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fandomhigh_ooc2009-02-02 12:20 pm
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Spotlight on Fandoms: Thundercats
For this week's spotlight, we're going back to the year was 1985. Ronald Reagan was president and I knew all the words to "Like A Virgin" without really understanding why my mother cringed when I sang along with Madonna. That was also the year that Thundercats debuted on television. I had a daily afternoon ritual of watching my favorite shows, He-man, She-ra, and Thundercats, with Silverhawks getting added to the line-up a year later. I probably wasn't alone either, judging by how many Thundercats fans I've found on the Internet.
The Premise
Thundercats was a cartoon series about the adventures of a group of cat-like humanoids, and from the very beginning, it was different from other kids shows. For one thing, the Thundercats are all naked, only adopting clothing when they had to leave their home planet. Thundera was destroyed in the opening minutes of the pilot and the Thunderans fled on a convoy of ships. But the convoy was attacked by the Mutants of the planet Plun-Darr and all the ships were destroyed except one, the flagship carrying young Lion-o and the Thunderan nobles, known as the Thundercats.
After the Thundercats repelled the mutants attackers, they found their ship too damaged to continue to their original destination. Low on fuel, they realize it will take years to reach the nearest habitable planet. Their leader, Jaga, orders the Thundercats into suspension capsules while he remains behind to pilot the ship. He doesn't survive long enough, though, and the crippled ship crash landed when it reached Third Earth, with the Mutants in pursuit.
The suspension capsules were supposed to allow just a small amount of aging, but Lion-o's capsule suffers a partial failure. He was a 12-year-old boy when he entered the capsule, but when he emerged from the capsule, he was a full-grown man with the mind with the knowledge and experience of a young boy. The Thundercats worked to build alliances with the natives of Third Earth who could help them, but the Mutants enslave others to work for them and form their own partnership with Mumm-ra, an ancient devil-priest who has lived for thousands of years.
While the Thundercats and Mutants rely on futuristic technology, they also deal with a lot of magic. Lion-o inherited the Sword of Omens from Jaga, and in the hilt of the sword is the Eye of Thundera, which gives the Thundercats their powers. The sword cannot be used for evil, but the Mutants and Mumm-ra wanted the sword's power for themselves. The show incorporated Eqyptian symbolism, with Mumm-ra's base of operations set in Egyptian ruins. Third Earth also has a tribe of warrior maidens, similar to the Amazons. There was even an episode with Merlin, Excalibur and the Lady of the Lake. So even while the Thundercats and Mutants are completely foreign, there are enough familiar elements on Third Earth to make it recognizable to the viewer. Third Earth itself was supposed to be alternate version of our own planet in the distant future. When the Mutants are flying over the ruins near the Black Pyramid in the pilot episode, you even see a Sphinx near a group of three large pyramids.
In the second season, Lion-o came to find out that three more Thunderans were rescued from Thundera before it was destroyed, and they made it to an island on Third Earth. After a five-part miniseries where the Thundercats had to battle to rescue the lost Thunderans, Lion-o made them Thundercats as well. Eventually, the Thundecats and their allies form a coalition to rid Third Earth of evil-doers. When Mumm-ra managed to re-form Thundera, the Thundercats leave Third Earth and travel back to their homeworld to keep Mumm-ra from taking over New Thundera.
The Heroes
Lion-o: Son of the Thunderan leader, Lion-o became the new leader of his people when it was presumed that the destruction of Thundera claimed his father. He was only a twelve-year-old boy, unprepared for this new challenge. And then things got even more complicated: he skipped right to age 24, missing out entirely on the mental development and learning experiences of adolescence. Lion-o was the hero of the series, and part of the fun was watching how Lion-o grew into his new form and into his role as a leader and warrior. In his first battle with Mumm-ra, Lion-o just barely escaped. Lion-o was impetuous and headstrong. If he had been helping the other Thundercats working on salvaging their ship instead of using his newfound authority to get out of his chores, he wouldn't have been caught alone and unprepared by Mumm-ra. But Lion-o became a hard worker, eventually proving himself in his annointment trials to become the true Lord of the Thundercats. In the process, he defeated Mumm-ra for good -- until the Ancient Spirits of Evil bring him back.
Lion-o's weapon was the Sword of Omens, given to him by Jaga. The sword and the Eye of Thundera contained within it gave Lion-o the ability of Sight Beyond Sight, allowing to see faraway events in real-time. The sword can also generate a force-field. It was psychically linked to the Thundercats and "growled" to warn them of danger. Not that the sword actually growled. Instead, there was a little trumpet fanfare and the Thundercats would come running to see what had the sword alarmed. The other important thing to know about the sword is that it shrinks when Lion-o isn't using it. Yes, this was a kids show. At least once per episode, Lion-o summoned the Thundercats by calling out, "Thunder, Thunder, Thundercats HO!" The sword got larger and an Eye of Thundera was projected up into the sky, allowing the others to locate Lion-o.
Lion-o's voice actor was Larry Kenney. Because Lion-o's dialogue tended to be spoken slowly, there were rumors that his voice actor was mentally impaired. That's not the case, as Larry also did the voice of Vultureman and other Thundercats guest stars. He also did the voice of Count Chockula and Sonny the Coco-Puffs bird in the cereal commercials.
Once the other Thundercats determined that he was ready, Lion-o had to defeat each one of them in battle to prove his worthiness as their leader. Each of the other Thundercats had a particular specialty.
Tygra: The architect of the Thundercats, Tygra was the level-headed second-in-command, handpicked by Jaga to be the leader of the Thundercats counsel. Tygra has the ability to create realistic-using illusions, but he did not use this power often because it left him drained. The first time he did use it was in Lion-o's annointment trials, and it was a surprise to both Lion-o and the Thunderkittens. Tygra was the designer of the Cat's Lair, their fortress and base of operations, as well as the Tower of Omens. His weapon was a special bolo whip with a special trick -- it could make him invisible. While Tygra seemed wise, in "The Garden of Delights" he was the Thundercat who got hooked on some weird fruit and stole the Sword of Omens to get more of it from Mumm-ra. Up until I started writing this spotlight, I would have said that Tygra was my favorite character. Then I took a look at how much I have to say about Tygra vs. how much I have to say about Lion-o, and I think Tygra loses that battle. His voice actor was Peter Newman.
Panthro: The strongest of the Thundercats, Panthro was the engineer who built the Thundertank from the remains of their crashed ship. He would go on to build all of their vehicles. He gave Lion-o many lectures on responsibility but was pleased when Lion-o easily learned how to drive the Thundertank. Panthro's weapon was the nunchucks with special built-in chemical spray compartments that could be used against his opponent. While he is the toughest Thundercats, he was also afraid of bats and spiders. Panthro's voice actor was Earle Hyman, best known as Grandpa Huxtable on The Cosby Show.
Cheetara: Like her namesake, Cheetara was the fastest of the Thundercats, once clocked at 120 m.p.h. on her morning run. She also has a sixth sense, although using leaves her physically drained. Cheetara's main weapon is a staff, and like the Sword of Omens, her staff will shrink in size when not in use. For the longest time, Cheetara was the only adult female Thundercat, and you could almost say that she had a motherly attitude towards Lion-o when he was a boy. It made it that much freakier when she and Lion-o had this flirty thing going on when he grew up. She also liked gold, which Pantho would discard as an absolutely worthless mineral. Cheetara's voice actor was Lynne Lipton, who was the only female voice actor until new Thundercats were added in the second season.
WileyKat and WileyKit: Known as the Thunderkittens, these were a pair of fraternal twin wildcats. WileyKat was slightly older and a lot more cautious than his sister. WileyKit was more rambunctious and often led them both into trouble. They were older than Lion-o when they went into the suspension pods, but adult Lion-o was not afraid to yell at them when they misbehaved. On one occaision, they stole Tygra's whip, Panthro's nunchucks and Cheetara's staff and took off for a practice session where they were ambushed by the Mutants. They had to go running to Lion-o, who did a bit of yelling before he agreed to help them retrieve the weapons. But Lion-o was forgiving enough not to tell the other Thundercats. The Thunderkittens also had "space boards," which were special hovering body boards designed for them by Pantro. Their skill was their trickery and they used a lot of gimmicks and special effects pellets to defeat opponents. WileyKit was voiced by Peter Newman and WileyKit's voice was Lynne Lipton.
Jaga: Once the greatest of all Thundercats, Jaga sacrificed himself during the long voyage to Third Earth. But that was only the beginning, as Jaga continued to appear to Lion-o whenever the young leader needed help. He also came to the aid of the Thundercats when they battled the ghost of Grune the Destroyer. Jaga's voice was provided by Earle Hammond.
Snarf: Technically not a Thundercat, but still an important member of the team, Snarf was Lion-o's caretaker. After Lion-o reached adulthood, he protested that he didn't need a nanny anymore, so Snard started describing himself as Lion-o loyal squire. To give you an idea of how devoted he was to his young charge, Snarf was the only one of his kind on the royal flagship. He later learned that many other Snarfs survived Thundera's destruction and made it to another planet, but he gave up an opportunity to join them so he could stay with Lion-o. Snarf usually accompanied Lion-o on his adventures. Snarf's voice was provided by Bob McFadden.
Bengali: One of the new Thundercats, Bengali was a skilled blacksmith who carried a weapon called the Hammer of Thundera. He can shoots energy blasts from the hammer, but more importantly, he could also repair the Sword of Omens when the blade broke. His voice actor was Peter Newman.
Pumyra: Another one of the new Thundercats, Pumyra had agilty and an incredible jumping ability. She was also a Thunderan medic. Her weapon was a special "cats tail" whip. Pumyra... really doesn't do a whole lot, and when the Thundercats return to New Thundera, Pumyra and Tygra remain behind to assist the League of Third Earth. Gerianne Raphael came on board as Pumyra's voice so Lynne Lipton could get a break.
Lynx-o: In the rush to evacuate Thundera, Lynx-o was caught by an intense heat blast which destroyed his vision. He only managed to get away with the help of Pumyra and Bengali. As he grew accustomed to his blindness, his other sense became super-sensitive to compensate. He learned to fly an aircraft with the help of a Braille Board, which transmits sensor data in a form that he can "read." Lynx-o becomes the only one who can fly the Thunderstrike through the Valley of the Mists. Lynx-o's voice actor was Bob McFadden.
Snarfer: Snarf's young nephew who first brings word of the survival of the Snarfs. He was an accomplished pilot and mechanic, and when the Thundercats built the Tower of Omens, Snarfer returned to Third Earth to help Lynx-o, Pumyra and Bengali staff the new tower. He would eventually accompany the Thundercats back to New Thundera. Snarfer's voice was also provided by Bob McFadden.
The Villians
Mumm-ra: An ancient devil-priest from the time of First Earth, Mumm-ra had two forms: an emaciated, decaying living mummy wrapped in a shroud, and all-powerful, montrous "ever-living" form. He appeared to be incredibly powerful and immortal, but his powers were granted to him by the Ancient Spirits of Evil, which took the form of statues resembling overside canopic jars. Mumm-ra trapped the Mutants on Third Earth and plotted with them to steal the Eye of Thundera, but he had a weakness. He could not stand the reflection of his own evil, and once defeated by the Thundercats, he would have to return to his stone sarcophagus to regain his power.
S-S-Slithe: The Reptilian leader of the Mutants. Seriously, you have to listen to his dialogue.
Monkian: Another of the Mutants, he was the one who gave us the famous line, "The Thundercats! They're, they're loose!" He was also the first one to run away from danger.
There are many more villians I could talk about, including Jackelman, Vultureman, and the whole team of Lunataks who came in as new villians in the second season, not to mention the many allies that help the Thundercats, including the RoBear Berbils and Warrior Maidens, but it would take you another week to read through all of it.
Why I Watched It All Over Again
It's very easy to get drawn into watching, as I re-discovered by accident last night when I started watching a few eps while trying to finish this spotlight. Part of it is the nostalgia from finding my favorite show from my childhood, and part of is spotting the little details that make so much more sense now.
Where Can You Find It
Thundercats isn't current on the air, but Warner Bros. owns the rights to it and it may someday pop up again on Cartoon Network. In fact, Comcast does have some episodes showing up in their On Demand offerings. The entire series is also available on DVD, but if you poke around on YouTube, you'll find a lot of episodes. Speaking of which...
Must See YouTube Clips
If there's anything that you must see to understand the show, it's the original pilot, which was later broken up into four separate episodes. The DVD version is missing a few bits that where in the original broadcast version, but luckily someone's archived that version on YouTube.
+ Part 1
+ Part 2
+ Part 3
+ Part 4
+ Part 5
+ Part 6
+ Part 7
+ Part 8
+ Part 9
+ Part 10
Remember I said that there's an episode with Merlin and Excalibur? Take a look for yourself.
+ Parts One, Two and Three
A Thundercat movie is in the works, schedule for release in 2010, but everyone seems to like this fake trailer. I've had no less than 6 people send me the link to the fake trailer, so here you go. I do love that they've used some of the actual lines from the show. I also liked spotting all the Stargate clips they used.
And last but not least, there are outtakes from the dialogue recording sessions that found their way to the Internet years after the show ended. Just be aware that these definitely aren't kid-friendly.
There is a lot more I can say about the Thundercats, but it's likely that I'd need another week. So, I'm stopping there, but I'd be more than happy to talk some more if you have questions or just want to reminisce.
The Premise
Thundercats was a cartoon series about the adventures of a group of cat-like humanoids, and from the very beginning, it was different from other kids shows. For one thing, the Thundercats are all naked, only adopting clothing when they had to leave their home planet. Thundera was destroyed in the opening minutes of the pilot and the Thunderans fled on a convoy of ships. But the convoy was attacked by the Mutants of the planet Plun-Darr and all the ships were destroyed except one, the flagship carrying young Lion-o and the Thunderan nobles, known as the Thundercats.
After the Thundercats repelled the mutants attackers, they found their ship too damaged to continue to their original destination. Low on fuel, they realize it will take years to reach the nearest habitable planet. Their leader, Jaga, orders the Thundercats into suspension capsules while he remains behind to pilot the ship. He doesn't survive long enough, though, and the crippled ship crash landed when it reached Third Earth, with the Mutants in pursuit.
The suspension capsules were supposed to allow just a small amount of aging, but Lion-o's capsule suffers a partial failure. He was a 12-year-old boy when he entered the capsule, but when he emerged from the capsule, he was a full-grown man with the mind with the knowledge and experience of a young boy. The Thundercats worked to build alliances with the natives of Third Earth who could help them, but the Mutants enslave others to work for them and form their own partnership with Mumm-ra, an ancient devil-priest who has lived for thousands of years.
While the Thundercats and Mutants rely on futuristic technology, they also deal with a lot of magic. Lion-o inherited the Sword of Omens from Jaga, and in the hilt of the sword is the Eye of Thundera, which gives the Thundercats their powers. The sword cannot be used for evil, but the Mutants and Mumm-ra wanted the sword's power for themselves. The show incorporated Eqyptian symbolism, with Mumm-ra's base of operations set in Egyptian ruins. Third Earth also has a tribe of warrior maidens, similar to the Amazons. There was even an episode with Merlin, Excalibur and the Lady of the Lake. So even while the Thundercats and Mutants are completely foreign, there are enough familiar elements on Third Earth to make it recognizable to the viewer. Third Earth itself was supposed to be alternate version of our own planet in the distant future. When the Mutants are flying over the ruins near the Black Pyramid in the pilot episode, you even see a Sphinx near a group of three large pyramids.
In the second season, Lion-o came to find out that three more Thunderans were rescued from Thundera before it was destroyed, and they made it to an island on Third Earth. After a five-part miniseries where the Thundercats had to battle to rescue the lost Thunderans, Lion-o made them Thundercats as well. Eventually, the Thundecats and their allies form a coalition to rid Third Earth of evil-doers. When Mumm-ra managed to re-form Thundera, the Thundercats leave Third Earth and travel back to their homeworld to keep Mumm-ra from taking over New Thundera.
The Heroes
Lion-o: Son of the Thunderan leader, Lion-o became the new leader of his people when it was presumed that the destruction of Thundera claimed his father. He was only a twelve-year-old boy, unprepared for this new challenge. And then things got even more complicated: he skipped right to age 24, missing out entirely on the mental development and learning experiences of adolescence. Lion-o was the hero of the series, and part of the fun was watching how Lion-o grew into his new form and into his role as a leader and warrior. In his first battle with Mumm-ra, Lion-o just barely escaped. Lion-o was impetuous and headstrong. If he had been helping the other Thundercats working on salvaging their ship instead of using his newfound authority to get out of his chores, he wouldn't have been caught alone and unprepared by Mumm-ra. But Lion-o became a hard worker, eventually proving himself in his annointment trials to become the true Lord of the Thundercats. In the process, he defeated Mumm-ra for good -- until the Ancient Spirits of Evil bring him back.
Lion-o's weapon was the Sword of Omens, given to him by Jaga. The sword and the Eye of Thundera contained within it gave Lion-o the ability of Sight Beyond Sight, allowing to see faraway events in real-time. The sword can also generate a force-field. It was psychically linked to the Thundercats and "growled" to warn them of danger. Not that the sword actually growled. Instead, there was a little trumpet fanfare and the Thundercats would come running to see what had the sword alarmed. The other important thing to know about the sword is that it shrinks when Lion-o isn't using it. Yes, this was a kids show. At least once per episode, Lion-o summoned the Thundercats by calling out, "Thunder, Thunder, Thundercats HO!" The sword got larger and an Eye of Thundera was projected up into the sky, allowing the others to locate Lion-o.
Lion-o's voice actor was Larry Kenney. Because Lion-o's dialogue tended to be spoken slowly, there were rumors that his voice actor was mentally impaired. That's not the case, as Larry also did the voice of Vultureman and other Thundercats guest stars. He also did the voice of Count Chockula and Sonny the Coco-Puffs bird in the cereal commercials.
Once the other Thundercats determined that he was ready, Lion-o had to defeat each one of them in battle to prove his worthiness as their leader. Each of the other Thundercats had a particular specialty.
Tygra: The architect of the Thundercats, Tygra was the level-headed second-in-command, handpicked by Jaga to be the leader of the Thundercats counsel. Tygra has the ability to create realistic-using illusions, but he did not use this power often because it left him drained. The first time he did use it was in Lion-o's annointment trials, and it was a surprise to both Lion-o and the Thunderkittens. Tygra was the designer of the Cat's Lair, their fortress and base of operations, as well as the Tower of Omens. His weapon was a special bolo whip with a special trick -- it could make him invisible. While Tygra seemed wise, in "The Garden of Delights" he was the Thundercat who got hooked on some weird fruit and stole the Sword of Omens to get more of it from Mumm-ra. Up until I started writing this spotlight, I would have said that Tygra was my favorite character. Then I took a look at how much I have to say about Tygra vs. how much I have to say about Lion-o, and I think Tygra loses that battle. His voice actor was Peter Newman.
Panthro: The strongest of the Thundercats, Panthro was the engineer who built the Thundertank from the remains of their crashed ship. He would go on to build all of their vehicles. He gave Lion-o many lectures on responsibility but was pleased when Lion-o easily learned how to drive the Thundertank. Panthro's weapon was the nunchucks with special built-in chemical spray compartments that could be used against his opponent. While he is the toughest Thundercats, he was also afraid of bats and spiders. Panthro's voice actor was Earle Hyman, best known as Grandpa Huxtable on The Cosby Show.
Cheetara: Like her namesake, Cheetara was the fastest of the Thundercats, once clocked at 120 m.p.h. on her morning run. She also has a sixth sense, although using leaves her physically drained. Cheetara's main weapon is a staff, and like the Sword of Omens, her staff will shrink in size when not in use. For the longest time, Cheetara was the only adult female Thundercat, and you could almost say that she had a motherly attitude towards Lion-o when he was a boy. It made it that much freakier when she and Lion-o had this flirty thing going on when he grew up. She also liked gold, which Pantho would discard as an absolutely worthless mineral. Cheetara's voice actor was Lynne Lipton, who was the only female voice actor until new Thundercats were added in the second season.
WileyKat and WileyKit: Known as the Thunderkittens, these were a pair of fraternal twin wildcats. WileyKat was slightly older and a lot more cautious than his sister. WileyKit was more rambunctious and often led them both into trouble. They were older than Lion-o when they went into the suspension pods, but adult Lion-o was not afraid to yell at them when they misbehaved. On one occaision, they stole Tygra's whip, Panthro's nunchucks and Cheetara's staff and took off for a practice session where they were ambushed by the Mutants. They had to go running to Lion-o, who did a bit of yelling before he agreed to help them retrieve the weapons. But Lion-o was forgiving enough not to tell the other Thundercats. The Thunderkittens also had "space boards," which were special hovering body boards designed for them by Pantro. Their skill was their trickery and they used a lot of gimmicks and special effects pellets to defeat opponents. WileyKit was voiced by Peter Newman and WileyKit's voice was Lynne Lipton.
Jaga: Once the greatest of all Thundercats, Jaga sacrificed himself during the long voyage to Third Earth. But that was only the beginning, as Jaga continued to appear to Lion-o whenever the young leader needed help. He also came to the aid of the Thundercats when they battled the ghost of Grune the Destroyer. Jaga's voice was provided by Earle Hammond.
Snarf: Technically not a Thundercat, but still an important member of the team, Snarf was Lion-o's caretaker. After Lion-o reached adulthood, he protested that he didn't need a nanny anymore, so Snard started describing himself as Lion-o loyal squire. To give you an idea of how devoted he was to his young charge, Snarf was the only one of his kind on the royal flagship. He later learned that many other Snarfs survived Thundera's destruction and made it to another planet, but he gave up an opportunity to join them so he could stay with Lion-o. Snarf usually accompanied Lion-o on his adventures. Snarf's voice was provided by Bob McFadden.
Bengali: One of the new Thundercats, Bengali was a skilled blacksmith who carried a weapon called the Hammer of Thundera. He can shoots energy blasts from the hammer, but more importantly, he could also repair the Sword of Omens when the blade broke. His voice actor was Peter Newman.
Pumyra: Another one of the new Thundercats, Pumyra had agilty and an incredible jumping ability. She was also a Thunderan medic. Her weapon was a special "cats tail" whip. Pumyra... really doesn't do a whole lot, and when the Thundercats return to New Thundera, Pumyra and Tygra remain behind to assist the League of Third Earth. Gerianne Raphael came on board as Pumyra's voice so Lynne Lipton could get a break.
Lynx-o: In the rush to evacuate Thundera, Lynx-o was caught by an intense heat blast which destroyed his vision. He only managed to get away with the help of Pumyra and Bengali. As he grew accustomed to his blindness, his other sense became super-sensitive to compensate. He learned to fly an aircraft with the help of a Braille Board, which transmits sensor data in a form that he can "read." Lynx-o becomes the only one who can fly the Thunderstrike through the Valley of the Mists. Lynx-o's voice actor was Bob McFadden.
Snarfer: Snarf's young nephew who first brings word of the survival of the Snarfs. He was an accomplished pilot and mechanic, and when the Thundercats built the Tower of Omens, Snarfer returned to Third Earth to help Lynx-o, Pumyra and Bengali staff the new tower. He would eventually accompany the Thundercats back to New Thundera. Snarfer's voice was also provided by Bob McFadden.
The Villians
Mumm-ra: An ancient devil-priest from the time of First Earth, Mumm-ra had two forms: an emaciated, decaying living mummy wrapped in a shroud, and all-powerful, montrous "ever-living" form. He appeared to be incredibly powerful and immortal, but his powers were granted to him by the Ancient Spirits of Evil, which took the form of statues resembling overside canopic jars. Mumm-ra trapped the Mutants on Third Earth and plotted with them to steal the Eye of Thundera, but he had a weakness. He could not stand the reflection of his own evil, and once defeated by the Thundercats, he would have to return to his stone sarcophagus to regain his power.
S-S-Slithe: The Reptilian leader of the Mutants. Seriously, you have to listen to his dialogue.
Monkian: Another of the Mutants, he was the one who gave us the famous line, "The Thundercats! They're, they're loose!" He was also the first one to run away from danger.
There are many more villians I could talk about, including Jackelman, Vultureman, and the whole team of Lunataks who came in as new villians in the second season, not to mention the many allies that help the Thundercats, including the RoBear Berbils and Warrior Maidens, but it would take you another week to read through all of it.
Why I Watched It All Over Again
It's very easy to get drawn into watching, as I re-discovered by accident last night when I started watching a few eps while trying to finish this spotlight. Part of it is the nostalgia from finding my favorite show from my childhood, and part of is spotting the little details that make so much more sense now.
Where Can You Find It
Thundercats isn't current on the air, but Warner Bros. owns the rights to it and it may someday pop up again on Cartoon Network. In fact, Comcast does have some episodes showing up in their On Demand offerings. The entire series is also available on DVD, but if you poke around on YouTube, you'll find a lot of episodes. Speaking of which...
Must See YouTube Clips
If there's anything that you must see to understand the show, it's the original pilot, which was later broken up into four separate episodes. The DVD version is missing a few bits that where in the original broadcast version, but luckily someone's archived that version on YouTube.
+ Part 1
+ Part 2
+ Part 3
+ Part 4
+ Part 5
+ Part 6
+ Part 7
+ Part 8
+ Part 9
+ Part 10
Remember I said that there's an episode with Merlin and Excalibur? Take a look for yourself.
+ Parts One, Two and Three
A Thundercat movie is in the works, schedule for release in 2010, but everyone seems to like this fake trailer. I've had no less than 6 people send me the link to the fake trailer, so here you go. I do love that they've used some of the actual lines from the show. I also liked spotting all the Stargate clips they used.
And last but not least, there are outtakes from the dialogue recording sessions that found their way to the Internet years after the show ended. Just be aware that these definitely aren't kid-friendly.
There is a lot more I can say about the Thundercats, but it's likely that I'd need another week. So, I'm stopping there, but I'd be more than happy to talk some more if you have questions or just want to reminisce.
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