Maya

Way back in the day Jay North, having become too big to be Dennis the Menace any more, he went to India with Clint Walker and did a very nice film named Maya. Kind of confusing because Maya is an elephant, not a group of native Americans from the Yucatan. The film did a good box office and North got a TV series out of it.

Well the so-so ratings and the huge expense of location shooting in India proved to be prohibitive and Maya the TV series got cancelled.

The movie had Jay North searching for his father in India and doing it with another kid, an orphan Indian boy played by Sajid Khan. In the movie they had a kind of Huck Finn/Tom Sawyer relationship which was cute.

The TV series eliminated Clint Walker, but the premise was the same, North's search for his father accompanied by Maya the elephant and Sajid Khan. But now both kids were well into puberty and they had eyes only for each other.

I mean these two now about 15 or 16 acted very much like they were in love. No one and I mean NO ONE except the elephant was a part of their world. I remember an episode where Sajid Khan was reduced to tears at the thought of North going back to America.

Both Khan and North enjoyed a burst of bubblegum popularity. Sajid Khan had a short lived singing career. But in those pre-Stonewall days I wonder how many young gay males identified with those two kids and felt kind of validated in their feelings.

I really hope TV Land channel gets those episodes and runs them. There weren't many, but I'll bet they become a bit gay hit now.

After arriving in Bombay, India to live with his father, Montana teenager Jay North (as Terrance "Terry" Bowen) receives some tragic news. The young man's father is reported to have been eaten by a tiger while big game hunting. He is advised to leave India, but Mr. North runs away and goes undercover. He believes his father may still be alive. Hopping a train, North meets Indian teenager Sajid Khan (as Raji), an orphan traveling with his beloved elephant "Maya". Mr. Khan considers Maya his adoptive mother. The penniless lads will face much danger as they search India for information concerning the disappearance of Hugh Bowen, North's father...

This TV series follow-up to the feature film "Maya" reunites original co-stars North and Khan. The situation is re-booted (the original film contains a resolution concerning father Bowen). The NBC-TV show would be a massive hit if today's media market applied, but it was dead last among the big three television networks in 1967-1968 and was canceled after only 18 episodes. The series was adapted by Stirling Silliphant and quite nicely presented by Herbert Coleman and the crew. The Indian culture adds to the series' appeal...

"Maya" was no ordinary kid show. The stories often contained atypical violence. Adult situations, both explicit and implicit, were added to the usual children's adventure mix. North and Khan immediately became "teen idol" pin-ups. Due to the "foreign" appeal rejuvenated by The Beatles, plus a friendly and cooperative relationship with teen magazine editors, Khan superseded North and extended his popularity by several years after "Maya" was canceled. The attractive young actors' rapport is obvious. Another of the series' major strengths is that it was filmed on location, by Gunter Senftleben, in the picturesque "cities, villages and jungles of India"...

The most highly recommended episodes, in order of appearance, are: "Blood of the Tiger" (6/10, the first episode sets up the situation), "The Allapur Conspiracy" (6/10, representative scenery in a strong follow-up), "Will the Real Prince Please Get Lost" (7/10, the big one for Sajid fans and more playfully presented), "The Treasure Temple" (7/10, the series' strengths are strongly displayed) and "The Legend of Whitney Markham" (6/10, a worthy final episode). North and Khan sporadically continued their acting careers into adulthood, with less success and media attention. Too bad some smart producer hasn't reunited them for a project or cameo (as of this writing).

******* Maya (9/16/67- 2/10/68) Jay North, Sajid Khan, Jairaj, Iftekhar

Filmed on real India Jungles, with Tigers & Leopards. I just loved, when I saw this series I was like 10 years old. Already have this love for nature, and this show was apart from all other outdoor series faked in studios. If you ever go to India, you will find that many men walk on the street taking by the hand. This will sound, on a macho view, very Gay but it is quite normal. In India it is normal to express friendship even among males. So this special relationship between this two kids may fit in place, even so I agree that gay people will love it. As a kid I have no memories of thinking this boys were strange, they were alone in the Jungle, one was fugitive, the other was searching his father, and they're only ally was Maya, the brave female elephant. Lately I have read about Jim Corbett, one of the first world conservationists to fight for Nature & Tigers (even so, he used to be a hunter), the fascinating world of Indian Jungles that I read on Corbett life, is just there in the Maya series. I will love to see this adventure series again, memories of a fierce mystery world that is almost gone for ever.