Jack of All Trades (TV series)

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Jack of All Trades
Genre	Action comedy Steampunk
Created by	Eric A. Morris
Starring	Bruce Campbell Angela Dotchin Stuart Devenie Chris Easley
Theme music composer	Joseph LoDuca
Country of origin	United States New Zealand
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	22
Production
Executive producers	Alex Kurtzman Roberto Orci Rob Tapert Sam Raimi Bruce Campbell[a] Eric Grundemann[a]
Producer	Janine Dickins
Production locations	Auckland, New Zealand
Running time	22 Minutes
Production companies	Renaissance Pictures Studios USA Television Distribution
Original release
Network	Syndication
Release	January 22 (2000-01-22) – December 2, 2000 (2000-12-02)

Jack of All Trades is a half-hour-long syndicated action comedy TV series which ran for two seasons in 2000.^[1][2] With Cleopatra 2525, it formed the Back2Back Action Hour and both shows were notable for being the first American non-animated action series to be produced in the half-hour format since the 1970s^{[citation needed]}. The show was canceled in the middle of its second season.

It is set at the turn of the 19th century (beginning in 1801) on the fictional French-controlled island of Pulau-Pulau^[3] in the East Indies. Jack Stiles is an American secret agent sent there by President Jefferson. While there, he meets his British contact and love interest, English spy Emilia Rothschild. Together, the two work to stop Napoleon and various other threats to the United States. To the public, Jack is seen as Emilia's attaché (she sometimes serves as his), and in order to protect his identity as a secret agent, while acting against the enemies of America, Jack often adopts the identity of a legendary (though otherwise fictional) masked hero: "the Daring Dragoon".

The show contained many ongoing gags, such as historical inaccuracies (such as Canada being a French territory rather than part of the British Empire, and Benjamin Franklin being on the 100 dollar bill during his lifetime), Jack being responsible for many important historical events but not receiving credit, Emilia inventing a miraculous invention in an obvious deus ex machina, sexual puns and innuendos, and Jack and Emilia's ongoing romantic tension.

• Bruce Campbell as Jack Stiles
• Angela Dotchin as Emilia Rothschild
• Stuart Devenie as Governor Croque
• Stephen Papps as Captain Brogard
• Sheb Wooley as the voice of Jean-Claude
• Verne Troyer as Napoleon Bonaparte (recurring guest – 4 episodes)

The tune and lyrics are based on numerous period songs, such as the "Marines' Hymn" and "Yankee Doodle". The theme song was nominated for the "Outstanding Main Theme Title Song" Emmy in 2000, but lost to The West Wing.^[4]

Many episodes of Jack of All Trades involved parodies of historical figures. Furthering the show's inaccuracies, some of these figures died before the show's 1801 time period.

The following is a list of historical figures who appeared on the show:

• Thomas Jefferson (Charles Pierard) 2 episodes
• Blackbeard (Hori Ahipene) 2 episodes
• Benjamin Franklin (John Sumner)
• James Madison (Patrick Smith)
• Napoleon and Josephine Bonaparte (Verne Troyer 4 episodes and Celia Nicholson 1 episode)
• Marquis de Sade (Stuart Devenie)
• Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (Patrick Wilson and Peter Rowley)
• Sacagawea (Vanessa Rare)
• King George III (Mark Hadlow)
• Catherine the Great (Danielle Cormack)
• Leonardo da Vinci is parodied by his fictitious descendant Nardo da Vinci (Michael Hurst).

• Jack of All Trades at IMDb
• DVD Talk's Review of The Complete Series Archived July 22, 2006, at the Wayback Machine