Tintin Forums

Hello,

I recently received the Ellipse-Nelvana collection of DVDs. I haven't watched these episodes since they aired on HBO (in the U.S.) some 10 years ago. (And, sadly, I haven't read all of the books either.)

The stories packaged on the DVDs are not arranged to match the chronology of the books. If I want to make sure I'm familiar with all the characters/plot lines, should I watch the DVDs in the same order that the books were written? Or do the DVDs not unfold information in the same way as the books?

For example, watching Disc #2 last night (Land of Black Gold), they present Dr. Müller. I felt like I should have known more about him, since he obviously wasn't being introduced in this episode. Would things make more sense if I watched the episodes out-of-DVD-order--but in-book-order?

Well, when it first ran on TV in the UK they didn't run in order.
Crab with the Golden Claws was first to air, then The Secret of The Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure.
Watching them in order would be better but isn't essential.

To clarify...

Is is better to watch the DVD episodes in the order the books were released?

Or is it better to watch them in the order the TV show was aired?

I want to make sure the character introductions, back-stories, etc. are revealed in the most logical way.

Does the TV show version of "Crab with the Golden Claws" (TV episode #1) introduce Tintin, Haddock, et. al.? Or is this covered in "Cigars of the Pharaoh" (since it was the first book to be turned into a TV episode)?

Thanks again :)

Haddock is introduced in Crab and Calculus in Red Rackham's Treasure.
But I say watch them in order of the books.

I suggest you don't view them in the order of the books, for the following reasons (and these are only a few of them, because I haven't watched in a long time):

* Tintin in America - cliffhanger ending supposed to mark the end of the series
* Cigars of the Pharaoh - the Thom(p)sons mention they are "arresting a friend", as if they know Tintin.
* The Crab with the Golden Claws - the characters get 'proper' introductions in that particular episode.
* The Red Sea Sharks - Tintin already knows Piotr Skut.

Well this aired before Flight 714, but it could just be a difference in the English dub; it may translate differntly in French.

The French dub pretty much follows the book - neither Tintin nor Haddock know Skut at that point. So Haddock pops the life jacket in English because Skut won't reveal who paid him to sink them, whereas in French it's because of the Szut/'zut' pun like in the book.

It sounds like I should watch them in the order they originally aired on television. (It's weird that they weren't packaged on the DVD this way. "Destination Moon" is the first episode on the DVD... which matches up neither with the book nor the broadcast.)

Also, "Tintin in America" isn't included at all in this set. I guess I'll have to eventually watch that episode online somewhere.

According to IMDB, Wikipedia, and some other sources, this is the correct order:

Season One
The Crab with the Golden Claws
The Secret of the Unicorn
Red Rackham's Treasure
Cigars of the Pharaoh
The Blue Lotus
The Black Island
The Calculus Affair

Season Two
The Shooting Star (Why did they ever make this the premiere of Season Two)
The Broken Ear
King Ottokar's Sceptre
Tintin in Tibet
Tintin and the Picaros
Land of Black Gold
Flight 714

Season Three
The Red Sea Sharks
The Seven Crystal Balls
Prisoners of the Sun
The Castafiore Emerald
Destination Moon
Explorers on the Moon
Tintin in America