"Dungeons & Dragons" Cartoon (1983-1986) - Thoughts/Memories?

Dread

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The early 1980's were of course an interesting time for American cartoons. Cable was still a rare luxury to many households, and network TV offered much variety for animation not only on Saturday mornings, but weekday mornings and afternoons. Perhaps the biggest shows as of 1983 were "HE-MAN: MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE", "SPIDER-MAN AND HIS AMAZING FRIENDS", and "THE SMURFS". Other cartoons on around this time were "INSPECTOR GADGET" and "HEATHCLIFF".

Many other shows associated with the 1980's, such as "G.I. JOE", "TRANSFORMERS", "GALAXY RANGERS", "THUNDERCATS", "C.O.P.S.", "BRAVESTAR", and so on were at least another year or more away. Even "MUPPET BABIES", "THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS", "TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES", and "DUCKTALES" were years off.

Add into the mix "DUNGEONS & DRAGONS", a collaboration between TSR and Marvel Productions (yes, the same Marvel Productions that was behind many cartoons in the 80's), as well as CBS. It was naturally licensed from the tabletop pencil & paper role playing game, which at the time was only 9 years old (and had gained a cult appeal). It would go on to air 27 episodes across three seasons, although the first season had the most episodes (13) and the third had the least (six), with a proper series finale written but never produced. There was a toy line for the show (what didn't have toys back then), but it wasn't as expansive as one would believe. At the time the show would gain controversy, as the game it was based on, by knee-jerk Christian groups for "demonic/magical" themes, and so on. In 1985, the National Coalition on Animated Violence deemed it the most violent cartoon on network TV. Meanwhile, adult and "mature" D&D fans of the time and later on probably deemed the show light and fluffy compared to the game it was based on.

But was it really all that bad? In truth, after watching the series after being curious about it (I was 4 when it was canceled and while the show did air in syndication for many years, including briefly on FoxKids networks from 1999-2002 and later on Jetix via Toon Disney, I didn't watch much of it as a kid), and after having searched the TV forums for a topic with this in the headline (if there has been one, it's been over a year), I've come to many conclusions about it. In many ways while the show does bare the name D&D, and also features monsters, locations, and some character classes and powers that the game had (at the time), in many other ways it is it's own unique fantasy adventure. The writing talent assembled for the show had some esteemed company. This included Michael Reaves (best known for writing on "GARGOYLES", "BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES" and "TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES"), Paul Dini ("TINY TOON ADVENTURES", "BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES", Detective Comics), and even Steve Gerber (writer of DEFENDERS and creator of Howard the Duck and Man-Thing; in fact one episode he wrote has a Man-Thing like mud monster in it). Many of the episodes were written by Jeffrey Scott, who also worked on "MUPPET BABIES", "TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES", "THE LITTLES", "CAPTAIN N: THE GAME MASTER" and "JAMES BOND JR." afterward. Several other writers and editors were involved, as were the original creators of the game. In fact, several character classes and abilities were added to the game after the show debuted in later editions.

While there was never any "origin" episode, the premise was recapped in the opening animation (rather than having an official theme song, even if there was instrumental music) to every episode. Six children (mostly teenagers) are riding a "Dungeons & Dragons" roller coaster at an amusement park, which then zaps them to another dimension called "the Realm". They fall from the sky and are immediately clad in strange clothing, and immediately beset by an adorable baby unicorn (named, amazingly, "Uni") before being attacked by Tiamet, the five headed dragon. Fortunately, the mysterious dwarf, Dungeon Master (named after the person who runs the gaming sessions) bestows each kid with a magical weapon and a "title" to fend off the danger. Subsequent adventures involve Dungeon Master giving his six charges some sort of adventure, often in the form of strange riddles, that will somehow lead to a portal back to their home world (the "real world"), although usually something always happens to prevent this, GILLIGAN'S ISLAND style.

The children are Hank the Ranger (armed with an energy bow that is more like a Green Lantern ring than a bow, as it can do damn near anything the plot requires), Diana the Acrobat (armed with an energy bo-staff), Eric the Cavalier (armed with a magic shield), Presto the Wizard (armed with a magic hat), Sheila the Thief (owner of an invisible cloak), and her 8-9 year old brother, Bobby the Barbarian (armed of a magic club). Uni the Unicorn can actually teleport once per day (even with others), but rarely does this and mostly serves as occasional support and standard 1980's pet character (in the tradition of Snarf or Ms. Lions). Oddly, Presto is the only one of them who doesn't have a "normal" name, as if his parents one day imagined that he's be made into a wizard. Their mortal energy is Venger, who is sort of a dark sorcerer/vampire who has conquered much of the Realm, has no end of Orc armies or supernatural minions, has functional bat-wings and literally rides a nightmare. Venger seeks their weapons so that he can finally overpower his only rival in the Realm, Tiamet the Dragon (as well as to boost his own power level further). While, ironically, Venger could have succeeded many times in his quest had he simply allowed the kids to go home, his thirst for revenge upon them for prior defeats as well as his own cruelty prevent this.

The show had some top quality voice acting talent as well. Willie Aames, best known as Buddy on "CHARLES IN CHARGE" and Tommy on "EIGHT IS ENOUGH" (and later on, as "BIBLEMAN") voices Hank. Adam Rich, also from "EIGHT IS ENOUGH" (Nick Bradford) plays Presto. Don Most, Ralph Malph himself from "HAPPY DAYS", is given endless one liners and comedy gold as Eric. Katie Leigh, who would go on to have dozens of animation credits from "DUCKTALES" to "DARKWING DUCK" to "TOTALLY SPIES", plays the shy Sheila. Veteran character actor Sidney Miller III played Dungeon Master. Frank Welker, from "TRANSFORMERS" (Megatron) to "SPIDER-MAN AND HIS AMAZING FRIENDS" (Iceman) and of course "SCOOBY DOO" (Fred), voiced Uni as well as scores of monsters and various side characters. Finally among the notable cast is Peter Cullen, the voice of Optimus Prime and Eeyore himself, playing the arch villain Venger. That's right, the voice of one of the greatest heroes of the 80's was playing the heavy here, and damned if he didn't do a terrific job. Bob Holt, best known as the voice of The Hulk in the 1981 "INCREDIBLE HULK" cartoon, played Venger's minion, Shadow-Demon. But in truth everyone on the show did a solid job.

Of course, there is a major caveat. Despite a lot of innovation for the time, this still was very much a show of the 1980's. Despite the knee-jerk reactions of soccer moms, there is very little actual violence or combat in the show. Much like in many shows at the time, direct hits with weapons are rare unless the character is completely invulnerable. No one ever says "die" on camera. And naturally, while Uni the Unicorn is never implied to be the star of the show, as many pet sidekicks at the time were (nor is she as major a presence as many other pet characters, such as Snarf or Slimer), there are perhaps more close-up shots and noise effects from her to annoy many viewers. As such, if one isn't at least 25 years old and at least remembers and appreciates what cartoons in the 1980's were like, this show may just be hammy dross for you. But if you do remember and appreciate cartoons from the 1980's, their strengths and limitations, than this show actually stands out among many of the pack for the early to mid 1980's. While there are animation errors and some simplistic animation (present in many shows of the time), there are also moments in the action where things are quite fluid. The musical score and the background scenery shots are often incredible. But what actually kept me watching one episode after the other was the writing, more so than the adventures or the action, even if they usually were entertaining.

While the characters can often fall into archetype, they play well off each other and interact well. Hank is the leader, and perhaps the dullest of the lot (as many leaders were at the time, as they had the least flaws), but reliable in his role. Diana, as the only non-white character in the squad, is very much the second in command, often the most rational, reasonable, and physically capable of the team (having been an Olympic athlete in the real world, the daughter of an astronomer and the sister of a pilot) - yet unlike Hank, is also more able to offer a witty one liner. The other characters are perhaps more interesting. Sheila is easily the most compassionate, emotional, and shy member, which makes her ability to become invisible ironic. Her little brother Bobby doesn't like being doted on by Sheila and charges head-first against any threat, big or small. You would imagine these siblings bicker all the time for comedy or drama, and you'd be wrong; beyond a few instances, they actually get along quite well, and obviously love each other; which even today, is rare in cartoon siblings. Sheila is very much the doting older sister to an energetic little brother, but Bobby is very quick to defend her against anyone. Uni, in fact, serves her role as being younger and weaker than Bobby, and thus the character Bobby protects the most. Presto is a typical nerd, blind without his glasses and not very confident, with a magical hat that is just as likely to save the day as it is to manifest something worthless. He also has to use incantations to create spells, which he seems to have to come up with on the fly (and as such, many of them are funny, or intentionally repetitive). Finally, we have Eric, who is either the character you love, or love to hate. A spoiled rich kid at home, Eric is a complainer, whiner, and often a coward who wants to go home the most. He is also the comic relief, often the victim of many pratfalls or spells for the sake of comedy, as well as the usual one who makes witty comments about the cliches of the series, such as guest characters or the Dungeon Master's riddles. Michael Reaves has admitted that Eric was created because 80's cartoons at the time were often encouraged to teach children to "go with the flow" and thus often had morals in which "the complainer is always wrong" (in other words, to always cave to peer pressure; at least unless drugs are involved). Despite this, Eric is probably the character who develops the most over the course of the series, and the fact that he is a coward and a whiner often make his feats of courage or heroism more of a treat and a surprise (especially to Eric).

While quite a few episodes of the first season were hit or miss, the show really got into gear in the second and third seasons. The characters interacted well off each other, and all of them got moments to shine and develop. While there were limits to what 80's cartoons could depict, the series rarely made light of the dangers the kids were in. It was always implied if not demonstrated that the kids could wind up killed or enslaved if they failed in their adventure of the week. It was very common to see one of Venger's many slave camps of whatever village one of his generals was commanding, or to see Venger punish someone with a fate worse than death (such as transforming them into something horrible, or burying them under the earth, forever). One episode demonstrates all of the fears of the children in vivid, even graphic detail (such as Sheila's fear of being alone, or Diana's fear of growing old and feeble). Half the cast go through some star-crossed romance that tugs at the heart-strings. For a show religious groups often lambasted for supernatural themes, it's morals often encouraged unity, courage, honor, and selflessness. Many times the kids could have had a free ride home, but their desire to not allow someone in the Realm to suffer if they left prevented it. Even Eric was once willing to abandon a chance to go home in order to protect someone, and aid his friends (much as his friends once threw away a home trip to save Eric). In perhaps the show's most intense episode, the kids even considered killing Venger to be rid of him once and for all, a moral dilemma which was incredibly rare in 80's animation.

The show also had a sense of a real Realm with rules and consequences, with things not being cut and dry. It is made obvious quite soon that the Dungeon Master could send the kids home at any time, but has some grand task for them to complete first, and knows far more than he ever implies. The six kids are not the first, or the last, people from "the real world" or others who got sent into "the Realm". The magical weapons that the kids use do not have infinite power, and are powerless in "the real world" (as well as twice as powerful in the dimension of "the Dragon's Graveyard" where the weapons originate). The Realm was full of horrible monsters and cruel dangers, but also did have plenty of majestic creatures, settings, and some kind and honorable people & creatures. Venger is in fact the son of the Dungeon Master, and serves a master that may as well be the Devil.

BCI in 2006 offered a mondo box set of the series, which includes production interviews, commentaries, and even that "final" episode played out as a radio play with new and old actors. It has been out of print since BCI went out of business two years ago, and has been released with zero extra features by Mill Creek. That script is available for free online to read, and answers many questions about the structure of the series, and it's ultimate conclusion. If animated it probably would have been among the best episodes of the series. Considering that at the time, "THE SMURFS" was believed to be the future of animation, it is amazing CBS even optioned the series.

I say give it a whirl, if you have perspective. Any other thoughts out there?
 
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Guess while the show was hot in Brazil, it isn't here! :o
 
it was pretty popular in the and one of the more mature toons from the 80's

shame the finale ep never got made, you learned quite a few things
 
Yeah i remember them never making it back home, was definitely one of my favourites of the 80's
 
it was pretty popular in the and one of the more mature toons from the 80's

shame the finale ep never got made, you learned quite a few things

Indeed, which was why I appreciated it on a recent watch through.

Yeah i remember them never making it back home, was definitely one of my favourites of the 80's

http://www.michaelreaves.com/requiem_preface.htm

"Requiem" is an unproduced series finale. That's the writer's website and one can read the script for free. While it does leave some things ambiguous, it does offer some sense of closure.
 
This was one of my favorite shows growing up.

I remember an episode when there was a portal opened to their home and I was yelling at the tv for them to jump through.
 
My favorite episode was one titled "Servant of Evil", because there's a part where the lizardmen take the kids' magic weapons and end up using them more efficiently than the kids.

mt5lpl.jpg
 
I just read the script for the final episode, it was really good. I loved how it tied everything up yet leaving the ending open enough to carry on with more stories if needed.

What would be great is if they remade this show like they have done with other 80's shows, would love to see it with todays animation!
 
THat would rock. I had a recurring dream every night for two years about this show. Only the kids were me and my cousins and my brother and sisters it was wild.

344w2o6.jpg

This thread needed a pic.
 
I remember that the music was similar to Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends, I wasn't into the sword and fantasy stuff.
 
This was one of my favorite shows growing up.

I remember an episode when there was a portal opened to their home and I was yelling at the tv for them to jump through.

They had portals open up that led back home quite often, and quite a few near misses. In episode 6, "Beauty and the Bogbeast", Eric is turned into a Bogbeast (a humanoid frog-man, basically) and the kids actually do successfully go home, only the amulet that Eric needs to change back won't work in the real world, so he has to go back. His friends decide to go back with him rather than sacrifice him to be free (and that was still Season 1, when Eric was a bigger cowardly jerk than he would become later). I think the worst was episode 11, "The Box", in which the kids really do end up going back to the amusement park, only Venger has followed them and unlike their weapons, retains his powers in the Real World and was proceeding to blast the amusement parks. They had to lead him back to the Realm to save Earth. Of course, Venger destroying one of their "home portals" right in front of them was what angered Hank and the rest to actually try to kill him once and for all in episode 20, "The Dragon's Graveyard" (the episode many consider to be the strongest of the series).

My favorite episode was one titled "Servant of Evil", because there's a part where the lizardmen take the kids' magic weapons and end up using them more efficiently than the kids.

The Lizardmen were villains, though, who didn't care about hurting people. They also were probably in The Realm longer. I always liked that the kids acted like kids in their adventures, not warriors. Aside for Diana, who had the best reason for it (being an athlete from quite a successful family back home).

I liked that episode probably because it helped show how cruel Venger could be even in an show where no one could actually be killed. It was never enough to simply get the kids' weapons. He wanted to make them suffer. A prison called "The Prison Of Agony" suspended over a volcano surely suffices.

I just read the script for the final episode, it was really good. I loved how it tied everything up yet leaving the ending open enough to carry on with more stories if needed.

What would be great is if they remade this show like they have done with other 80's shows, would love to see it with todays animation!

If that final episode actually had been animated, it probably would have been the best of the lot.

I suppose a remake series would allow more actual combat and fighting. But as with anything, the writing would be the make or break. Despite it being an 80's show, I usually had a sense of danger to the show. Yet while the show often could be dangerous or dark, it had plenty of light, hilarious moments.

THat would rock. I had a recurring dream every night for two years about this show. Only the kids were me and my cousins and my brother and sisters it was wild.

That would be one wild dream.

I remember that the music was similar to Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends, I wasn't into the sword and fantasy stuff.

Marvel Productions at the time was behind quite a few shows in the 80's, not only the 1981 "INCREDIBLE HULK" or the Spider-Man shows of the 80's (both his 1982 solo series and AMAZING FRIENDS), but also this show, and others that came later. Naturally, they reused some sound effects and pieces of score to meet deadline. But the show did have it's own unique score.
 
First of all, I love, love, LOVE, this show. Anyone who says it's too violent is high on 'shrooms. There's little if any real violence in it, unless (as mentioned earlier) the creature is invulnerable (like Tiamat) or is not truly alive (such as the iron golem in one episode, or the skeletons in "The Dragons Graveyard"). When ever Hank would use his Energy Bow, the arrows would always either explode over the orcs' heads and frighten them away, or wrap around them and tie them up. Bobby never hit anyone with his Thunder Club, he just hits the ground creating an earthquake which knocks the orcs on their butts. Presto usually pulls something punny out of his hat that ends up being actually useful (maybe causing the orcs to slip on a bunch of banana peals). Diana never hits the orcs with her javelin, but rather uses it to trip them or pole vault away causing them to collide with each other. And Eric's Griffon Shield and Sheila's Invisibility Cloak are purely defensive items. The orcs either bounce harmlessly off of the shield's forcefield or they try and tackle an invisible Sheila and miss. Honestly, it's way too silly to be deamed "too violent".

I've always been a fan of sword & sorcery stories, ever since the late 70's when my sisters took me to see the animated Lord Of The Rings. The best part of Disney's Sleeping Beauty was always near the end when the prince slays the dragon by throwing his sword like a spear.

I used to own the deluxe box set of the animated series (it was stolen, DAMMIT), and I still really enjoy the episodes to this day. My favorites include The Girl Who Dreamed Tomorrow, The Last Illusion, and The Dragons' Graveyard.

If they were to do a reboot of the series, much as they've done with Scooby Doo, He-Man & The Masters Of The Universe, and various other older cartoons, that would be TOTALLY AWSOME. The story could totally be revamped to modern times. They could even begin the series with an origins episode (something that was sadly missing from the original series).

And as for those right wing Christian groups who hate anything "magical" and believe that anyone who plays D&D, reads Harry Potter novels or Conan comics, or watches shows like Hercules & Xena are all going to burn in Hell just make me laugh at their stupidity. Heck, the bible is filled with similar stories (David & Goliath, St George & The Dragon, Sampson & Delilah, Jesus healing the sick and the lame with a touch, etc) yet isn't considered "evil". Actually, the line "do not suffer a heretic to live", or in some versions, "do not suffer a witch to live" is actually a mistranslation. In the original Aramaic script it reads "do not suffer a poisoner to live" (this is the line quoted to breed hatred for all pagan worshippers). Many of these parent and Christian groups, like the PTC, have taken credit for the show's cancelation. In truth, the show was cancelled because of poor ratings. Parent groups didn't even begin protesting it until years later when reruns was being shown in syndication. So much for "Thou shalt not lie".

Okay, I've rambled on long enough. I just want to close by saying "Great thread!" I was actually thinking of starting one up myself in acompaniment to my Thundarr thread. Thanks for beating me to it.
 
I almost forgot to mention, I've written a Thundarr The Barbarian/Dungeons & Dragons crossover fan fiction. In it, the young ones find their way back home, only something goes horribly wrong and they wind up in the 41st Century. There they team up with Thundarr, Ariel, and Ookla and try to find their way back to their own time. You can find it on Page 2 of the Fan Films & Fiction board of the Fandom Come section.

I've also posted it on www.fanfiction.net, where it's received some rave reviews. One person wrote that it was the best crossover story he'd ever read. Another wrote that he could totally see it being an episode from either show (the first half being and episode of D&D, the second half being an episode of Thundarr). There's actually some other really good D&D fan fiction on there. I recommend Portkey To The Realm, a Harry Potter/D&D crossover. I really enjoyed it, and I think anyone who's ever enjoyed the D&D cartoon or the Harry Potter books would feel the same.
 
Never watched much of it, but I would probably despise it if I watched it now. I'm all for classic cheese and corn, but I've always hated the child hero stuff, and would probably spend the entire series hoping someone gets eaten alive by a carrion crawler or something.
 
I almost forgot to mention, I've written a Thundarr The Barbarian/Dungeons & Dragons crossover fan fiction. In it, the young ones find their way back home, only something goes horribly wrong and they wind up in the 41st Century. There they team up with Thundarr, Ariel, and Ookla and try to find their way back to their own time. You can find it on Page 2 of the Fan Films & Fiction board of the Fandom Come section.

I've also posted it on www.fanfiction.net, where it's received some rave reviews. One person wrote that it was the best crossover story he'd ever read. Another wrote that he could totally see it being an episode from either show (the first half being and episode of D&D, the second half being an episode of Thundarr). There's actually some other really good D&D fan fiction on there. I recommend Portkey To The Realm, a Harry Potter/D&D crossover. I really enjoyed it, and I think anyone who's ever enjoyed the D&D cartoon or the Harry Potter books would feel the same.

Sounds like a pretty cool idea, I look forward to reading it when I have the time.

Considering D&D was a medieval adventure, it would be nice for one of the heroes to, I don't know, WIELD A SWORD every now and then!
 
I really do feel lucky that I was born in 1975 .....

All these fantastic cartoons were a massive part of my childhood .... Nothing but good memories.
 
First of all, I love, love, LOVE, this show. Anyone who says it's too violent is high on 'shrooms. There's little if any real violence in it, unless (as mentioned earlier) the creature is invulnerable (like Tiamat) or is not truly alive (such as the iron golem in one episode, or the skeletons in "The Dragons Graveyard"). When ever Hank would use his Energy Bow, the arrows would always either explode over the orcs' heads and frighten them away, or wrap around them and tie them up. Bobby never hit anyone with his Thunder Club, he just hits the ground creating an earthquake which knocks the orcs on their butts. Presto usually pulls something punny out of his hat that ends up being actually useful (maybe causing the orcs to slip on a bunch of banana peals). Diana never hits the orcs with her javelin, but rather uses it to trip them or pole vault away causing them to collide with each other. And Eric's Griffon Shield and Sheila's Invisibility Cloak are purely defensive items. The orcs either bounce harmlessly off of the shield's forcefield or they try and tackle an invisible Sheila and miss. Honestly, it's way too silly to be deamed "too violent".

I've always been a fan of sword & sorcery stories, ever since the late 70's when my sisters took me to see the animated Lord Of The Rings. The best part of Disney's Sleeping Beauty was always near the end when the prince slays the dragon by throwing his sword like a spear.

I used to own the deluxe box set of the animated series (it was stolen, DAMMIT), and I still really enjoy the episodes to this day. My favorites include The Girl Who Dreamed Tomorrow, The Last Illusion, and The Dragons' Graveyard.

If they were to do a reboot of the series, much as they've done with Scooby Doo, He-Man & The Masters Of The Universe, and various other older cartoons, that would be TOTALLY AWSOME. The story could totally be revamped to modern times. They could even begin the series with an origins episode (something that was sadly missing from the original series).

And as for those right wing Christian groups who hate anything "magical" and believe that anyone who plays D&D, reads Harry Potter novels or Conan comics, or watches shows like Hercules & Xena are all going to burn in Hell just make me laugh at their stupidity. Heck, the bible is filled with similar stories (David & Goliath, St George & The Dragon, Sampson & Delilah, Jesus healing the sick and the lame with a touch, etc) yet isn't considered "evil". Actually, the line "do not suffer a heretic to live", or in some versions, "do not suffer a witch to live" is actually a mistranslation. In the original Aramaic script it reads "do not suffer a poisoner to live" (this is the line quoted to breed hatred for all pagan worshippers). Many of these parent and Christian groups, like the PTC, have taken credit for the show's cancelation. In truth, the show was cancelled because of poor ratings. Parent groups didn't even begin protesting it until years later when reruns was being shown in syndication. So much for "Thou shalt not lie".

Okay, I've rambled on long enough. I just want to close by saying "Great thread!" I was actually thinking of starting one up myself in acompaniment to my Thundarr thread. Thanks for beating me to it.

No problem. a THUNDARR/DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS crossover is interesting. The episodes you mentioned are all greats for the series. I would probably include "Day Of The Dungeon Master" in that set as well, but that's only for Eric fans.

While part of me doubts a remake of the show will happen, it could work. Young heroes fighting monsters is something the networks still love, and there would be fewer restrictions on the action. So long as the writing was handled with the same skill and care, though. It was the writing that really helped me get into the show. The animation at times was lovely for an 80's TV cartoon, but the writing was usually always strong, and got stronger as it went along.

Sounds like a pretty cool idea, I look forward to reading it when I have the time.

Considering D&D was a medieval adventure, it would be nice for one of the heroes to, I don't know, WIELD A SWORD every now and then!

Part of me thinks that was due to the writers knowing that network censors would be all over them for anything they did, so they would avoid the absurdity of a regular character with a sword who could never use it.

I really do feel lucky that I was born in 1975 .....

All these fantastic cartoons were a massive part of my childhood .... Nothing but good memories.

I was born in 1982 but I was just in time for a lot of that era. Or to remember enough about it to rediscover it. :up:

What a lot of shows lacked in budget or violence they made up for in imagination, I think.
 
No problem. a THUNDARR/DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS crossover is interesting. The episodes you mentioned are all greats for the series. I would probably include "Day Of The Dungeon Master" in that set as well, but that's only for Eric fans.
Oh yeah, I forgot about that episode. That's a good one too. And you should find direct links to my Thundarr/D&D crossover story in my Thundarr thread on this site.
While part of me doubts a remake of the show will happen, it could work. Young heroes fighting monsters is something the networks still love, and there would be fewer restrictions on the action. So long as the writing was handled with the same skill and care, though. It was the writing that really helped me get into the show. The animation at times was lovely for an 80's TV cartoon, but the writing was usually always strong, and got stronger as it went along.
It's doubtful, but not impossible. As I mentioned earlier, they've done it with Scooby Doo and twice with He-Man. So why not D&D? As long as the writing is as strong as it was in the original, it might even be a little more popular now than it was back then. Especially since the D&D game has become more mainstream and is far more widely accepted as a form of entertainment.
Part of me thinks that was due to the writers knowing that network censors would be all over them for anything they did, so they would avoid the absurdity of a regular character with a sword who could never use it.
That's a very good point. But if the story were to be rebooted, they may change that. Maybe give Eric a sword that traps his oppponents in a block of ice, and they thaw out later no worse for wear (rather like what that villain used on Dungeon Master in that one episode).
I was born in 1982 but I was just in time for a lot of that era. Or to remember enough about it to rediscover it. :up:

What a lot of shows lacked in budget or violence they made up for in imagination, I think.
I agree 1000% :up:
 
This thread needs more pictures uploaded. Here's a nice manga style Dungeons & Dragons piece of fan art I found.

Dungeons_n_Dragons_by_ShingoTM.jpg
 

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