Roar (TV series)

Infobox Television
show_name = Roar


caption =
genre = Fantasy
creator = Shaun Cassidy
Ron Koslow
developer =
starring = Heath Ledger
Sebastian Roché
John Saint Ryan
Lisa Zane
Vera Farmiga
Alonzo Greer
Melissa George
Keri Russell
narrated =
theme_music_composer = Jon Ehrlich
opentheme =
endtheme =
country = USA
language = English
num_seasons = 1
num_episodes = 13
list_episodes =
producer = Howard Grigsby
executive_producer = Shaun Cassidy
location = Queensland, Australia
United States
camera =
runtime = 47 minutes
network = Fox
picture_format = NTSC
audio_format = Stereophonic sound
first_run = 1997 & 2000
related =
website =
imdb_id = 0118451
tv_com_id = 1262

"Roar" is an American television show that originally aired on the FOX network in the summer of 1997. In the year 400 AD, a young Irish man, Conor (played by Heath Ledger), sets out to rid his land of the invading Romans, but in order to accomplish it, he must unite the Celtic clans.

Premise

"Roar" chronicles the extraordinary life of a reluctant 20-year-old orphaned prince who must rise above tragedy to lead his people to freedom. Their enemy is Longinus, who appears to be a normal 30-year-old man but who is actually a 400-year-old Roman centurion. In this fight for freedom, what is most important for Conor and his people is the Roar—the roar of the land, the roar of the people—a voice that echoes through every living creature and is the power of life.

how details

Creation and purpose

The show was created by Shaun Cassidy on the heels of the success of the syndicated programs ' and '. However, "Roar" was not very well received in the US and lasted for only one season (8 of the 13 episodes were aired in 1997, with the last 5 not broadcast until 2000).

Alignment with history

One of the major villains in the program was Longinus, played by Sebastian Roché, an immortal cursed by God for interfering with His plans. Historically, Longinus was the centurion who stabbed Jesus Christ with his spear during the Crucifixion. This spear, the Spear of Destiny, was supposedly the only weapon that could release Longinus from his curse. The show freely mixed Christian mythology, Celtic mythology, Druidism, and smatterings of history.

how notes

*Whilst the original airing of the show in North America did not broadcast all of the episodes, when syndicated to Australia, Canada and the UK, all episodes were aired.
*"Roar: The Complete Series" was released on DVD on September 19, 2006. The 3-disc set includes all thirteen episodes, even those which were never aired in the United States. This is similar to the DVD set of "Firefly", another cancelled Fox series.
*The following year, FOX created a similar series, "Young Hercules" starring Ryan Gosling.

Episode list

Awards

The show was nominated for and won several awards. [cite web | title = IMDB Awards | work = Roar | publisher = IMDB | url = http://imdb.com/title/tt0118451/awards | accessdate = 2007-04-17 ]

Other media

Books

Two books were written based on the "Roar" universe. Published in 1998 and written by Sean Kiernan, "Roar: A Novel" (ISBN 0-0610-5914-5) gives a backstory leading up to the pilot episode, and "Roar: The Cauldron" (ISBN 0-0610-5936-6) tells the story of Conor's quest to find the legendary Cauldron.

References