# The Heroes (2008 TV series)

The Heroes (Persian: پهلوانان, romanized: Pahlevānān, meaning The Champions) is an Iranian animated television series written and directed by Siavash Zarrinabadi and produced by Alireza Golpayegani from Harekat-e Kelidi Company and Saba Animation Center. The first season aired in March 2008 on IRIB TV2 and the last season aired in April 2022 on IRIB TV1. This series was rebroadcast many times by IRIB Pooya & Nahal. The series focuses on fight of Pourya-ye Vali's students against Eskandar Khan and admonishes of Pourya-ye Vali in 13th century.

## Plot

Pahlavan Pourya-ye Vali, a blacksmith and master of Pahlevan Haydar Khorasani's Zoorkhaneh, with the ingenuity and cooperation of his students: Pahlavan Yavar, who is like Pouria in blacksmithing, Pahlavan Safi, who was formerly one of the ruling armies of Balkh, has now engaged in felt-making and Pahlavan Mofrad, who was Ayyar, has now set up a barber shop in the city square, fights against the trickery of Eskandar Khan, the greedy and ambitious Darughachi of the city. The lazy and stingy king of city is also present in the series. The story of this collection takes place in the city of Khwarazm, one of the cities of Greater Khorasan, in the 13th century. Each episode has a separate story that ends in the same episode.

## Voice cast

* Ali Hemat Momivand as Eskandar
* Bijan Ali Mohammadi as Pourya-ye Vali(Season 1,2,3,4)
* Amir Mohammad Samsami as Yavar
* Zafar Geraei as Mofrad(Season 1,2,3,4)
* Hamidreza Ashtianipour as Safi and Pourya-ye Vali(Season 5)
* Shahrouz Malekarayi as Teymour(Season 1,2,3,4)
* Touraj Nasr as Tooti and Toghrol
* Saeid Sheikh Zadeh as Mofrad(Season 5)
* Shahrad Banki as Teymour(Season 5)
* Mina Ghiaspour as Golrokh
* Hossein Khodadad Beygi
* Valiollah Momeni as Gholam(Season 1,2)
* Siamak Atlasi as Khajeh
* Akbar Manani
* Zhila Ashkan
* Shayesteh Tajbakhsh
* Hadi Jalili
* Amir Manouchehri
* Ali Asghar Rezaeinik
* Naser Khishtandar
* Maryam Nouri Derakhshan
* Mojtaba Fathollahi
* Hasan Kakhi

## Production

Alireza Golpayegani described the production of the first season as follows:
   The pre-production of this collection lasted 7 months and its production as a group lasted about 2 years. Many people collaborated in the production of this collection. The basis of these stories was laid by Mr. Zarrinabadi in 2004, and the project started in 2005 and ended in 2007. Each episode lasted approximately two months and 10 days, and we produced a total of 13 to 14 minutes per month.
Siavash Zarrinabadi stated the reason for choosing to make the series 2D:
   At first, we had a lot of discussions about choosing the technique of working with our friends in the production team, and finally, from various construction methods such as computer 3D, cut-out and single-frame dolls, the two-dimensional method was chosen. In my opinion, despite the problems of using this method, especially in Iran, such as the large number of production team members and the need for a large workspace compared to the three-dimensional method, which requires fewer people and smaller space, the two-dimensional method and its special graphics are more in line with the storytelling style, characters and historical atmosphere of this collection.

## Episode list
### Season 1

| # | Episode Title | Premiere Air Date |
| 1 | "Pahlevan Haydar's Kabbadeh" Transliteration: "Kabbadeh-ye Pahlevan Haydar" (Persian: کباده پهلوان حیدر) | 2008 (2008) |
| 2 | "Safi" Transliteration: "Safi" (Persian: صفی) | 2008 (2008) |
| 3 | "Alive Tiger" Transliteration: "Babr-e Zendeh" (Persian: ببر زنده) | 2008 (2008) |
| 4 | "Cheerleader" Transliteration: "Ma'rekeh Geer" (Persian: معرکه‌گیر) | 2008 (2008) |
| 5 | "Stone Mill" Transliteration: "Sang-e Asyab" (Persian: سنگ آسیاب) | 2008 (2008) |
| 6 | "Courier from Khiva" Transliteration: "Payki az Khiveh" (Persian: پیکی از خیوه) | 2008 (2008) |
| 7 | "Unpaid Tax" Transliteration: "Maliat-e Aghab Oftadeh" (Persian: مالیات عقب‌افتاده) | 2008 (2008) |
| 8 | "The Wolves" Transliteration: "Gorg-ha" (Persian: گرگ‌ها) | 2008 (2008) |
| 9 | "Pouria's Sword" Transliteration: "Shamshir-e Pouria" (Persian: شمشیر پوریا) | 2008 (2008) |
| 10 | "Treasure" Transliteration: "Ganj" (Persian: گنج) | 2008 (2008) |
| 11 | "Horse Race" Transliteration: "Mosabegheh-ye Asb Davani" (Persian: مسابقه اسب‌دوانی) | 2008 (2008) |
| 12 | "King's Daughter" Transliteration: "Dokhtar-e Hākem" (Persian: دختر حاکم) | 2008 (2008) |
| 13 | "Horses Thief" Transliteration: "Dozd-e Asbha" (Persian: دزد اسب ها) | 2008 (2008) |

### Season 2

| # | Episode Title | Premiere Air Date |
| 1 | "Speaker Parrot" Transliteration: "Tooti-ye Sokhangoo" (Persian: طوطی سخنگو) | TBA |
| 2 | "The Black Powder" Transliteration: "Gard-e Siyah" (Persian: گرد سیاه) | TBA |
| 3 | "Jabbar (The unmerciful)" Transliteration: "Jabbar" (Persian: جبار) | TBA |
| 4 | "The Promise of a Thief" Transliteration: "Ghole yek Dozd" (Persian: قول یک دزد) | TBA |
| 5 | "The Bail" Transliteration: "Amanat" (Persian: امانت) | TBA |
| 6 | "The War Elephant" Transliteration: "Fil-e Jangi" (Persian: فیل جنگی) | TBA |
| 7 | "Safdar" Transliteration: "Safdar" (Persian: صفدر) | TBA |
| 8 | "The Generosity Contract of Blacksmithery" Transliteration: "Fotowat Nameh-ye Ahangari" (Persian: فتوت‌نامه آهنگری) | TBA |
| 9 | "Sage of Court" Transliteration: "Hakim-e Darbar" (Persian: حکیم دربار) | TBA |
| 10 | "Biography" Transliteration: "Sharh-e Ahval" (Persian: شرح احوال) | TBA |
| 11 | "Eskandar's Treasure" Transliteration: "Ganj-e Eskandar" (Persian: گنج اسکندر) | TBA |
| 12 | "Amir Houshang" (Persian: امیرهوشنگ) | TBA |
| 13 | "Alchemist" Transliteration: "Kimiagar" (Persian: کیمیاگر) | TBA |

### Season 3

| # | Episode Title | Premiere Air Date |
| 1 | "Bandit in Black" Transliteration: "Ayyar-e Siyahpoosh" (Persian: عیار سیاه‌پوش) | TBA |
| 2 | "Will of Khajeh Soheil" Transliteration: "Vassiyate Khajeh Soheil" (Persian: وصیت خواجه سهیل) | TBA |
| 3 | "The Star of Najm al-Zarar" Transliteration: "Setarey-e Najm al-Zarar" (Persian: ستاره نجم‌الضرر) | TBA |
| 4 | "Heritage of Sahhaf" Transliteration: "Miras-e Sahhaf" (Persian: میراث صحاف) | TBA |
| 5 | "Old Rider" Transliteration: "Kohneh Savar" (Persian: کهنه سوار) | TBA |
| 6 | "Belgheis" (Persian: بلقیس) | TBA |
| 7 | "Rama and Snakes" Transliteration: "Rama va Mar-ha" (Persian: راما و مارها) | TBA |
| 8 | "Sable" Transliteration: "Shabdiz" (Persian: شبدیز) | TBA |
| 9 | "Saffar" (Persian: صفّار) | TBA |
| 10 | "Salar" (Persian: سالار) | TBA |
| 11 | "Sacrifice" Transliteration: "Fadaei" (Persian: فدایی) | TBA |
| 12 | "Yavar Blacksmith" Transliteration: "Ahangari-ye Yavar" (Persian: آهنگری یاور) | TBA |
| 13 | "Luggage of Earth" Transliteration: "Bar-e Donya" (Persian: بار دنیا) | TBA |

### Season 4

| # | Episode Title | Premiere Air Date |
| 1 | "Thief of Basra" Transliteration: "Tarrar-e Basreh" (Persian: طرار بصره) | TBA |
| 2 | "Shams the Flier" Transliteration: "Shamss-e Parandeh" (Persian: شمس پرنده) | TBA |
| 3 | "The Boar" Transliteration: "Khenzir" (Persian: خنزیر) | TBA |
| 4 | "Farrokhlaqa" Transliteration: "Farrokhlaqa" (Persian: فرخ‌لقا) | TBA |
| 5 | "Tablet of Nacrotic" Transliteration: "Habb-e Flonia" (Persian: حبّ فلونیا) | TBA |
| 6 | "Lapidary" Transliteration: "Gowhar Tarash" (Persian: گوهرتراش) | TBA |
| 7 | "Sadhu" Transliteration: "Mortaz" (Persian: مرتاض) | TBA |
| 8 | "Khalil the Miller" Transliteration: "Khalil-e Asyaban" (Persian: خلیل آسیابان) | TBA |
| 9 | "Bear Hunter" Transliteration: "Shekarchi-e Khers" (Persian: شکارچی خرس) | TBA |
| 10 | "Return to Balkh" Transliteration: "Bazgasht be Balkh" (Persian: بازگشت به بلخ) | TBA |
| 11 | "The Clown" Transliteration: "Dalqak" (Persian: دلقک) | TBA |
| 12 | "The Falcon" Transliteration: "Qush" (Persian: قوش) | TBA |
| 13 | "Repentance of Taymur" Transliteration: "Tobeh-ye Taymur" (Persian: توبه تیمور) | TBA |

### Season 5

| # | Episode Title | Premiere Air Date |
| 1 | "Golrokh" (Persian: گلرخ) | March 21, 2022 (2022-03-21) |
| 2 | "Azhdar" (Persian: اژدر) | March 22, 2022 (2022-03-22) |
| 3 | "Firuz and Piruz" Transliteration: "Firuz va Piruz" (Persian: فیروز و پیروز) | March 23, 2022 (2022-03-23) |
| 4 | "Antelope" Transliteration: "Boz-e Koohi" (Persian: بز کوهی) | March 24, 2022 (2022-03-24) |
| 5 | "Elephant on Shoulder" Transliteration: "Fil bar Dush" (Persian: فیل بر دوش) | March 25, 2022 (2022-03-25) |
| 6 | "Heshmat the Athlete" Transliteration: "Pahlevan Heshmat" (Persian: پهلوان حشمت) | March 26, 2022 (2022-03-26) |
| 7 | "Praiser" Transliteration: "Madiheh Gu" (Persian: مدیحه‌گو) | March 27, 2022 (2022-03-27) |
| 8 | "Story of Two Cities" Transliteration: "Dastan-e Do Shahr" (Persian: داستان دو شهر) | March 21, 2023 (2023-03-21) |
| 9 | "Iron Pen-Case" Transliteration: "Qalamdan-e Ahani" (Persian: قلمدان آهنی) | March 22, 2023 (2023-03-22) |
| 10 | "Commander Tahmasb" Transliteration: "Farmandeh Tahmasab" (Persian: فرمانده طهماسب) | March 23, 2023 (2023-03-23) |
| 11 | "The New Disciple" Transliteration: "No Morid" (Persian: نومرید) | March 24, 2023 (2023-03-24) |
| 12 | "Senior of Merchants" Transliteration: "Malek ot-Tojjar" (Persian: مَلِک التجّار) | March 25, 2023 (2023-03-25) |
| 13 | "The Fake King" Transliteration: "Hakem-e Qollabi" (Persian: حاکم قلّابی) | March 26, 2023 (2023-03-26) |

### Season 6

| # | Episode Title | Premiere Air Date |
| 1 | "The New Sheriff" Transliteration: "Darughe-ye Jadid" (Persian: داروغۀ جدید) | March 21, 2024 (2024-03-21) |
| 2 | "Safe deposit box" Transliteration: "Sanduq-e Amanaat" (Persian: صندوق امانات) | March 22, 2024 (2024-03-22) |
| 3 | "Nur the son of Mir Salah" Transliteration: "Nur Pesar-e Mir Salah" (Persian: نور پسر میرصلاح) | March 23, 2024 (2024-03-23) |
| 4 | "Magic Buttons" Transliteration: "Dokmeha-ye Jaduyi" (Persian: دکمه‌های جادویی) | March 24, 2024 (2024-03-24) |
| 5 | "The Gold Maker" Transliteration: "Talaa saaz" (Persian: طلاساز) | March 25, 2024 (2024-03-25) |
| 6 | "Mo`ayyer" Transliteration: "Mo`ayyer" (Persian: معیّر) | March 21, 2025 (2025-03-21) |
| 7 | "Dedicated to the Zurkhaneh" Transliteration: "Vaqf-e Zurkhaneh" (Persian: وقف زورخانه) | March 22, 2025 (2025-03-22) |
| 8 | "The Brave Head" Transliteration: "Sar-e Natars" (Persian: سرِ نترس) | March 23, 2025 (2025-03-23) |
| 9 | "Seyf od-Din" Transliteration: "Seyf od-Din" (Persian: صف‌الدّین) | March 24, 2025 (2025-03-24) |
| 10 | "The King Thief" Transliteration: "Shaah Dozd" (Persian: شاه دزد) | March 25, 2025 (2025-03-25) |
| 11 | "The Raging River" Transliteration: "Rudkhane-ye Khorushaan" (Persian: رودخانۀ خروشان) | March 26, 2025 (2025-03-26) |
| 12 | "Anger and Regret" Transliteration: "Khashm vd Pashimaani" (Persian: خشم و پشیمانی) | March 27, 2025 (2025-03-27) |
| 13 | "Hero of the City" Transliteration: "Qahreman-e Shahr" (Persian: قهرمان شهر) | March 28, 2025 (2025-03-28) |

## Reception
### Awards

* The award for the best director of the series in the third Jam-e-Jam Television Festival (Siavash Zarrinabadi)