Post by WhitehouseFilms on Jun 25, 2022 23:56:42 GMT
I mentioned it in the Anime chat a while back but thought that this series could have it's own thread, if that's alright?
Those that followed me on Twitter a while back would have heard me talk a great deal about this show, especially during the course of 2018 when I first came across the show in February that year.
I never saw the show as a kid, but knew that if I had, would have throughly enjoyed every minute of it.
I first came across the series while browsing through a compilation of some classic Children's show intros and the intro for Mysterious Cities of Gold came up which I loved.
It gave me the sort of vibes I'd get when I would go on holiday to Spain and this would be the kind of music that I would hear to get me in the holiday mood. The Anime style animation the show had also looked impressive for a show made in the early 80s.
Having seen the intro and wanting to know more about the series, I decided to have a look and see if I could find some episodes to watch online. After finding a watch along site I set up a whole weekend's binge watch of not only the first series from the 80s, but also the revival series which was released in 2012, 30 years since the show first broadcasted.
The series is inspired by the Scott O'Dell 1966 novel The King's Fifth, to which some of the characters share the same names.
The main character, Esteban, in both the series and the novel, have an age difference and character background. In the show he is an 11 year old orphan raised in the monastery in Barcelona. He has a special gift which gives him the power to summon the sun whenever he smiles, everyone sees this as a miracle but Esteban finds it just a coincidence. He also has a special medallion which might have some connection to the lost cities of gold. In the novel he is 17 years old and is a skilled map maker and his story is told in both the present and in flashbacks to the expatiation that he joined to search for traces of the lost cities of gold. In the present he is on trial for two crimes: The murder of his captain and refusing to give the king of Spain his share of the gold that the expedition found.
Zia, in the series is an Inca girl, same age as Esteban, who was kidnapped from her village and for a while made a slave, only to be kidnapped again to be used to help the Spanish soldiers find the lost cities, with her understandings of her home land. There she meets Esteban and the two become friends. Like Esteban she wears a medallion exactly the same as his, but has no understanding on what it's for. During the corse of the series we find out. In the Novel she is the guide to the expedition and helps them communicate to fellow tribes. She can be slightly moody at times but she develops a strong friendship with Esteban and helps him with his map making. She is also seen attending Esteban's trial.
Tao is a young orphan boy who lives on one of the Galápagos Islands. He joins the group in their search for he has family connections to the lost cites for he is the last living descendant of the lost city of Mu (Hiva in the 80s series) He is able to decipher all the clues and inscriptions that any of the group finds which makes him feel very important being the only one who can. His pet parrot Kokapetl warns the group when danger comes near. To a does not feature in the novel.
Captain Mendoza is the leader of the group. A navigator by talent and was whom encouraged Esteban to come on the quest to find the lost cites when his career at the monastery dies. It was also him who kidnapped Zia to bring on the expidtition, which causes some debate between the children cast over his persona. Skilled with a sword and quick witted, Mendoza can always find a way to get the group out of trouble at short notice. In the novel Mendoza is the leader of the expedition and as well as in the series persuades Esteban to join him in their search. But unlike int he series, Mendoza is more strict and ensures he gets his way by all means possible.
And lastly in the main cast there's Sancho and Pedro, Mendoza's dogsbodies and loyal friends. Their thirst for gold is hardly hidden as every chance they can get they try and find ways of finding the cities by any means nessecary. While trustworthy, they can also tend to be a little lazy and often complain when they get overworked, but deep down they have big hearts. In the book, they have different names and instead of sailors, they are band members that play tunes to boast moral. During the corse of the novel they are killed off in separate scenes.
From what was gathered in the book, there is one scene that is adapted in the series, but the outcome of the scene at the end of it is different to that in the book, which you will have to read if you want to find out.
Series 1 runs for 39 half hour episodes both jammed pack with different sagas that play a vital role in the character's journey to find the lost cities. At the end a short documentary is shown to show the viewers the research the show's creators did while making the series as well as providing historical facts. These documentary bits were removed from BBC broadcasts for some of the documentary sections had recreations of human sacrifices and offerings that young viewers would find disturbing. Still it didn't stop a young Phillip Scolfield from singing the end credits, which funnily enough is a bonus feature in the DVD release and can be seen on YouTube.
The series ended on a note that tells the audience that maybe this isn't the character's first adventure and that someday they might have another in the near future.
Fans of the show had enquired if a new series would be made, but nothing had come up nor mentioned. Then in 2003 a new series inspired by The King's Fifth was made and was said from it's creators to be a sequel to the 1982 series. The show was to feature Esteban and Zia as the main characters but Tao, Mendoza, Sancho and Pedro were nowhere to be seen. Their designs were also different and the whole series set up bared little resemblance to the series the fans had hoped for. It wasn't a successful series and so fans feared that a proper sequel would happen. But in 2012 an official sequel did happen which continued the series from where the story left off.
Made by French animation company Blue Spirit, the series had a more faithful continuation to the first series which sees our characters continue their journey. Along the way they make new friends, list many places and also have a new enemy to face. The series was revived to run for 3 seasons (Series 2-2012, Series 3-2016 & Series 4-2020) thus concluding the groups quest.
So far the 4th series has been released in France and the English dub for it is due to be broadcasted hopefully later this year.
So tell me if anyone here has ever watched the series and if so, what are your views?
Those that followed me on Twitter a while back would have heard me talk a great deal about this show, especially during the course of 2018 when I first came across the show in February that year.
I never saw the show as a kid, but knew that if I had, would have throughly enjoyed every minute of it.
I first came across the series while browsing through a compilation of some classic Children's show intros and the intro for Mysterious Cities of Gold came up which I loved.
It gave me the sort of vibes I'd get when I would go on holiday to Spain and this would be the kind of music that I would hear to get me in the holiday mood. The Anime style animation the show had also looked impressive for a show made in the early 80s.
Having seen the intro and wanting to know more about the series, I decided to have a look and see if I could find some episodes to watch online. After finding a watch along site I set up a whole weekend's binge watch of not only the first series from the 80s, but also the revival series which was released in 2012, 30 years since the show first broadcasted.
The series is inspired by the Scott O'Dell 1966 novel The King's Fifth, to which some of the characters share the same names.
The main character, Esteban, in both the series and the novel, have an age difference and character background. In the show he is an 11 year old orphan raised in the monastery in Barcelona. He has a special gift which gives him the power to summon the sun whenever he smiles, everyone sees this as a miracle but Esteban finds it just a coincidence. He also has a special medallion which might have some connection to the lost cities of gold. In the novel he is 17 years old and is a skilled map maker and his story is told in both the present and in flashbacks to the expatiation that he joined to search for traces of the lost cities of gold. In the present he is on trial for two crimes: The murder of his captain and refusing to give the king of Spain his share of the gold that the expedition found.
Zia, in the series is an Inca girl, same age as Esteban, who was kidnapped from her village and for a while made a slave, only to be kidnapped again to be used to help the Spanish soldiers find the lost cities, with her understandings of her home land. There she meets Esteban and the two become friends. Like Esteban she wears a medallion exactly the same as his, but has no understanding on what it's for. During the corse of the series we find out. In the Novel she is the guide to the expedition and helps them communicate to fellow tribes. She can be slightly moody at times but she develops a strong friendship with Esteban and helps him with his map making. She is also seen attending Esteban's trial.
Tao is a young orphan boy who lives on one of the Galápagos Islands. He joins the group in their search for he has family connections to the lost cites for he is the last living descendant of the lost city of Mu (Hiva in the 80s series) He is able to decipher all the clues and inscriptions that any of the group finds which makes him feel very important being the only one who can. His pet parrot Kokapetl warns the group when danger comes near. To a does not feature in the novel.
Captain Mendoza is the leader of the group. A navigator by talent and was whom encouraged Esteban to come on the quest to find the lost cites when his career at the monastery dies. It was also him who kidnapped Zia to bring on the expidtition, which causes some debate between the children cast over his persona. Skilled with a sword and quick witted, Mendoza can always find a way to get the group out of trouble at short notice. In the novel Mendoza is the leader of the expedition and as well as in the series persuades Esteban to join him in their search. But unlike int he series, Mendoza is more strict and ensures he gets his way by all means possible.
And lastly in the main cast there's Sancho and Pedro, Mendoza's dogsbodies and loyal friends. Their thirst for gold is hardly hidden as every chance they can get they try and find ways of finding the cities by any means nessecary. While trustworthy, they can also tend to be a little lazy and often complain when they get overworked, but deep down they have big hearts. In the book, they have different names and instead of sailors, they are band members that play tunes to boast moral. During the corse of the novel they are killed off in separate scenes.
From what was gathered in the book, there is one scene that is adapted in the series, but the outcome of the scene at the end of it is different to that in the book, which you will have to read if you want to find out.
Series 1 runs for 39 half hour episodes both jammed pack with different sagas that play a vital role in the character's journey to find the lost cities. At the end a short documentary is shown to show the viewers the research the show's creators did while making the series as well as providing historical facts. These documentary bits were removed from BBC broadcasts for some of the documentary sections had recreations of human sacrifices and offerings that young viewers would find disturbing. Still it didn't stop a young Phillip Scolfield from singing the end credits, which funnily enough is a bonus feature in the DVD release and can be seen on YouTube.
The series ended on a note that tells the audience that maybe this isn't the character's first adventure and that someday they might have another in the near future.
Fans of the show had enquired if a new series would be made, but nothing had come up nor mentioned. Then in 2003 a new series inspired by The King's Fifth was made and was said from it's creators to be a sequel to the 1982 series. The show was to feature Esteban and Zia as the main characters but Tao, Mendoza, Sancho and Pedro were nowhere to be seen. Their designs were also different and the whole series set up bared little resemblance to the series the fans had hoped for. It wasn't a successful series and so fans feared that a proper sequel would happen. But in 2012 an official sequel did happen which continued the series from where the story left off.
Made by French animation company Blue Spirit, the series had a more faithful continuation to the first series which sees our characters continue their journey. Along the way they make new friends, list many places and also have a new enemy to face. The series was revived to run for 3 seasons (Series 2-2012, Series 3-2016 & Series 4-2020) thus concluding the groups quest.
So far the 4th series has been released in France and the English dub for it is due to be broadcasted hopefully later this year.
So tell me if anyone here has ever watched the series and if so, what are your views?