''Beastmaster'' is an Australian-Canadian-American television series that aired from 1999 to 2002. It was loosely based on the 1982

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

film '' The Beastmaster'', which was itself loosely adapted from the 1959 novel ''

The Beast Master ''The Beast Master'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Andre Norton, Alice "Andre" Norton, published by Harcourt, Brace, Harcourt in 1959. It inaugurated the ''Beast Master'' series, or ''Hosteen Storm'' series after the main chara ...

'' by American author Alice "Andre" Norton. The series aired 66 episodes over three complete seasons. It was produced by Coote/Hayes Productions. The series was nominated for the Open Craft Award in the category of cinematography by the

Australian Film Institute The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Cinema of Australia, Australian film indu ...

in 2000, and for the Saturn Award for Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films, USA, in 2001. It did not win any of them.

Premise

Dar ( Daniel Goddard) is the last survivor of his tribe. He wanders the lands protecting the oppressed and animals while he seeks his lost loved one, Kyra ( Natalie Mendoza). His friend Tao ( Jackson Raine) — a fearful, psychology-attracted young man — helps him in his quest; Tao is a scholar and a medicine man. Dar meets another orphaned warrior named Arina ( Marjean Holden) who joins his quest for her own reasons, but eventually becomes a faithful companion. The world of the Beastmaster is full of lost tribes,

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

appears to be common, and all three of these characters are the survivors or last survivors of lost tribes. The series also featured Monika Schnarre as the Sorceress, apprentice to the Ancient One, played by

Grahame Bond Grahame John Bond AM (born 21 November 1943) is an Australian Bachelor Architecture, actor, writer, director, musician and composer, known primarily for his role as Aunty Jack. Early career Bond began his career in entertainment at University ...

Emilie de Ravin Emilie de Ravin (; born 27 December 1981) is an Australian actress. She first gained recognition for playing Tess Harding on The WB's science fiction television series ''Roswell (TV series), Roswell'' (2000–2002). She went on to portray Clai ...

as the Forest Demon named Curupira, and Sam Healy as Iara, the Demon of Water and Serpent (Curupira and Iara are inspired by the creatures of the same name from

Brazilian mythology Brazilian mythology is a rich and diverse part of Brazilian folklore with cultural elements, comprising folk tales, traditions, characters, and beliefs. The category is representative of Brazil’s greater culture, being a melting pot of Iberic ...

). The regular human enemy of Dar, King Zad, was played by Steven Grives. Marc Singer, the Beastmaster from the original

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

, appears in the third season as Dartanus, the Spirit Warrior who helps Dar on his quest. The general story arc of the series is that the world is changing, civilization is advancing, technology is gaining ground slowly, the old orders of magic and sorcery are fading, and the world is threatened by the supernatural being Balcifer, the Dark One, played by Jeremy Callaghan. Dar is the son of King Eldar, who was destroyed by Balcifer. To defeat Balcifer Dar must locate and reunite his family, who have been turned into animals to hide them from Balcifer, in the Crystal Arc. Balcifer's agent on Earth is King Zad, who is first King of the Terrons, a savage tribe that enslaves and pillages at will. Later, when the tribe is destroyed by King Voden leading a group of Viking-like northerners, Zad re-emerges as the King of Xincha, the city at the center of the world (and Tao's former home). He has deposed Voden, who fled into the wilderness at the end of the second season. There is a contrast there between the crude savage badness of King Zad and the refined, insane evil genius of King Voden. Zad emerges from the contest a more civilized but still savage character. The series was very action-oriented at the beginning, but as the first season wore on, it began to take on a pacifistic and naturalist tone. The opening/ending music and soundtrack of the series were composed by Graeme Coleman.

Cast

Main / regular

* Daniel Goddard as Dar * Natalie Jackson Mendoza as Kyra * Jackson Raine as Tao * Monika Schnarre as the Sorceress * Marjean Holden as Arina * Dylan Bierk as The New Sorceress *

as the Ancient One * Steven Grives as King Zad *

as the demon Curupira

Recurring

* Danielle Carter as Dar's Mother * Sam Healy as the Demon Lara *

Simon Westaway Simon Westaway (born 22 December 1958) is an Australian actor who has appeared in many television series, films and theatre productions. Education Westaway studied acting with PBL Workshop and John Gauchi's Theatre Workshop. Career Westaway ...

as Baha * Tasma Walton as Caro

Guests

* Angie Milliken as High Priestess (1 episode) * Brittany Byrnes as Muraki (1 episode) * Brooke Harman as Princess Jessica (1 episode) * Bruce Spence as Annubis (1 episode) * Christopher Kirby as Orpheo (2 episodes) *

Claudia Black Claudia Lee Black (born 11 October 1972) is an Australian actress, best known for her portrayals of Aeryn Sun in ''Farscape'', Vala Mal Doran in ''Stargate SG-1'' and Sharon "Shazza" Montgomery in the film '' Pitch Black''. She has had promi ...

as Huna (1 episode) * Genevieve O’Reilly as Nagha (1 episode) * Holly Brisley as Haisa (1 episode) * Inge Hornstra as Nadeea (1 episode) * Jerome Ehlers as Dagan (1 episode) *

Jodie Dry Jodie Dry (born 20 January 1974) is an Australian actress. Career She is known for her role as Nicole Brown, a former model and a former girlfriend of Joe Hill, in '' White Collar Blue''; and as Biddy Marchant in ABC's ''Grassroots'', havi ...

as Radia (1 episode) * John Adam as Rolan (1 episode) * Kristian Schmid as Karpen (1 episode) *

Kristy Wright Kristy Wright (born 14 July 1978; name also erroneously given as Kirsty Wright) is an Australian television and film actress. Early life Wright was born in Sydney, Australia, the oldest child in her family, with three stepbrothers and two hal ...

as Bianna (1 episode) * Lara Cox as Marika (1 episode) * Leeanna Walsman as Morah (1 episode) * Nicholas Eadie as Arkon (1 episode) * Petra Yared as Alima (1 episode) * Robert Mammone as Arnath (1 episode) * Roxane Wilson as Atlanta (1 episode) * Ryan Johnson as Reon (1 episode) * Tim Campbell as Galen (1 episode) * Tim Robertson as Solon (1 episode) * Todd MacDonald as Breon (1 episode)

Episodes

Syndication

The series is shown on the UK FTA satellite channel Zone Horror (Sky EPG No. 321). It is shown every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 11:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. It also airs on a Saturday, at 12:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. In the United States, syndication rights are held by

Nexstar Media Group Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is an American publicly traded media company with headquarters in Irving, Texas, Midtown Manhattan, and Chicago. The company is the largest television station owner in the United States, owning 197 television station ...

Home releases

ADV Films A.D. Vision Holdings, Inc. (known simply as ADV and also referred to as ADV Films) was an American multimedia entertainment distributor headquartered in Houston, Texas, and founded in 1992 by video game fan John Ledford and anime fans Matt Gr ...

released all three seasons of ''Beastmaster'' on DVD in Region 1 (USA and Canada) as separate DVD sets for each season. Season 3 was released on 18 November 2003. Each set has six DVDs with 22 episodes per season and extras. The three seasons were also released as ''Beastmaster – The Complete Collection'' (5 August 2008). Licensing problems between

and Tribune Entertainment (owner of ''Beastmaster'') caused these DVD sets to become rare soon after release. Alliance Home Entertainment has released all three seasons of ''Beastmaster'' on DVD in Canada.

References

AustLit AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource (also known as AustLit: Australian Literature Gateway; and AustLit: The Resource for Australian Literature) is a national bio-bibliographical database of Australian literature. It is an internet-based, ...