Thundarr the Barbarian

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Thundarr the Barbarian
Image:Thundarr.jpg
Cover to Thundarr the Barbarian home video
From left to right Ookla, Ariel and Thundarr
Directed by Charles A. Nichols, John Kimball, Rudy Larriva, David Panchak
Presented by Ruby-Spears Productions
Narrated by Adam Pockett
Production
Executive producer(s) Joe Ruby, Ken Spears
Producer(s) Jerry Eisenberg
Broadcast
Original channel ABC (1980–1982)
NBC (1983)
Original run October 4, 1980 – September 18, 1982

Thundarr the Barbarian was a Saturday morning animated television series, created by Joe Ruby and produced by Ruby-Spears Productions. It was broadcast during the early 1980s. Action figures of the three main characters were released by Toynami in 2004.

Contents

[edit] Concept and characters

Twenty-one half-hour episodes were produced by Ruby-Spears Productions, an independent animation house formed by the co-creators of Scooby-Doo, from October 1980 to September 1982, when the show went off the air. The show ran on the ABC network. Reruns of the program appeared on NBC's Saturday morning lineup in 1983.

Loosely inspired by R.E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian, Thundarr the Barbarian was set in a future post-apocalyptic wasteland divided into kingdoms or territories—the majority of which are ruled by wizards—and whose ruins typically featured recognizable geographical features from the United States, such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Mount Rushmore, New York City, San Francisco or Washington, D.C. Other episodes with recognizable settings are located in Central America, while one is in London. Another notable feature of this future Earth is that the Moon was broken in two pieces, but the gravity of the pieces drew them back together, orbiting at roughly the same height as the intact Moon once did. The shattered moon and the ruins of the former human civilization were supposedly caused by the passage of a runaway planet between the Earth and the Moon in 1994, which, from scenes shown in the opening sequence, caused radical changes in the Earth's climate, geography and tidal effects. However, by the time period in which the series is set (2,000 years later), the Earth and Moon seem to have settled into a new balance.

In this setting, Thundarr, a muscular warrior, and his companions Princess Ariel (who was a formidable sorceress) and the Wookiee-like Ookla the Mok traveled the world on horseback, and battled evil wizards who combined magical spells with technologies from the pre-catastrophe world. Other enemies included The Pack, a group of werewolves who could transforms others into their number by simple touch, the Stalker from The Stars, a predatory, malevolent alien vampire, humanoid lizards and mutants. Intelligent humanoid-animal races include the rat-like Groundlings and the cat-like Moks.

Further Star Wars influences can be seen in Thundarr's weapon of choice, the "Sun Sword", which projects a blade-like beam of energy when activated, and can be deactivated so that it is only a hilt. The Sun Sword's energy blade can deflect other energy attacks as well as magical ones, can cut through nearly anything and can disrupt magical spells and effects. The Sun Sword is magically linked to Thundarr and as such, only he can use it; however, this link can be disrupted.[1]

Bob Ridgely was Thundarr's voice actor, frequently uttering such pronouncements as "Demon dogs!" and "Lords of Light!" Princess Ariel was played by Nellie Bellflower and Henry Corden voiced Ookla.

Comic book writer-artist Jack Kirby worked on the production design for the show. While many people believe that Kirby was the primary designer of the show (mainly due to his similarly themed Kamandi: The Last Boy On Earth), the main characters were in fact designed by fellow comic book writer-artist Alex Toth, who also designed the popular character Space Ghost for Saturday morning television. Toth, however, was unavailable to continue working on the show, so most of the wizards and other villains and secondary characters that appear on the show were designed by Kirby. He was brought onto the show at the recommendation of comic writer Steve Gerber and comics and animation veteran Mark Evanier, who realized that the same imagination that produced Kamandi could contribute significantly to the series. Indeed, the evil wizard Gemini, the only repeating villain on the show, resembles Darkseid, an infamous Kirby villain.

The show itself was actually the creation of Steve Gerber, creator of Marvel Comics' Howard the Duck. The name Ookla actually comes from UCLA. Gerber and friend Martin Pasko were having dinner in the Westwood area one night during the time Gerber was writing the bible for the series. Gerber commented to Pasko that he hadn't yet decided upon a name for the Wookiee-like character the network insisted be added to the series, over Gerber's objections. As the two walked past the gate to the UCLA campus, Pasko quipped, "Why don't you name him 'UCLA'?" Pasko later became one of several screenwriters also known for their work in comics, such as Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway, to contribute to the show. After writing several scripts, singly and in collaboration with Gerber, Pasko became a story editor on the second season. Other writers included Buzz Dixon and Mark Jones.[citation needed]

The opening narration to the show is as follows:

The year: 1994. From out of space comes a runaway planet, hurtling between the Earth and the Moon, unleashing cosmic destruction! Man's civilization is cast in ruin!
Two thousand years later, Earth is reborn...
A strange new world rises from the old: a world of savagery, super science, and sorcery. But one man bursts his bonds to fight for justice! With his companions Ookla the Mok and Princess Ariel, he pits his strength, his courage, and his fabulous Sunsword against the forces of evil.
He is Thundarr, the Barbarian!

[edit] Ookla the Mok

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Ookla the Mok is a character in the Ruby-Spears cartoon Thundarr the Barbarian, created by Steve Gerber. Ookla is a humanoid, lion-like creature with yellow eyes (which, due to the poor quality of the animation, often switched between pupiled and pupilless) and fangs. He is unable to communicate with words, and the range of his vocal repertoire consists primarily of the sound "Argh." It is obvious, however, that Ookla has personality; he has been shown to be brave, compassionate and emphatic, although not very bright in matters of human society.

Ookla, along with Thundarr, was enslaved in the court of the wizard Sabian until Sabian's stepdaughter Princess Ariel helped them escape prior to the series' beginning. Both Thundarr and Ariel seem to understand Ookla's speech with little difficulty.

Ookla bears a more-than-passing resemblance to the Wookiee characters of Star Wars fame, or that of a Bigfoot. A further correlation between the typical Wookiee and Ookla was found in Ookla's choice of weapon; he used a bow, much as Chewbacca was fond of brandishing his bowcaster. Ookla is but one member of an entire Mok race, about which little is known save that they fear and hate water. Presumably the Moks' ancestors "evolved" from humans and/or animals mutated between 1994 and the series' timeframe, although whether through scientific or magical means is unclear. As Ookla's friend, Thundarr knows more about Mok culture than most humans of his era, much as Han Solo is familiar with Wookiee culture and can understand Chewbacca's speech.

For transport, Ookla rode a vaguely reptilian, quasi-insectoid animal called an "Equort," a rough analogue to Thundarr and Princess Ariel's horses. Interestingly enough, a hexapod simulacrum of the Equorts is seen as Samurai Jack's steed in that program's premiere movie.

The origin of his name is derived from the creator's relationship with the college UCLA, which became the character's name- Ookla.

The 2005 Homestar Runner Halloween Special featured the Poopsmith dressed as Ookla.

[edit] Princess Ariel

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Princess Ariel
Image:Parielpic.jpg‎
First appearance Secret of the Black Pearl
Last appearance Prophecy of Peril
Cause/reason End of series
Created by Steve Gerber
Portrayed by Nellie Bellflower
Information
Occupation Sorceress, adventurer

[edit] Background

Not much was revealed about Ariel's history before she met Thundarr save that she was the stepdaughter of an evil wizard named Sabian and that she learned knowledge of magic and the Earth's history from his library. In the episode "Battle of The Barbarians" Ariel recognizes their location as Chinatown in San Francisco and states that her own ancestors may have lived in a place much like this, thus putting forth the notion that her ancestors were of Chinese heritage. The titular barbarian was once a slave of the evil wizard Sabian, but he was set free by Princess Ariel. It is also thought that she gave Thundarr his principal weapon, the sunsword. It was never revealed exactly where she was a princess. At times she shows romantic feelings toward Thundarr, though he never outwardly returns them.

[edit] Special Abilities

Princess Ariel is a powerful and intelligent sorceress whose style and versatility in the use of Thundarr-verse magic was only surpassed by her almost encyclopedic knowledge of Earth’s past, which she read about in her stepfather's library.

Some feats of sorcery she demonstrated on the cartoon were the ability to create solid shapes and forms of solid magic (bridges, shields, protective domes) which she could use for a number of effects (like her mystic "attack spheres" she uses to confuse her foes or shock them into unconsciousness). She was also able to magically produce light and heat, reassemble and/or reanimate inanimate objects or ancient machinery, manipulate the basic elements, and produce formidably powerful energy blasts. She was also able to reproduce a wizard's spell simply by watching them do it (such as when she hypnotized one of the evil sorceress Striya's warrior women after having seen a similar spell cast by Mindok, though she could have known about it before).

In the Thundarr-verse, an evil wizard/sorceress' reign of terror and power was based upon how well he/she was able to combine science (mostly left-overs from the past) with the magical arts. Some relied more heavily on science and others more on magic (or mystic items). Ariel was definitely a more magically adept type magician (though she had proven on many occasions to be able to use her magic to reassemble/reanimate ancient technology and machinery). She was not a powerhouse mystic like Gemini, Skullos or Mindok the Mind Menace, but the levels of her spells were very diversified and unique. As such, she was able to hold her own in battle against wizards of their level.

She also had a quick wit and an answer to everything.

[edit] Episodes and locations

[edit] Season 1 (1980–1981)

  1. "Secret of the Black Pearl"—New York, New York (Manhattan, of which Thundarr refers to as "Man-hatt")
  2. "Harvest of Doom"—Chichen Itza, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico
  3. "Mindok the Mind Menace"—Cape Canaveral, Florida
  4. "Raiders of the Abyss"—Seattle, Washington
  5. "Treasure of the Moks"—Norfolk, Virginia
  6. "Attack of the Amazon Women"—Mount Rushmore, South Dakota
  7. "The Brotherhood of Night"—Washington, D.C.
  8. "Challenge of the Wizards"—Las Vegas, Nevada
  9. "Valley of the Man Apes"—San Fernando Valley, California
  10. "Stalker from the Stars"—Denver, Colorado
  11. "Portal Into Time"—San Antonio, Texas
  12. "Battle of the Barbarians"—San Francisco, California (Chinatown)
  13. "Den of the Sleeping Demon"—San Jose, California

[edit] Season 2 (1981–1982)

  1. "Wizard Wars"—St. Louis, Missouri
  2. "Fortress of Fear"—La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles
  3. "Island of the Body Snatchers"—London, U.K.
  4. "City of Evil"—Boston, Massachusetts
  5. "Last Train to Doomsday"—Central America
  6. "Master of the Stolen Sunsword"—Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, California
  7. "Trial by Terror"—Atlanta, Georgia
  8. "Prophecy of Peril"—unknown

[edit] Voices

[edit] Credits

  • Executive Producers: Joe Ruby, Ken Spears
  • Produced by: Jerry Eisenberg
  • Directed by: Charles A. Nichols, John Kimball, Rudy Larriva
  • Story Direction: Kurt Connor, Gordon Kent, Dick Sebast, Hank Tucker, Doug Wildey
  • Supervising Story Director: John Dorman
  • Location Director: Bill Reed
  • Voices: Robert Ridgely, Nellie Bellflower, Henry Corden, Stacy Keach, Sr., Keye Luke, Joan Van Ark, Shepard Menkin, Alan Oppenheimer, Julie McWhirter
  • Voice Director: Alan Dinehart
  • Art & Stories Design: Alex Toth, Jack Kirby, Mike Ploog, Doug Wildey, Gil Kane
  • Character Design: Jack Kirby, Alex Toth, Jerry Eisenberg
  • Models: Alan Huck, Michael Mitchell, Edgar R. Saller
  • Model Supervisor: Ric Gonzales
  • Layout Production Unit Supervisor: John Ahern
  • Layout: Hal La Ferre, Margaret Harrison, Debra Pugh, Greg Garcia, Karl Hepworth, Richard Graham, Guy Smith, Marcia Bales, Charles Hards, Stuart Heimdal, Dave Sharp, Doug Vandergrift, Ray Smith, Lyle Bends, Keith Sargeant, Boyd Kirkland, Elaine K. Hultgren
  • Layout Supervisor: Larry Huber
  • Background Layout Supervisor: David High
  • Background Layout: Kathleen Vaslett, John F. Guerin, Bruce Zick
  • Color Key: Bunny Semones
  • Animation Stock: Sandra Benenati
  • Cel Service: Jim Stock
  • Titles: John Dorman
  • Lettering: Robert Schaefer
  • Graphics: Iraj Paran, Tom Wogatzke
  • Production Controller: Jerry Goldman
  • Production Supervisor: Natalie Shirpser
  • Assistants to the Executive Producers: Jodi Berman, Janie Fields
  • Assistant to the Producer: Erika Grossbart
  • Unit Auiditor: Henriette Pacile
  • Production Assistants: Madlyn Goldberg, Loretta High, Kayte Kuch
  • Studio Manager: Jeff Cooke
  • Music by: Dean Elliott
  • Supervising Film Editor: Chip Yaras
  • Effects Editors: Kevin Spears, Karla McGregor
  • Music Editor: Mark Green
  • Post Production: Lenore Nelson
  • Negative Cutting: Mary Nelson
  • Camera: Take One
  • Laboratory: C.F.I.
  • Recording: Heider Scoring Services
  • Dubbing: T.V. Recorders

© 1980 Ruby-Spears Productions, Inc., A Filmways Company. All Rights Reserved

[edit] Allusions in other fiction

  • A Cartoon Network promotional bumper features Thundarr, Fred Flintstone, and Chicken (of Cow and Chicken fame) supposedly commuting to "work" at Cartoon Network, and trying to find a parking spot in Fred's foot-powered car. Another features Thundarr and company with their voices dubbed over by toddlers speaking gibberish. Still another, from the Screwey, Ain't It? series, features Ookla the Mok repeatedly bashing a giant squid.
  • Thundarr appears in the Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law episode "The Dabba Don" voiced by Doug Pries. He was shown with brown hair and as a goon even though he wasn't a Hanna-Barbera character like the others.
  • The NEN parody show Meltdown devoted an entire half-hour episode to an animated parody of Thundarr, which itself contained countless parodies and ribs at '80s cartoons. The episode is most likely from 1995 since the outdated 1994 year cited in the opening narration is used as a constant running gag ("Last year, from out of space..."). The parody's premise had Thundarr wandering a post-apocalyptic Earth searching for root beer; during the course of the show, Thundarr battles and beheads an obvious He-Man knock-off character who insults his haircut, explores the ruins of a train similar to the USA Cartoon Express, and fights a wizard who wants to turn Thundarr, Ariel, and Ookla's horses into food in a Soylent Green type plot. Any mentions of a "lost episode" of Thundarr are probably actually references to this Meltdown version. The parody episode's intro was later re-used as one of the rotating segments before Meltdown commercial bumpers, but the episode seemed to be absent from post-'90s airings of the show (since it was a parody is free of any copyright issues with the original Thundarr).
  • An episode of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends shows "Ookla, Ariel, we ride!" on a list of catch-phrases.
  • In the episode "Good Duck Hunting" of Duck Dodgers, Duck Dodgers proudly displays a Thundarr the Barbarian poster featuring Thundarr, Ookla and Ariel in his ship.
  • In 2005, on the cartoon website Homestar Runner, as part of that year's Halloween cartoon, The Poopsmith dressed as Ookla as his Halloween costume.
  • The Barenaked Ladies song "Michael Brennan" mentions Ookla the Mok.
  • The Rapper Sir-Mix-A-Lot in the song 'Attack On The Stars' likens himself to 'Thundarr, a Barbaric-like Warrior'.
  • There is a nerdrock/nerdcore band called Ookla the Mok.
  • The Computer role-playing game Wizardry has a brief once-only appearance of the trio on the final level.[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ The episode "Master of the Stolen Sunsword" details events where the Sunsword needs to be recharged, and viewers learn it becomes linked to whoever does the charging.
  2. ^ "Wizardry - Mook trivia, you'll be surprised!" (HTML). http://www.igs.net/~eric/wizardry/mook.htm. Retrieved on 2008-06-17. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thundarr_the_Barbarian"
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