from early Sept. to late Oct. 93. I'm not sure if I caught another episode after that. Anyway the Somme blew me away (especially the slow onslaught of the flamethrowers coming through the mist) and it stuck in my mind.
Another conundrum. The air dates in Germany - SAT1 and Austria - ORF1 were the same and both channels aired the Somme on: 3rd January, 1993. (Two years later, SAT1 showed it again on: 27th February 1995.)

Incidentally, back in '97 or so, I traded with a Swiss guy for the 4 rare episodes and he recorded them from the Austrian ORF1.

And, yes, the onslaught with the flamethrowers in the Somme episode was fearsome & unforgettable.:eek:
Sky One - 7.00pm

A lavish new adventure series opens with a slightly tame two-parter in which nine-year-old Indiana Jones meets up with Tutankhamen?s discoverers on Egypt, and, in the second section joins the 1916 revolution Mexico at the age of 16. Along the way there is some pointed name-dropping with our hero bumping into T.E Lawrence in Egypt and meeting a young Lieutenant George Patton in Mexico. Later episodes feature none too subtle introductions to further historical figures. More importantly though, we are promised guest actors including Harrison Ford himself, and a fine line up of directors. The Egypt section tonight was directed by Jewel in the Crown?s Jim O?Brien and Nicolas Roeg, Gavin Millar and David Hare are all to come, George Lucas is the executive producer throughout.
The mystery thickens even more! Since the guide lists another show beginning at 8:00pm on SKY, it proves that "Jackal" was split into 2 weeks and wasn't the full movie in one night.

Also, this leads me to believe that the dates I found for the rest of the SKY run are indeed correct, thus, "British East Africa" was most likely shown on 6th June, 1993 (as I posted above) and not a week or two later, as Reinthal remembers.
JuniorJones said:
Them are the facts, sir. :cool:
"Just the facts, ma'am.";)

6WEBB.JPG
 

reinthal

New member
Stoo said:
Another conundrum. The air dates in Germany - SAT1 and Austria - ORF1 were the same and both channels aired the Somme on: 3rd January, 1993. (Two years later, SAT1 showed it again on: 27th February 1995.)

Well, I was in Austria on the 3rd of January 1993, so that checks out. Any idea what time it screened? I puts me money on 5pm but that's just a wild guess.

Stoo said:
The mystery thickens even more! Since the guide lists another show beginning at 8:00pm on SKY, it proves that "Jackal" was split into 2 weeks and wasn't the full movie in one night.

Also, this leads me to believe that the dates I found for the rest of the SKY run are indeed correct, thus, "British East Africa" was most likely shown on 6th June, 1993 (as I posted above) and not a week or two later, as Reinthal remembers.

Doesn't matter as I couldn't have seen it on Sky anyway as the place I was staying in London didn't have cable, so only BBC1&2, ITV and Channel 4.

And Junior, thanks but nope I wasn't in Ireland until sometime in June 1993 and I didn't watch any TV there anyway. I did stay in Denmark for three weeks in August 1992 and they have subtitles there rather than synchronisation. I must've watched at least some TV there.
 
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