Hollow Earth Expedition (T.V. Series)

Hollow Earth Expedition is a 2011 American/British pulp science fiction television series by 20th Century Fox Television, Amblin Television and Impossible Pictures and based on the successful award winning role-playing game Hollow Earth Expedition published by Exile Game Studios, it was also created and produced by Steven Spielberg and Tim Haines and with its creature effects done by Framestore. The show ran for 7 seasons with twenty episodes each. In 2019 a spin off sequel called Adventures in Hollow Earth will be released.

The DVD and Blu Ray releases contain extended episodes which contain scenes of graphic violence, nudity and language.

Plot
In 1939, a nine man expedition consisting of seven men and two women set out to prove the existence of Hollow Earth, a vast subterranean world located within the Earth itself and to also be inhabited by Dinosaurs and many ancient Civilizations.

Little do they know others have also got their sights on Hollow Earth as the Nazis and Thule Society who search for clues left behind by the people of the ancient sunken city of Atlantis, led by the evil Nazi colonel and scientist Dr. Wolfram von Wartenburg who enter Hollow Earth from an opening in the North Pole. If that wasn't enough Terra Arcanum a secret society dedicated to keeping Hollow Earth a secret no matter what the cost follows the group in an attempt to prevent them from ever returning to the surface.

However their plan goes wrong and the expedition, the Nazis and Terra Arcanum are stranded in a strange and savage land, full of man eating dinosaurs, hostile beastmen and tribes of cannibals who want to devour them and everyday they are always searching for a way home, a way out of Hollow Earth.

Cast and Characters
List of Hollow Earth Expedition Characters

Main Characters

 * Richard Armitage as Sir John Roxton (Season 1-Present) - A British big game hunter and leader of the expedition. He came on the expedition to hunt some of the creatures that lived in Hollow Earth and to protect the expedition from harms way, he does have a sense of humor and doesn't endangered animals as he says that if they are continued to be hunted there would be none left to hunt. As the series continues he and the female member Dian become lovers and in the forth season they have a baby boy, his character is taken from The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Roxton is also the hunter of the expedition.
 * Craig Lamar Traylor as Zambo Taylor (Season 1-Present) - An African American biologist and animal expert of the group. He came along with the expedition as he couldn't pass up the chance of seeing living and breathing dinosaurs with his own eye, he also examines some of Hollow Earths plants and determines which are dangerous and which ones are safe. He also manages to befriend an orphaned baby Apatosaurus who he names Thunder, his character is taken from The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
 * Meaghan Rath as Dian Innes (Season 1-Present) - A beautiful young Kiowa woman from the Oklahoma Kiowa reservation. She came to Hollow Earth in search of the treasures of the Ancient civilizations. However despite her greediness she does have a caring side for her fellow expeditions members especially John Roxton who she eventually becomes his lover and at the end of the third season she becomes pregnant with their child and at the beginning of season four she gives birth to a baby boy, her first and second names are taken from David Innes and Dian the Beautiful from Pellucidar by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Dian is also the adventurer of the expedition
 * Andrew Lee Pots as Reverend Tom Bishop (Season 1-Present) - A Anglican Revered and religious man of the group. He came on the expedition to try and convert some of the tribes in Hollow Earth to Christianity and teach them about the love of God and the love he has for his Earth and people. It was revealed that he become a reverend after when he was seventeen he was shot by a man whilst trying yo rob his shop with a gang of other youths, his father was beside him during the operation and it was his fathers love that showed him God's love. Bishop is also the doctor of the expedition.
 * Ruth Bradley as Victora Custer (Season 1-4) - A beautiful young woman from Nebraska who is a journalist. She came along to Hollow Earth in order to have the greatest story that the world has ever read when she returns from it, she can be a bit careless with it comes to getting her story as she sometimes gets chased by dinosaurs or captured by cannibals but she always manages to get her story in the end, she also becomes drawn to the Noble Savage tribesman Nu and at the end of season 4 she leaves the expedition to spend the rest of her life with him, her character is taken from The Eternal Lover by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Victoria is also the reporter for the expedition.
 * David Tennant as Thomas Aryton (Season 1-Present) - A British explorer who was stranded five years prior to the show in Hollow Earth. He and a group of men where on a search over the North Pole when their plane was mysteriously shot down into Hollow Earth. Out of a ten man expedition only he survived, learning how to survive in Hollow Earth wasn't easy has he had to wear glasses and can't see well without them but he has managed to make weapons out of dinosaur bones and teeth, he becomes the expeditions guide throughout the dangerous lands of Hollow Earth, his character is taken from In Search of the Castaways and the Mysterious Island by Jules Verne.
 * John Barrowman as Doc Savage (Season 1-Present) - An American explorer who was apart of the expedition to Hollow Earth. Three years earlier he and his father were on an expedition to find a supposed lost city located in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest however him and his father were attacked by a hostile tribe who killed his father and greatly injured him He slightly arrogant but does what it takes to help his fellow team mates, his character is taken from Doc Savage by Lester Dent. Doc is also the explorer of the expedition.
 * Jeffery Tambor as Prof. Abner Perry (Season 1-Present) - An American professor of both human and natural history at Harvard and a member of the Hollow Earth Expedition. He at first scoffs the existence of Hollow Earth and decided to join the expedition to see if it truly existed, however he later found out that it did exist and as a result was dumbfounded. He is slightly snooty but does have a kind heart and would help his friends if in need, his character is taken from Pellucidar by Edgar Rice Burroughs. He is also the Academic of the expedition.
 * Ross Noble as Prof. Samuel T. Philander (Season 1-5) - A British member of the expedition to Hollow Earth and the groups scientist. He has the abilities of a mad scientist and behaves like one. He invented the machine that bought the expedition to Hollow Earth but it was later destroyed by a gang of molemen. He can't resist the knowledge of how the ancient Atlantean technology works which often leads the group into trouble but despite it he can make things that make the expeditions stay in Hollow Earth easier and more comfortable, he dies at the beginning of season 5 after being shot by Wartenburg. His character is taken from Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan of the Apes. Philander is also the engineer of the expedition.
 * Karl Roden as Dr. Wolfram von Wartenburg (Season 1-Present) - A ruthless,and sadistic Nazi scientist, military colonel and fanatic member of the Thule Society. He is one of Hitlers favorite scientists and was appointed leader of the Nazi expedition to Hollow Earth, however shortly after arriving he and his men were stranded by Terra Arcanum. Whilst he and his men were stranded they tried to discover some of the secrets left behind by the Atlanteans but he even has some run ins with the other expedition, he is also the main antagonist of the show.
 * Andy Serkis as Simian (Season 5-Present) - An Apeman scientist who became the expeditions scientist after Philanders death at the hands of Wartenburg. He is viewed by his tribe as being unorthodox and crazy, he wears some human clothes that he found in a plane wreck including a book of how to make gunpowder. He is a friend of Thomas Arython who was the first surface world human he ever meet and as a result he was fascinated by him.

Episodes
List of Episodes

Dinosaurs

 * Albertosaurus -
 * Allosaurus -
 * Ankylosaurus -
 * Brachiosaurus -
 * Brontosaurus -
 * Diplodocus -
 * Parasaurolophus -
 * Protoceratops -
 * Stegosaurus -
 * Styracosaurus -
 * Triceratops -
 * Tyrannosaurus Rex -
 * Velociraptor -

Non Dinosaur Reptiles

 * Archelon -
 * Dimetrodon -
 * Itchyosaurus -
 * Plesiosaurus -
 * Pliosaurus -
 * Pteranodon -

Other Prehistoric Creatures

 * Aurochs -
 * Cave Bear -
 * Dunkelosteus -
 * Dire Wolf -
 * Equus -
 * Giant Ape -
 * Giant Spider -
 * Giant Wasp -
 * Glyptodon -
 * Haast's Eagle -
 * Hyaenodon -
 * Irish Elk -
 * Leviathan -
 * Kraken -
 * Megalodon -
 * Megatherium -
 * Phorusrachos -
 * Roc -
 * Smilodon -
 * Woolly Mammoth -
 * Woolly Rhinoceros -

Secret Societies

 * Terra Arcanum - An ancient secret society that was founded by the Atlanteans to protect Hollow Earth and the secrets of the Atlanteans from discovery by the Surface World, it has a series of brokers who control the worlds powers and leaders. Its goal is to protect Hollow Earth from discovery by the rest of the world and the secrets of the Atlanteans no matter the costs, their sworn enemies are the Thule Society. At first its members were Atlanteans but as time went by its members were replaced with humans but the mission has remained the same.
 * The Thule Society - A secret German society founded in 1918. Hitler has since taken control of it and uses it to investigate the occult, the main goal of the Thule Society is to solve the mysteries of the Altanteans. It is currently headed by Dr. Wartenburg, the Thule Society is the sworn enemy of Terra Arcanum.

Hollow Earth Human Natives

 * Amazons - A nation of Warrior women who are from ancient Greek stories. They live in closely knit tribes and some of them are unconcerned about covering their breasts which they do for aesthetic reasons rather than modesty. They do have men in their society but they do all the manual labor like cleaning the house, cooking the dinner and looking after the little ones.
 * Cargo Cultists - A race of humans who revere objects that have fallen into Hollow Earth from the sky. They are always welcoming, they also wear bits and pieces of clothing from many parts of the world and they also own many objects like Teddy Bears, Necklaces, Phones, Radios, Typewriters, Books, Toy Trains and many countless various objects
 * Noble Savages - A race of humans who live in touches of nature, they are know to worship several animals even domesticate some. They do not use metal as they say its worthless, instead they use what nature provides for them. They are known for mostly banishing criminals if they have committed a crime as they believe that their gods view execution and torture as vile.
 * Cannibals - Many tribes in Hollow Earth have taken up cannibalism either for traditional purposes or to frighten their enemies. They are extremely vicious and kill their captives either quickly and painlessly or slow and horrible. Some of tribes have a custom that if the Shaman abuses his power the "gods" allow the people to cook and eat him or her.
 * Pirates - A group in Hollow Earth made up of different groups of seafarers from different centuries. Pirates consist of several sea-faring peoples from different points in history including 18th century Caribbean Pirates, Moorish Pirates, Vikings and Germanic Thugs who use a vary of ships for example 18th century Galleons, Cutters, WW-1 U-boats, Viking Longships, Roman Triremes and Ukrainian Baidaks. They also use Swords and Firearms of every kind, although there are several pirate settlements throughout Hollow Earth the largest and most notorious of them is Blood Bay.
 * Titans - A race of solitary giants. They size up to thirty feet and are abandoned by their parents at a very young age, they are sometimes taken in by other tribes but eventually their size can caused them to be banished and they begin again as they started out, hungry, lost and alone. Due to they're early upbringings Titans are known to be quite bitter and resentful to nearly everyone they meet and so friendships with them rarely last.
 * Vril-ya - A race of humans who live in Atlantis, although they claim to be Atlanteans and use their technology they were actually the servants of the ancient race and do not have a single drop of Altantean blood flows throw their veins. They are known to be lay as they use slaves to do nearly all of the manual labor. there is a group of Vril-ya who are against their peoples cruelty and plan on exposing their true origins to the rest of their people.
 * Neanderthals - A race of primitive humans also the famous caveman of the Surface World. Though they are not the Cavemen of cinema they do behave in a similar matter to them, they usually wield spears and clubs. They also sometimes have thick beards and most of them are covered in thinly coarse hair. They are also strong social darwinists believing that only the strong survive and that the weak perish.

Hollow Earth Beast-men

 * Apemen - The most populous, strongest and brutal of all of Hollow Earth's Beast-men tribes. Despite their fearsome appearances they are surprisingly gentle creatures with very strong family bonds, there are three types of Apeman, the militaristic and xenophobic Gorillamen, the curious and welcoming Chimpmen and the mischievous but friendly Monkeymen. Due to their tick fur they are sometimes found in cold climates like the mountains.
 * Lizardmen - The five foot tall Iguana like Lizardmen are the most hardy of all of the Beast-men of Hollow Earth as they are known to regenerate lost limbs and tails and repair damaged organs. They have small sharp teeth that are perfect for tearing up flesh, they rarely wears clothes but they do cover themselves in precious stones and shiny metals of all kinds however.
 * Molemen - The Molemen despite their weak appearances are quite strong. Their huge pad like hands are perfect for digging through rubble, dirt and they also make perfect defense weapons, they rarely venture above ground as their eyesight is not designed for the sun but for the underground. They live in hive like colonies in caves and are ruled by the Council of the Worm. Although they may look weak the Molemen are actually quite powerful.
 * Panthermen - The Panthermen resemble either Leopards or Black Panthers and are the most athletic of all the Beast-men tribes. They usually live a life of solitary but they can live in closely knit clans, they are also nomadic as they can choose to taken down their villages and rebuild them elsewhere. They have also being known to wander far from home and mix with other cultures and races, they have being employed as hunting masters by the Amazons, worshiped as gods by Cargo Cultists, trained as martial artists in Shangri-La and enslved by the Vril-ya (although for the later they make very poor slaves owing to their stubbornness and their penchant for escaping).
 * Hawkmen -
 * Gillmen -

Hollow Earth Tribes

 * The Mangani - A tribe of Apemen who live in some thick tall trees. They consist of both Gorillamen and Chimpmen and are ruled usually by a tribal King or Queen, they are usually unwelcoming to visitors due to their law. They were visited by the Expedition who overthrew their abusive old King and place his son on the throne, after that they became welcoming to visitors to their village.
 * The Raptor Men - A vicious tribe of Cannibals who use domesticated Velociraptors as hunting beasts and pets. They live near a tar-pit and are extremely xenophobic, they sometimes sacrifice victims to their Raptor God rather then eat them. In one episode they captured Victoria, Doc, Tom, Prof. Archimedes and Eva and were about to sacrifice them until the Doc managed to knock the Witch Doctor into a tar-pit and scared the tribe into freeing them.
 * Mammoth Men - A tribe of cannibalistic Neanderthals who live in the Frozen Wastes and are lead by a vicious Chieftain named Ahm. They are known to charge their mammoths full head on when they attack other tribes, they also desire to take control of the Frozen Wastes.
 * The Talon Tribe - A nation of Viking Warriors who use giant domesticated Haast's Eagles for war mounts. They live in the high mountains and are sworn enemies of a tribe of Pteranodon riding cannibals, they value honor and bravery above all things.

Locations
Hollow Earth - A vast subterranean world located 300 miles below the surface of Earth, it is where a host of Dinosaurs, Extinct Mammals, Beastmen and Ancient Civilizations thrive whereas they have long since vanished from the surface. It's environment is it also has many places of interest.
 * Tree Town - The expeditions base camp that they built after they were stranded in Hollow Earth by the Terra Arcanum. It was two tree-houses built into a couple of very large trees..
 * Atlantis - A mobile island once the capital of the Altantean empire now it is ruled by the Vril-ya who have ray guns, flying saucers and a massive weather controlling device.
 * Blood Bay - The largest pirate settlement in all of Hollow Earth, it is located in a sheltered cove. It is protected by a large wall that was built to keep out marauding dinosaurs and hostile natives, Blood Bay resembles the shabby town ports of the Caribbean during the 18th century.
 * Avalon - A Medieval Kingdom that is the resting place of King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, Sir Lancelot, Sir Kay, Sir Galahad and the rest of the Knights of the Round Table. Once it was ruled by the King and Queen who were both kind and fair to their subjects however they mysteriously died and shortly thereafter rumors started up that Bishop Vortigern poisoned them.
 * Graveyard of the Damned - A barren area located on the shores of the Endless Sea, it where the bones of many of Hollow Earth's Dinosaurs and extinct mammals are found. Most tribes fear to go there as they believe that it is haunted by the ghosts of many unhappy spirits, it is also inhabited by a pack of skeletal like Velociraptors that are seemingly bullet proof.
 * The Aerie - The city of the Hawkmen of Hollow Earth that is powered by ancient Atlantean technology. Recently the Altanean machinery that is powering it has started to break down, its inhabitants are trying desperately to find sometime to help them repair the machinery that keeps their home floating in the skies of Hollow Earth.
 * Kells - An 8th century Irish Settlement located about twenty miles from Tree Town, it is inhabited by early Irish Christians and Monks. It is currently headed by Abbot Cellach who is trying to build a wall around it to protect it form a vicious Tyrannosaurus Rex named Iron Mouth.
 * The Endless Sea - A large ocean that stretches from the North to the South Poles of Hollow Earth, it is inhabited by various prehistoric sea creatures and its top predators are the Megalodon and the Kraken. Various groups of people live beside has its easy access to other tribes and is their source of food.
 * Fort Lincoln - A Union Civil War fortress town located in Hollow Earth and is named after President Abraham Lincoln. It is ruled by President Cyrus Smith and is a equal race society, it has had hostilities with Fort Jefferson for the rights of slaves. However when the expedition showed up they revealed that pastor Gideon Spilett of Fort Jefferson had lied about the war on the surface continuing and Fort Lincoln decides to make peace with Fort Jefferson.
 * Fort Jefferson - A Confederate Civil War fortress town located in Hollow Earth and is named after President Jefferson Davis. It is ruled by President Jefferson Davis the Second and is a Southern society with black people as slaves, it has had hostilities with Fort Lincoln since 1865 in an attempt to keep slavery. However is was revealed that the towns pastor, Gideon Spilett had lied about the war continuing on the surface and after the revelation Fort Jefferson decided to both make peace with Fort Lincoln and free their slaves and give them rights.
 * New Rome - A Roman city located along the coast of the Endless Sea. It was founded in 79 A.D. by a Roman expedition who had either gotten lost or were stranded in Hollow Earth by Terra Arcanum, when they knew that they were stranded in Hollow Earth for good they decided to built a city to live in. The buildings that are located in New Rome include Nero's Palace, a library, a communal public bath, a Colosseum and a gladiator training arena.
 * The Frozen Wastes - An arctic tundra area located in the North of Hollow Earth. It is a land covered in snow, ice and arctic trees and is the home of many ice age mammals like Woolly Mammoths, Woolly Rhinos, Smilodon, Megaloceros and Dire Wolves, it is also the home of the Mammoth-Men a tribe of cannibalistic Neanderthals who ride domesticated Mammoths.
 * El Dorado - The legendary city of Gold

Trivia

 * During the first episode where Meaghan Rath crawls out of the pond where she was bathing, her vagina and anus were seen. She later commented that "I really did not expect that at all, to have my crotch shown on international television was a little embarrassing". although she refused to allow it to be shown on re-airs she did allow the scene to be shown on the DVD and Blu Ray releases.
 * The shown uses various characters, most from different pulp stories like, Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Lost World, Tarzan of the Apes, Doc Savage and Pellucidar.
 * The models for the Velociraptors and the Smilodons were reused from the science fiction show Primeval.
 * Originally the characters, The Dying Moneyman, the Occultist Investigator and the Imperiled Actress were to be in the show but were written out after deciding that they wouldn't be of any importance to the series.
 * The series was filmed in Queensland, Australia.

Sex & Nudity
The shows scenes of graphic nudity either sexual, non sexual or tribal:

Season 1: Season 2: Season 3:
 * Episode 1: Dian strips naked before going skinny dipping, her breasts and buttocks are seen. Later a giant crocodile attacks she scrams out of the pond her vagina and anus are seen.
 * Episode 2: Many Apemen are seen either naked or wearing loincloths both adults and children, it is tribal as their privates are covered by their fur.
 * Episode 4: Some women in Blood Bay are seen wearing very revealing outfits that show cleavage.
 * Episode 6: A young woman raises completely nude from a pool of honey, her breasts and pubic area are not seen.
 * Episode 8: Tristan and Isolde are seen having passionate sex in mud, Tristan's buttocks and Isolde's breasts and buttocks are seen.
 * Episode 11: Some Amazon women are topless.

Violence & Gore
Season 1: Season 2: Season 3:

Profanity
Season 1: Season 2: Season 3:

Alcohol/Drug/Smoking
Season 1: Season 2: Season 3:

Frighting/Intense Scenes
Season 1: Season 2: Season 3: