"Roar" (1997) TV series

Creators:

Shaun Cassidy
Ron Koslow
(more)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

14 July 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

Plot:

A young Irish chieftain fights against Roman encroachment

Plot Keywords:

Immortal | Ireland | Wizard | Druid | Sword And Sorcery

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Heath Ledger	...	Conor (13 episodes, 1997)
John Saint Ryan	...	Fergus (13 episodes, 1997)
Lisa Zane	...	Queen diana / ... (12 episodes, 1997)
Vera Farmiga	...	Caitlin (11 episodes, 1997)
Sebastian Roché	...	Longinus (11 episodes, 1997)
Alonzo Greer	...	Tully (10 episodes, 1997)
Michael Roughan	...	The Slavemaster / ... (7 episodes, 1997)
Melissa George	...	Molly (5 episodes, 1997)

Series Directed by
Ian Toynton		(2 episodes, 1997)
Jefery Levy		(1 episode, 1997)

Series Writing credits
Ron Koslow		(4 episodes, 1997)
Shaun Cassidy		(3 episodes, 1997)
Larry Barber		(2 episodes, 1997)
Paul Barber		(2 episodes, 1997)
John Kirk		(2 episodes, 1997)

Series Produced by
Michael Nankin	....	co-executive producer (11 episodes, 1997)
Larry Barber	....	producer (3 episodes, 1997)
Paul Barber	....	producer (3 episodes, 1997)
Shaun Cassidy	....	executive producer (3 episodes, 1997)
D. Howard Grigsby	....	producer (3 episodes, 1997)
Ron Koslow	....	executive producer (3 episodes, 1997)
Jefery Levy	....	consulting producer (3 episodes, 1997)
Todd London	....	associate producer (3 episodes, 1997)
Lawrence Meyers	....	co-producer (3 episodes, 1997)
Brian Chambers	....	co-producer (2 episodes, 1997)

Series Original Music by
Jon Ehrlich		(13 episodes, 1997)

Series Cinematography by
John Stokes		(3 episodes, 1997)
Levie Isaacks		(unknown episodes)

Series Film Editing by
Craig Ridenour		(2 episodes, 1997)
Ron Binkowski		(unknown episodes)
Casey Brown		(unknown episodes)

Series Casting by
Megan Branman		(unknown episodes)
Maura Fay		(unknown episodes)

Series Production Design by
Stewart Burnside		(2 episodes, 1997)

Series Art Direction by
Michael Rumpf		(2 episodes, 1997)

Series Set Decoration by
Ken James		(1 episode, 1997)

Series Costume Design by
Jean Turnbull		(3 episodes, 1997)

Series Makeup Department
Shay Lawrence	....	key prosthetic makeup (3 episodes, 1997)
Viv Rushbrook	....	hair stylist / makeup artist (3 episodes, 1997)
Rick Findlater	....	makeup artist (unknown episodes)

Series Production Management
Brendon 'Moose' Boyd	....	unit manager (13 episodes, 1997)
Gina Black	....	unit production manager (3 episodes, 1997)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Vera Biffone	....	second assistant director (3 episodes, 1997)
Angela McPherson	....	second assistant director (3 episodes, 1997)
Peter Fitzgerald	....	first assistant director (2 episodes, 1997)
Ian 'Thistle' Thorburn	....	second unit director (unknown episodes)

Series Art Department
Michael Kissane	....	stand-by props: second unit (10 episodes, 1997)
Jacinta Leong	....	set designer (3 episodes, 1997)
Randy Vellacott	....	property master (3 episodes, 1997)
Bob Booker	....	props (unknown episodes)
Judy Hallin	....	art department coordinator (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
Andy Dawson	....	supervising sound editor (12 episodes, 1997)
Peter Reale	....	sound re-recording mixer (10 episodes, 1997)
Harry Woolway	....	sound effects editor (10 episodes, 1997)
Norval D. Crutcher III	....	supervising sound editor (8 episodes, 1997)
Bob Clayton	....	sound mixer (3 episodes, 1997)
Richard Thomas	....	sound effects editor (3 episodes, 1997)
Mark DeSimone	....	adr mixer: New York (unknown episodes)
Morten Furst	....	second boom operator (unknown episodes)
Robb Navrides	....	adr editor / dialogue editor (unknown episodes)
Scott Piper	....	boom operator (unknown episodes)
Harry E. Snodgrass	....	sound designer (unknown episodes)

Series Special Effects by
Bruce Bright	....	special effects coordinator (unknown episodes)
Angelo Sahin	....	special effects technician (unknown episodes)

Series Visual Effects by
Samantha Mabie-Tuinstra	....	visual effects coordinator: Digital Muse (10 episodes, 1997)
John F.K. Parenteau	....	visual effects supervisor (3 episodes, 1997)
Branden L. Smith	....	visual effects supervisor (3 episodes, 1997)
Mark Breakspear	....	digital compositor (unknown episodes)
Steve Bruce	....	visual effects gaffer (unknown episodes)
Ian 'Thistle' Thorburn	....	visual effects supervisor (unknown episodes)

Series Stunts
Dean Gould	....	stunt performer (13 episodes, 1997)
Brit Sooby	....	stunts (10 episodes, 1997)
Mick Roughan	....	stunts (6 episodes, 1997)
Danny Baldwin	....	stunt coordinator (3 episodes, 1997)
Haydn Dalton	....	stunt performer (3 episodes, 1997)
Sue Baldwin	....	stunt department coordinator (unknown episodes)
Bradd Buckley	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
David E. Woodley	....	stunt horse rider / stunts (unknown episodes)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Damian Wyvill	....	first assistant camera (11 episodes, 1997)
Ricky Schamburg	....	second assistant camera (10 episodes, 1997)
Ian 'Thistle' Thorburn	....	2nd unit director of photography: second unit / second unit director of photography (2 episodes, 1997)
Dick Tummel	....	camera operator: second unit (unknown episodes)

Series Casting Department
Megan Branman	....	casting / casting: Los Angeles (3 episodes, 1997)
Maura Fay	....	casting / casting: Australia (3 episodes, 1997)
Lynn Ruthven	....	casting / casting: Australia (3 episodes, 1997)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Matthew Kinman	....	costume supervisor (13 episodes, 1997)

Series Editorial Department
Terrell Clegg	....	post-production coordinator (11 episodes, 1997)
David Crabtree	....	assistant editor (unknown episodes)
David Crozier	....	assistant editor (unknown episodes)

Series Music Department
Eduardo Ponsdomenech	....	music editor (13 episodes, 1997)
Jon Ehrlich	....	composer: theme music (11 episodes, 1997)
Adam Berry	....	composer: additional score (unknown episodes)
Casey Stone	....	music scoring mixer (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
Tricia McInally	....	production secretary (11 episodes, 1997)
Drew Michel	....	production assistant (10 episodes, 1997)
Dane Eade	....	trade assistant (6 episodes, 1997)
Anna Tkatch	....	vault librarian (4 episodes, 1997)
Joanne Driscoll	....	assistant accountant (unknown episodes)
Erik Gardner	....	production assistant (unknown episodes)
Sally Mann	....	script supervisor (unknown episodes)
Karen Mansfield	....	script supervisor (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• Sea Change Productions
• Universal TV

Distributors

• Fox Network (USA)
• Koch Media (2012) (Germany) (DVD)
• Studios USA Television

Special Effects

• Digital Muse

Other Companies

• Digital Sound & Vision  ADR facility

Also Known As:

Runtime:

60 min | USA:60 min (13 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Queensland, Australia

Company:

Sea Change Productions

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Horror of Party Beach (#9.17)" (1997)

Another show with potential assassinated by its own network

geoffw (see below) is quite right about what happened to this show: poor network marketing support (complicated by network interference with the concept). The Christian Right had nothing to do with its cancellation, and the individual who suggested that is out of touch with the facts.

The fact is that this was another wonderfully original and well-developed concept from Shawn Cassidy (who also created 'American Gothic', among others) that was mis-marketed by FOX. Apparently FOX wanted to grab some of the riches generated by camp sword and sorcery shows like 'Hercules: The Legendary Journeys' and 'Xena: Warrior Princess'. They gave Roar very little marketing support (I remember vague promos showing people in leather armor that gave no idea what the show was about), and what little support they did give it implied it was a Hercules/Xena clone. It wasn't. When the wrong audience tuned in and rejected it, FOX started moving it all over the schedule, again without proper marketing support. They also applied pressure to the producers to dumb it down and make it more like Hercules/Xena. Watch a marathon on Sci-Fi sometime, and you will notice the following network-inspired trends:

1) The importance of Conor's struggle to unite the Irish clans diminishes. By the middle of the series, his efforts in this regard are only described in throwaway dialog and aren't seen on screen. These efforts should have provided the meat of the series. What table scraps we do get imply that the mission was effortless, which it certainly would not have been (clan rivalries historically prevented the Irish from uniting for the common good, which is how the English got a foothold centuries later). We frequently see Conor and Fergus travelling aimlessly about doing good deeds (instead of raising a resistance against the Romans) ala Hercules and Iolaus.

2) The importance of Conor's war band withers over the course of the series, until finally they don't even appear -- even though they are still credited as regular characters. By midway through the show's run, we usually see Conor and Fergus travelling alone, despite the fact that Conor is an important king who should be regarded as a deadly enemy by the Romans.

2) Vera Farmiga's costume becomes smaller and smaller, until the introduction of Melissa George as Molly, after which the character of Caitlin is rarely seen at all. Obviously a misguided attempt to "sex it up", and when the writers couldn't distort the Conor-Caitlin relationship enough to permit romance, they introduced a new love interest.

3) Originally intensely dramatic, with tragic loves, murky intrigues, murders and double-crosses, by mid-run it had become a campy adventure comedy.

4) The character of Longinus was a well-crafted and mysterious villain with tons of potential. Unfortunately, with the tone of the show shifting, he simply wasn't silly enough, so they unsuitably disposed of the character (it violated the integrity of the character to have him fall victim to such a plot) and made the ridiculously camp Diana the sole villain.

This could have been a great show, and it didn't hurt that the cast is actually quite competent. But I suspect that -- after the failure of 'American Gothic' -- Cassidy was willing to do anything to keep his new masters happy. Unfortunately it diminished his vision, and killed the show.

Ultimately, Roar became indistinguishable from the ilk of Hercules/Zena, but because the characters weren't designed to be camp it couldn't compete with that class of show. Had FOX left well enough alone and helped it to find the RIGHT audience, we would at the very least have a great short-lived series to collect on home video. Now, we don't even have that.