''Sheena, Queen of the Jungle'' is a syndicated American television adventure series that was broadcast in 1956-1957. The title character was "the female counterpart of Tarzan."

Background

The series was based on the ''

Sheena, Queen of the Jungle Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, is a fictional American comic book jungle girl heroine during the Golden Age of Comic Books. She originally debuted in the British magazine ''Wags'' #46 (January 1938). and later made her first American appearance i ...

'' comic book character. An initial attempt at a Sheena-based TV series occurred with the writing of a script proposal in 1952. A second attempt at such a series in 1955 resulted in a pilot with Anita Ekberg as Sheena, but the pilot was never broadcast. Ekberg "failed to show up for location shooting in the jungles of Mexico", and

Irish McCalla Nellie Elizabeth "Irish" McCalla (December 25, 1928 – February 1, 2002) was an American film and television actress and artist best known as the title star of the 1950s television series '' Sheena, Queen of the Jungle''. She co-starred with ac ...

replaced her in the title role of the series.

Premise

An African chief discovered a young girl who survived a plane crash in which her parents were killed. As she grew up she was taught to "respect good men and hate bad ones." The series featured activities of Sheena as a grown woman who fought evil. Bob, a white trader (portrayed by Christian Drake), and Chim, a chimpanzee, helped her. Sheena's ability to control animals was useful in her efforts. Bob was often captured, leading to his being rescued by Sheena.

Production

''Sheena'' was filmed in Mexico, and 26 half-hour episodes were produced. Don Sharpe was the producer. The show was a property of ABC Film Syndication Inc. Nassour Brothers produced the series.

Critical response

Media critic John Crosby wrote, ". . . when the decision is made on the worst show on the air this will be well up among the finalists." He noted that Chim accompanied Sheena everywhere and sometimes rescued her when she was in distress. He called Sheena's "chimpanzee talk" with Chim, "easily the most intelligent dialogue in the show." Ed Olly, writing in ''

The Central New Jersey Home News The ''Central New Jersey Home News Tribune'' is a daily newspaper serving Middlesex County, New Jersey. The paper has an average daily weekday circulation of about 49,000. The newspaper is the result of the 1995 merger of ''The Home News'' of Ea ...

'', pointed out that the show was seen differently by children than by adults (especially critics). He wrote that his two little girls wanted to watch ''Sheena'' rather than ''

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...

''. "I will admit that ''Sheena, Queen of the Jungle'' is pretty terrible when viewed with grown-up eyes', he said, "but kids do not see things the same way as a dramatic critic. They do not demand that the characters be 'motivated' or that the dialogue be realistic, for instance. All they want is action."

Jack Gould John Ludlow Gould (February 5, 1914 – May 24, 1993) was an American journalist and critic, who wrote commentary about television. Early life and education Gould was born in New York City into a socially prominent family and attended the Loomis ...

wrote about ''Sheena'' in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', "It is so bad it is completely fascinating." He described the Sheena character as "a blond derivative of Jane Russell", the dialogue as "basic Tarzan", and the acting as "elementary Ramar".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheena, Queen of the Jungle 1956 American television series debuts 1957 American television series endings 1950s American drama television series American adventure television series Jungle girls