Conan the Adventurer

Rating:
Summary: A Great Fantasy Series
Review: A couple of reviewers have unnecessarily bashed this series because of dismal Nielsen ratings and low production values. Many an outstanding show has been cancelled because of Nielsen ratings, so that's hardly an indicator of quality. When I watch a Saturday afternoon fantasy tv series, I don't honestly expect the pilot to have the budget of a summer blockbuster. These are very unfair criticisms.

The show does admirably and faithfully pay homage both to Arnuld's Conan as well as Robert E. Howard's Conan. Having read the original versions of Howard's short stories and one novella on Conan, I would argue that the tv series is relatively faithful to its source material. Most people who haven't read Howard don't realize that he didn't write very much Conan at all. What he did write would be very hard to adapt to a tv series. Finally, that the producers took on a fantasy series--even with limited success--is still admirable. The fantasy genre, whether on the big or small screen, has always been a dubious investment with far more misses than hits.

With regard to the show itself the entire cast is convincing in their roles. The writing and direction, while admittedly not stellar, bounces between watchable mediocrity and the predictable plot that's balanced by the occasional outstanding episode. The one obvious failure in the show is the LACK of a regular female cast member. This is one basic ingridient that should have been added. Red Sonja would have made an excellent regular character, which would have given the writers a lot more to work with. Instead, they had (the arduous task) to create on a weekly basis a strong female character.

It's too bad that Conan ultimately failed on the small screen. A second season might have overcome the weaknesses of the first, which often does happen in many a series, especially in the sci-fi and fantasy genre: all of the ST series vastly improved with the season season for example. If you, like myself, missed the original run of Conan, you will appreciate the opportunity to watch this series, which--thankfully-has been very reasonably priced.

Rating:
Summary: Great Unappreciated Show!!!
Review: First a quick review:
Picture quality is fine , colorful and clear with some minor compression occasionally (5 episodes per 1 sided discs,last disc has 2 episodes) Sound is clear and crisp. Episodes are uncut as memory serves.
Correct episode order:
On disc 1 Heir Apparent which originally aired last as #22 was filmed fourth. Heir Apparent should be watched as the last episode on disc 1. (watch as the 5th episode on disc 1) for continuity reasons. Lethal Wizards IS the SERIES FINALE. Explanation below:

When the show ran originally, one of the Main actors (not Conan) appears to have left the show after the third episode (Lair of the Beastmen) and a new actor takes over a new role on the fourth episode (The Siege of Ahl Sohn-Bar). 17 episodes later the series finale airs (Lethal Wizards which has a definite and satisfying ending to the series). Then, Heir Apparent aired as the last episode and because this was really filmed fourth with the original actor before a new actor had been introduced into the series a new voice over was made explaining why the new guy was gone and why the old guy was back. Confusing right?
To rectify this simply watch Heir Apparent after The Siege of Ahl Sohn-Bar and everything fits perfectly.
Hopefully this helps anyone watching the show.

Rating:
Summary: LOW BUDGET but GREAT escapism for B movie fans
Review: I can't believe this is on DVD! I just stumbled across it and was thrilled! Conan was always a great "saturday matinee" kind of show that was meant for the whole family and there were no blood and guts (I didn't expect any) but what the hell! I loved it! I watched this when it was on a small time local TV station in my area and really enjoyed it but nobody I know ever even heard of it. Ralf Moeller was a excellent as Conan and Danny Woodburn really shined. I enjoyed the continuity of the episodes which was something different from other fantasy shows (that may have also hurt the show since viewers had to keep up with it) and it was obviously cheaply made but that was part of it's charm. B movie lovers will enjoy it. I did. Take this show for what it is or leave it alone. I can't wait to pick up this set!

Rating:
Summary: Low budget series but high quality DVD set!
Review: I just got this as a gift for Christmas and I'm thrilled with it. I'm having a blast watching it. I just want to take a moment to give my appreciation for the quality of this set. Everything from the box art to the slim individual cases of each volume... I also really like how the menus are set up. And there's even chapters for each individual episode. Something you don't get in a lot of the more popular & highly regarded shows. This package was put together with care. Since there is (unfortunately) only one season someone had the good sense to make it right.

Rating:
Summary: fun show and very nice dvd set
Review: i was given this as a present recently. i'd never seen ths show before but was won over quickly by it. it's ultra entertaining and it's quite an impressive dvd set which was put together very well. good stuff and nicely done.

Rating:
Summary: campy fun - moeller makes a great hero
Review: I was skeptical going into this. How would they recast a role made famous by Ahnuld? Then I saw this series and was really impressed by this Ralph Moeller. I never heard of the guy before I saw this show and he makes a great hero for a fantasy show. He's a little more like Steeve Reeve's Hercules than Conan since this series was made with a kid audience in mind. Moeller comes across as the nicest Conan ever and yet that's not a bad thing since Moeller makes it work. Yes the production values were low and few saw this series and yet when all is said and done I liked it. The guy who called this the "Plan 9 of fantasy series" is right. This is a very fun and funny show and the females are hot too. No matter what some Scrooges say I'm not afraid to admit that I had a blast watching this. I must also admit that Moeller was a more entertaining Conan than Ahnold. It's true!

Rating:
Summary: Not really true Conan...but
Review: Many "die hard" Conan fanatics probably will be disappointed by this show as it really isn't true "Conan". The series, of course, tamed down the character for TV. He's more friendly, talkative, and has a number of sidekicks. The show is actually quite cheesy, bing more influenced by Hercules and Xena than the orignal Conan movies and novels. That aside, the series is also quit entertaining and the show actually gets better as it progresses. Ralf Moeller is also a perfect choice for Conan. He has the perfect build and he even does an Arnold impression with his voice! The DVD set is also incredable. All 22 episoids are present on 5 discs that come individual cases housed in one big slipcase. Not much for extras, but fans of the series will be just happy to see it on DVD as many probably thought they would never see it.

Rating:
Summary: fun series
Review: One review on here states that this series got better as it went along. I agree. This series really does improve with each episode and the final conclusion is quite satisfying. This entire DVD set plays out like one big movie. I love the cast and the characters in this series. Cool and funny heroes and hot female warriors! What more could I ask for? This is great! Plus the low budget fx don't hurt either. Brian Yuzna produced this and nobody does low budget effects like Yuzna. I like cheesy fun and have a good imagination. Conan the series has provided me with hours of fun.

Rating:
Summary: this series was first shown in the states in '97
Review: The critic who gives '92 as the date of this series is incorrect. That was the animated series. THIS was first shown in the US in '97.

Rating:
Summary: Relax - let it go
Review: Was this great Tv? Hell, no! Was it good Conan? Hell, no! Was it even adequate writing, acting, directing, costumes, set design? Not really! So what was it? Pure, unadulterated, trashy, campy fun! Literally so bad it's good - it's the Plan 9 of fantasy series.