The Essential Young Indiana Jones Episodes You Need To Stream On Disney+

Back in the early '90s, television audiences were treated to "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" — which have now been retitled "The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones." These adventures explored the earliest adventures of everyone's favorite archeologist, long before he chose that as his profession. 

The series is split with two actors playing Indy. The youngest, Corey Carrier, gets to examine Indiana Jones in his school days, whisked around the world by his parents with a tutor in tow. Those episodes put him in contact with everyone from Theodore Roosevelt to Pablo Picasso and were nothing short of charming. Sean Patrick Flanery took the role of Indiana Jones during his late teens and early 20s, a sliver of the part that was originated by River Phoenix in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." 

Originally, each episode was bookended with an intro and outro from a one-eyed, 80-year-old Indiana Jones played by George Hall. These were excised in the 2007 DVD releases, where George Lucas recut the episodes into chronological order, creating 22 mini-movie episodes of the series.

Few realize how influential and important "The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones" are for the history of George Lucas' push to increase the tools filmmakers use. Filming these lavish period pieces on a small budget, George Lucas had to push the boundaries of what was possible with early computer-generated effects and set extensions. Despite the 30 years since the show aired, the effects stand up admirably.

It also put Lucas in contact with many of the people who would develop the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy, from producer Rick McCallum, cinematographer David Tattersall, and stunt coordinator Nick Gillard to actors like Pernilla August and Oliver Ford Davies and more.

Since these revised mini-Indy movies are appearing on Disney+ for the first time, we picked out the six most important episodes you might want to watch as you count down to "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" ... though it must be said that every episode is worth your time.

Exactly as the title says, "My First Adventure" is the first adventure of the young Henry Jones, Jr. It begins with a nine-year-old Indy living at Princeton with his parents when his life gets turned upside down when he has to accompany them on a journey around the world. The family heads to Oxford first, where Indy picks up his tutor, Ms. Seymour. They find themselves in Egypt and Indiana Jones helps T.E. Lawrence (yes, the "Lawrence of Arabia") solve a murder mystery. Then, they travel to Africa, where Indy learns a lot about colonialism, slavery, and languages. It's a good taste of what the younger side of Indy's adventures will hold for audiences and an essential introduction to the series.

If you're a fan of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," then "Travels With Father" is going to be the extended movie for you. Set in 1909 or so, this pair of stories cut into a single movie takes the relationship of Henry Jones Jr. and Sr. and shines a light on them. The elder Jones is played by Lloyd Owen (who you've seen recently as Elendil in "Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power") and he's a perfect young Sean Connery in the part. This episode adds depth to the relationship between the Jones boys, brings Michael Gough into the fold as a grumpy old Leo Tolstoy, and gives Indy terrific lessons in philosophy. The whole show is set against fascinating period backdrops that belie the production budget and really show what the more quiet episodes of the show were capable of.

Referenced explicitly in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", the episode titled "Spring Break Adventure" brings Sean Patrick Flanery into the spotlight and documents his time riding with Pancho Villa. It also introduces Remy (played by Ronny Coutteure), one of the great Indiana Jones sidekicks in the same vein as Sallah and Marcus Brody. He's part of the reason Indy found himself fighting in World War I and is just a tremendous addition to the Indiana Jones mythology. This episode also wraps up some of the lingering mystery left from Indy's first adventure. Half of this episode was actually directed by Joe Johnston as he was still rising through the ranks of Hollywood that would lead him to "Captain America: The First Avenger." It's also interesting to note this episode was co-written by George Lucas and Jonathan Hales, who would go on to collaborate on "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones."

Perhaps my favorite episode on this list, "Demons of Deception" takes place during World War I. Indy has joined World War I under the alias Henri Defense. In the first part, he finds himself a courier, ferrying messages between trenches in some of the best storytelling the show had to offer. The latter half brought director Nicolas Roeg and writer Carrie Fisher together to show Indiana Jones losing his virginity to Mata Hari as he's drafted for spy work during the war. With such powerful creatives taking the lead on these episodes, they're full of adventure and are classic Indiana Jones.

Indiana Jones and his time in World War I seems to make up the brunt of his adventures, and "Attack of the Hawkmen" might be one of the most thrilling. Indy takes on the role of a pilot in the French Air Force and parachutes behind enemy lines on a vital mission. "Star Wars" sound effects maestro Ben Burtt directed this installment, and it even features an appearance from C-3PO himself, Anthony Daniels.

Set in 1918, after Indy and Remy are able to take their leave of the war, it follows them as they hunt for a diamond once owned by Alexander the Great. This massive diamond will feature in future installments of Indy's life, as it's the diamond he's negotiating to retrieve from Lao Che in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom." This episode is a rollicking adventure that takes Indy and Remy across Europe and to the South Seas, attacked by Chinese Pirates. He captures the spirit of both the movies and the show perfectly and showcases an important time in Indy's life.

"Mystery of the Blues" features a rare television appearance of Harrison Ford, reprising the role of Indiana Jones at 50 as the bookended narrator for this particular adventure. After finding a saxophone, Ford's Indiana Jones reminisces about his time haunting jazz clubs with his dorm roommate, Eliot Ness. When a murder happens, Indy and Eliot team up with Indy's old war buddy, the reporter Ernest Hemingway, to solve the crime. I don't like this story as much as the "Hollywood Follies," which gives us Indiana Jones interacting with luminaries like Erich Von Stroheim and John Ford, but Harrison Ford's appearance makes this one skyrocket to the top.

All 22 episodes of "The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones" are now available to stream on Disney+.