THE BEASTMASTER (the original 1982 film) was and still remains a childhood favorite of mine. When I heard of a series, I was naturally excited. Then I saw the premiere, and had to laugh. Though supposedly produced by one of the guys involved with the film, the show itself isn't much like the film at all, with the only similarity being a guy named Dar who can communicate with animals. Even the backstory of Dar was changed. Also, thanks to the type of fantasy shows produced in the wake of the HERCULES and XENIA series, THE BEASTMASTER became just another typical, corny, lame, lackluster series that could never be found because of its ever-changing schedule, which is just as well. Dar, a muscular tough guy in the films, becomes a slim beach-blonde surfer dude from Malibu (no disrespect to the actor, since it was the producers who made the character like this) who encounters everything from jungle woman to creatures who looks like (and, knowing this type of show, probably are) from space or another dimension. The dark, brooding aspect of the film is instead replaced with a "hip" sensibility meant to attract a young audience, which has probably never even heard of the film. I can't believe the show is still on, though I really couldn't care any less. It's a terrible show, but at least it can never take away my fondness for the original (and much superior) film.
Review of BeastMaster
