The first episode, "Tales of Innocence" has Indy (Sean Patrick Flanery) continuing his term in the French Intelligence under the name of Henri Defense. The first half of this movie takes place in Italy and Indy has fallen for a local woman, Guiletta. Unfortunately for Indy, it seems someone else is trying to win her over. With the advice of his new friend, Ernest Hemmingway, Indy will attempt to out-do the other suitor. The second half of this episode sends Indy to North Africa where he must investigate the appearance of French weapons in the hands of the enemy. Here he travels the country with American novelist Edith Wharton and journalist Lowell Thomas.
The next adventure, "Masks of Evil," was a nice treat because it included a much missed supernatural element that the movies had, but this series didn't. In this episode, Indy travels to Transylvania to free a group of kidnapped POWs. But something definitely isn't right as his investigation shows the current leader of the land seems to be doing more than just mimicking the acts of Vlad the Impaler (AKA Dracula); he might actually be the fabled vampire.
World War I finally ends at the beginning of "Treasure of the Peacock's Eye" and Indy and his friend Remy find themselves in possession of a map to a large diamond that was once owned by Alexander the Great. Before they set off to their post-war life, the two decide to have just one more adventure. On their journey, they will travel around the world chasing an opposing crew. At one point, they even come across Indy's old friend Howard Carter (who is currently on the hunt for King Tut's tomb). It is this adventure that solidifies Indy's desire to become an archeologist. While he has had the desire for a while, it isn't until he talks with Bronislaw Malinowski that he realizes treasure hunting the way they are now isn't how things should be done.
"Winds of Change" starts off with Indy working as a translator for the blossoming League of Nations as President Woodrow Wilson struggles to get all of the nations of Europe to agree on terms to rebuild after the war. Not only will we see the events that lead to Germany's economic oppression and eventual desire to revolt again (WWII), but also T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia)'s effort to win the freedom of the Arabic nations. The second half of this episode shows Indy finally returning home in an attempt to patch things up with his estranged father (Lloyd Owen), but when he insists that Jr. should go to Princeton instead of Chicago where Indy wants to go, the rift seems to get bigger. While at home, Indy takes a job as a lab tech for Professor Robert Goddard, who is working on breakthroughs to make missiles and rockets go farther than ever before. Indy also has to deal with racial issues for the first time in years when his black friend, Paul Robeson, keeps running into bigotry wherever he turns.
"Mystery of the Blues" continues that theme as Indy works his way through college as a waiter and tries to learn Jazz and Blues. This episode focuses on the prohibition, racial tensions and the views of different sub-cultures at the time and even a bit about Al Capone and Louis Armstrong. This episode also has Hemmingway reappearing as a local freelance reporter as he and Indy try to find out who murdered the owner of the club Indy works at. This is also the only movie to keep the original bookends. When the series originally ran, each episode was actually a flashback told by a 90 year-old Indiana Jones. But when they were re-edited and combined into feature length episodes, the story-within-a-story format was removed. That is, except for this episode which has a 50-something Indy (played by none other than Harrison Ford) telling the tale.
"The Scandal of 1920" is named for the play that he becomes an assistant stage-hand, as well as the situation he finds himself in. Henry goes out to New York to earn some money between semesters, and on his train ride, he falls for a young woman aspiring to be a singer. When their attempts to get together the next day don't pan out, Indy ends up meeting another woman, a poet and critic, and falling for her just as hard. But things get even more complicated when Indy attends a party and once again falls, this time, for an heiress. At first, Indy tries to balance his three relationships but things come to a head when the first girl gets hired for the show, the heiress' father becomes a backer for the show and the other woman is going to be writing the critique of the play. Needless to say, when all three get together and start to talk, Indy's hectic social life comes to a crashing halt.
The last episode, "Hollywood Follies," has Indy going West to help Universal Studios stop production of an over-budget (about 1 million dollars!!) film. Indy agrees that the film is great, but he and his companions need to trick the director/star into filming an ending so that they can call it a wrap. The second half makes Indy an assistant on a Western film as the last days of his vacation wind down. Here, Henry Jr. encounters Erich von Stroheim, John Ford and Irving Thalberg.
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Volume Three - The Years of Change is a great purchase for many reasons. Not only does it complete the backstory of everyone's favorite archeologist, but it teaches many different lessons about history (which is great for kids) and it's just a good collection of feature length stories. If nothing else, people who've already gotten the first two should definitely pick up this last set.
