brightknightie | Young Blades Episodes Available Online

Happy news! A nice person over at

rarewomen (the ficathon for neglected female characters) just tonight told me that all thirteen Young Blades episodes are presently available on YouTube, uncut and undivided! (Of course it will be better when someday TPTB sell YB to us properly, but I've been waiting eight years for them to accept my money for this content, and with no DVDs or streaming in sight and my recorded-from-TV VHS tapes aging, I embrace this alternative with delight.)

Wanted

Rub-a-dub Sub

Enchanted

The Exile

DaVinci's Notebook

Secrets of the Father

Four Musketeers and a Baby

Coat of Arms

The Girl from Upper Gaborski

Invincible Sword

To Heir is Human

The Chameleon

Secrets

As you know (because I periodically blither about it), this is that fun "Three Musketeers: The Next Generation" series that ran on PAX (now InSight) in 2005, diverging from Dumas canon, featuring a farm girl masquerading as a nobleman in order to join the musketeers and avenge her family. Filmed in Quebec, it features the work of Bruce Boxleitner, Michael Ironside, Sheena Easton, Karen Cliche, Tobias Mehler, Mark Hildreth, Zak Santiago, Robert Sheehan, Phillip Mitchell, Charles Shaughnessy... (Don't believe a word on the main IMDB page; all that info is based on a prior series pitch, not any filmed content. The Wikipedia page is brief but accurate, at least.) Episode 4, "The Exile," is the one that brought me across, as we say in FK; my other favorites include "To Heir is Human" and "Invincible Sword." The series creators wrote the first three episodes; Gillian Horvath wrote the final two.

Addendum: Just dipping a toe into the series? I strongly recommend skipping episodes 2-3 after the premiere, and instead sampling 4, 6, 11 or 12. (IMO, 2-3 are the worst.) I'm happy to make personal recommendations tailored to individual tastes and preferences; just ask!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Thanks for pointing me at this. Now I finally know what you've been talking about when you mentioned YB. I just watched Episode 1.
I enjoyed the swashbuckling and the humour.

My favourite character from this early point of view is D'Artagnan. It took me a while to figure out who he is because I have never heard the name pronounced like this. In German spoken versions of the "Three Musketeers" we still use the French pronounciation. He's certainly easy on the eye.

The young inventor reminded me a bit of Constable Crabtree from "Murdoch Mysteries". Of course, that's a totally different show, but they also tried to be ahead of their time in highlighting certain inventions that are incorporated in our daily life today.

Michael Ironside probably makes a good villain. I recall that you once mentioned that I might take a liking to him given my preferences. However, at this point I don't find him attractive enough to be drawn in as is the case with Lacroix.

I liked the sparkling tension between D'Artagnan and Jacques before he knew who Jacques really is. I'm curious to see if that tension can be upheld now that he knows the truth.

I understand from the comments on LJ that I'm supposed to skip ep 2 and 3. Should I continue with No. 4 or do you have other recommendations for me?

>"I enjoyed the swashbuckling and the humour."

I'm very glad! It's very kind of you to look into the series; thank you!

>"It took me a while to figure out who he is because I have never heard the name pronounced like this. In German spoken versions of the "Three Musketeers" we still use the French pronounciation."

Interesting! I did not know that this was not the French pronunciation. (This is how "d'Artagnan" is said in all the English-language movies and television programs based on the Alexandre Dumas stories that I've ever seen -- US, UK and Canadian alike.) When I have some time this week, I will look around online for a snippet from a French-language production, to hear it the other way.

>"Michael Ironside probably makes a good villain. I recall that you once mentioned that I might take a liking to him given my preferences. However, at this point I don't find him attractive enough to be drawn in as is the case with Lacroix."

This makes me smile. :-) We all pick our favorite characters for such different, personal reasons! :-)

>"I liked the sparkling tension between D'Artagnan and Jacques before he knew who Jacques really is. I'm curious to see if that tension can be upheld now that he knows the truth."

An unspoilery reply:
Now that he knows the truth, he develops a taste for double-entendres -- remarks that he, Jacqueline and the audience know have two meanings, but for which the other characters understand only one meaning. D'Artagnan and Jacqueline have many points of conflict; they may come to understand one another, but of their differences and disagreements, there is no end. :-)

For all her practical peasant background, Jacqueline is an idealist. D'Artagnan, son of a Count, fancies himself a realist. But Jacqueline can be ruthless in her idealism, while d'Artagnan is often romantic in his realism.

>"I understand from the comments on LJ that I'm supposed to skip ep 2 and 3."

If you come to like the series, do return and watch #2 and #3 then! But for now, yes, please skip #2 ("Rub-a-dub Sub"); it is catastrophically goofy. While #3 ("Enchanted") is not nearly as problematic as #2, it is perhaps not as good an example of the series as almost any other episode; it does, however, introduce the scope of Mazarin's schemes, and Liana, Mazarin's only female ally. It also focuses on Ramon (the Spanish poet musketeer), and so is extra nice for people who especially enjoy him.

>"Should I continue with No. 4 or do you have other recommendations for me?"

Are you testing the series to see whether it may be worth watching all through? If so, as you're especially enjoying d'Artagnan right now, you might enjoy #6 "Secrets of the Father," in which we meet our d'Artagnan's father, "the famous d'Artaganan" of Jacqueline's childhood hero-worship, and learn about their relationship, or #7 "Four Musketeers and a Baby," in which d'Artagnan takes responsibility for a foundling. #12 "The Chameleon" is highly plot-driven with a mystery and might appeal to your tastes; similarly, #11 "To Heir is Human" is very plotty and a little mysterious. I quite like #4 "The Exile," myself, a Jacqueline-focused episode with lots of action, historical references, and difficult personal choices for the characters.

>"He's certainly easy on the eye."

#4 "The Exile" includes a shirtless scene. ;-) This actor went on from Young Blades to the new Battlestar Galactica, where I understand that he played Zac.

I watched episode 6 today and enjoyed it a lot! Loved the father and the quarrels between father and son as well as the annoyed looks from young D'Artagnan whenever his father launched into a tale.

I checked out Tobias Mehler on IMDB (his name sounds of German origin but he's from Yellowknife) and discovered that he appeared alongside Geraint Wyn Davies in the mystery thriller "I know what I saw". :)

I've never watched the new "Battlestar Galactica".

By the way, hasn't Gillian Horvath also written for FK? "Francesca" comes immediately to mind. :)

You can recognize that this is not the French pronunciation by the syllable that is stressed. In French it's always the last syllable that gets stressed as in Lacroix, Janette, Nicolas. ;)
I'll be seeing "The 3 Musketeers" on stage later this year in Canada. I'm curious how they pronounce it. LOL

>"By the way, hasn't Gillian Horvath also written for FK?"

That's why I mentioned her. She is well known in fandom for her work on both FK ("A Fate Worse Than Death," "Father's Day," "Queen of Harps," "Blackwing," "Fever" and "Francesca") and HL (~20 episodes).

Her YB episodes (the final two) are not among my personal favorites; I would instead recommend the writing of Rick Drew ("DaVinci's Notebook" and "To Heir is Human") and Matthew Newman ("Four Musketeers and a Baby" and "Invincible Sword") as more exemplary of the series.

Edited (Changed subject line) 2013-02-03 21:24 (UTC)

>"I've never watched the new "Battlestar Galactica"."

Me, neither. I love the original Battlestar Galactica.

When the new one premiered, I intended to try it, but before I could, I encountered its fans rudely bashing not only the original series, but one of the original actors, who was then struggling with cancer. I felt that if such awful people were the main ones enjoying the show, it was no place for me.

Subsequently, I heard that it was very violent, especially against women. But, of course, as I've never watched it, I do not know that for a fact.

Hi! I happened to stumble upon this page buuuuut it looks like all 13 episodes of Young Blades were removed from YouTube. Do you happen to know anywhere I could find them? I’d love to rewatch the series! Thanks!!

I wish that I had a happier answer for you, but I'm afraid that I don't know any place to watch Young Blades, at least not in North America. The owners of the show have never yet chosen to sell it to us, neither on DVD nor streaming (there was a rumor not too long after cancellation that it was available on DVD directly from the studio, but that was either wishful thinking or someone with an inside contact).

There is a DVD from Poland; that's the only release that I know of. They apparently stitched together a few episodes to make a movie. I've seen this DVD for sale on eBay. You would need a DVD player that can handle the Europe region's discs (and would need to listen in Polish and read English captions). I suspect that the show may be available in more ways in more global markets, but I don't have any information on that.

I do still hope they'll change their minds someday and release it again in North America for us to enjoy. If not proper DVD or streaming, perhaps one of these "FreeVee"-type streaming services with commercials will play it someday.

Young Blades Episodes Available Online

Episode 1

Re: Episode 1 "Wanted"

Episode 6

Re: Gillian Horvath

Battlestar Galactica

Young Blades Episodes

Re: Young Blades Episodes