Sheena is an American action-adventure television series which was produced for first-run syndication from 2000 to 2002.
The series is based upon W. Morgan Thomas's comic book character Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, like the previous 1950s TV series of the same title. It starred Gena Lee Nolin and John Allen Nelson, and was developed for television by Douglas Schwartz and Steven L. Sears. In this version, Sheena was given the mystical ability to transform into almost any jungle animal; she also spoke whole sentences (akin to Ron Ely's Tarzan), unlike Irish McCalla's interpretation of the character.
Contents
Premise
Sheena's parents were archaeologists who died in the jungle when she was about six years old, orphaning their daughter Cheryl Hamilton (as explained in the episode "Stranded in the Jungle"; otherwise, Sheena remembers nothing of her parents, or of her pre-Africa childhood). She was taken in by Kali, a local Shamaness of a tribe who brought her up and called her Sheena. The girl grew into a strong, beautiful woman and, five years ago, was taught how to change her shape. She can morph into most creatures of the jungle, thus acquiring their abilities, up to and including flight. She also befriended animals such as zebra Marika, elephant Chango and monkey Tiki, she can even talks to and communicates with animals just like Fluttershy can. Moreover, she becomes a mythical creature called "The Darak'na" who relies on people's fear of the unknown. For this, she covers herself in a dark liquid mud which allows her to be largely unseen in the low light of the jungle. With above-average strength, agility and speed—and armed with a pair of bone-clawed gloves—she is a formidable one-woman fighting force. She does kill sometimes.