Customer Reviews

Relic Hunter

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There is nothing wrong with the video or sound quality of the episodes themselves (although I don't have a high-end audio/video setup, so you may have a different experience). The quality of the DVD menus is not very good. The graphics have an outdated 3D video game look to them, and on the episode menu, the type is blurry and of a style that makes it difficult to read. Since there are only 3 choices (play episode/chapter selection/main menu) it isn't much of an issue. Still, it could have been much better.

None of the episodes are in the order in which they were aired, with 1st and 2nd season mixed up on the same disk. Surpisingly, the premiere episode is not included. For the price, the flaws in the menus didn't bother me as much as the random episode order did.

Relic Hunter was a frequently silly show, and anyone expecting historical accuracy is in for a disappointment. The fight scenes are generally good, Tia Carrere is cool, and Christien Anholt can be funny and charming. It was a campy, fun show that had moments of true awfulness. Thankfully, I didn't see any of the episodes that made me cringe and change the channel on this collection. If you enjoyed the show while it was on the air, I think it's worth it to buy the set.

Here is a list of the episodes included on the disk:

Disk 1: Legend of the Lost, Last of the Mohicas, Fertile Ground, Gypsy Jigsaw, Three Rivers to Cross

Disk 2: Lost Contact, Cross of Voodoo, Roman Holiday, Diamond in the Rough, The Reel Thing

Disk 3: The Book of Love, Out of the Past, Eyes of Toklamanee, Etched in Stone, Run Sydney Run

Disk 4: M.I.A., Love Letter, A Good Year, Nothing But the Truth, The Last Knight

Disk 5: Possessed, Memories of Montmarte, Bonus Material (Interviews with Tia Carrere & Christien Anholt, 'Making of', photo gallery & trailers)

For those of you who care, here are the episodes in order and seperated by season as well as which discs they are on. Cheers! Jose'

RELIC HUNTER EPISODES IN PROPER ORDER

SEASON ONE

DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH-DISC TWO
ETCHED IN STONE-DISC THREE
THE BOOK OF LOVE-DISC THREE
A GOOD YEAR-DISC FOUR
THE LAST KNIGHT-DISC FOUR
LOVE LETTER-DISC FOUR
POSSESSED-DISC FIVE
NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH-DISC FOUR
MEMORIES OF MONTMARTE-DISC FIVE

SEASON TWO

LAST OF THE MOHICAS-DISC ONE
THE LEGEND OF THE LOST-DISC ONE
FERTILE GROUND-DISC ONE
GYPSY JIGSAW-DISC ONE
THREE RIVERS TO CROSS-DISC ONE
ROMAN HOLIDAY-DISC TWO
CROSS OF VOODOO-DISC TWO
LOST CONTACT-DISC TWO
THE REEL THING-DISC TWO
M.I.A.-DISC FOUR
OUT OF THE PAST-DISC THREE
EYES OF THE TOKLAMANEE-DISC THREE
RUN SYDNEY RUN-DISC THREE

In production for three seasons from 1999 through 2002, the syndicated television program Relic Hunter features Tia Carrere as Sydney Fox, an archeology professor with a big appetite for adventure. The college instructor, along with her intrepid assistant Nigel Bailey (Christien Anholt), boldly traverse the globe, uncovering mysteries and seeking lost artifacts. This "best of" compilation of contains a selection of 22 episodes from the 44 produced during the first two seasons.

Relic Hunter is light-hearted adventure, that doesn't take things too seriously. Do not expect rigid scientific or historical accuracy. Often just a thread of historical fact is taken, and woven into a modern day adventure. Once the quest has begun, each episode unfolds in mostly formulaic fashion, taking twists and turns that while not always logical, are frequently exciting, often humorous, and just plain fun. Lots of action, and in the end usually nobody gets hurt too badly.

Tia Carrere has the charisma and presence to make her credible as a female Indiana Jones. She's athletic, intelligent and sexy. Trained in martial arts, she takes on physically demanding tasks with enthusiasm, and looks damn good doing so.

The complementary relationship between the two leads helps makes this drama a success. While Ms. Fox is definitely a woman of action, Nigel Bailey is more demure. The show's producers were looking for a "Hugh Grant" type, and with Mr. Anholt they got exactly that. His character, while far from physically commanding, has other strengths, and is a hardy and loyal companion. Clearly recognizing his limitations, he leaves the bulk of the fighting to Sydney, but when it comes to translating some obscure language, Nigel is definitely your man. Together they make an unusual team that is a blast to tag along with. Providing support from their academic home base, is Lindy Booth who plays Claudia, Professor Fox's perky and quirky secretary.

The presentation is fullscreen, and picture quality is average for a television production, with a lot of grain and distortion at times. The five disc set, has five episodes per disc, except for the fifth, which only has just two, plus some bonus material. The extras include interviews with stars Tia Carrere and Christien Anholt, a making of featurette, and a photo gallery. Not outstanding, but still better than nothing. For reasons of character development, and continuity of appearance, it might have been better to present the episodes in chronological order, rather than the grouping chosen.

Though a bit formulamatic, the PG13 rated exploits of Professor Fox and Nigel are very entertaining for what they are. Full of excitement and adventure, set in a variety of exotic locations, featuring some pretty decent sets, these programs hold up well to repeated viewings. For TV action and adventure fans, this set deserves your consideration.

Historically accurate? No. Fun? Yes. I wish all of the episodes had been released in order, but since I never saw the show on TV, it was good enough for me. There is one "recap" episode that airs out of order --- with scenes of action taking place on a later DVD! That one was bad. But overall a good set, something the whole family can enjoy, with the occasional racy scene, "I'm not going to massage it!"

Tia really carries this show (Christian is a good actor, too), and if you like her, you'll like this.

I loved the show when it came out and I was really looking forward to watching it again. When I finally got the dvds, I have to say that I was disappointed. This dvd set is the best of season one and two yet hardly any of my favourite season one and two episodes are on it. The premiere episode was not included either. Frequently, season one and two episodes are on the same dvd and in no particular order. The video quality is kind of grainy. There are no subtitles. The sound quality is good though.

well i guess some people might be grateful for just some of the episodes not me is it really that hard to release the entire series there are 22 episodes missing so they really have only released one season and whether these episodes are better then the excluded ones is probably debatable as your favourites usually differ from the ones making the decisions as for the missing episodes that looks like a job for adventure inc. no sign of that show either

The complete first season DVD set is also available on the Official Relic Hunter website. Hopefully, they will release the rest if they get enough orders. I don't think it's selling as well as they hoped.

Just like all the other fans I absolutely loved the TV series. Relic Hunter ran for a total of 3 seasons. The reason for the cancellation was directley from Tia Carrere herself. Making the series was so intense it was like filming a movie every week. This took a toll on Tia. The other reason rummered for leaving the show was that she was nearing the age of 35. She felt her biological clock was running out; it was time to get married and have a family. We can't blame her for that. The show was awesome and will be missed. At least we get the best of Relic Hunter on DVD. Also check out Tia in True Lies.

I have been waiting for years for them to bring my favorite show on dvd. The only complaint I have is that the premiere episode is not on the set. Also, the random order of season 1 and 2 on the dvds. But for die-hard fans, this is definitely a great dvd set.

All those who missed the adventure and humor of the fun serials and "B" pictures of the 1930's embraced this wonderful show from the very beginning and remained loyal until its final episode. Tia Carrere was wonderful as the college professor who spent more time chasing down lost artifacts than she did in the classroom.

While it would have been easy to go too far with a female lead in what would decades ago have surely been a male role, Hawaiin native Carrere always managed to remain feminine while getting the best of others after the same object, or in some cases, Sydney herself. There was a terrific if small supporting cast we came to really like just as much as Sydney.

Christien Anholt's character, Nigel Bailey, always brought charm and humor to the role of Sydney Fox's assistant. And Lindy Booth was fabulous as the daffy blonde secretary, Claudia, you loved in spite of her unorthodox mind. Though Booth was missed by fans when she left the show, Tanja Reichert grew into her role as Karen Petrusky, the voluptuous and not so daffy secretary who seemed to have a spark with Nigel.

Whether it was caves or jungles or rickety old planes and snakes, it was fun each week to escape for an hour with old and likable friends. It was what television is supposed to be but seldom is anymore. It bordered on camp at times but never crossed the line.

While it is true that not everything we fans would like to have been included on this set has been, it is still sweet that it is available at all. While every network show under the sun seems to be released on DVD as of late, many fine syndicated shows such as "One West Waikiki" have been completely ignored. We can just be grateful to have a little time with Sydney and the gang thanks to its availability.

Those looking for serial and "B" movie type adventure will find as much here as they can handle. A fun and delightful show.