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The Story Keepers | |
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Created by |
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Written by |
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Directed by | Jimmy T. Murakami |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 13 |
Production company(s) | |
External links | |
Website |
The Story Keepers is an animated Christian video series created by Andrew Melrose and Brian D. Brown, produced by Zondervan in 1995 in America and Ireland. It tells the story of a Christian leader, his wife, and five orphaned children living in Rome, Italy after the Great Fire of Rome whose mission is to keep Jesus's stories alive during the 1st century while they have adventures. The series consists of thirteen episodes, and features two full length episodes that are compilations of the last four episodes.
The introduction to each episode before the opening credits is as follows:
"Rome, 64 AD. The Emperor Nero has unleashed his fury against the Christians. Their crime: proclaiming a King higher than Caesar. Setting fire to the city, Nero places the blame on the Christians, and launches a new campaign to wipe them out. Families are separated, children left homeless, as thousands are sold into slavery or thrown to the lions. Escaping the panic of the fire, and dodging the advancing soldiers, a group of children find shelter in the gentle care of Ben and Helena; a local baker, and his wife. Here the children discover an amazing secret network of daring men and women, who risk their lives to help one another, and to tell the stories of the great storyteller, the one called Jesus. And so awaiting the day when their parents will return, Anna, Cyrus, Justin, and Marcus, embark on an adventure of a lifetime, together with Ben, Helena, and their friends, in the Christian underground. Their mission. To keep the stories of Jesus alive. This is their story. They are The Story Keepers!"
# | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
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1 | "Breakout" | Hal Clay and Fernando Moro | Eric J. Danenberg | 12 January 1997 | |
A young street juggler named Cyrus is captured during a church raid and sentenced to being thrown to the lions. Anna convinces Ben to launch a rescue operation.
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2 | "Raging Waters" | Hal Clay and Fernando Moro | Rob McFarlane | 19 January 1997 | |
Zakkai and the kids must smuggle a scroll containing a story about Jesus to a church across town, and use the aqueducts to do so. Things seem to go swimmingly until Zak is captured by a Roman centurion named Tacticus. | |||||
3 | "Catacomb Rescue" | Jimmy T. Murakami | J. David Stem | 26 January 1997 | |
Ben and the gang must help a missionary named Ephriam escape Rome, but first they need to secure travel papers for him. When Nihilus and Tacticus come searching for Ephriam, Ben and Anna lead the gang through the catacombs. When Anna and Justin are trapped in a cave-in with an injured Tacticus, they learn the value of loving their neighbor from Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan. | |||||
4 | "Ready, Aim, Fire!" | Jimmy T. Murakami | Rob McFarlane | 2 February 1997 | |
Zak's uncle Mordecai has come to visit, and Zak goes overboard trying to impress him. Meanwhile, Nihilus and Nero have plans to renovate the city via fire, and Tacticus must find a way to stall them and give Ben and his church a chance to escape. | |||||
5 | "Sink or Swim" | Jimmy T. Murakami | J. David Stem | 9 February 1997 | |
Justin learns about a slave ship where his and Marcus' father, Joshua ben Judah, may be imprisoned, and Ben agrees to help Justin search the ship. But the gang is caught off-guard when the ship is suddenly called out to sea to do battle with a rebel slave ship. | |||||
6 | "Starlight Escape" | Jimmy T. Murakami | Rob McFarlane | 16 February 1997 | |
Rome has become too dangerous to hold large meetings, so Ben, Helena, and the kids travel to Ostia with an old guide named Milo. It's no easy journey as they are hunted by Roman patrols the entire way. Ben and Helena use the long trip to tell the kids the story of Jesus' birth and the visit of the Magi. | |||||
7 | "Roar in the Night" | Jimmy T. Murakami | Eric J. Danenberg | 23 February 1997 4 August 2002 (re-release) | |
Marcus has befriended two lion cubs who have escaped from Nero's cruel animal trainer. He is determined to find a way to keep the cubs out of Nero's clutches, but that may mean having to release them in Africa instead of keeping them. | |||||
8 | "Captured!" | Jimmy T. Murakami | Eric J. Danenberg | 2 March 1997 11 August 1997 (re-release) | |
Cyrus is captured by a patrol while showing off his acrobatic skills, only to be sold to a local merchant who is impressed by Cyrus' talent. Cyrus finds himself living the good life, and when Ben & co. try to rescue him, he refuses to go back to the bakery. Helena tells the children Jesus' parable of the Prodigal Son and encourages them to pray for Cyrus. | |||||
9 | "Trapped!" | Jimmy T. Murakami | Rob McFarlane | 9 March 1997 8 September 2002 (re-release) | |
Tacticus' faith is discovered when he refuses to participate in the mandatory worship of Nero at the emperor's birthday party. Ben and the gang enlist the help of Empress Sabina's servant Miriam to rescue Tacticus. | |||||
10 | "Tricked By A Traitor" | Jimmy T. Murakami | J. David Stem | 16 March 1997 22 December 2002 (re-release) | |
The local miller reveals Ben's operation, sending him into hiding. In order to flush him out, Nihilus threatens to burn down the bakery—with Helena, Justin, Marcus and Cyrus still inside! Ben and his family are living in the catacombs, planning their escape to Shem Hadar. Meanwhile, Nero's soldiers, led by Nihilus and Capella, are searching the catacombs for them. | |||||
11 | "Tried And True" | Jimmy T. Murakami | Eric J. Danenberg | 30 March 1997 | |
A soldier finds a hole leading to the catacombs where Ben and the other Christians are hiding so they plan an attack. In attempt to escape Zak triggers a barrier that traps Ben, Justin and Marcus with the soldiers and are captured and Ben awaits execution. Helena plans to free them by smuggling a group of Christians, Cyrus parents among them. | |||||
12 | "Caught At The Crossroads" | Jimmy T. Murakami | Rob McFarlane | 17 August 1997 | |
Cyrus is reunited with his parents, who insist on helping Helena rescue Ben and the boys. The attempt is almost successful, but when Ben is recaptured and sentenced to crucifixion, it's up to Capella to save him—even at the cost of his own life. – 10 through 12 shown as a special episode/movie | |||||
13 | "To The Ends of The Earth" | Jimmy T. Murakami | Eric J. Danenberg | 24 August 1997 | |
Ben and the gang are finally on their way to Shem Hadar. But their trek takes them across the desert to avoid a port where the Romans are still searching for Ben and Tacticus. When Nihilus shows up, bent on vengeance, Tacticus faces one last battle with the gang's most ruthless enemy. |
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
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— | "The Easter Story Keepers" | Jimmy T. Murakami | Eric J. Danenberg, Rob McFarlane and J. David Stem | 30 March 1999 | |
Compilation of episodes 10–12. | |||||
— | "The Christmas Story Keepers" | Jimmy T. Murakami | Eric J. Danenberg, Rob McFarlane and J. David Stem | 24 December 1999 | |
Compilation of several episodes with episode 13. |
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