The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible

The Greatest Adventure:
Stories from the Bible

From the episode "The Creation". (Left to right): Seph, Storyteller, Moki, Margo, Derek, Nod's children, Seph's father (distance, far right).
Genre Action
Adventure
Drama
History
Religion
Directed by Don Lusk
Ray Patterson (supervising director)
Voices of Darleen Carr
Darryl Hickman
Terry McGovern
Rob Paulsen
Narrated by Michael Rye
Theme music composer Hoyt Curtin
Composer(s) Hoyt Curtin
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of episodes 13
Production
Executive producer(s) William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Producer(s) Kay Wright
Editor(s) Gil Iverson
Running time 25–30 minutes
Production company(s) Hanna-Barbera Productions
Release
Original release 1986 – 1992

The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible is a direct-to-video series produced by Hanna-Barbera that tells of three young adventurers who travel back in time to watch biblical events take place. Thirteen videos were released between 1986 and 1992.

Overview

Derek and Margo, two young archaeologists, are on a dig accompanied by "their nomad friend", a boy named Moki. They come across a door in an ancient ruin that turns out to be a portal through time. Though the introduction is the same in all videos, each episode sends the trio into a different story from the Bible. They often interact with characters from the story, but rarely have any significant effect upon the plot.

Production and distribution

The series was initially conceived by Hanna-Barbera co-founder Joseph Barbera some seventeen years before it was produced, but he had difficulty in procuring support for the project. Eventually, however, Hanna-Barbera's parent company Taft Broadcasting agreed to provide funding, and the first video was released in 1986, then Turner Home Entertainment continued production after they bought Hanna-Barbera in 1991. Sparrow-Star Song assisted with distribution, releasing all thirteen episodes on VHS, one episode per tape. Five of these episodes ("The Miracles of Jesus", "David and Goliath", "Noah's Ark", "The Easter Story", and "Moses") were released on DVD in 2006.[1][2][3]

Episodes

# Title Story by Year of release
1"Moses"Harvey Bullock1986 (1986)
The trio witnesses the ten plagues of Egypt and follow Moses through the parting of the Red Sea. Voices: James Whitmore as Moses, James Earl Jones as the Pharaoh.
2"Noah's Ark"Harvey Bullock1986 (1986)
The protagonists find themselves aboard Noah's Ark. Voices: Lorne Greene as Noah, Charlotte Rae as Noah's wife, Peter Cullen as Japheth.
3"David and Goliath"Harvey Bullock1986 (1986)
The three meet David and eventually see him defeat Goliath. Voices: Robby Benson as David, Herschel Bernardi as Goliath, Bernard Erhard as Saul.
4"Samson and Delilah"Harvey Bullock1986 (1986)
The protagonists find themselves witnessing the story of Samson and Delilah. Voices: Perry King as Samson, Linda Purl as Delilah.
5"Daniel and the Lions' Den"Dennis Marks1986 (1986)
The trio find themselves in Babylon, where they witness the miracle of Daniel in the lions' den. Voices: Gavin MacLeod as Daniel
6"Joshua and the Battle of Jericho"Harvey Bullock1986 (1986)
The trio find themselves ensnared in the Battle of Jericho. Voices: Ed Asner as Joshua, Michael Bell as an Israelite soldier.
7"The Nativity"Bruce D. Johnson and Harvey Bullock, with Dennis Marks (teleplay)1987 (1987)
The trio witnesses the birth of Jesus. Voices: Helen Hunt as Mary, Gregory Harrison as (Joseph), Vincent Price as King Herod.
8"The Creation"Dennis Marks1988 (1988)
The three protagonists listen to a storyteller recount the creation. At the same time, they learn their own lessons in honesty after tricking a gardener into giving them fruit for free. Voices: Marc Singer as Adam, Stephanie Zimbalist as Eve, Tim Curry as the Serpent, Les Tremayne as the storyteller/God.
9"The Easter Story"Dennis Marks1989 (1989)
Mark describes the last days of Jesus' life, leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection. Voices: Joe Spano as Jesus, Richard Thomas as Mark, Adrienne Barbeau as Mary Magdalene, Keene Curtis as Pontius Pilate, Jeffrey Tambor as Peter, Tony Jay as Caiaphas, Tim Curry as Judas Iscariot, Barry Dennen as Zenil
10"Joseph and His Brothers"Dennis Marks and Karran Eccles WrightNovember 8, 1990 (1990-11-08)
The trio befriend Joseph and learn about his coat of many colors. Voices: Barry Bostwick as Joseph.
11"The Miracles of Jesus"Karran Eccles Wright1991 (1991)
The time travelers encounter an elderly version of the young man raised from the dead in the city of Nain, who recounts the various miracles of Jesus. Voices: David Ackroyd as Jesus, Harold Gould as Benjamin
12"Jonah"Karran Eccles Wright1992 (1992)
Jonah recounts the story of his journey to Nineveh and being swallowed by a whale. Voices: Alan Oppenheimer as Jonah.
13"Queen Esther"Karran Eccles Wright1992 (1992)
Esther and Mordecai expose the duplicity of Haman. Voices: Helen Slater as Esther, Dean Jones as King Ahasuerus, Werner Klemperer as Haman, Ron Rifkin as Mordecai.

Principal cast

References

  1. ↑ Barbera, Joseph (1994). My Life in "Toons": From Flatbush to Bedrock in Under a Century. Atlanta, GA: Turner Publishing. pp. 210–215. ISBN 1-57036-042-1.
  2. ↑ Alasdair, Steven (2001-03-28). "William Hanna, animator and cartoon creator". The Scotsman. p. 16.
  3. ↑ Natale, Richard; Phil Gallo (2001-03-21). "William Hanna". Variety. p. 151.
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