SHEENA (2000-2002 TV series)
Episodes Guide - Season 1
INTRODUCTION
The first season of the Gena Lee Nolin Sheena series comprised 22 episodes that screened from 7 October 2000 to 26 May 2001.  The principal stars were Gena Lee Nolin as Sheena, John Allen Nelson as Matt Cutter, Margo Moorer as Kali and Kevin Quigley as Mendelsohn.  The most prominent "guest star" was Veryl Jones, who played Rashid, a Maltakan National Ranger, in numerous episodes in both series.
NOTE: If you are interested in the exact sequence in which the episodes were made then I suggest you take note of the Production Numbers provided below.  The Production Number is a three digit number - the first digit indicates the season and the last two digits are the production sequence.  The numbers indicate that the Pilot was not the first episode filmed, as one would expect.  It is also interesting to note the transition from the original tunic style Sheena costume to the ragged two-piece outfit.  The original costume is used in Episodes 101 to 105.  In Episode 106 Sheena does not appear in the Sheena costume but wears a blouse and shorts, and in Episode 107 the new costume appears for the first time (see The Costume section of Page 2: The Star page).
Season 1, Episode 1 - SHEENA (PILOT); Original air date: 7 Oct 2000; Production Number 103
Produced by Boris Malden
Directed by John Cassar
Written by Steven L Sears & Douglas Schwartz
          Guest Stars:
          Peter J Lucas; Cullen Douglas; Jeff Moldovan; Jason Grey;
          Jay Amor; Dean Murray; Don McLoud (gorilla)
Matt Cutter, an expatriate American, is hired by a foreigner named Norlis to fly some shady characters from a mineral company into an uncharted region of the LaMistas to look for a missing scientist.  They are carrying a large amount of dynamite, which they use to map the seismic responses to the charges in an attempt to locate the diamonds said to be inside one of the mountains.  Cutter challenges their methods and when things get ugly he escapes into the jungle, where he encounters a beautiful blonde, white woman named Sheena.  He learns she has the power to change herself into animals and that she is responsible for the myth of the legendary Darak'na, that Cutter had always thought was only a myth.  Sheena, as the Darak'na, destroys Norlis' camp and when Cutter is captured Sheena singlehandedly rescues him and takes him to her cave in the mountains (right).  Norlis and his engineer follow their seismic maps to Sheena's mountain, where Norlis kills his partner to get his share of the diamonds.  Cutter and Sheena, now a leopard, do battle with Norlis in the caverns, but he escapes, only to be killed by a rogue silverback. Cutter rounds up the remainder of Norlis' men to hand over to the authorities.
 
Season 1, Episode 2 - FALLOUT; Original air date: 14 Oct 2000; Production Number 101
Produced by Boris Malden
Directed by John Cassar
Written by Bill Taub
          Guest Stars:
          Peter Onorati; Jim Coleman;
          Rus Blackwell; Steven Watts
A US defence satelite has crashed in the LaMistas and a group of Russian agents arrive in Maltaka to try to obtain the top level classified data it contained, but President N'Gama insists their leader, Yascov, take only his own men on the search.  Sheena leads Cutter to a US agent she has captured, and it turns out to be Tyler, Cutter's previous CIA commander.  He has been sent in to prevent the data from falling into the wrong hands, but if the data signals have not been erased by a certain time a squadron of US bombers will destroy the mountainside where it crashed.  Sheena, concerned about the villagers in the region, agrees to lead Tyler to the crash site but they are fired upon by Yascov and N'Gama's men.  The Dark'na easily scares of N'Gama's superstitious men and Yascov calls in Russian paratroopers from Dafari. Cutter and Tyler get to work on disabling the satellite as the bombers approach.  Tensions rise as the Russian gunmen close in on the satellite but Sheena manages to eliminate most of them.  Yascov falls on his own knife while fighting Sheena, the satellite is disabled and the bombers head for home just seconds away from ground zero (right).
 
Season 1, Episode 3 - REVENGE OF THE JIRDS; Original air date: 21 Oct 2000; Production Number 102
Produced by Boris Malden
Directed by Scott Paulin
Written by Babs Greyhosky
          Guest Stars:
          Jennifer Hammon; Dave Corey;
          Isaac Singleton; Steve Zurk
Sheena accuses Cutter of smuggling jirds, a small rodent valuable because their extract is reputed to cure impotence.  Cutter discovers that a shipment of coffee tins he has been hired to deliver are full of jirds.  One animal is covered in blood, evidence it bit it's captor.  A cute wildlife researcher named Tracey makes advances on Cutter, but he finds himself dreaming of Sheena and resists her.  Sheena accompanies Cutter on the flight to deliver the coffee tins, hoping to catch the seller, but Cutter foolishly follows the buyer's vehicle in his plane.  When he finds the coffee tins empty, the buyer, a dangerous character named Kumar, goes after Cutter with his thugs.  Sheena realises that the scent of the blood on one of Cutter's towels from a scratch on Tracy matches the blood on the jird in the coffee tin, and they set a trap for her.  Cutter tells Tracy he knows where there is a cage of trapped jirds and when he confronts her she pulls a gun on him.  They are both surprised by Kumar and his men, looking for his missing shipment of jirds (right).  The Darak'na makes short work of them and Tracy escapes to her compound, where she is attacked by a plague of jirds.
 
Season 1, Episode 4 - A RITE OF PASSAGE; Original air date: 28 Oct 2000; Production Number 107
Produced by Boris Malden
Directed by Walter Von Huene
Written by Babs Greyhosky
          Guest Stars:
          Paul Brodie; Veryl Jones
          
Animals have begun attacking surrounding villages and when a rogue silverback assails Kali Sheena protects her and spears it in the side before it runs away.  Sheena thinks that Kali is acting strangely and when her teacher disappears into the jungle Sheena follows her.  Cutter decides to tag along, concerned that Sheena is acting irrationality now that the stabilising centre of Kali's presence is under threat.  Kali finds the wounded gorilla in a ruined stone city in the jungle and performs some mystic rituals at an alter, transforming herself into a gorilla.  Sheena is unnerved by this when she witnesses it, because she always believed they Kaya needed to look an animal in the eyes to be able to change.  Kali then reverts to herself and transforms the gorilla into a man and explains to Sheena that he is her husband, Naya.  We learn that many years before the entire Kaya tribe, except Kali, decided to transform themselves into animals permanently because the influence of Western civilisation had tainted their world (right).  Naya is angry that Kali did not accompany him on his journey to the animal world and reverts back to a gorilla.  Sheena fights the rogue gorilla and Kali kills it with Sheena's bow.
 
Season 1, Episode 5 - TOURIST TRAP; Original air date: 4 Nov  2000; Production Number 104
Produced by Boris Malden
Directed by Scott Paulin
Written by Keith Thompson
         Guest Stars:
         Tony Armatrading; Kayla Campbell; Veryl Jones; Elizabeth
         Frederick; Jim Coleman; Bob Lipka; Nancy Tait; Willie E
         Teacher; Lamont Lofton; Jamison McIntyre; Tyrone C Wiggins
A family group of tourists that Cutter is transporting in a safari bus are highjacked by a group of terrorists that have stolen a vial of ebola virus from the government laboratory.  The terrorists' leader, Mbuli, (right) is heading for the border of neighbouring Dufari to sell the virus to that government's military.  Mariah, the granddaughter of the family, is dying of Grayson's Disease and has come to Africa hopeful of meeting The Jungle Princess who grants wishes, a story her mother told her.  Mariah's condition deteriorates after the terrorists discard all of the luggage, including Mariah's medicines, and when they stop to camp at night she becomes very sick (right).  Sheena launches an attack on the camp aided by a group of panthers.  She recovers the vial, Cutter manages to free the prisoners and Sheena decides to take the girl to Kali for help, with the terrorists in pursuit.  Lion's blood is said to be helpful for Mariah's disease so Sheena transforms herself partially into a lion for the transfusion.  The terrorists arrive and Sheena fights and defeats them while her body is still part lion.  Mariah soon starts to feel better, her wish granted by The Jungle Princess.
 
Season 1, Episode 6 - BURIED SECRETS; Original air date: 11 Nov  2000; Production Number 108
Produced by Boris Malden
Directed by Corey Eubanks
Written by Steven L Sears & Babs Greyhosky
         Guest Stars:
         Veryl Jones; Carol Graw;
         David Horner; Brittany Robertson
Cutter helps Sheena enter the cave where her parents were trapped 20 years ago by providing the dynamite to clear the entrance, but warns her agaisnt entering it until the temors caused by nearby volcanic activity have subsided.  Sheena ignores his hesitancy and as she enters the cave her mind is flooded by memories of her parents' noble goal to find acheological evidence inside the cave, despite the abundant wealth of diamonds present (right).  Cutter and Sheena soon realise that a Kaya rogue black panther is inside the cave with them, but a tremor causes a rockfall that separates them before Sheena can kill it.  Cutter keeps the panther at bay and Sheena stumbles upon Roberts, her parents' cave guide, who has been mining diamonds here for twenty years via another entrance.  She remembers that as a child she saw Roberts planting a charge in the cave just before her parents were trapped.  Her temper flares and she accuses him of murder.  They fight violently and dislodge the rockfall separating them from Cutter.  The panther kills Roberts and Sheena and Cutter escape via the created by Mendelshon and Rashid with dynamite.
 
Season 1, Episode 7- LOST BOY; Original air date: 18 Nov  2000; Production Number 111
Produced by Boris Malden
Directed by Nelson McCormick
Written by Tony Blake & Paul Jackson
         Guest Stars:
         Tom Savini; Yvonne Suhor; Jim Coleman; Steven West;
         Ross Bogart; Bill Condell; Chris Ford; Brian O Ward
AGMES, the multinational mineral company that Cutter encountered in the pilot episode, are attempting to build a petroleum pipeline across the land of the Soman tribe but are meeting formidable military-style resistance.  Cutter gets Sheena to agree to help Peter Reynolds, a photojournalist, get the full story so the world can be alerted to the Soman's plight.  Stanton, the tough blonde aide of millionaire AGMES CEO, Phillip Coulter, pressures N'Gama to send in a large number of troops to suppress the Soman.  Sheena, Cutter and Reynolds are all captured during a Soman firebomb raid, and they discover that the brains behind the Soman offensive is a rogue military academy fugitive named David Wellman (right).  They win him over and together launch a major attack on N'gama's soldiers, aided by the Darak'na.  Reynolds will contact Coulter when he returns to the US and will negotiate not to publish what he has seen in exchange for a withdrawal of the pipeline.  Wellman decides to live peacefully with the Soman.  Finally, we learn that Reynolds is actually Coulter and he instructs Stanton to close down the whole operation and to find out as much as she can about Sheena.  AGMES will be back.
 
Season 1, Episode 8 - WILD THING; Original air date: 25 Nov  2000; Production Number 110
Produced by Boris Malden
Directed by Steven L Sears
Written by Corey Eubanks
         Guest Stars:
         Henry Polic II ; Veryl Jones; Vicki Phillips; Hank Stone;
         Danor Gerald; Andy Martin; Thomas Stearns
A assortment of press and adventures gather in Uhura searching for the Darak'na when rumours circulate that a strange, wild creature is loose in Maltaka.  Both Kali and Cutter suspect that this beast may be Sheena.  Cutter rejects an offer by a malevolent fortune-hunter named Morgan to search for the Darak'na, so Morgan and his men begin hunting the LaMistas with the aid of high-tech weapons.  Kali investigates and learns that Sheena has become trapped in this state because an injured black panther she was attempting to rescue died during her transformation.  Berringer, an elderly professor of African mythology, encounters the beast and manages to befriend her, although he is excited that he has discovered the Darak'Na and hopes to lead her out of the jungle.  Morgan darts the beast with a tranquiliser, captures Berringer, and succeeds in caging his prize.  Kali, Cutter and Mendelsohn assemble and launch an attack on Morgan's truck and his men, during which the beast escapes and kills Morgan (right).  Cutter manages to shoot her with a dart containing the panther's blood that Kali has collected, which allows Sheena to complete the transformation and eventually revert to human form.
 
Season 1, Episode 9 - DOING AS THE ROMANS; Original air date: 13 Jan  2001; Production Number 105
This entry will be added soon
 
Season 1, Episode 10 - THE CHILDREN OF THE LaMISTAS; Original air date: 20 Jan  2001; Production Number 106
This entry will be added soon
 
Season 1, Episode 11 - PREY; Original air date: 27 Jan  2001; Production Number 115
This entry will be added soon
 
Season 1, Episode 12 - DIVAS OF THE JUNGLE; Original air date: 3 Feb  2001; Production Number 113
This entry will be added soon
 
Season 1, Episode 13 - FORBIDDEN FRUIT; Original air date: 10 Feb  2001; Production Number 114
This entry will be added soon
 
Season 1, Episode 14 - THE FOOL MONTY; Original air date: 17 Feb  2001; Production Number 116
This entry will be added soon
 
Season 1, Episode 15 - SANCTUARY; Original air date: 24 Feb  2001; Production Number 117
This entry will be added soon
 
Season 1, Episode 16 - JEWEL; Original air date: 14 Apr 2001; Production Number 119
This entry will be added soon
 
Season 1, Episode 17 - FRIENDLY FIRE; Original air date: 21 Apr 2001; Production Number 118
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Season 1, Episode 18 - BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE; Original air date: 28 Apr  2001; Production Number 121
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Season 1, Episode 19 - TYLER RETURNS; Original air date: 5 May 2001; Production Number 120
This entry will be added soon
 
Season 1, Episode 20 - UNSAFE PASSAGE; Original air date: 12 May 2001; Production Number 122
This entry will be added soon
 
Season 1, Episode 21 - MARABUNTA; Original air date: 19 May 2001; Production Number 112
This entry will be added soon
 
Season 1, Episode 22 - CULT OF ONE; Original air date: 26 May 2001; Production Number 109
This entry will be added soon
 
SOURCE
• All original airing dates are from the Internet Movie Database (IMDB)
IMAGES
• All images on this page are video captures from my set of DVD-Rs of this series
LYNX
• Columbia Pictures TV Producer Steven L Sears' Sheena pages; the extensive production photos are very good
SHEENA © is the property of Sony Pictures Corporation
This independent, nonprofit, fan-based analysis of the Sheena material is copyright © 2006 Paul Wickham