While this massive DVD box set is led by the youthful versions of the more famous Man In The Hat, Volume One of THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES is a rollicking good journey through the early years of the character growing up in the early history of the 20th century, when the world embarked on its own turbulent thrill-ride of change and innovation.

Executive Producer/Creator George Lucas and Paramount Home Entertainment have spent four years (and a considerable sum of money) realizing the dream which Lucas first had for YOUNG INDIANA JONES back in 1992. Their result is a stunning epic of world history, exotic intrigue, and education-in-action which captures the spirit of the feature films extremely well in a television series that was far ahead of its time, and remains enjoyably relevant today.

This Volume One set contains 12 discs of original YOUNG INDIANA JONES episodes handsomely produced in distant corners of the world (some episodes never aired in the U.S.), supported with 38 documentaries studying the real-life people and events which appear in the series. Episodes and bonus extras clock in at nearly 11 hours of total viewing material, designed to engage audiences in adventurous tales and actual history tied into Young Indy's fictional exploits. This combination results in a stellar, brilliant blend of daring action well suited to entertain and educate young (and not-so-young) minds — who knew learning about Tolstoy or Theosophy could be such whip-cracking fun?

While the YOUNG INDIANA JONES series jumped forward and back in time like Indy leaping across a treacherous temple pit, the Volume One set has been re-edited for better continuity in the storyline. Now these rearranged chapters, presented and editorially enhanced to play as individual movies, show complete episodes which focus on either the 9 year-old Indy (played by Corey Carrier) or the late-teenage Indy (a suitably Ford-ian incarnation by Sean Patrick Flanery), instead of mixing the two eras of the character as did the original two-hour broadcast premiere.

Disc One offers a prime example of these chapter revisions as My First Adventure opens the series in 1908 as Henry Jones Junior starts down the road of exploration at age 9, tagging along with his mother while his historian father tours the globe. The intelligent but mischievous young Indy stumbles into meeting T.E. Lawrence himself — later to become the legendary Lawrence of Arabia — who rescues the lad while stranded at the Great Pyramids of Egypt. Joining the team of noted Egyptologist Howard Carter unearthing the tombs of Pharaohs, Indy gets embroiled in the mystery of stolen artifacts and murder in their Cairo base camp.

In its original 1992 televised debut titled Young Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Jackal, this first hour was followed by a bookend Indy adventure at age 16 (played by Flanery) where he eventually solves the artifact mystery amid the Mexican Revolution. Now, the 1908 Egypt segment transitions (with a new scene shot in 1997 for this DVD) into a North African adventure through the dangerous slave markets of Marrakech — an episode shot in 1996 which never aired in its broadcast run.

This First Adventure also typifies the goal of the series, inspiring young viewers (and by design, classroom students) to learn about early 20th century history by bringing to dramatized life the people who helped shape our history. Indy meets Carter as he opens the tomb of Tutankhamen, galvanizing Indiana Jones' lifelong interest in the pursuit and protection of ancient antiquities. At this tender age Jones learns to separate historical fact from superstitious legend — a quest which the grown-up Indy pursues through the blockbuster film series in the guise of Harrison Ford, even as the fourth INDIANA JONES movie wraps production. Yet the television series was also afforded (by George Lucas) the luxury of interweaving social studies and awareness through these tales, just as young Indy learns first-hand the injustice and perils of slavery amid the black markets of Marrakech.

One of the triumphs of this project is how the skilled writers and directors tempered these educational priorities of episodes with liberal amounts of dashing good fun. Young Indy's adventures blend knowledge and exciting drama to the benefit of both pursuits, and wisely avoid becoming heavy-handed lectures on the historical topics at hand. It's one thing to learn Edison made the incandescent light bulb, but it's much more entertaining to join Indiana Jones as he's embroiled in a mysterious theft from Edison's laboratory involving German spies. Mix historical education with dramatic adventure and the bulb of inspiration can light over all our heads.

Credit for the series' entertainment value is due to the entire cast as Carrier and Flanery are team up with their globetrotting parents, Lloyd Owen (Henry Jones Sr.) and Ruth De Sosa (Anna Jones). A constant and influential presence in Young Indy's life is his wise taskmaster of a tutor, Helen Seymour (ably played by Margaret Tyzack). In his late teens, Indy is joined by his frequent adventure companion Remy, the early counterpart to adult Indy's Sallah (portrayed deftly by Ronny Coutteure).

Another facet which raised the series' astounding production value were numerous guest star appearances by the likes of well known and just-breaking actors like Max Von Sydow (as Sigmund Freud), BATMAN's Michael Gough (as Leo Tolstoy), Vanessa Redgrave (as Lady Prentiss), and a early appearance by actress/model Elizabeth Hurley (as Indy's love interest, Vicky Prentiss). Yet these stars were not cast merely for marquis value — they and many other skilled actors give stirring and realistic portrayals of their historical figures, making the illusion and drama surround their appearance in the series all the more believable, and thus more educational.

Speaking of production value, THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES was an experiment on many successful fronts by creator George Lucas. Producer Rick McCallum and a crew of 25 toured the continents of the world, capturing grand vistas and authentic villages from Europe to Africa, the Americas to China. This unprecedented scope of visions far surpassed the most ambitious of television series to date, and from its debut gave YOUNG INDIANA JONES a distinctive, high quality look even on the small screen.

Lucas also used the series as a testing grounds for ILM's fledgling efforts in digital visual effects, creating pixel-powered matte paintings of historic Cairo, London, Vienna and Peking, recreating vintage steamships and German zeppelins when such scenes were impossible to film practically. Coupled with the cost-saving production shooting in 16mm film instead of the much more expensive 35mm format, YOUNG INDIANA JONES artfully balanced technical economy with dramatic extravagance in ways no series had attempted before with beautiful visual results.

The bonus materials contained in Volume One alone are a treasure worthy of Indiana Jones' most death-defying stunts to obtain. These 38 entirely new documentaries — of the 94 total throughout all three volumes — were overseen by CBS News veteran David Schneider. Appearances and interviews with the likes of Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell, Gloria Steinem and Deepak Chopra offer viewers contemporary insights into these historical subjects which still resonate in today's world, and likely through tomorrow's. Indy's fictional exploits mirror the highly factual featurettes, comprised of rare photos and footage about notable figures from President Theodore Roosevelt to psychologist Carl Jung, revolutionary leader Pancho Villa to future army general George S. Patton.

These documentaries also enlighten viewers on period subjects in the episodes, examining the Women's Suffrage movement, Eastern spirituality and industrial innovation. All featurettes are incredibly well produced in their own rights, blending stimulating discussion with spirited education. The character of Indiana Jones may be the key which unlocks the gateway to these people and subjects, but the excellent documentaries are the true treasures to be found within.

Volume One concludes with "Ireland/England 1916" and Young Indy's arrival in Ireland just before the Easter Rebellion, then traveling to London where he falls in love with a young suffragette before he deploys as a volunteer in the Belgian Army. It's perhaps Sean Patrick Flanery's finest performance in the set, one matched by a young Elizabeth Hurley whose strong-minded independence matches Indy's brash style, even to the point of a multi-lingual duel of words played over tea as they court. But with World War I looming on the horizon as Indy's train leaves London, more daring and dangerous adventures await our hero as he confronts history head-on.

The DVD set is capped off with an engaging, energetic discussion by Professor H.W. Brands, summarizing how many of the world events portrayed in THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES figure prominently in what Brands calls The Promise of Progress. This one-on-one discourse with viewers — calling this a 'lecture' doesn't do it justice — embodies the positive spirit and productive ethic which Lucas first envisioned when creating the series: imagination and ingenuity combined with human integrity can solve and surmount any obstacle we encounter, as evidenced in the very history of the last century. This is the educational equivalent of Indiana Jones riding off into the sunset, ready and most willing to face the challenges and adventures which await him just over the horizon — exactly where the dramatic thread of Volume One leaves off with Young Indy, eager and ready for more exciting escapades in THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES Volume Two, available December 18th, 2007, followed by Volume Three in Spring 2008.

READ OUR VOLUME TWO REVIEW HERE

READ OUR VOLUME THREE REVIEW HERE