| Runtime: | 43 minutes |
| Based On: | Mortal Kombat by Ed Boon John Tobias |
| Developer: | Juan Carlos Coto |
| Company: | Threshold Entertainment New Line Television |
| Executive Producer: | Lawrence Kasanoff Robert Friedman Tom Campbell |
| Starring: | Paolo Montalban Daniel Bernhardt Kristanna Loken Tracy Douglas Bruce Locke Jeffrey Meek |
| Narrated: | Kevin Michael Richardson (Opening titles only) |
| Composer: | Jonathan Sloate |
| Country: | United States |
| Num Seasons: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 22 |
| Network: | Syndication |
Mortal Kombat: Conquest is an American martial arts television series developed by Juan Carlos Coto. Based on the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise, it aired in syndication for one season from October 3, 1998 to May 22, 1999. The series serves as a prequel to the games, following the original Kung Lao (Paolo Montalban) as he protects Earthrealm with the help of bodyguard Siro (Daniel Bernhardt) and former thief Taja (Kristanna Loken). It was one of the first live action shows based on a video game to air on United States television, preceded only by the live action segments of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!.[1]
Many centuries ago, Earth was an enchanting and desirable planet. Powerful and rich with natural resources, the vicious megalomaniac Shao Kahn wanted Earth as part of his growing collection of conquered realms known as Outworld. To protect Earth, Mortal Kombat was created: a tournament in which the fate of the planet is decided in battles between competitors from Earthrealm and Outworld. Five hundred years in the past, the monk warrior Kung Lao defeated Shao Kahn's sorcerer, Shang Tsung. When Kung Lao spared his life, Shao imprisoned Shang in the cobalt mines.
Kung Lao now had to train the next generation of warriors, who would give their lives to save Earth. Kung Lao created a partnership and friendship between two warriors: Siro, a former bodyguard, and Taja, an ex-thief. In the mysterious city of Zhuzin, Kung Lao and his new friends are guided and watched over by the thunder god Raiden. The three now battle various evils of both Outworld and Earthrealm, including an imprisoned Shang Tsung, who swore eternal revenge on Kung Lao for his humiliating defeat, and the sultry and seductive Vorpax, who is also imprisoned in the mines and has an agenda of her own.
With Conquest immediately following TNT's top-rated program, WCW Monday Nitro, WCW wrestlers Meng and Wrath filmed separate appearances. Former QVC model Dorian John played the barmaid Magda in the episodes "Twisted Truth" and "Quan Chi".
Mortal Kombat: Conquest was produced by Threshold Entertainment (who produced the Mortal Kombat film series) in association with New Line Television (television arm of the films' distributor). Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution distributed the series. The program was filmed at Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida. The Warner Bros. unit (eventual holder of the Mortal Kombat property),[2] as New Line's corporate sibling-turned-parent, syndicated the series until it was later picked up by TNT, which aired the remaining new episodes in addition to broadcasting repeats of the first-run syndication run. With a lucrative timeslot following WCW Monday Nitro, Conquest was very popular, but according to the show's developer, Joshua Wexler, this resulted in higher budget costs for the show than anticipated. The cancellation was not announced at first, and rumors of a second season circulated. However, TNT pulled the plug on the show, leaving it with a cliffhanger ending. The ending was planned to have been resolved in the second season, which would have summed up the series and corresponded with the MK timeline.
Mortal Kombat: Conquest has been released on DVD in the United Kingdom and Australia, where it enjoyed a more successful run on television. Unofficial collections produced in the UK consist of unrelated and edited episodes merged so that each disc contains a theme, and some of the DVDs contain spelling errors on the covers. Several episodes of the series, consisting of one show per disc, were released in Germany; two of the discs feature episodes centered around Kreeya and Sub-Zero. DVDs were also recently released in Portugal, with many spelling errors on the covers.[3] [4] In 2015, Warner Home Video released Mortal Kombat: Conquest - Season One on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time.[5]
In 2010, 4thletter! ranked Conquest as sixth on the list of "The Top Ten Most Ridiculous Things to Come Out of Mortal Kombat".[6] In 2011, 1UP.com featured the series in the article "The Top Ten Times Mortal Kombat Went Wrong", calling it a "wire-fu disaster".[7]