''Sheena'' is an American action-

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

television series which was produced for first-run

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

from 2000 to 2002. Based upon W. Morgan Thomas's comic book character

Sheena, Queen of the Jungle Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, is a fictional American comic book jungle girl heroine, originally published primarily by Fiction House during the Golden Age of Comic Books. She was the first female comic book character with her own title, with her ...

, which previously spawned a 1950s TV series of the same title; this turn-of-the-millennium version updated its title character to the 21st century. There were two seasons, containing 22 and 13 episodes. It starred Gena Lee Nolin and John Allen Nelson, and was developed for television by

Douglas Schwartz Douglas Schwartz is an American television screenwriter and series creator who, along with Michael Berk, worked as a writer on the television series '' Manimal'', and multiple made for television movies. He is most famous for creating co-produci ...

and Steven L. Sears. In this version, Sheena was given the mystical ability to transform into almost any jungle animal; she also spoke whole sentences (akin to Ron Ely's

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

), unlike

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 act ...

's interpretation of the character. Several episodes from the first season are available to view for free in Minisode format on

Crackle Crackle or crackling may refer to: Foods * Cracklings, the tissue remaining after lard and tallow have been extracted from animal fats ** Pork rinds in American English, pork scratchings in British English when served in small pieces as a snac ...

, as well as on

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television series ...

Premise

Sheena's parents were archaeologists who died in the jungle when she was about six years old, orphaning their daughter Cheryl Hamilton (as explained in the episode "Stranded in the Jungle"; otherwise, Sheena remembers nothing of her parents, or of her pre-Africa childhood). She was taken in by Kali, a local Shamaness of a tribe who brought her up; five years ago, she was taught how to morph into birds and other animals, thus acquiring their abilities, up to and including flight. She also befriended animals such as

zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zebr ...

Marika,

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantida ...

Chango and

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

Tiki. Moreover, she became a mythical creature called "The Darak'na" who relies on people's fear of the unknown. For this, she covers herself in a dark liquid mud which allows her to be largely unseen in the low light of the jungle. With above-average strength, agility and speed—and armed with a pair of bone-clawed gloves—she is a formidable one-woman fighting force. She does kill sometimes. In the first episode, she meets Matt Cutter ( John Allen Nelson) who runs a safari business by air, water and land. In his youth, Cutter had a promising career as a football player till a knee injury ruined it (he has no apparent injury now). He joined the CIA, being code-named "Jericho" and fought as a mercenary. He was a first class sniper but an accident meant he killed an innocent person which caused him to abandon his old life for the life he now leads. On their first meeting, Sheena is not sure what side Cutter is on, as she is a protector of the jungle and Cutter seems willing to do anything for money. He is unknowingly helping criminals. Within several episode, Cutter became more responsible, and less booze- and money-oriented. Sometimes there is chemistry between Sheena and Cutter, hinting at a development of their relationship, and at other times, the plotline appears to show a platonic friendship. This is notable in an episode where she meets an old "Agency" friend of Cutter's and a deeper level intimacy is suggested than in any of the scenes with Cutter. Mendelsohn is a run-down buddy of Cutter's who services his plane and does odd jobs for him. The three come up against the local petty tyrant, would be dictators, small armies, a police officer who cannot wholly be trusted, evil tribesmen, evil foreigners, people from their past, assorted traps, etc.

Episodes

Season 1 (2000–01)

Season 2 (2001–02)

Home media

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures l ...

released both seasons on DVD in Region 1 in 2012. Season 1 was released on June 5, 2012, while season 2 was released on July 3, 2012. These are Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) releases. On August 15, 2017, Mill Creek Entertainment re-released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 in a 6-disc set entitled ''Sheena - Queen of the Jungle Collection: The Movie & TV Series''.The 1984 Tanya Roberts Film AND The 2000 Gena Lee Nolin TV Show...TOGETHER!

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheena (TV Series) Television series by Sony Pictures Television 2000 American television series debuts 2002 American television series endings Television shows based on comics First-run syndicated television programs in the United States English-language television shows Television shows set in Africa Television shows filmed in Florida Television series about shapeshifting Jungle girls American action television series American adventure television series American fantasy television series American action adventure television series