Young Indiana Jones -- Episode 2: Passion for Life

To Watch: Click Here

Synopsis in 3 sentences or less:

In East Africa, the Joneses join President Teddy Roosevelt on a hunting expedition. Next, the family travels to Paris where Indy pals around with Norman Rockwell and spends time in the artist community. 

Memorable Quote:
Some artists live extraordinarily colorful lives. Lives of danger, daring, passion, eccentricity, and outrageous behavior. But, eh, you're a little too young to know about that just yet.  ~Henry Jones Sr.

Highlight:
I like the actor who plays Teddy Roosevelt -- he has the right look, and he acts as I'd imagine Teddy to act.

Lowlight:

On the flip side, the Picasso performance is quite loud and over-the-top. Did young-adult Picasso really have a goofy mustache and scream all his words?

Brushes with historical figures:

• Theodore Roosevelt
• Norman Rockwell
• Pablo Picasso

Other thoughts, observations, and questions I didn’t ask when I was in fourth grade:

• Paul Freeman appears as Selous, a hunter in Roosevelt's party. Freeman previously starred as Belloq, the main villain in Raiders of the Lost Ark. 
• Africa marks the 2nd time that Henry runs away. "Don't you ever, ever do that again," Mrs. Jones says. Let's see how long that lasts. 
• Similar to some scenes from the previous episode, the train scene must have been filmed years later because Indy looks much older, and then he's young again once he gets to Paris. 
• Norman Rockwell is played by Lukas Haas, who I know as the little kid from Witness (which is at some point coming to a Movie Project near you). 
• And there he goes! Off into the Parisian night. That's now the 3rd time he's run away, although I like how he saves it by coming back and pretending to be in the closet all along. He then runs away again but gets caught this time by Mrs. Seymour. Let's hope that the next episode has a different plot device.
• At the end when Indy's parents come back, he's older again. 

Conversation:

Matthew Jacobs, episode writer (first half: "British East Africa")

British East Africa was one of George's fav stories, got turned into a book, and a comic book and a game I think - or that may have been Lassie (?). For him it was what Young Indy was all about, an educational show.

I got nominated for the Environmental Media Award for best TV hour for that one. Lucas sent my wife and I down from San Francisco to Los Angeles to sit at a table with the other Paramount execs. It was a very strange experience -- I just remember the second they knew we didn't win, the table emptied in two seconds flat!

Final Analysis:

I thought the Kenya section was decent, and they did a great job of creating the look and feel of an African hunt. The Paris scenes, however, were practically unwatchable with the sluggish plot combined with the insufferable Picasso. As a result, I have to rate this one a hair below Episode 1.