Conan the Adventurer (1997 TV series)

Conan: The Adventurer
Conan: The Adventurer title screen, featuring (left to right, back to front) the characters Zzeban, Conan, Karella, Bayu, and Otli
Created by	Max A. Keller Robert E. Howard (characters)
Starring	Ralf Möller Danny Woodburn Jeremy Kemp Robert McRay T. J. Storm Aly Dunne
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	22
Production
Running time	60 mins.
Production company(s)	Balengica Productions Keller Entertainment Group
Distributor	Western International Syndication
Release
Original network	syndication
Original release	September 22, 1997 – May 25, 1998

Conan: The Adventurer is a weekly one hour American television action-adventure series, that was the cimmerian's first live-action TV show. It was produced by Max A. Keller and Micheline Keller from 1997 to 1998 and loosely based on the fantasy hero Conan the Barbarian. The TV show premiered on September 22, 1997. It comprised 22 episodes and was filmed mainly in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico. The series has reached many countries of the world, more than 150. Keller Entertainment Group, the same production company responsible for the series Tarzan: The epic and Alcapulco Heat, continues to market and distribute the series worldwide and the series has longevity among international broadcasters and DVD aggregators. The role of Conan was played by Ralf Moeller (AKA Rolf Muller), two time Mr. Universe, a native of Germany, and friend to Arnold Schwarzenegger. The rest of the ensemble cast included Danny Woodburn (Otli), Robert McRay (Zzeben), T.J. Storm (Bayu), Aly Dunne (Karella), and briefly, Andrew Craig (Vulkar). The script for the 2 hour pilot was written by Steve Hayes, the head of Project Development for the series. The show was not promoted to be "authentic Conan", but rather a mixture of Arnold Schwarzenegger's and John Milius' interpretation of Conan. Indeed, the storyline deviated from the essence of the Conan character, as well as that of the Conan earlier depicted in the various Conan comic book series by Marvel Comics, because the adaptation was too peaceful and childish.

An all-powerful sorcerer, the great Hissah Zuhl (Jeremy Kemp) places Conan's homeland of Cimmeria under his iron rule and controls these lands through magical arts, trickery and threats. He is responsible for the death of Conan's parents, and he is recurrent as the always just barely thwarted mastermind enemy. Conan and an army of warriors rebel and fight to free Cimmeria from the demonic tyrant and his minions. In his travels, Conan will battle fierce mythical creatures that roam the land. The hero has been chosen by the gods to fight evil, he has been informed by Crom that he is destined to be a king.

Conan wants revenge against Hissah Zuhl (In all episodes the enemy has a primary role. He also has a servant, a skeleton with clairvoyant powers), that constantly seeks to kill the hero. The weapons that the sorcerer uses are an apparently endless horde of warriors, as well as vassal wizards and princes under Zuhl's control.

Conan's troop (all of whom are entirely or effectively unique to this television show) most consistently is made up of Woodburn as the clever dwarf Otli, T. J. Storm as the animalistic capoeira warrior Bayu, and Robert McRay as the mute staff-wielder and wrestler Zzeban who communicates in sign language. Another character is Karella, a beautiful bandit-queen, with which Conan has a fiery and sometimes conflicting passion. A love/hate relationship that causes considerable trouble for the hero.