YOUNG INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES: PETROGRAD, JULY 1917 (TV)

Summary

One in this adventure series about a young American who travels the world and becomes involved with the historical figures and events of his time. In this episode, “old Indy” attends a photo exhibition and says that one of the images is labeled incorrectly, saying it was taken in July of 1917, not October. He explains that he was there in Petrograd, working for the French government to prevent Lenin from taking power. In his office, young Indiana argues with another clerk, Brossard, saying that he would rather be in the field than at a desk. Realizing something, he suddenly hurries off to the home of his friends Sergei and Irene and finds them leaving for a protest. He begs them not to go, saying it will be dangerous, especially for deserters like Sergei, and they give in. At his next meeting, Indiana learns that the next three months are crucial and that it is likely an uprising will take place soon, and so they must work especially hard to prevent it, because if Lenin and the Bolsheviks take power, they will end the war and Germany will likely invade France. Indiana meets with his friends and they discuss whether “paradise” is a realistic goal, like in books, and Rosa states that the war is ruining everything in Russia and should be ended, believing that the upcoming elections will bring “a time of hope.” They learn that the rally to which they had been headed turned violent, and Indiana is glad he stopped them. After spending a merry evening with his friends, Indiana attempts to crack the revolutionaries’ codes, but with no success.

Later, Rosa and the others make banners, and Irene encourages her to make a move on Indiana, whom she likes. Rosa’s friends tell her to distract him for several hours, and though the concerto they try to attend is canceled, they end up strolling around the city and sightseeing. He reveals that it is his birthday, and that spending it with her is “perfect.” When they return home, Indiana is surprised with a party. When they cut the cake, they all make jokes about socialism versus capitalism and getting a fair “slice.” As they have no money for presents, Irene says his gift will be to witness “history being made,” and they take him to see Lenin speak. He gives a fiery speech about ending the war and bringing bread and land to the people, which makes Indiana nervous. Afterward, he sneaks into a newspaper factory and tries to discover the dates of the next rally, but is soon chased out by soldiers. When he escapes to his office, he finds Brossard there, who tells him that the 30,000 Steel Works factory workers are the “key” to the uprising and will soon attack the government. In the morning, he is surprised by Rosa, who blurts out her love for him, although he does not quite return her affections. They talk about Irene and Sergei and their idyllic plans to live in the country after the war, and he asks her for details about the upcoming revolution. Sergei and Irene arrive and tell him that he has it wrong and Lenin is out of the country, that Russia “is not ready” and they do not have enough people yet. Sergei warns him against embarrassing himself by giving his superiors incorrect information.

Back at his office, Brossard maintains that the uprising will soon start and offers evidence, but Indiana disagrees and explains what his friends said. Their superiors seem to agree with Indiana, but they are shortly thereafter summoned to the crisis room, where they learn that the revolutionaries have indeed begun to march on the capital, having apparently taken the initiative themselves without Lenin’s orders. He and Trotsky are in the city giving encouraging speeches to the people, and Indiana is shocked at his friends’ lies. Nevertheless, he quickly runs to find them, where they are leading a marching mob, and begs them to stop, citing their friendship, but they leave anyway, saying he is working against them. When Rosa returns home and hears the news, she immediately heads off to stop them, and Indiana follows. Despite his desperate pleas, the marchers head right up to the government buildings, where they are met with gunfire, and Sergei is shot and dies in his friends’ arms. Old Indy recalls that 400 people were killed that day because the revolution was not actually happening yet and did not truly take place until October, after the “summer of hope.” He points to himself in the photo, a tiny figure sprinting towards the mob. Commercials deleted.

Details

NETWORK: ABC
DATE: March 27, 1993 8:00 PM
RUNNING TIME: 0:46:58
COLOR/B&W: Color
CATALOG ID: B:34853
GENRE: Drama, action/adventure
SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, action/adventure; History
SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1992-1993
COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

George Lucas … Executive Producer, Created by, Based on a story by
Rick McCallum … Producer
Simon Winger … Director
Gavin Scott … Writer
Laurence Rosenthal … Music by
Sean Patrick Flanery … Cast, Indiana Jones
George Hall … Cast, Old Indy
Julia Stemberger … Cast, Rosa
Jean Pierre Cassel … Cast, Ambassador
Beata Pozniak … Cast, Irene
Ravil Isyanov … Cast, Sergei
Gary Olsen … Cast, Boris
Roger Sloman … Cast, Lenin
Alan Cox … Cast, Dmitri
Marc Berman … Cast, Laurentine
Pierre Lagan … Cast, Brossard
Jean Gabriel Nordmann … Cast, First Secretary
Elsa Zylberstein … Cast, Telephone Girl
Melon Garcula … Cast, Cap Man
Martin Hub … Cast, Bolshevik #1
Karen Engel … Cast, Bolshevik #2
Mr. Nemejovsky … Cast, Second Secretary
Joe Inscoe … Cast, Curator