Relic Hunter


Relic Hunter is a Canadian television series, starring Tia Carrere and Christien Anholt.
It centers on Sydney Fox, a professor who is also a globe-trotting "relic hunter" who looks for ancient artifacts to return to museums and/or the descendants of the original owner. She is aided by her linguistic assistant Nigel and occasionally by her somewhat air-headed secretary Claudia. She often ends up battling rival hunters seeking out artifacts for monetary gain. The series includes fantasy and science fiction elements, with many of the relics featured having supposed supernatural powers or being pieces of unusually advanced technology.
It ran for three seasons in the U.S. between 1999 and 2002, fulfilling its initial three-season, 66-episode contract, which was not renewed. In both Ireland and the United Kingdom, it aired on Sky1 and subsidiary channels, while in Canada, it aired on CityTV and Space, CTV's sister network A-Channel and Showcase. The series was shot in the Toronto area, and includes many familiar local landmarks among its locations. As of June 2018, the series airs on the Heroes and Icons cable network.

Overview

Relic Hunter follows the globe-trotting adventures of unorthodox American archaeologist Sydney Fox, and her more reserved British assistant Nigel Bailey. They are assisted at their "home base", a generic American university identified only as Trinity College, by ditzy student secretary Claudia, the spoiled and fashion-conscious daughter of one of the college's major donors. The character of Claudia was replaced in the third season by Karen Petrushky, who is more talented than Claudia at dealing with predicaments of a bureaucratic nature.
At the beginning of each episode, there is a short flashback in which a relic or artifact is used or abused in its original time before being lost, stolen or hidden. The show cuts to Trinity College in the present day, where Sydney and Nigel are asked to find the relic by some person or agency such as a museum, private collector or government. Most episodes feature the duo traveling around the globe, hunting for clues in order to find the artifact. Complications abound, often with rival relic hunters getting involved, generally giving Sydney a chance to show off her martial arts prowess. It is then up to Sydney and Nigel to seize the relic and ensure it ends up in the proper hands. Each episode ends with a scene at Trinity College explaining what has happened to the relic.

Cast and characters

Relic Hunter featured four starring roles throughout its run. The two protagonists of the series, Sydney Fox and Nigel Bailey are the only characters to appear in all 66 episodes of the series.
There were also a number of recurring characters in the series:
№TitleRelicFlashbackFlashback locationOther locations
1“Buddha’s Bowl”Buddha’s alms bowl523 BCNepalHong Kong
2“Smoking Gun”Al Capone’s diamond-encrusted gun1930ChicagoUnited States
3“The Headless Nun”Remains of Sister Evangeline17th C.Nova ScotiaCanada
4“Flag Day”Pioneer’s Bear Flag of California1846CaliforniaUnited States
5“Thank You Very Much”Lost guitar of Elvis Presley1960GermanyGermany
6“Diamond in the Rough”Magical Glove of former baseball great Jimmy Jonesboro1946Fenway Park, BostonUnited States
7“Transformation”Paracelsus scrolls1946Salzburg, AustriaPeru
8“Etched in Stone”Treasure of legendary Viking Jann the Bold935Northumbrian CoastSweden
9“The Book of Love”Casanova’s Book of Love1749Casanova’s Hideaway, ItalyItaly
10“The Myth of the Maze”Minotaur’s Maze3000 BCAthensGreece
11“Irish Crown Affair”Lost crown of the last King of Ireland1000IrelandDublin
12“The Emperor’s Bride”Coffin of the bride of a Chinese Emperor1000 BCHuang River, ChinaAlaska
13“Afterlife and Death”Diamond of Thutmose III1425 BCEgyptAmsterdam
14“Nine Lives”Statue of the cat goddess Mafdet1895EgyptNew York
15“Affaire de Coeur”Rings that belonged to lovers, Callum and Elena1430ScotlandScotland
16“A Vanishing Art”Scepter of the Kingdom of Hungary1897BudapestAtlantic City
17“A Good Year”Crown jewels of France1792ParisFrance
18“The Last Knight”Templar Grand Master’s sword of Jacques de Molay1300Paris, circaFrance
19“Love Letter”Records proving a secret marriage on the eve of the French Revolution1789Village South of ParisFrance
20“Possessed”Zeus’ sacred sundial14th C.LibyaBrussels
21“Nothing but the Truth”Ruby Chalice of Truth1534The Barbary CoastParis
22“Memories of Montmartre”A tiara known as the Heart of Europe1930sMoulin RougeFrance
23“The Put Back”Idol from the Temple of Woot100Kuba, AfricaDemocratic Republic of the Congo
24“Dagger of Death”Dagger of Kali500Temple of Kali, IndiaCalcutta and Kashmir
25“Last of the Mochicas”Vessel believed to contain the Great Warrior Spirit of the Mochicas662South AmericaPeruvian jungle
26“The Legend of the Lost”The Kai Nomata 4800 BCVanuatu IslandsNew Guinea
27“Fertile Ground”Idol of Lono1779HawaiiMadagascar
28“Gypsy Jigsaw”Crown of the Romani people1830RomaniaBucharest, Romania
29“Three Rivers to Cross”Jade Empress1245Three Rivers, ChinaHong Kong and Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan, China
30“Roman Holiday”Caesar’s breastplate44 BCRomeItaly
31“Cross of Voodoo”Haitian Cross of Utulate 18th C.HaitiNew Orleans
32“Lost Contact”Sacrificial bowl1824BurmaMyanmar
33“The Reel Thing”Relics of Egyptian Pharaoh Amun II1516 BCEgyptEngland
34“M.I.A.”Faberge egg1886St. Petersburg, RussiaNew York City, several clips from other episodes
35“Out of the Past”Cleopatra’s necklace30 BCEgyptAlexandria, Egypt
36“Eyes of Toklamanee”Eyes of Toklamanee1605Mississippi ValleySt Louis
37“Run Sydney Run”Sword of Ateas339 BCUral SteppesRussia
38“French Connection”Prophecy of Nostradamus1600Church Of Cordiers SalonFrance
39“Don’t Go Into the Woods”Golden Falcon of Maribor1711Carpathian MountainsLjubljana, Slovenia
40“Midnight Flight”Ruby-encrusted scepter of Gunther the Brave400Germania CircaLuxembourg and Paris
41“The Executioner’s Mask”Executioner’s Mask1789Bourg, FranceParis
42“The Royal Ring”Ring of Anne Boleyn1536Tower of LondonLondon, Leeds Castle in Kent, England
43“Set in Stone”Magical sword of St. Gabriel1595Balaton, Hungary
44“Deadline”First Christian Tau cross1099JerusalemParis
45“Wages of Sydney”Chinese dragon’s egg1359Quan Shu Fortress, ManchuriaNew York, USA and Quan Shu, China
46“Mr. Right”Bowl of Parvati1459Bali, IndonesiaSingapore
47“Sydney at Ten”Egyptian necklace1981St. Beatrice’s SchoolTurkey
48“The Light of Truth”Light of Truth843ArabiaMorocco
49“Treasure Island”The treasure of Treasure Island1790The Spanish MainSouth Seas
50“Star of Nadir”Star of Nadir1423Palace of the Talibs, Endostan
51“Vampire’s Kiss”Vampire Chalice1720CzechoslovakiaPrague, Czech Republic and Târgovişte, Romania
52“Devil Doll”Cursed Aztec Devil Doll1488Meso-AmericaCentral America
53“Incognito”Lancet which causes anyone cut with it to gain incredible strength1522New GuineaPapua New Guinea, Lisbon, Portugal and Valletta, Malta
54“All Choked Up”Statue of Athena800 BCGreeceSkyros Island, Greece
55“Warlock of Nu Theta Phi”Wicca amulet1692New England Colonies
56“Women Want to Know”Statue of Ganesha1075Southeast Asia
57“Fire in the Sky”Extraterrestrial artifact1398Pacific Northwest
58“Hunting with the Enemy”Ashes of Confucius1952CambodiaRayong Province, Thailand
59“Antianeirai”Belt of Hippolyte1200 BCAsia MinorIstanbul, Turkey
60“Under the Ice”Anasazi mummy1355Arctic Circle
61“Arthur’s Cross”Cross of King Arthur455EnglandChepstow, Wales
62“Faux Fox”Crown jewels of Charles IV of Spain1808Royal Palace, MadridSeville, Spain
63“Pandora’s Box”Pandora’s Box422An-Najaf, Persia
64“The Warlord”Kahina’s Saddle1401Bekkastan
65“Fountain of Youth”Water from the Fountain of Youth1521Pascus Florida, West IndiesSeville, Spain and Cotswolds, England
66“So Shall it Be”Keys to Stonehenge121Stonehenge, EnglandBristol, England

Production

The "Trinity College" campus scenes were filmed at the St. George campus at the University of Toronto in Canada. Campus landmarks prominently featured throughout the series include Victoria College and the Soldier's Tower.
The "Antianeirai" episode ship scenes were filmed aboard HMCS Haida, the last Tribal Class destroyer in the world, when she was berthed at Ontario Place, in Toronto, Canada. For instance, the scene where Sydney finds the belt was filmed in the forward mess deck. All onboard signage was covered with Russian words. Haida has a red maple leaf on one of her funnels and this was covered with a "bird" design. Anything that would show the ship to be of Canadian, or "western" origin, was removed for the film shoot.
All seasons were filmed in widescreen but mainly shown in pan and scan 4/3 as are most of Fireworks Entertainment productions from 2000. The widescreen versions of all seasons are available for viewing at Netflix in Nordics as of 2012.

International distribution

Relic Hunter was broadcast in many countries around the world including:
has released all three seasons of Relic Hunter on DVD in Region 1.
In Region 4, Warner Home Video released season 1 on DVD in Australia in two volume sets in 2005. Madman Entertainment subsequently acquired the rights and released the second season on DVD in 2006 and the third season in 2010. A complete Season 1 box set was released by Madman on February 2, 2011.