As Aventuras de Sinbad

"The Adventures of Sinbad" was a short lived, but entertaining action and adventure show from an era of television that appears to have been lost to the world here in 2007. It was like "Hercules" and "Xena" in some ways, no matter how light or dark it was. But it also had its own charm and was its own show. It ran for two seasons. The first was lighter. The second took a slightly darker turn, as did the show's title character, but he wasn't arrogant, self-centered, or evil like some people claim. He had seen a less than perfect world and lost a friend(s). Had the show had a third season, things would have balanced themselves out. Give both seasons a chance. They are both special and have their share of good and bad episodes. Even heroes have issues to work out, which is part of what makes them and their stories legendary and human.

I used to watch this show every Saturday along with Xena and Hercules. It was obviously produced by Ed Naha et al. to take advantage of the successes of Sam Raimi's better funded ventures. Comparisons are inevitable and unfortunately the production values of this show leaves one with the impression that it was the poor cousin to the other two. Still, it made the most of what it had and I thought the episodes were entertaining. Gripes: Major characters not very well fleshed out, some continuity issues, chemistry b/n the major characters - what chemistry?? Other people talk about this relationship with Maeve and Sinbad but other than some eye contact, there wasn't much to go on. I guess the show just didn't "come together" like the Raimi shows did. Second season suffered from loss of Jacqueline Collen (Maeve) and, as mentioned elsewhere, a turn towards the "dark side". Reasons why I watched it - interesting stories, cool fight scenes, 3D animation, gratuitous up the skirt shots of Bryn and Maeve. Other than that last point the show was well suited for children and young adolescents who are more forgiving of the gripes that I mentioned. Too bad it was killed when one of the production companies got cold feet, I'm sure it would have lasted at least another season or two.

That little summary pretty much describes this series. While it was on TV, Sinbad seemed like a great little show. There was swashbuckling, action, humour, and creatures. Sure the FX were a little bad, but they were really still in their infancy then as far as TV shows go. Even the Hercules The Legendary Journeys effects seemed great then but are very poor now. I still enjoyed the show. It was great too how Sinbad grew up as the show progressed. I just wish there had been a third season to tie up some of the loose ends. Even a TV movie would have been great. Hopefully, the DVD release of season one will prompt others to go back and experience the nostalgia of a Saturday afternoon watching Sinbad.

I have been a fan of this show since I first saw it. Good old fashioned serial type plots. Great cast that had a good blending. It is a shame the show was canceled. Some people are trying to get it back though.

I thought the show was on par with Hercules and Xena with effects, plots, and great actors.

I will miss it from my Saturday afternoon lineup.

Yeah, I admit it; when this series aired I used to catch it on my lunch break every so often. It's really a kids adventure show, and not meant to be anything more than that. Shot in, I believe, South Africa, the show had a kind of campy appeal to it. Every time Sinbad and crew arrived at a "new" village, it was actually the same old village they'd built for the show, only shot at a different angle.

As usual Sinbads "Arab" origins are veiled by Anglo actors due to demographics... oh well. Myself, I think the show would've done just as well with a culturally authentic cast. It is after all a show for kids, and kids are pretty forgiving when it comes to perceptions. But that's neither here nor there.

The CGI and other effects were what they were, and the plots were pretty basic. The acting, for what the show was, was passable. I found it to be good mindless fun as I chowed down a salad in front of the tube.

If it ever comes to DVD, and by that I mean a good quality transfer and not some knockoff, then I'll buy a copy.