Tales of the Vikings

Jeff Hill is incorrect on 1 point; Jerome Courtland did not star in Brave Eagle or Northwest Passage; those roles were played by Keith Larsen. Larsen also starred in the show The Aquanauts for 1 season, until he was replaced by Glenn Corbett and the show was retitled Malibu Run.

As for Tales of the Vikings, I remember loving it as a kid! I especially loved the opening shot of the viking blowing the giant horn, until I found out it was stock footage from the Kirk Douglas Movie.

I remember one episode where the brothers wind up in Toledo (Spain, not Ohio)and there was a long digression about Toledo steel and about making rapiers. Even as a kid, I remember thinking that the vikings didn't belong in a Spain that looked like it was waiting for Columbus to return.

JL

Though my recollections are vague, I clearly recall the use of a club as weapon. Neighbors and I (born in '53) all sought a fine wooden club, which for a while supplanted the handguns and spears we had previously used to "kill" each other in our warlike games. Previously we played as Yankees vs Rebels (in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) or cowboys and Indians, but something about the Vikings enthralled us all briefly. I'm surprised it lasted through only one season. it's impact on me as a young boy was significant. I recall the use of a long alpine type horn in the intro, the theme music, the beautifully-lined canoe like ship, and the club most of all.

I'm 53 now, and I clearly remember how much my two older brothers and I enjoyed watching "The Vikings". I'm surprised there isn't more written about this series, or more people commenting. I was only about 6 or so when these series were running, and my older brothers and I lived in the basement since my mom and dad had seven children and not enough room upstairs. But on the plus side my brothers and I had our own TV room; shows like "The Vikings", old John Wayne movies, "Have Gun Will Travel" and later, "Bonanza" were our favorites. "The Vikings" was cool because of the soundtrack, the cinematography and authenticity of the costumes and props (the ships etc.) as well as, if I remember right, some reasonably good acting without being campy. To us boys, however, laden with testosterone as we were, it was the macho appeal of the rough-hewn, manly Viking warriors that struck a chord with us! Whenever "The Vikings" was coming on, I remember how excited I was to watch it on TV. We'd make Jiffy Pop popcorn and drink Coke from heavy glass bottles....ah I miss those days!!

I remember that scene with the magnetic mountain. Erik goes to swing his sword, and it sticks to a rock on a mountain pass wall. Or maybe it was an adversary swinging it at Erik. Too long ago to remember clearly.

There was also an episode where Erik had a villain's girlfriend as a hostage. He stood her on a wall, and cut the sleeves and skirt off her dress with his sword! It left her in a sort of Danskin affair, quite modest. He did it just to show he meant business, you see.

The bad guy was really peeved at that. He kept threatening Erik with awful tortures, when he caught him. But of course, Erik got out of it. Don't ask me how.

Even though I was only nine, that episode got me all hot and bothered. I dug Vikings before the show, but after that, they were my favorites.

I vaguely remember that Spanish episode, and boy, it was a drag! I knew that the Vikings would have needed a time machine to get to that version of Spain. They did that all the time on TV back then. Robin Hood would show up in Australia, Zorro would meet George Washington. Drove me crazy!

What they might have done was to show how a young (13!), Viking king Sigurd Jorsalfar, went to Palestine, just after the First Crusade, in 1107. Erik and the gang could have tagged along. His large fleet stopped off in Spain, and aided local Christians in one of their periodic wars with their Muslim neighbors. (Hey, it was a Crusade, okay?) Then they went to Palestine, did some fighting for the King of Jerusalem, and went home. I think they sailed into the Black Sea, and up the Russian rivers to the Baltic, to get there. Those guys got around! But I guess the show's writers weren't up on that.

And yes, The Thirteenth Warrior is damn good. It's based on a novel called Eaters of The Dead, by Michael Cricton, which is also quite good. It's the Beowulf story, with a new twist on Grendel. It's way cool!

So is the film The Long Ships, with Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier, as the Emir of Morocco. Check out the giant scimitar slide. Nothing like that in any theme park these days! But the orgy scene is more fun.

And the bad guy in Viking film, that the TV show was based on, was named (Wait for it!)...Egbert! How many movie villains can claim that?

There was this time where the Vikings got stuck on this magnetic mountain. And another time they went to Spain where everyone wore 16th century clothes and fought with rapiers. They all had knitted chain-mail and Fifties-style haircuts. It amazes me that Max (Jethro Clampett) Baer was in this and I didn't recognize him later on. I think the "Beverly Hillbillies" was a step UP for him.

The theme song began, "From out of the North came an icy wind" but I don't remember any more of it. I think it had a few notes out of something Wagnerian, but I don't know which opera it came from. If there were an MP3 somewhere, I'd love to hear it.

Les