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21 reviews in total

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18 out of 22 people found the following review useful:
My new favorite, 22 April 2003
Author: nkatngt

It's hard to find good shows on regular TV that deal with the supernatural. I am so glad I discovered this show even if it is no longer being made. The only other good supernatural TV show I could find before was Buffy The Vampire Slayer which I love and it's spinoff Angel is OK, but lately both shows have been dissapointing me and I started looking for others.

Coming across Beastmaster has been good for me and I am sure it has been/will be for others. The actors are great and play their characters perfect. The direction is good as well and hardly misses a beat. Also there is beautiful scenery and great dialoge and storyline. It has everything people look for in a good show. I hope others will discover it an enjoy it as much as I have.

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10 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
Great Show, with plot holes big enough to fit Texas!!!, 30 July 2005

Author: fatality713 from baton rouge, la

To begin with, I like this show, I own all three seasons on DVD. It is a fantasy show, utterly lacking any need for higher level thinking. This is not "Farscape" or "Star Trek" which might require the viewer to actively think about what is going on, or even "Xena" and "Hercules" which actually stuck to one major plot line. But it is good aimless fun. And Monikka Schnarre would look good reading a phone book.

What surprised me however was the lack of any sense of time. The show started the first season in the stone age. Bones, wood and stone consisted of the materials available to create tools and weapons. Okay, I'll buy it. Darr's Halbred could have been created of two leg bones of an extremely large animal, the metatarsals or metacarpals of an elephant would suffice (or is it the phalanges?). Season two rolls around and we've got bronze. Initially only the Nords had it, until the middle of the season. After the half-way mark, everyone was learning to extract bronze, independently of each other. Tao was developing ways to fly. The crossbow was invented. I still wasn't thrown, the liberties hadn't truly been taken yet. That's when season three rolled around. The first two seasons were thrown out the window. Everyone had iron weapons. Darr's sword appeared to be a Katana made of steel. STEEL!!! Zad had Knights running around. We went through roughly 7000-8000 years of evolution in a short three year span. None of the actors even aged discernably. The animals even took a back seat to him finding his family.

It seems to me the people pulling the strings decided to take the show different ways from episode to episode. The Sorceress would show up in black leather trying to be evil in one week, and then be wearing clothes straight from the runway the next. Not that I'm complaining. She can wear leather, dresses, skirts, bikinis or even nothing and I still would watch.

Oh well, I still watched and bought the show. They succeeded in what they wanted to accomplish. Just don't watch the show with a critical view and you'll do fine.

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8 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
A big mess, but often fun to watch, 8 June 2002
Author: budikavlan from Irving, TX

It seems from watching that the producers of this series didn't take the time to plan their "bible" before beginning the series. The basic story, handed down from Andre Norton through the series of films, was fine, but this kind of high-concept fantasy series requires an established mythology to guide the storytelling. This one seemed to flounder around without much dramatic impetus. The leads were highly appealing, if inexperienced at the beginning of the series, and individual episodes were often entertaining. The final story arc over the last half of the final season was too slapdash and amateurish to redeem the series as a whole. While it did draw the story to a finish, it wasn't a particularly compelling finish; the appearance of Marc Singer (the star of the Beastmaster films) was a silly stunt. One can only hope that Daniel Goddard and Jackson Raine move on to better projects--both are appealing enough to merit it.

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9 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
A quirky, but usually good show, 11 January 2002
Author: Haflinger from London, Ontario

I watch this show most of the time. It's erratic, but I like it a lot anyway.

The producers seem to have relatively little idea of what kind of show they want to do. It's now in its third season, and it appears to have gone to heroic fantasy. (Any episodes you see Dar having a sword, they're all third season. And he puts up quite a protest around it, but you'd have to actually watch the show to see it.) Last season would be better characterized as a sort of low-level high fantasy, where most of the emphasis was on complex relationships between all the different characters. And a lot of the first season was a (tragic) love story.

The acting is great, but it's very much in a particular style. It's an understated style that shows up a lot in Canadian productions (it's a Canada-Australia joint production).

But the best part is: They kill characters. Major characters. Not many of them, but people actually die. The storyline moves on. I get really tired of watching adventure shows with no threat of death. It's pretty much a given that Dar won't die (or they'd have to rename the show) but everybody else, except for gods (none of which have made appearances, unlike in a show like Xena) and some of the demigod-level characters (I'm thinking of The Ancient One) has been fair game. It helps make the show exciting, which is the whole point of adventure, right?

The acting style's not for everyone, but if you like it, watch the show. The stories are generally pretty well-written, and the show's got guts.

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10 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
truly inspiring, the best of it's kind, 21 June 2004
Author: lisaweaver from wichita, USA

Speaking strictly of the first 2 seasons this shows some of the best talent I've ever seen both in writing and acting. Almost every episode was remarkably well crafted. The main characters were very well formed and expertly well portrayed. Especially Dar and Tao. This show teaches us more about the world and shows us how truly human-like animals really are. This summary doesn't speak for the 3rd season because to me the third season simply wasn't that good. The show had lost it's focus both on the animals and the people. At that point it became pure good vs. evil and lost it's appeal. But I still love the show and stand by what i said:this show truly is the best and only one of it's kind!

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
good for the most part, 18 June 2007

Author: lisafenix from United States

let's go point by point. There are 4 points total. A. Dar and Tao (and the actors portraying them) work together very well. There were a few episodes in the first season that made Tao look like an idiot but other than those I'd say they were equals in almost every respect throughout the series. They complimented each other well and Dar wasn't always the teacher. I especially like where they save each-others lives.

B there is a sense of cohesion to 75% of the episodes. The rest seem aimless and even contrary to the episodes in the main flow. I'm thinking of Guardian, circle of life and the role of the two Magic people; It didn't seem like the writers knew where to take them.

C. Nords rule! Nords, priests and even Iara included, season 2 enemies are great. Well Iara is more of an antagonist (pun intended) than an adversary. Season 2 episodes with Terrons weren't that great; thankfully there were not very many of those.

D.I love animals and this series shows us how wrong some of our preconceived notions about the stupidity and brutality of animals really is. When the focus is on the animals, that is when the show really shines.

Again, there are poor and contrary episodes in the show, but for the most part this is a forgotten treasure. Look it up in local listings here it's on at 4 am Saturday morning but still it's usually worth it. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

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7 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
A great series with heart and a great message about animals, 25 October 2003
Author: ksmorrow

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This series warmed my heart and I was sad to see it go. I did feel that they left too many questions unanswered. Maybe they will make a movie or series of TV movies to answer those questions. More sorceress and the wizard would be great. I didn't believe the wizard died. It was unconvincing. The evil ruler was excellent. All in all I give it B plus.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Where did MONIKA SCHNARRE go during the second season?, 6 March 2007

Author: jallanh from Chicago, IL. United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Why was Monika Schnarre replaced briefly by another actress that looked like Uma Thurman with a long blonde ponytail and a lot of eye shadow/makeup. However, I'm not complaining since I liked this sorceress also. I just thought it was the same one and they got another actress to play her. Originally, I missed some episodes and when I tuned in all of sudden there she was-a new sorceress! Later in reruns, I saw Monika's sorceress character encased in amber and apparently trapped there. But did Monika's contract only run for the 1st season and the the first few episodes of the 2nd season and that's why she had to be replaced or it was definitely part of the storyline.

Apparently the second sorceress didn't work out and her run was limited and Monika returned. Maybe the producers sensed that Monika was more popular with the fans since she was the original sorceress. Anyways, I watched the show mainly because of Daniel Goddard with his bulging biceps and his tush in that skimpy loin cloth costume. He was just pure eye candy-so move over Monika Schnarre and second sorceress and all of the other sorceresses- jeez, I will never want to type that word ever again! I'd like to eventually buy the the whole series but has anyone noticed how expensive they are- what's up with that? There are sellers on an online DVD site selling Season 3 alone for over $100!

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0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
great show, 30 December 2008

Author: mosenk779 from United States

Excellent shows. Great acting and plot lines. Dar has a great attitude to help animals, talk to them, and fight for justice. Daniel Goddard is a perfect actor for the show. Very strong personality and perfectly built for the role, especially to wear a loincloth. All the characters played a great role. Tao who was calm but faced adventure with Dar. As I watched the shows, they gave the impression that you don't need material things for integrity, it's how you react to your environment. It was great seeing Marc Singer in an episode who also was a great actor in the original Beastmaster. Keep up the good work Daniel, you made a great role. No killing, stealing, swearing, or indecent sex scenes.

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4 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
A whole lot of fun!, 3 October 2004

Author: rockhopper10r from Houston, TX

Oh what fun this show was! First you have the incredibly *gorgeous* Daniel Goddard as Dar, the BeastMaster. The producers had the good sense to keep him wearing as little as possible. Even in the third season, when he dressed a little more "modestly", you could still see those stupendous biceps. Yummy! Then you have the gay subtext. This is most pronounced in Season Two, where the five most important male characters all seem to be gay archetypes: Dar (Gym-Boy), Tao (Nerd with a crush on Gym-Boy), Zad (Leather Daddy), Voden (Party Boy) and The Ancient One (All-Powerful, All-Knowing Old Auntie). Then you have the fact that it was actually fairly well-written and acted. Admittedly, Season Three was the weakest. The show would have been better had they not gone down that particular road, but, overall it was a lot of fun and most certainly not the worst way to spend an hour. Oh did I mention how gorgeous Daniel Goddard is? (*sigh*)

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