THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN: Blu-ray (Ruby-Spears Productions, 1981-83) Warner Archive
In the early part of 1981, American comic book writer,
Steve Gerber proposed a half-hour animated series to executives at ABC, ironically
skewed toward a more ‘mature’ audience, while squarely aimed at the Saturday morning
kiddie sect, and, with the very adult-themed prospect of representing what
would occur in a post-apocalyptic world, circa 3994. Indeed, the popular
zeitgeist of Gerber’s generation firmly believed in the possibility our very
existence was precariously teetering on the brink of disaster – a perspective
mirrored in virtually all forms of popular entertainment, except cartoons at
that time. Although short-lived, Thundarr The Barbarian (1981-83) has
been a cult favorite ever since it premiered; the story of 3 survivors of this
horrific ‘end of times’ scenario, battling a rich assortment of evil sorcerers
and their bizarre cavalcade of robotic cyborgs and reptilian henchmen, a craze
in adult-themed movies, ostensibly kickstarted by Star Wars, but equally
owed to the public’s enduring fascination with J.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the
Rings.
Most people today assume part of Gerber’s inspiration
also hailed from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Conan the Barbarian (1982). But
actually, the theatrical release of that sword and scandal quickie was still a
good year and a half away when Gerber entered ABC’s executive boardroom to pitch
his project. If anything, the visualization of Conan owes a great deal to Thundarr,
not the other way around. Thundarr the Barbarian was unlike anything
Saturday morning ‘cartoons’ had seen. This was, perhaps, part of its intrigue,
but also much of its problem to gain a toe-hold in the programming schedules of
all 3 major networks, then dominated by the franchises of Hanna-Barbera.
Indeed, the series came to fruition with the aid of two veteran HB alumni - sound
editors, Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, who had departed to form their own company in
1977, following their contributions of HB’s wildly popular and enduring Scooby
Doo, Where Are You? franchise. With its base of operation in Burbank, California,
and an offshoot in Rome, Italy, Ruby-Spears Productions – originally, part of
Filmways – was given a leg up by ABC president, Fred Silverman, who sought to
give Hanna-Barbera a real run for their money.
Indeed, Silverman believed Hanna-Barbera’s virtual domination over all
three networks’ Saturday morning programming had suffered from a dearth of quality
– the company, merely churning out ‘filler’ that lacked the spark of creativity
best exhibited in their earlier works.
Thus, Ruby-Spears was entrusted with the creation of
original content, in the hopes to steadily replace some of the long-standing HB
series in ABC’s current Saturday morning line-up. Alas, and despite their very
best efforts, virtually none of these franchises had much staying power. Of their
many attempts, only the 1983 reboot of Alvin and the Chipmunks lasted
for more than 2 seasons. As for Ruby-Spears: after a series of corporate sell-offs
and mergers, the company was officially absorbed into oblivion in 1991 and
shuttered in 1996. Perhaps even more ironic, its original cofounders would die
barely 3 months apart; Ruby, on Aug. 26th, 2020 - age 87, and Spears
on Nov. 6 - age 82. With only a thumbnail
sketch of ideas centered around a basic theme for a series about ‘Tarzan in
Outer Space’, Thundarr the Barbarian began to take form under the
auspices of comic book writer/artist, Jack Kirby, its 3 main characters fleshed
out by fellow writer/artist, Alex Toth, leaving Kirby to design the wild
assortment of evil-doers. Electing to create an animal-esque sidekick for our
hero, cribbing heavily on the Han Solo/Chewbacca alliance in the Star Wars
movies, Gerber and his good friend, Canadian comic book writer, Martin Pasko
were having dinner in Westwood when Gerber confided he was having a problem
naming the ‘Wookie-esque’ creature. As the pair strolled past UCLA’s campus,
Pasko reportedly joked, “Why not call him Oo-kla?” – a phonetically
warped pronunciation of UCLA. The idea
immediately clicked, and Pasko was to later contribute his formidable skills on
several solo episodes before becoming the show’s full-time story editor in
Season 2.
Psychologically, the emergence of Thundarr the
Barbarian dovetailed into the mainstream consciousness after a lengthy fermentation
of ideas, then, most recently expressed by artists, Boris Vallejo, and, Frank
Frazetta. Nicknamed ‘the godfather of fantasy art’, Frazetti’s startling
depictions of tautly muscular men, made ruthlessly attractive, stripped naked,
except for a fur-lined loin cloth, and toting various implements of war
(swords, shields, pick-axes, etc.) represented a form or earthy, raw and
exaggeratedly rugged masculinity that was as much sexually desirable as it proved
virtually unattainable in the modern world. Similarly, the Peruvian-born, Vallejo’s fantastic
images of hyper-muscular men, and occasionally women, lent an impressive air of
eroticism to many a muscle-mag and sci-fi calendar, typified by depictions of
the ancient world, steeped in sword and sorcery, gods and monsters, borrowing
heavily on Greek mythology. In some ways, Thundarr is an
extension of that bygone virility, arguably, that never was, and never could be,
though nevertheless very much appealing to the teenage male, then struggling to
find his identity while, at the same time, severe the tether to childhood and
become a ‘real’ man. Thundarr also owes something of its creation
to the then newly resurrected bodybuilding craze, exemplified by the emergence
of Arnold Schwarzenegger as the movie’s latest ‘action star’ – a new kind of robust
physicality for Hollywood, not seen on the screen since the era of Steve Reeves.
In one key aspect, Joe Ruby’s take on ‘the
barbarian’ differed from Frazetta’s – the latter, anchored to a rich
tradition of ancestral figures of masculine strength, while Ruby perceived
teleporting this stoic class of rough-hewn specimen into the future. This being
the earth, post its devastating apocalypse, hints of its ancient and primitive
past also emerged, interpolated with the ‘new’ technologies since given rise to
destroy the last vestiges of mankind. In creating the series, Ruby came up with
a fairly progressive trio of ‘defenders’; Thundarr (voiced by Robert Ridgley),
to represent the thrust of physical strength, Princess Ariel (Nellie Bellflower),
to usher in spiritual mysticism and channel the powers of the supernatural as a
force for good, and Ookla, the Mok (Henry Corden), a leonine humanoid with protruding
fangs and amber eyes. The show’s backstory had Ookla and Thundarr enslaved by
the sorcerer, Sabian until his stepdaughter, Princess Ariel liberated them to
stand against his evil. Of these three freedom fighters, Ookla is perhaps the bravest
– or rather, the most blindly determined, often placing himself in direct peril
while his cohorts take the longer – but safer – route to victory. Corden’s work
on the series extended beyond supplying Ookla with his vast assortment of
grunts and growls. Indeed, he also gave voice to the arch villain of the piece,
Gemini, as well as characters, Vortak, Skullus, Captain Willows and a mutant deputy.
In retrospect, one of the most daring and dark aspects
of the show was to open each episode with a prologue of the earth’s annihilation,
as from a narrow collision with a comet, to decimate our natural ozone layer,
resulting in a crumbling moon, and illustrations of all manner of natural
disasters, including tidal waves and volcanic eruptions, effectively killing
off most of humanity in one fell swoop of cosmic obliteration. From this somber
present-age Armageddon, we advance to the evolution of Thundarr, circa 3994
A.D., traversing jungle-like wastelands, ironically, still strewn with decaying
remnants from the 20th century – abandoned skyscrapers, contorted
wreckages of planes, cars, ships, etc. – the metropolis of New York, with its
prominently featured Statue of Liberty, harking all the way back to the grim
finale of Franklin J. Schaffner’s 1968 sci-fi classic, Planet of the Apes,
in which that movie’s hero (played by Charlton Heston) discovers too late, the
barren badlands he has been desperately trying to escape are, in fact, the only
fragments left behind of mankind’s span on the earth. In this post-apocalyptic biosphere, dominion is
given to the sorcerers, evil wizards who reign by fear, savagery and
supernatural powers bent to the dark side, and, whose ruins constitute the once
proud bastions of New York, L.A, Vegas, Seattle, the Badlands, Mount Rushmore,
Denver, Atlanta, Boston, San Antonio and its Alamo, San Francisco, Washington,
D.C., Cape Canaveral, and the Grand Canyon.
Occasionally, we were also shown remnants of Mexico and London. Enter
Thundarr, a robust physical specimen, and his cohorts, the sultry Princess Ariel
and Ookla. This triumvirate roams freely on horseback, seemingly on a vision
quest to rid ‘new earth’ of its wicked wizards.
The villains in Thundarr the Barbarian are a
curious lot, their conquest, seemingly, wrapped in a bizarre blend of antiquated
mind-control, exorcised on lesser mutant species to do their bidding, but also a
revival of technologies from the pre-catastrophe ravaged world. In addition to
the sorcerer sect, Thundarr also battles invaders from within and without - The
Brotherhood of Night (werewolves capable of transforming others to their like
by mere touch), and, the Stalker from The Stars (a voracious and malignant cosmic
vampire). The show also depicts pseudo-intellectual human/animal hybrid species
– the Groundlings and the Carocs, based on rats and crocodiles respectively, a verbal
hawk and several pig-like mutants, fire-spouting whales, a massive python with
a grizzly bear's head, and, mutated dragonflies and rabbits. Thundarr’s only
defense is his ‘Sunsword’ – projecting blade-like rays of energy to thwart any
magic spell or curse being cast when galvanized, but also able to function as a
basic implement of war. Interestingly, the hero of Michael Halperin’s cartoon
franchise, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983-85) sports a
similar weapon. The character design of He-man himself, takes Thundarr’s
musculature to the nth degree, but otherwise, retains much of Thundarr’s
qualities and characteristics, so much as to be considered a fairly transparent
rip-off in retrospect.
Thundarr himself comes from a long line of fantasy figures
of masculine prowess, perhaps first popularized by Edgar Rice Burrough’s Tarzan,
the Ape Man. It is rather fascinating that, despite centuries of evolution,
the template for this curious and enduring sexual attractiveness in male heroes
continues to stem from such depictions of exemplary physical specimens whose intellect
is second to their might. Thundarr is no dummy. But he does place the
importance of survival on his physical attributes, respecting Princess Ariel’s more
worldly command of sorcery only when his own flexing bicep won’t get the job
done. Thundarr even mimics Johnny Weissmuller’s Tarzan with his primitive yelp,
“Aaaaa-Hee!” Of the 3 cohorts,
Princess Ariel is the least clearly defined. The origins of her regal stature
are never revealed, nor do we gain any insight into the tutelage that allows
her to effortlessly conjure archways and bridges, employed for escape, create bomb-like
spheres, levitate objects, or create a magical forcefield to protect her from
advancing threats. Like Thundarr, Ariel’s character design is framed by the ‘acceptable’
confines for feminine courage, her hour-glass figure, busty and brunette, poured
into knee-high boots, with wrist bracelets and a tiara, vaguely reminiscent of
Jane Fonda’s super-kitschy heroine, Barbarella (1968).
In the show’s debut episode, Thundarr and his
companions escort a man toting a black pearl, seemingly an all-powerful jewel
to protect against the Janus-faced Gemini and his Groundlings. Much of what
follows in the franchise is a variation on this episode. Hence, Thundarr and company
intercept ‘death flowers’ – paralysis-inducing plants designed to wipe out the
remaining humans. In other episodes, they do battle against Mindok, a disembodied
head with a thirst to kill, Morag – another evil wizard, Captain Kordon, Queen
of the River Pirates, in search of the Mok’s fabulous wealth, Queen Diona and
her oddly amphibious Amazons – half human/half shark – the aforementioned
Brotherhood of Night, Sholow – a warlock who, along with contestants, Basim,
Skorpos and Chom are locked in a battle to possess the Helmet of Power, Simius –
an ape man building a bionic gorilla, Crom and his flying robot drones, and, a
sect of non-descript alien vampires.
Although some of these episodes illustrate a genius for creating
effective and menacing villains, always key to the success of any great
action/adventure series, by mid-season, it becomes rather clear the modus
operandi of the franchise is to tell the same story over and over again, with
the oddities of these evil-doers piling up. The first episode to suggest some of
the steam in this formula is wearing thin involves Kublai – yet another wizard,
this one seeking the Golden Scepter of the Yantzee. In ‘new earth’ the wizard
class are a prevalent bunch indeed. There’s Judag – an ex-slave come sorcerer
plotting to awaken a dormant demon, Skullus – who rules over an oil refinery,
the multi-eyed, Lord Argoth, desiring Ariel for his bride, Circe – the witch,
in a Bermuda Triangle styled mystery (and one of the few refreshing bright
spots from Season 2), Sarott and his miniaturized City of Thieves, ruled by
Vortak, the mummy-esque, Janus and his hawk mutants, Yando – a pseudo wizard
with aspirations to possess Thundarr’s Sunsword, Artemus and his Council of
Wizards, and, in the series finale, Vashtarr and the Crystal of Prophecy fortelling
of three women, Maya, Cinda and Valerie Storm, who unite to destroy him.
Thundarr the Barbarian gets top marks
for managing to keep the villain class intriguing. But the formulaic quality of
its storytelling does get the better of series long before it was cancelled in
the spring of 1983. I was only eleven when the series debuted and can remember
how exciting it seemed then, especially as it stood in stark relief from the
usual kiddie fare on Saturday mornings.
Undoubtedly, the series appealed to teenagers as well as children. The
animation is typical of the vintage that spawned it, cost-cutting with
endlessly looped action and backgrounds, not altogether ‘cleverly’ masked. In 1983, I remember turning on my television
set to suddenly realize, with a modicum of disappointment, Thundarr the
Barbarian was no longer a part of my viewing experience. But actually, in
retrospect – and from the vantage of a 50-yr.-old adult male looking back on
the franchise in review now, I think Thundarr left the airwaves just in
the nick of time. Had ABC kept it going, radical changes would have had to
occur to reinvigorate it. Perhaps, the writers could have explored more of the
origin stories of its 3 central characters, or involved a burgeoning romance
between Thundarr and Princess Ariel. Given our present age in super hero worship,
and also our obsession with ‘end of world’ scenarios, exorcised ad nauseam on
our movie screens, it remains a genuine head-scratcher, why no one has thought
to do a big screen ‘live action’ reboot. Then again, perhaps it is a minor
blessing too!
Thundarr the Barbarian arrives in a 3-disc
Blu-ray release from the Warner Archive (WAC) sporting impressive image quality.
WAC has put some considerable effort into remastering and restoring these
episodes for hi-def. While minute ‘baked in’ speckling endures, much of the age-related
artifacts have been eradicated (especially, when comparing this to the DVD
release from 2010) and colors are pronouncedly more robust. Contrast is
excellent, and the quality (or lack thereof) of the original animation is on
full display here. So, nothing to complain about. The DTS 1.0 mono audio is in
keeping with the vintage of this release and sounds wonderfully dated. A real
time capsule for 80’s vintage animation. Best of all, this release contains the
informative documentary from 2010, Lords of Light: The Thundarr the Barbarian
Story, featuring interviews with Joe Ruby, Chuck Sheetz, Ken Spears, Christopher
Vogler and Charles Zembillas. At 22 mins., this doc is comic nirvana for Thundarr
devotees and is a ‘must have/must own’ in its own right. Bottom line: Thundarr
the Barbarian holds a special place in the history of 80’s animated TV
serials for its unique concept and formidable aspirations to do something
different and step outside of the creative box that held ‘cartoons’ in low
regard for the cute and cuddly sect in kiddie entertainment. The series is
hardly perfect, but it is noteworthy. And for that reason alone, it belongs on
every animation lover’s shelf in hi-def. Highly recommended.
FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)
3
VIDEO/AUDIO
3.5
EXTRAS
1
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