The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, Volume One - The Early Years

The overall effect of these handsome, feature-length stories, all shot on glorious location, is of a certain audacity--Lucas having the nerve to name-drop all over the place and situate Jones with some of the greatest achievers in world culture. But each episode is nothing less than spectacularly educational as well as entertaining. Scripts are carefully written to reflect what these famous individuals actually contributed to mankind, and to give a sense of what their personalities were like. The last three shows in Volume One find Jones at age 20 (played by Sean Patrick Flanery), now more or less on his own as he gets into various scrapes in Mexico (where he rides with Pancho Villa) and Ireland (where he meets William Butler Yeats). There is so much to glean from these stories, but even more to bask in on the set's many special features, which include multiple, exquisitely produced documentaries about the historical figures, political and artistic movements, and crucial events that play into this series. This is a great set for kids (probably beginning at the 6th grade level) and adults as well, preferably to watch together. --Tom Keogh