Thibaud Ou Les Croisades (Desert Crusader)

Thibaud Ou Les Croisades or Desert Crusader as it was called in the UK was first aired in the UK in 1972. The story basically concerned  a half French half Arab Knight galloping around the Holy Land at the time of the Crusades, getting into all sorts of trouble and scrapes and saving the day. The program was dubbed for an English audiance, the sets looked pretty bad and the fight scenes were pretty laughable. But all that said it made great viewing for an 8 year old me, and I must say I never missed an episode. What is interesting about the series is how it deals with the relationships between Muslam and Christian or as Elizabeth Chadwick points out the serious themes are treated thoughtfully and actually with a touch that is far more subtle and in keeping with the period than something like Kingdom of Heaven. The interraction between Christians and Muslims is one of people rather than idealogies. The theme music to Desert Crusader like The Flashing Blade was wonderful, all very dramatic and rousing, and many a game of Desert Crusader was played in the School playground, with one major problem....... who would be the Desert Crusader? who would be his side kick? and who would have to die at the hands of the Desert Crusader by the end of the break. Its worth checking out Elizabeth Chadwicks Blog page for much more info on The Desert Crusader.