eastMaster is the story of Dar (Goddard), a warrior who
communicates telepathically with animals. He fights against sorcery and the
unnatural, and he protects those who can't protect themselves. Dar is the last
male of his tribe, the Sula. He is searching for Kyra (Mendoza), his
long-lost love and the only other Sula left alive.
Kyra was kidnapped and enslaved by
the brutal Terron warriors who destroyed the Sula. Dar heads to the Terron
camp where she is being held, accompanied by his two ferret friends, Kodo and Podo.
He finds out that Kyra is
one of the prisoners that Terron guards are forcing to fight
tigers.
A slave named Tao (Raine) is chosen to be the next victim of a tiger.
When the tiger, Ruh, attacks a guard instead of Tao, the Terrons snare
him with a net.
Moments later Dar attacks. He gets to see Kyra, but only for a second. As
Dar confronts and defeats many Terron guards, Kyra is taken away
before he can rescue her. After the battle, Dar releases Ruh, and Tao agrees to help Dar find
Kyra.
On their journey, Dar and Tao are observed by a powerful sorceress
(Monika Schnarre). The sorceress wants Dar's ability to communicate with
animals. She uses hope as bait to lure Dar into a trap where he
faces a vicious chimera made of fire and lava. Dar is knocked unconscious
but, before the fire can kill him, he is saved by Ruh. Tao, who uses nature
to create his own brand of magic, realizes that the trap was set by a
sorcerer.
With the help of Sharak, an immortal eagle who allows Dar to see through
his eyes, they find the Terron enclave that Kyra has been moved to. Unfortunately, she has
caught the eye of the evil King Zad (Steven Grives), leader of the Terrons,
and she is being held in an elaborate cage made of magic crystals.
Dar and his friends realize they must go up against the vicious forces
of King Zad and the evil sorceress if Dar is ever going to have a chance to
be with the woman he loves.
Falling short of a Herculean task
BeastMaster, the new sword-and-sorcery syndicated series from
Alliance Atlantis, has the difficult task of trying to live up to its
well-written and vividly characterized competitors, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
and Xena: Warrior Princess.
That's a lot to ask of a new series, and BeastMaster doesn't even
come close to delivering.
Loosely based on the Andre Norton novel The Beast Master, the series is
filled with special effects and poor dialogue. And it takes itself way too
seriously, something the 1982 movie version The Beastmaster never
did.
So far the story seems to be missing some important details. There's no explanation of why Dar is able to communicate with animals, what Kyra and Dar's
past connection is, how Kyra goes from being considered Terron tiger food to
being on a first-name basis with the evil King, or why the sorceress
notices Dar at all.
Stuck with poor dialogue and bad storytelling, the actors do their
best and manage a few good moments. An especially nice scene has Dar able
to touch Kyra, but not rescue her. As the BeastMaster, Goddard is given
the toughest role, because it's entirely based on his physical appeal.
Raine has the best part in the series, Dar's talkative buddy Tao.
The setting of Dar's world is lovely, though the special effects are a
mixed bag. There are a couple of nice effects with the sorcerers, but the
fiery chimera monster looks ridiculous, and the effects that represent Dar
communicating with animals are just plain silly.
