Les Aventures fantastiques de Tarzan

God bless Joe Lara, he was the best Tarzan for me. As a big Edgar Rice Burroughs fan in my school days, I still admire the Universe of Tarzan, John Carter, Carson Napier and David Innes. This show has good production level overall, but I'm sure, someone can improve the CGI in the pilot episodes (if it hurts your eyes). Stories are close to the books, but rearanged in Hercules/Xena manner (no campy humour and musical burlesque numbers though). All episodes have classic "two layers of meaning" or two parallel stories which serve as a metaphor to each other. Frankly speaking, I was expecting something weaker and cheaper, so I prepared all my positive vibes and states of mind before watching the show. But it turned out quite good without any strain of imagination. I would go further and say that some episodes are fantastic. It proves that nice stuff can be created with limited budget. I wouldn't mind if the crew moved to New Zeland (Hercules sets) or Canada (almost all sci-fi sets) and did a few seasons more! Of course, now it's too late. But what about Korak aka John Clayton III? He can fill the dady's shoes and give us the crossovers the world needs. With all respect to Godzilla vs Kong's Hollow Earth adventures, I find Korak of the Jungle vs John Carter of Mars far more exciting. In this day and age I give The Epic adventures of Joe Lara 10 out of 10 without doubt.

I really enjoyed this series and wish it would have lasted longer on television. Joe Lara is a terrific Tarzan as he was in the television movie, Tarzan in Manhattan. It was nice to see a Tarzan series actually filmed in Africa instead of on a studio back lot. The series attempted to show us the Tarzan from the books that was a time traveler and existed in a science fiction world. I loved the photography and the music as well. I hope this series will return to television

Anyone who thinks Johnny Weissmuller is what Burroughs Tarzan is all about doesn't know anything about Tarzan. While Johnny looked great in the role, he did not portray Tarzan the way ERB created the character. And unfortunately it has taken a long time to try to bring the true Tarzan to the movie and TV screen. Joe Lara looked more like most artists drawings of the Apeman and the lost civilizations was what ERB wrote many stories about! What Epic Adventures did wrong was do stories about Tarzan's search for his "inner self" which was a bad idea. Also they brought too much fantasy into the series. Anyone who has read the Tarzan novels know Tarzan visited lost civilizations of Romans, Greeks, prehistoric worlds, Opar with Queen La, etc. The silent films were a lot more true to ERB's vision than anything done since sound movies came into being. Also Jane should have been brought into the series. And whatever happened to the so-called second season and Xavier DeClie stepping in as Tarzan (a bad move in my opinion) and Jane being introduced? Fact is the pilot TARZAN'S RETURN was a lot better than the actual series that followed. Instead of Tiemba, they should have introduced Muviro, the leader of the Waziri and Tarzan's friend in the books and kept Paul D'Arnot in the stories. A return to the Weissmuller "Me Tarzan You Jane" apeman now would be a worse move if another live action Tarzan movie or TV show is produced.

I really liked this Tarzan series because it attempts to use the science fiction Tarzan from the Edgar Rice Burroughs novels. Joe Lara is a fantastic Tarzan and the most gorgeous guy in the world! He seems to understand the loneliness and solitude of portraying Tarzan and that is refreshing. All the technical credits are cool including the photography, locations, design and music. I really enjoyed the episodes where Tarzan is forced to survive the elements in whatever world he has been taken to. I also loved the science fiction characters in many of the episodes which are not overdone but feel almost realistic in a fantasy world. I wish the series could lasted longer as it was a breath of fresh air in the often dry jungle of television!!

I really liked this Tarzan series and didn't understand why it didn't last longer. Joe Lara is really a great Tarzan. He has a real animal quality and he is the most authentic looking Tarzan yet. The locations are amazing and they really attempted to stick to the fantasy of the Tarzan books. I wish it had stayed around longer as it would have been a real winner!