# Amazon (1999 TV series)

Amazon (also known as Peter Benchley's Amazon) was a syndicated adventure drama series created by Peter Benchley. It was developed by Canadian production companies Alliance Atlantis Communications & WIC Entertainment and German company Beta Film GmbH. The 22 episodes of the series were in first-run syndication between 1999 and 2000.
A novelization of the 2-hour pilot was written by Rob MacGregor, and a mass-market paperback was released by Harper (publisher) on 8 Aug 2000.

## Premise

The drama series focused on the six survivors of a crashed airline flight in the Brazilian Amazon jungle. The group soon comes into contact with a hostile indigenous tribe, the Fierce Ones. They are taken in by a mysterious tribe called the Chosen, who are descended from 16th-century British colonists who were lost in the rainforest. Relations with the Chosen are tenuous at best. Most of the group escapes the Chosen only to stir up a hornets' nest with the cannibalistic Jaguar People, led by an insane Canadian woman bent on domination of all the local tribes.

## Cast

* C. Thomas Howell as Dr. Alex Kennedy
* Carol Alt as Karen Oldham
* Fabiana Udenio as Pia Claire
* Chris Martin as Jimmy Stack
* Rob Stewart as Andrew Talbott
* Tyler Hynes as Will Bauer

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | "Fallen Angels" | Jon Cassar | Peter Benchley | September 26, 1999 (1999-09-26) |
| 2 | "Nightfall" | Jon Cassar | Story by : Malcolm MacRury & Paul Aitken Teleplay by : Malcolm MacRury | October 2, 1999 (1999-10-02) |
| 3 | "Suffer the Little Children" | Ron Oliver | Malcolm MacRury | October 9, 1999 (1999-10-09) |
| 4 | "Exodus" | Ron Oliver | Paul Aitken | October 16, 1999 (1999-10-16) |
| 5 | "The Chosen" | Jon Cassar | Heather Conkie | October 23, 1999 (1999-10-23) |
| 6 | "The End of the World" | Jon Cassar | Heather Conkie & Malcolm MacRury | October 30, 1999 (1999-10-30) |
| 7 | "The Lost Words" | Terry Ingram | Paul Aitken | November 6, 1999 (1999-11-06) |
| 8 | "Resurrection" | Holly Dale | Heather Conkie | November 13, 1999 (1999-11-13) |
| 9 | "The Blood Angel" | Terry Ingram | Malcolm MacRury | November 20, 1999 (1999-11-20) |
| 10 | "War" | Milan Cheylov | Paul Aitken | November 27, 1999 (1999-11-27) |
| 11 | "Eyes in the Dark" | John Bell | Heather Conkie | January 22, 2000 (2000-01-22) |
| 12 | "The First Stone" | Unknown | Alison Lea Bingeman | January 29, 2000 (2000-01-29) |
| 13 | "The Devil's Army" | John Bell | Unknown | February 5, 2000 (2000-02-05) |
| 14 | "The Finding" | Unknown | Unknown | February 12, 2000 (2000-02-12) |
| 15 | "Escape" | Clay Borris | Paul Aitken | February 19, 2000 (2000-02-19) |
| 16 | "Home" | T.W. Peacocke | Malcolm MacRury | February 26, 2000 (2000-02-26) |
| 17 | "The Pale Horseman" | Steven Luppino | Unknown | April 15, 2000 (2000-04-15) |
| 18 | "The White Witch" | Steven Luppino | Unknown | April 22, 2000 (2000-04-22) |
| 19 | "Circle of Fire" | T.W. Peacocke | Heather Conkie | April 29, 2000 (2000-04-29) |
| 20 | "Babel" | Ross Clyde | Unknown | May 6, 2000 (2000-05-06) |
| 21 | "Wild Child" | Steven Luppino | Unknown | May 13, 2000 (2000-05-13) |
| 22 | "A Bible and a Gun" | Ross Clyde | Unknown | May 20, 2000 (2000-05-20) |

## Production

   I’ve always been interested in what would happen with the culture clash of modern folks running into people who live outside of civilization. We thought this series would be a good way to explore the issue of the intrusion of modern society into the (rain forest) environment
In April 1998, Peter Benchley inked a deal with Atlantis Films to develop the show. Benchley came up with the idea for “Amazon” while vacationing in the Caribbean when he stumbled across centuries-old buttons and other artifacts buried in the sand.
Each episode of the series cost $1.2 million. The total cost of the series was $26 million, making it one of the most expensive television series ever made.
The show started airing on WIC Television in October 1999.

## Home media

Alliance Home Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in Canada only on 22 February 2011. This was soon followed by the release to the rest of the North American market.