It had been awhile since I had watched any episodes from my D&D boxed set and I needed a fix this week. I asked my daughter if she wanted to watch some, since she had never seen them, and as most kids she was happy to watch some cartoons.
We decided to start at the beginning with the first episode, "The Night of No Tomorrow". The kids (Hank - Ranger, Presto - Magician, Eric - Cavalier, Bobby - Barbarian, Sheila - Thief, Diana - Acrobat and Uni - Unicorn) are thrown into a new world after jumping on a D&D roller coaster and their lives would change forever.
This one started off with the kids wandering around trying to find a way home (a common theme in episodes to follow), as Dungeon Master appears to give them some clues. Unfortunately there was no backstory at the beginning to describe the world they are in or how they came to meet Uni. He tells them there is a way home but they must watch out for the one with white hair. Of course Dungeon Master quickly disappears shortly after telling them this. Along their journey the find Merlin's castle floating in the sky and climb the ladder to it. They find Merlin who has a pet white bunny. After talking awhile, the five-headed dragon Tiamat (see picture above) bursts through the castle door and attacks them. After trapping the dragon, Presto decides to stay with Merlin to become a great wizard while trying to find a way home. It didn't take long for "Merlin" to reveal his true identity as Venger. The kids missed the clue about the "white hare" Merlin was carrying. Venger tricked Presto into released some ancient dragons which attacked a nearby town. Luckily the kids were nearby; stopped the dragon attack, released Tiamat who chased Venger away.
The second episode in the series was “Eye of the Beholder” and started out much the same way as the first. Dungeon Master appeared and told the kids they could get home but needed to defeat a Beholder. Along their journey they were attacked by a giant scorpion. They hid in a cave while a knight being chased by a dragon happened to run by and distracted the scorpion by his screaming. The scorpion forgot about the kids and started fighting the dragon. The kids proclaimed the knight, Sir John, a hero. After they parted ways the kids were attacked by Giant Snails who stuffed them in bags and carried them off....all except Uni. Uni ran and found Sir John and came back with Uni and by waving a torch in fear at the site of the Giant Snails actually scared them off. Once again the kids praised Sir John's heroic efforts. Eventually the kids and Sir John found the Beholder as the portal to their world opened. Instead of fleeing back to their world, they decided to stay and fight the Beholder with Sir John and defeat it.
It was great to relive these memories from my childhood with my daughter. It took me back to a simpler time, when I would wait all week for Saturday morning cartoons. This reminded me how kids do not realize how limited children’s shows used to be. Today kids can watch cartoons practically anytime they want. I am looking forward to watching more episodes with her.
Watching the cartoon again I remembered some of the actors who did the voices on the show. The two most recognizable are Donnie Most who played “Ralph Malph” on Happy Days; as Eric the Cavalier. Also Willie Aames “Buddy” from Charles in Charles and also was on Eight is Enough; as Hank the Ranger. I decided to research the other people whose voices were on the show and found out some interesting facts.
Adam Rich – as Presto the Magician was the youngest kid on Eight is Enough
Peter Cullen – as Venger also did the voice for Optimus Prime on Transformers
Frank Welker – as Uni, as of September 2010, movies Frank appeared in/did voices had grossed $5.7 billion. (thanks Rob for correcting my over-sight)
Gary Gygax – Executive Producer, as most geeks know is the creator of the D&D game. I had forgotten he was involved with the cartoon.
If you like the cartoon and do not have the boxed set, it is worth buying. It includes all the episodes on 3 DVDs, along with an episode guide and handbook. The handbook describes each character in detail and also includes a playable D&D adventure in which players can assume roles of the cartoon characters….even Uni!
Great stuff. I found myself unable to watch them. Granted I didn't start at the beginning... I couldn't believe how badly animated they were... and yeah, I know everything was like that back in the day, but not everything...
ReplyDeleteI may have to borrow someone's copy and see if Elias would enjoy it with me.
I agree the cartoons of the past, at least the majority, did not have the best animation. There are times when the characters hair or clothes are even the wrong color.
ReplyDeleteSince I posted the blog, we have watched a few more episodes and still enjoying them. It’s mostly a nostalgia thing, and great Jade likes them.
The part that is most difficult for me to handle while watching them as I’m older is how unrealistic the cartoon is compared to the actual D&D game (inner geek). I realize they could not have put in too many details, but those kids would never have survived facing a Beholder or many of the other creatures they faced. Since I didn’t have as much RPG experience when I was watching the cartoon when I was a kid it didn’t matter to me then.
I loved this series myself (as Ryan can attest, as I've droned on about it to him repeatedly); I own the dvd collection as well. When it premiered, trust me, it was high drama, especially compared to other 'toons on the air. I had never seen ANYthing like "The Dragon's Graveyard" or "The Dungeon at the Heart of Dawn." Marvel Sunbow generally tried to have a little more complexity in it's scripts; D&D boasts an early script from Paul Dini, who went on to work on Batman:The Animated Series, and is one of the stars of animation writing right now. Oh, and by way of minor correction, Frank Welker, the voice of Uni (also Abu from Aladdin, Fred and -- since the death of Don Messick -- Scooby from Scooby-Doo, and countless others) has not himself made over 5 billion dollars, projects he's been a part of have collectivley made over 5 billion dollars.
ReplyDeleteNow, when's someone gonna release Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends on dvd? I LOVED that one.
I thought you might be a fan as well Rob. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for pointing out my mis-information about Frank Welker. I have corrected it in my post.
Just chiming in that every geek should watch the two episodes rob mentioned. In one, the kids actually talk about killing Venger, and in the other, they call something from the abyss that scares the shit out of Dungeon Master. Awesome sauce!
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