In
the first episode of the Filmation animated series Blackstar (1981) --
titled “City of the Ancient Ones” --the evil Overlord (Alan Oppenheimer) awakens
the sorceress Amber from stasis in the temple of the Cave Apes.
The
villain hypnotizes Amber to believe that Mara (Linda Gary) and Blackstar (George
DiCenzo) are her enemies, and then asks her to take him to the city of
Tamborian, where he hopes to learn the secret powers of the Ancients.
In
particular, Tamborian is the home of the Sanctum of Wisdom, where secret
scrolls are stored.
Blackstar
and Mara -- who was once Amber’s close friend -- must put a stop to the
Overlord’s quest, and contend with Tamborian’s giant robot guardian.
When
the Trobbits attempt to help too, Amber captures them inside her power ring…
“City
of the Ancient Ones” sets the template for future Blackstar episodes. The
Overlord hatches a plan that could give him supreme power, using the magic of a
minion (in this case the brainwashed Amber), but runs straight into the
muscular brick wall that is John Blackstar.
The
episode ends with order or the status quo restored and the Overlord foiled.
Much
more intriguing than this cut-and-paste plot-line, however, are the little
details of the story and characters.
For
example, Blackstar notes straight-up that he will “never get used to having such incredible strength,” suggesting that
the gravity or atmosphere of alien Sagar makes him more powerful than he would
be on Earth. Flash noted the same thing of
his strength on Mongo in an episode of Filmation’s Flash Gordon (1979-1981),
but it was smart for Blackstar to get that explanation
out of the way in the initial episode.
Also,
I appreciate this episode because it suggests that Sagar boasts a long and
interesting history. The object of the Overlord’s quest is a city where power
awaits him, a city that only Amber knows the location of.
We
are left to ponder how Sagar went from civilizations like Tamborian to the relative
barbarism we see in these 1 episodes.
Perhaps warlords like Overlord have plundered its treasures and
squelched its freedoms for generations. This idea is implied in Mara’s
dialogue. “I wonder if the planet will
ever get back to the peacefulness of ancient times,” she muses. So, like Altrusia on Land of the Lost
(1975-1977), Sagar offers a civilization not on ascent, but in decline.
One
sub-plot in “City of the Ancient Ones” that seems strange involves the fact
that Mara apparently knows where Amber is trapped (in the caverns of the
cave-apes), but has never sought to rescue her friend. I like the idea, however, that a woman named “Amber”
has a bejeweled ring that can trap enemies inside it. The Trobbits are frozen, essentially by
Amber, if not actually in Amber.
Next
week: “Search for the Star Sword.”
The first BlackStar ep rather abruptly jumps right into the action with really little introduction to the characters (for comparison, imagine if "Lost in Space" started with episode 5). I would have liked a bit more backstory such as BlackStar's crash and introduction to the trobbits. The 'home' scenes with the trobbits feature annoying 'funny' music and sound effects more appropriate for "The Three Stooges". This is a kids show after all. Since you mentioned "Thundarr" last week, I find that show rather more enjoyable.
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