September 20, 1999: “Relic Hunter” Premieres

September 20, 1999: Relic Hunter premieres in syndication. Tia Carrere plays Dr. Sydney Fox, a professor of history at fictional Trinity College, who introduces each episode by saying, "Welcome to Ancient Studies. I’m not a real stickler for attendance. Sometimes, I’m called away from the classroom myself."

(There are several schools named Trinity College throughout the world, the best-known ones being the one that's part of Cambridge University in England, and the one in Dublin, Ireland. There's even one in the city of Sydney, in Australia. However, since the show was a Canadian production, it was likely filmed at Trinity College in Toronto.)

Sydney, whose late mother was Hawaiian and whose father (played in 2 episodes by football player-turned-actor Fred Dryer) was an archaeologist before her, makes the occasional reluctant admission that she's viewed as "a female Indiana Jones." But she's also a martial arts expert, not just a street brawler like Indy; and proficient with multiple weapons, not just a pistol and a whip like Indy.

Among the relics Sydney ends up finding, in chronological order (to each other, not in episode sequence): A diamond belonging to Pharoah Thutmose III, Pandora's Box, Buddha's bowl, an urn containing the ashes of Confucius, the breastplate from Julius Caesar's armor, the first Christian Cross jewelry, the crown of Ireland, Anne Boleyn's wedding ring, an idol stolen from Hawaii by Captain James Cook, the crown jewels of France, Al Capone's handgun, a guitar that once belonged to Elvis Presley, and a supposedly magical baseball glove.

While her British teaching assistant Nigel Bailey, played by English actor Christien Anholt, was vital on her missions, they were never a couple. There was occasional banter between Nigel and Sydney's secretaries -- first Claudia, played by Lindy Booth, then Karen Petruskey, played by Tanja Reichert -- but no evidence he got together with either of them, either. (Anholt is English, while both Booth and Reichert are Canadian. Booth would later play an archaeologist on The Librarians.)

The show often aired back-to-back in the 2000-01 season with Queen of Swords, starring Tessie Santiago as Maria Teresa Alvarado, a female version of Zorro. I had hoped that both shows could be wrapped up with a descendant of the Queen, also played by Santiago, seeking out Sydney's help to prove her ancestor was real, and a heroine instead of a villainess; but a descendant of the Queen's nemesis, Colonel Montoya, played by Valentine Pelka, would stand in the way.

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September 20, 1999 was a Monday. If you were watching ABC Monday Night Football instead of Relic Hunter, you saw the Dallas Cowboys beat the Atlanta Falcons, 24-7 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.

And these 10 Major League Baseball games were scheduled and played:

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Juan Encarnación singled Gregg Jeffries home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, 7-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Mark McGwire hit his 59th home run of the season, and would finish with 65*. Sammy Sosa went 1-for-3 with a walk, but did not hit a home run, and would finish with 63*.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Astros, 11-5 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 12-7 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Diego Padres, 12-1 at Qualcommn Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-3.

* The Anaheim Angels beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 10-5 at Edison International Field of Anaheim (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat their arch-rivals, the San Francisco Giants, 6-5 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Barry Bonds went 1-for-5.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Oakland Athletics, 4-0 at the Oakland Coliseum. Jason Ryan allowed 5 hits and 3 walks, but no runs, over 5 innings, and 4 relievers completed a 7-hit shutout.

* And the Kansas City Royals beat the Seattle Mariners, 10-9 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. went 3-for-5 with a home run and 4 RBIs. Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.

And on ABC Monday Night Football, the Dallas Cowboys beat the Atlanta Falcons, 24-7 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.