You may think we're right back where we started, but the crucial thing is, it was a jolly good effort.
Two episodes from the second season of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles ("Barcelona, May 1917", first broadcast on 12th October 1992, and "Prague, August 1917", one of the four unaired episodes of that season note ), later re-edited into a single feature-length episode entitled Espionage Escapades which, chronologically, is the fourteenth instalment of The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones.
Indy's spying adventures continue in neutral Barcelona, where he joins a trio of international agents who devise an elaborate plot to discredit their German opposite number — a plot which involves Indy posing as a ballet dancer. Following this, he is assigned to work under cover in Prague, where his mission depends on him receiving a telephone call in an apartment that has no telephone, leading to a surreal bureaucratic nightmare.
This episode contains examples of:
- Ambiguous Situation: Is Schmidt an American posing as a German, or a German working for the Americans? Also, the question of how Kafka knows Indy's cover name, given that by the time Indy meets him he's been driven so mad by the bureaucracy that he's forgotten it (although Kafka could've just read it on the form Indy has).
- Artistic Licence – History: During the flamenco scene, Cunningham claims that Spain is neutral because the king's father is German but his wife is British. The King of Spain at the time, Alfonso XIII, was indeed married to a grand-daughter of Queen Victoria note — but his father (Alfonso XII, who had died in 1885) wasn't German. It was Alfonso XIII's mother who belonged to the royal family of one of the Central Powers, but she was Austrian, not German. Of course, it could be that Cunningham is getting it wrong In-Universe rather than this being an error on the part of the writers.
- At the Opera Tonight: Most of the main characters attend a performance of the Ballet Ruse, during which Indy — whose role is meant to consist of standing still in the background — does his hip-shaking dance in order to communicate to the other spies by Morse code (using the reflection of the light off his bejewelled codpiece).
- Beleaguered Bureaucrat: Anton, who is the only person who has Form 12B (the form Indy needs to fill out to get the last stamp on his original form), but can't open the filing cabinet that contains every copy of said form as he has lost the key — and he can't call the janitor unless he fills out Form 103C, which he cannot do because all of the copies that form are locked in the same cabinet.
- Binocular Shot: At play when Indy and Cunningham are checking out a U-boat in the harbour.
- Bound and Gagged: Indy does this to Nadia. On finding out who she really is, he takes her (still tied up) to the other spies, who insist on putting the gag back on her after she insults them.
- Brick Joke: Every bureaucrat who Indy encounters in the Ministry of Telephones reminds him not to forget his form.
- The Bus Came Back: Pablo Picasso, previously encountered by Indy in the Paris part of Passion for Life, returns in the Barcelona part of this episode. If we're going by the chronological order of the re-edited TV movies, that is; as far as the original Young Indiana Jones Chronicles series is concerned, "Barcelona, May 1917" was Picasso's first appearance in the show, as "Paris, September 1908" was broadcast eight months later. In both cases, he's played by Danny Webb.
- Call-Forward: A couple to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The way those bureaucrats stamp the forms does bring to mind the librarian from that film. Also, the episode ends with Indy being told that he must go to Berlin; not for the last time.
- Chekhov's Gun: Believe it or not, the jewelled codpiece that's part of Indy's ballet costume comes in useful. As does the suitcase full of ladies's underwear.
- Classified Information: Combined with Poor Communication Kills in the case of Schmidt, who's actually an American Double Agent — something the Americans didn't tell their British, French and Italian allies. Which is what almost gets Schmidt killed in a duel.
- Cliffhanger: The episode ends with Indy, having finally got a phone and connected it, receiving the vital call — which consists of an instruction to go to a particular apartment in Berlin and get a telephone installed there. At the time, though, Indy is suspended from the top of the telegraph pole, which in turn is leaning over a rather long drop. On that note, the episode ends.
- Continuity Nod: When Indy meets Picasso and hints at who he is by reminding him of what happened in Paris ten years ago, Picasso's first reaction is that he's Norman Rockwell, the other American kid from Passion for Life.
- Continuity Snarl: Going by the original titles of the episodes (which always gave the location and the date, or rather the month and the year), the Barcelona and Prague episodes happened either side of the Petrograd one. Yet for the re-edited TV movies, it is presented as though both the Barcelona and Prague adventures take place after Indy was in Petrograd. Quite possibly justified by the fact that the two episodes combined here are both comedic in nature, whereas the Petrograd one most certainly is not.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Both parts provide examples.
- Had the Americans told their allies what they were up to in Barcelona, said allies would not have made a plan to undermine the man they assumed to be their principal enemy.
- Towards the end of the Prague episode, Indy flat-out tells Clouseau that, given how crucial a telephone call was to the mission, he should have made sure that he rented an apartment that had a working telephone.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: The Count of Toledo, which is why the spies fake a love-letter from Schmidt to the Countess of Toledo as they wish to discredit Schmidt (and, by extension, Germany) in the eyes of the King of Spain, to whom the Count is close. The Count goes so far as to challenge Schmidt to a duel (which Schmidt thinks is about the Count's hatred of German music), and it turns out, he's a crack shot who uses the statues in his garden for target practice.
- The Determinator: After finally getting a telephone, Indy goes to great lengths to ensure that it is actually connected in time for the 12:00 call.
- Double Agent: Schmidt, the head of German intelligence in Barcelona, is actually the USA's finest secret agent. Nadia is his contact, with their supposed relationship serving as a cover for their regular meetings.
- Duel to the Death: Fought in a bullring, no less — between a crazy Spanish nobleman and a German who's actually an American spy. Fortunately, it's interrupted before any bloodshed can occur.
- Dumbass Has a Point: Not outright stated, but Marcello, Charles and Cunningham are not wrong to opt to wait for official confirmation that Nadia is who she says she is before helping her, as the Americans have been keeping their allies completely in the dark about their activities in Barcelona, to the point where they didn't even know that the Americans were operating there.
- Everyone Knows Morse: During the ballet, Indy — cast in a non-dancing role and needing to urgently communicate with Charles, Cunningham and Marcello — moves towards the front of the stage and shakes his hips in order to send a message to them in Morse code (complete with exclamation points) using the light reflecting off his costume's jewelled codpiece. This, needless to say, is one of the most memorable moments of the entire show. His and the others' knowledge of Morse code is justified as they have all been taught it as part of their spy training (and, despite their general incompetence, the others are shown to be au fait with the ways of wireless telegraphy), but somehow they get the full message despite not initially noticing him, and no-one else in the audience (including at least one other spy) notices what's going on.
- Foreshadowing: Nadia using the adjustable mirror on her dresser to see what Indy's up to behind her back is an early clue that there's more to her than meets the eye. Also, the fact that most of the ballet cast are not actually Russian may serve as an indicator that she might not be Russian (as Indy assumes) either.
- Have a Gay Old Time: The phrase "making love" is used in the old-fashioned sense (ie. declaring one's passion for the object of one's affections, as opposed to actually having sex with said object).
- High-Class Glass: Worn by Colonel Schmidt, the head of German intelligence in Barcelona. Marcello is later seen wearing a monocle when he's in disguise as Colonel Schmidt.
- Historical Domain Character: In this episode, Indy encounters Pablo Picasso (again), Sergei Diaghilev
(who casts him as a eunuch in his production of Scherazade) and Franz Kafka. - Homage: The Prague episode is very much this to the works of Franz Kafka, particularly The Trial as Indy (who's just trying to get a phone installed in his apartment) struggles with insane bureaucracy and even gets arrested, tried and jailed for no good reason (the authorities don't realise that he's a spy, of course) — although it's very much Played for Laughs here. Additionally, Kafka himself appears (played by Tim McInnery) and many of the predicaments Indy faces are themselves allusions to the titles of short stories by Kafka, such as "Before the Law," "On the Tram," "The Street Window," and "The Sudden Walk".Franz Kafka: What a trial.
- Kafka Komedy: Indy gets put through one of these in Prague, and meets the Trope Namer.
- Lighter and Softer: Compared to the previous episode, certainly. The spy missions Indy gets involved with here are very much comedies of errors, in contrast with the dangerous nature of his assignments in Vienna and Petrograd.
- Master Forger: Marcello (the Italian spy) claims to be one, and does actually forge a love-letter from Schmidt to the Countess of Toledo, using the love-letter from Schmidt to Nadia that Indy stole as a basis from which to work. However, all he does is trace the original and substitute the salutation, which means that Nadia — who turns out to be a much more competent spy — is easily able to figure it out after Indy returns the original letter to her dressing-room.
- Master of Disguise: Marcello (the Italian spy), or so he claims. When he first meets Indy, he's wearing a wig that looks very similar to his actual hair underneath — which he later (reluctantly) gets cut in order to disguise himself. Elsewhere in the Barcelona episode, we see Charles (the French spy) dressed as a matador (and later a priest) and Cunningham (the British spy) dressed as a Spanish police officer.
- Mistakenly Attacked Mole: Colonel Schmidt, the head of German intelligence in Barcelona, is in fact an American mole. Unfortunately, the Americans have neglected to tell their allies this — and as a result, their agents in Barcelona do their best to have Schmidt discredited or killed. Despite the fact that three of them are idiots, they come very close to succeeding.
- Mr. Fanservice: Indy in his ballet costume, which consists (above the waist) of no more than a skimpy waistcoat which exposes most of his torso.
- The Mole: Schmidt, the senior German intelligence officer in Barcelona, is actually an American spy.
- The Napoleon: The Count of Toledo, a Crazy Jealous Guy if ever there was one, is noticeably shorter than Schmidt, the man he thinks is carrying on with his wife.
- Noodle Incident: We never find out how Indy got down from the telegraph pole, or if he ever followed the instructions to go to Berlin; as of the next episode, which is set several months later, he's in the Middle East.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: Indy encounters way more than his fair share of these in Prague.
- Oh, Crap!: Indy has this reaction several times.
- The first is when, after seeing his legs, Diaghilev hires him for the ballet — to play a eunuch. Shortly followed by a similar reaction when he finds out that the other spies think this is a wonderful thing, as it turns out Schmidt is in love with Nadia, one of the dancers in the ballet.
- He later has another such reaction on realising that Schmidt and Nadia are American spies who are Undercover as Lovers.
- And again in Prague when he realises that his apartment has no phone. Which is only the start of his problems.
- One Dialogue, Two Conversations: The Count of Toledo, under the impression (thanks to the forged letter) that Schmidt is having an affair with his wife, confronts the German — who is impressed with the Countess who (as far as he's aware) has asked him to arrange a performance of a Wagner opera. When the Count goes so far as to challenge Schmidt to a duel, the latter assumes it's because he doesn't like German opera.
- Only Sane Man: Of all the bureaucrats Indy has to deal with in Prague (which is to say, a lot), Franz Kafka is the only one who seems to have realised that the system is totally nuts. He's also the only one to actually help Indy, whose experiences are implied to give him the idea for several of his stories.
- The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Prior to Indy's arrival in Barcelona, the other spies do not appear to have done much actual spying, having for the most part been content to hang out in the same bar as their German opposite number in order to keep an eye on him.
- Potty Emergency: As soon as he gets locked in the closet, Clouseau decides that he really needs to go to the toilet.
- Prima Donna Director: Diaghilev has shades of this.
- Sanity Slippage: Indy experiences this in Prague has he deals with the Austria-Hungarian Empire's insane bureaucracy (which in this universe even includes a Ministry of Errors, which is where he has to go to get a form stamped to confirm that he was temporarily imprisoned due to a clerical error, before being told he has to fill out a form that no longer exists in order to get his telephone claim form stamped) that climaxes in a meltdown in front of Franz Kafka. Who calmly informs Indy that he's in the wrong office before offering to help him.
- Shout-Out: Indy's contact in Prague is a bumbling French idiot called Clouseau. Naturally, he's played by an English actor doing an over-the-top French accent.
- Spy Speak: Played for laughs.Marcello: [posing as a shopkeeper] May I help you?Indy: Erm, I hope so. I'm looking for a one-eyed elephant... named Bruno...
- Spy Versus Spy: The Barcelona part sees the allied spies — Marcello (Italian), Charles (French) and Cunningham (British), joined by Indy (Belgian, in terms of military allegiance) — working against Schmidt (German, or so they think).
- Stage Name: At the Ballet Ruse, Indy is renamed "Igor", because Diaghilev insists that all cast members should have Russian names, even if they aren't actually Russian (which, as it happens, none of the cast are).
- Surrounded by Idiots: Nadia provides a non-evil version of this trope once she starts (reluctantly) working with her British, French and Italian counterparts.
- Undercover as Lovers: Turns out, Nadia and Schmidt have been pretending to be lovers as a pretext for their regular meetings — he's an American mole in German intelligence, and she's his contact.
- Unprovoked Pervert Payback: Indy gets on the receiving end of this, courtesy of the woman on the tram to whom the telephone form becomes attached. When he grabs for the form, she thinks he's trying to pinch her bottom, and attacks him.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: None of the women in the office reacts in the slightest when a filing cabinet lands there and bursts open, scattering forms everywhere.
- Who Writes This Crap?!: Indy has this reaction when the blind man tells him that his cover name for the Prague mission is "Amadeus Shubelgruber".
