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THE TARZAN EPIC ADVENTURES 1996 TV SERIES
The Giant Promotional Kit Sent to Television Stations
Part of the Todd Luck Collection

I’m a Tarzan fan with a YouTube channel who often makes Burroughs-related videos. I discovered Tarzan as a late teen in the 90s and I’ve done a lot of videos on Tarzan stuff from that area. Here’s a link to my channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKfAtLB_2N7peVH_ebjU00w

I stumbled upon an international seller on ebay who was selling the promotional kit and purchased it.  I assume it’s probably complete (with the possible exception of a few missing promo cards).

The promo kit was sent to television stations in August 1996 to help promote the syndicated TV series Tarzan the Epic Adventures, which premiered that Fall. It’s a wooden box with the Tarzan the Epic Adventures logo carved into the top. It has a little rope loop on the lid that you can open it with.

When you open it, you’ll hear the classic Tarzan yell as you see an image from the pilot of Tarzan (Joe Lara) swinging in an ancient temple on the inside of the box lid. Tarzan is a separate piece from the photo background (maybe to add depth to the image?).

The sound didn’t work when I got it because the battery was dead. The sound device is underneath the kit's straw, covered by a piece of paper with the show’s logo on it. I had an electronic repair place switch out the battery (which is housed in the top green part of the sound device). It’s activated by a switch that lifts when you open the box lid. As long as the switch isn’t depressed, it drains the battery even after Tarzan’s yell has finished playing, so the box cannot be displayed with the lid open without killing the battery (unless you tape the switch down).

Inside the box is a spiral bound booklet sitting on a bed of straw. The booklet is made of five decorated folders that are labeled: Background, Cast/Credits/Bios, Program Information, Promotion/Licensing and Photos/Art/Ads. All together, the folders have 45 pages of information about the show, the history of Tarzan and the licensed Tarzan products and promotions of the time. It also includes black and white photos, ads and logos that could be used for the promotion of the series.

Underneath the straw are color slides of the show and promotional cards about the character, the show and the licensed products of the time.

The promo cards are from a 10 card set by FPG. There’s only 9 out of 10 cards with 4 extras in the kit I purchased. I’d previously bought a complete set of them and I’ve included scans of those cards. Here’s info from FPG’s site on the cards: https://www.fpguniverse.com/tarzan-10-card-promotional-pack?tag=Tarzan

Just a few highlights that stuck out to me:

• There was a “making of” special for the show that aired called “On Location -- Tarzan: The Epic Adventures” that featured interviews with Joe Lara and Supervising Producer Mike McGreevey, a history of Tarzan in film, a look at on location shooting in Sun City along with the construction of sets and costumes used in initial episodes, including “Leopard Queen” and “Lost Legion.”

• It says the show’s budget was more than $20 million.

• Tarzan ranked in the Top 5 for Name Recognition Values in the world at the time.

• The promotional section includes press releases from Dark Horse Comics and Del Rey, along with a flier for the 1996 Dum Dum.

• Licensing rights that were currently being discussed included video games, electronic publishing, apparel, greeting cards, posters and party supplies.

• Tarzan was supposed to receive exposure through a fast food chain tie-in.

• The promotional section says 20th Century Fox is presently developing a picture to sequel the popular feature release “Greystoke.” Obviously, they probably meant Warner Brothers since that company put out both “Greystoke” and “Tarzan and the Lost City” (which came out in 1998). Incidentally, ERB inc Archivist Danton Burroughs also said that a sequel to Greystoke was in the works in an interview published in the second issue of Tarzan the Lost Adventure earlier that year.

• I love this quote about the show in the Background section: “More than that, it will introduce the original Tarzan, the one who is loved by millions around the world, but who until now had been lost in Hollywood’s creative jungle. This is The Tarzan Fans Want to See!”

• There are details about shooting locations in the Background section. The pilot, shot at Disney MGM studios, used the Epcot Center including the North African Casbah, a Paris Skyline and an ancient Asian Temple. The regular show was shot at the Sun City resort in South Africa and used The Lost City, Temple of Courage, Bridge of Time and an amphitheater there. The press release in the Promotion section says they also shot in Victoria Falls and Namibia.

• A listing of recurring characters in the series mentioned Lt. Werper, a character from the Jewels of Opar novel who never appeared in the series! It even mentions his alliance with Achmet Zek!

• There’s many intriguing differences between the episode summaries and the episodes that aired.

• The last episode listed was one that was never made, called “Possessed” that was supposed to reveal the secret of what happened to Themba’s tribe! “Themba follows a lead that may solve the mystery of the disappearance of the Wagambi, his people. Strange and mystical spirits appear before him claiming to know the truth. What Themba doesn’t realize is that these “spirit creatures” are really the souls of Wagambi warriors in search of their freedom, wandering this world and the next. The mystery of Themba’s people will be revealed as he also comes under the spell of an evil jungle spirit.”

Here’s a video I did when I first got the kit: https://youtu.be/w_Z05LWCcuc?si=VRg3p3-odvwiQH2g

Here’s a video I made on most of the info I learned from the kit:
https://youtu.be/jk2o0wHKRwc?si=YdG2bFTCDXiG4RZV

And here’s a video I did on the info in the kit about the early drafts of the episodes:
https://youtu.be/SPkOYPQ6oJ0?si=v-LtF9FOTsao7FCv

And here’s a separate video I did on the promo card set:
https://youtu.be/46jFXgfr0no?si=WjGXLwx6Ge5dybUQ

ERBzine REVIEWS OF ALL 22 EPISODES
ALONG WITH HUNDREDS OF SCREEN CAPTURES
https://www.erbzine.com/mag76/7670.html

TARZAN EPIC ADVENTURES PROMO KIT
ERBzine 7792: TODD LUCK INTRO