from Jonathan Klotz
| Published
The 1990s were a golden era for syndicated fantasy shows; following the trail of Hercules: The Legendary Journeysthe audience made a hit Xena: The Warrior Princessand then a series of similar shows, from The New Adventures of Robin Hood and The Adventures of Sinbad to Jack of Hearts soon followed, with seemingly every international production company deciding to make their own show. He was lost among his more popular contemporaries Tarzan: The Epic Adventuresanother attempt to adapt Edgar Rice Burrough’s famous creation for the small screen, and it was just as low-budget and expensive as you’d expect, but before Season 2 could go into production, an inadvertent bankruptcy shut it down for good.
Excerpts from classic novels
Tarzan: The Epic Adventures stars Joe Lara as the Monkey King for the second time, reprising his role from the made-for-TV movie Tarzan in Manhattanalthough the two adaptations couldn’t be more different. The syndicated series drew heavily from the original novels, including the villain, Count Nicholas Rockoff, and the concept of Pellucidar (Burroughs’ take on the Hollow Earth myth), but did not include Jane. Instead, Tarzan is joined by his old friend Themba, who is about to discover what has happened to her tribe.
Filmed in Sun City, the famous South African resort that became a flashpoint in the 1980s, Tarzan: The Epic Adventures it seems like it’s set in the same part of the jungle every episode because it was. Made on a shoestring budget, the show features terrible dialogue, expensive special effects and a parade of cheap-looking costumes, but that’s part of the appeal, too. To the production team’s credit, they seemed to be in on the joke without anyone taking it too seriously, and the result was a fun, guilty pleasure that you don’t want anyone to know you’re enjoying.
Involuntary bankruptcy
Tarzan: The Epic Adventures it may have been made on the cheap, but it wasn’t cheap enough for Seagull Entertainment, the show’s international distributor. Seagull Entertainment was forced into bankruptcy in the summer of 1997, just after the series aired its final episode, after failing to pay 50 employees and numerous creditors totaling over $500,000 in debts. At the time, Season 2 was already in the planning stages and was supposed to introduce Jane, but due to forces beyond the production’s control, it never happened.
Thanks to the self-destruction of Seagull Entertainment, Tarzan: The Epic Adventures he never had a second chance. The show’s production company, Keller Entertainment Group, was also trying to develop a syndicated Conan the Barbarian series. However, it never made it to television, failing like many other Conan attempts before it left pre-production.
amazingly Tarzan: The Epic Adventures is one of the most successful adaptations of the classic character since the 1950s. here, joining To Alexander Skarsgård The Legend of Tarzan and Disney animation Tarzan. Despite being one of the most popular characters in the 1930s and 1950s, Tarzan has been parodied too much in pop culture to appeal to modern audiences, except those who enjoy all things tongue-in-cheek.
Tarzan: The Epic Adventures is available for streaming Pipes and The Roku Channel.
