| Genre: | Children's television series |
| Creator: | Brian D. Brown Eric J. Danenberg |
| Director: | Dave Osborne |
| Voices: | Austin Di lulio Sarah Gadon Cedric Smith Tony Daniels |
| Theme Music Composer: | Mark Topham |
| Endtheme: | "Looking for a Hero" by Lauren Waterworth |
| Country: | Canada |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 3 |
| Num Episodes: | 39 |
| Producer: | Gary Kurtz (series 1) Naomi Jones (series 2 & 3) |
| Executive Producer: | Alison Dorricott David Dorricott |
| Runtime: | 25 minutes (per episode) |
| Network: | CBBC TBN Australian Christian Channel Smile |
Friends and Heroes is a Canadian animated Christian children's television program that airs on TBN, Smile of a Child TV, and was also shown on BBC TV. It takes place from 69–71 AD, during the First Jewish–Roman War. There are three seasons or "series", each comprising 13 episodes: Season 1 is set in Alexandria, Egypt; Season 2 in Jerusalem and Season 3 in Rome. The series was created by Brian D. Brown and Eric J. Danenberg, who also worked on The Storykeepers. Gary Kurtz, the producer for season one, also produced American Graffiti, Star Wars, and The Empire Strikes Back. Starting with the second season, the show is produced in HD.
All three series have now been translated and dubbed into Arabic, Chinese (both Mandarin, and Taiwan Mandarin), French, German, Hindi, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, and Latin American Spanish. The first season was also dubbed in Manx Gaelic, being the first animated series to be dubbed in said language.
The series was also broadcast on the Australian Christian Channel in Australia.
The show starts with a recap of last week's episode, relevant or not. Then the theme song plays. Act 1 begins with the name of the episode. There's usually about ten minutes of story and then a Bible story, followed by Act 2. There's more story and then another Bible story. Unless it is a two-part episode, the problem is resolved after the second Bible story. There are, however, three Bible stories in one episode.
The series begins in the year 69 AD, in Alexandria. There is a rebellion going on in nearby Judea by the Jews and Christians. In response, the governor, Tiberius orders his men, led by Brutacus and Tobias, to crack down on the Jews and Christians.
The first episode introduces the family of Samuel, Diana, their son Macky, and their rarely seen parrot, Pontius, who live in Delta Quarter on the port of Alexandria. They are rebels who hide other rebels in their house. Samuel's friend, a commander for the rebels in Judea, sends his daughters, Leah and Rebecca, to live with Samuel's family.
In episode two, Macky and Rebecca have an encounter with a girl named Portia while riding horses. After talking, they find out that she is the Governor's niece. She becomes fast friends with Samuel's family, but they never tell her that they are rebels.
Episode three introduces the characters of Miriam and Nathan, Samuel and Diana's friends, as well as fellow rebels. Their adopted African son, Sollie, is also introduced.
The entire first season is primarily a series of journeys, trying to protect rebels without the Governor or his cronies finding out. In the third-to-last episode, however, Tobias finds out the truth and they are all forced to flee Alexandria.
Macky and Portia arrive in Jerusalem during the Roman siege. The people inside are starving, whilst the Romans grow desperate to break through the city walls.
Outside the city, Macky makes several key acquaintances. One is Isaac, who pretends to be senile most of the time, but is actually an active member of the rebel underground. His house, filled with hidden rooms and secret passages, is a safe house for the oppressed. Here Macky links up with the rebels (zealots) who live inside Jerusalem and soon becomes a courier between Jerusalem and the outside world.
Inside Jerusalem, Macky meets a girl, Sarah. Macky is drawn to Sarah's idealism, which puts a strain on his relationship with Portia. He also meets a Roman officer named Lucius, widowed father of two young children and secretly a Friend of Jesus – he was one of Paul's guards, many years earlier in Rome.
Macky learns to trust Lucius and he becomes a valued secret ally as Macky faces two old adversaries from Alexandria: Tobias and Brutacus. Towards the end of the siege, Macky takes greater risks, and is finally captured by the Romans.
Portia tries to intervene, but can't get him released. Instead she ensures that Macky is sent to Rome, her next destination, and his only hope.
Arriving in Rome, Macky finds himself in a gladiator school for the Circus Maximus, where the only rule is kill or be killed. Macky wants to do neither, so Portia intervenes with a Senator, Antonius, who takes Macky as a slave.
Macky discovers that Antonius is a secret Friend of Jesus and that at night, he dons a mask and goes out and rescues fellow Friends of Jesus from jail or helps them escape from slave-masters. Soon Macky in a disguise of his own starts helping the Senator.
Antonius has an enemy in the Senate named Marcus, who blames all the Empire's woes on the Friends of Jesus. Marcus would like to prove the notorious masked rebel is actually his enemy, Antonius, but Antonius is too clever for him. Marcus enlists the help of Tiberius, Brutacus, Tobias and Tobias' mother Luciana, an expert manipulator and political in-fighter with friends in high places.
Marcus begins to tighten his grip on Macky and Antonius, and Macky's and Portia's relationship deepens and matures through the difficult choices they have to make.
The program was shown in BBC TV in 2007, and since then is available on DVD with accompanying school and Sunday school lessons. It is hailed as "The Best Youth/Children's Programme of 2007" by the UK's Religious Broadcasting Council.[1]