Relic Hunter

'Relic Hunter'is an American television series, starring Tia Carrere and Christien Anholt. Actress Lindy Booth also starred for the first two seasons, and Tanya Reichert replaced her for the third. It ran for three seasons in the U.S. between 1999 and 2002. In Britain, it is aired on Sky One and subsidiary channels, while in Canada, it is aired on both CityTV and Space. Relic Hunter has strong thematic links to the Indiana Jones series of films and the Tomb Raider franchise, and is often described by fans as a guilty pleasure with campy undertones.

Overview and Themes

Relic Hunter follows the globe-trotting adventures of a spitfire American archaeologist named Sydney Fox (Carrere) and her high-strung research assistant Nigel Bailey (Anholt). They are assisted at their 'home base,' a generic American university identified only as Trinity College, by the spoiled but well-intentioned Claudia (Booth), a student secretary whose ditzy facade belies her facility with predicaments of a bureaucratic nature. The character of Karen Petrushky (Reichert) replaces Claudia in the third season, the main difference between the two being that unlike Claudia, Karen is not portrayed as an 'airhead,' but rather more of a 'sexy vixen' stereotype. Fans have noted that this blatant network attempt to enhance the sex appeal of the series may have been a contributing factor to its ultimate cancellation at the close of the third season.

Related Topics:
Archaeologist - Generic - University - Bureaucratic - Stereotype - Sex appeal - Cancellation

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In the universe in which the series is set, highly regarded mercenaries and academics known throughout the world as "relic hunters" compete with each other in search for artifacts of unique historic or cultural significance. Sydney is one such relic hunter, apparently a rather famous one, as her skills are ceaselessly sought after by colleagues and adversaries alike: almost every episode finds her and Nigel attempting to track down a different item, usually for noble purposes, such as to repatriate it to its land of origin or return it to its rightful heir, but often under duress or at gunpoint.

Related Topics:
Universe - Mercenaries - Academics

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Plots in Relic Hunter often take great liberties with the history upon which they are ostensibly based. Historical figures and anecdotes are frequently romanticized or outrighted falsified, and there is a distinct supernatural bent to many of the third season episodes. To its credit, nevertheless, the show presents academic research and anthropological fieldwork in a refreshing light rarely see on popular television: rather than being construed as stuffy antiquarians, Sydney and Nigel (a professor and teaching assistant) are presented as modern-day adventurers whose impressive command of esoteric archaeological minutiae is the primary tool in their explorers' arsenal.

Related Topics:
Supernatural - Academic research - Anthropological - Fieldwork

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Relic Hunter episodes are also known for being highly formulaic, although devoted fans have noted that this does not detract from their enjoyment of the series.

Related Topics:
Formulaic - Fans

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