Thundarr The Barbarian in "Portal into Time"

In “Portal into Time,” Thundarr, Ookla and Ariel are in the process of establishing a camp for the night when they notice ancient war machines closing on a small nearby fort: the Alamo! 

A group of humans are living in the pre-holocaust structure, but have been besieged by a wizard named Crom.

Until now, the humans have been able to defend themselves using an ancient computer known as the Guardian, but the machine is malfunctioning and needs a new circuit-breaker.  The only place -- or time -- to acquire such a device is the 20^th century.

Using Crom’s time machine -- a “moon dial” – Thundarr, Ariel and Ookla travel back in time to the Guardian Computer Company.  They are aided in their recovery efforts by a little girl, Samantha, who takes the trio to her house.  

There, Ookla enjoys cookies and television…

Finally, however, it is time for the new battle of the Alamo, and Thundarr and his friends return home with the circuit breaker, so the Guardian can dispatch the villainous Crom and his minions.

“Portal into Time” is a fun episode of Thundarr the Barbarian, and it offers some nice and welcome variations on the standard formula.  

Here, the three protagonists travel through time and experience the strangeness of 20^th Century life. Thundarr is baffled by a door knob-lock, and Oookla is unsettled by a TV program featuring a clown.

The best moment involves Thundarr sizing up an escalator and concluding that it is a “trap.”  Fortunately, Ariel sets him straight.  “No, it’s just an escalator,” she replies.

Given such banter, it’s clear that “Portal into Time” is a fish-out-of-water story, and not a bad one at that. 

In fact, “Portal into Time” boasts a very good sense of humor, and that isn’t exactly typical of the straight-forward fantasy series.

I also enjoyed the fact that this episode is set at the Alamo…only 2,000 years in the future.  The site is famous for one hopeless battle, but Thundarr keeps it from experiencing the same fate.  

“We just won the Battle of the Alamo,” Ariel deadpans…and she’s right.

Finally, an in-joke: fans of Conan the Barbarian may note that the wizard’s name in this episode is apparently “Crom,” which also happens to be the name of the deity of Robert E. Howard’s Hyborian Age. 

Next week: “Battle of the Barbarians.” 

Star Blazers, Episode #16

In this episode of the 1970s anime series Star Blazers (1979), the Argo -- half-way to the distant Iscandar -- comes into contact with a strange alien race of sentient bee-people on the world called Beeland.  

Nova and IQ9 become stranded on Beeland after a fighter crash, and are captured by revolutionary forces that reject their queen Melina's alliance with the Gamilons.

Meanwhile, a Gamilon tanker -- coming to transport the bee's royal jelly for Desslok -- approaches the planet...

So...this is one of the weirder episodes of Star Blazers thus far.  

Although the story continues Star Blazers' overarching World War II-in-space metaphor (with Beeland filling in for a Pacific island, or perhaps an African nation...), the episode actually focuses more intently on IQ9, who -- for the first time -- professes intense emotions.

In fact, IQ9 (a robot) notes this week that he actually boasts more intense emotions even than humans, and that he wants to marry Nova.  Captain Avatar suggests, in response, that perhaps it is time for IQ9's "10,000 mile check-up." 

But this is no laughing matter, and IQ9's wedding proposal actually causes Nova to crash her fighter on Beeland in the first place!  Emotional or not, the mechanical IQ9 ought to keep his mind (circuits?) on his job.

Over the course of the episode, IQ9 explains how he has hopes, dreams and fears like any human, and mopes that he is just "scrap metal" to Nova.  She eventually recognizes his heroism and gives him a hug after he saves the day, but this sudden burst of (bizarre) character development involving IQ9 is weird, to say the least.  

Plus, do we really need another character on Star Blazers in love with Nova?  We've already got Derek and Mark Venture pining for her (at least until Starsha really gets into the picture...)  

So, is Nova the only female on the Argo?

I ask because I'm actually not certain at this juncture.  We don't ever see any other females, though certainly the Star Force would be -- ahem -- manned by more than one woman, right?

Beyond the IQ9 plot-line, this episode features a revolution among the Bee People, aliens clearly based on terrestrial bees, right down to the presence of the queen.  Although the idea of intelligent bipedal bees is a little bit silly, it's always welcome for the Star Force to interface with extra-terrestrial characters who are not Gamilon.  This episode gives an insight into Gamilon standard operating procedure too.  They ally themselves with a planet (like Beeland), and then go about seizing control of its resources.  It's a view of imperialism or colonialism, pure and simple.

Only 267 days left!

Star Blazers, Episode #15

In this episode of the 1970s animated series, Star Blazers (1979), the Argo faces another space trap: a galactic whirlpool.  

According to Captain Avatar, this space phenomenon is caused by the impending collapse of a star, and eventually transforms into a black hole.  "It draws everything into it," he warns.

Avatar's fear proves apt when the Argo encounters a Sargasso Sea of wrecked spaceships in the whirlpool's eddies.

Then, another threat soon presents itself.  

Lysis of Gamilon takes command of a military outpost from another officer named "Volgar" and launches a fleet to pursue and destroy the Argo.  Wildstar wants to stand and fight the Gamilons, but Avatar wants to escape from the whirlpool before the ship is forever lost in its twisting currents.

Finally, Starsha of Iscandar transmits a message that provides navigational aid to the Argo, and helps the Star Force escape from the galactic whirlpool.  

Wildstar realizes that Avatar made the right call, and that if they had remained to fight the Gamilon armada (consisting of thousands of ships...) the Argo would have never lived to complete its task...

In many substantive ways, this episode is a repeat of last week's episode about the Octopus Star Group.  

There, Argo had to escape from another space trap (a giant space storm), find an escape route (a channel through clear space), and continue its mission. 

Morale aboard ship was drooping, and Mark Venture and Derek Wildstar were at odds over how to proceed.  

That's precisely the dynamic of this story, with the whirlpool replacing the Octopus storm, and Wildstar and Venture squabbling over whether to fight or plunge forward, towards Iscandar.

The big difference between these narratives involves the resolution.  Here, beautiful Queen Starsha intervenes and saves the Star Force.  She leads the Argo to safety with her  video transmission, after complimenting the bravery of Argo's crew.  The episode also boasts a unique visual in its last act: A vision of Starsha is replaced by an image of Nova, as if the two female characters are somehow one in the same.

Speaking of Nova, she is again being used by the series writers in a primarily care-taking role.  In the last episode, she was the morale officer, planning a party to lift spirits.  This episode opens with Nova delivering and serving coffee to the bridge crew.  Given that she is an important member of the Star Force, this isn't the most flattering picture of the character.

Finally, I got a kick out of the segment of the episode this week involving the Gamilons. Lysis takes over from Volgar, and he immediately re-decorates (violently...) Volgar's lurid office.  Lysis takes down all these weird art-works and paintings, that, frankly, seem a little...unsavory.  However, this choice in art appreciation is entirely appropriate given the character's name.  Volgar = "vulgar."

Only 273 days remaining...

Star Blazers, Episode #14

In the 14th episode of the Japanese anime series Star Blazers (1979), the U.S.S. Argo has been trapped for roughly three weeks in the turbulent "Octopus Star Group."  Mark Venture seeks a channel through the surrounding space storm, while crew morale plummets over the 21-day span of entrapment.

Nova suggests a party for the crew because "everyone is on edge," and Captain Avatar begins to worry about the ship's supplies.  How long can they sit and wait for deliverance?  What price will Earth pay for this delay?

When Venture's channel appears in space, Avatar orders the Argo through at top speed, but a Gamilon ship lurks in the darkness...waiting to strike.

In terms of Star Blazers and it brand of storytelling, I've developed a strong affinity for the stories which don't feature Desslok or Gamilons as main characters.  By my estimation, the best episodes have been those that focus squarely on the Star Force crew, and its challenges surviving the longest-ever journey into uncharted space.   

One episode has been devoted to the crew leaving the solar system, and making its (sad) goodbyes to family and friends on imperiled Earth.  Another stand-out installment involved the capture of a Gamilon pilot, and the memories the pilot evokes in Wildstar.  We witness his painful history in flashback, and gain an insight into the character we don't get in the typical "Gamilons-invent-new-weapon-to-stymie-Star-Force" tales.

This week, we follow along that same character "track."  And again, the episode is very enjoyable and intriguing.  From the episode's first moments, the crewmen are at each other's throats, worried and anxious.  The lack of forward momentum for the Argo calls everything into question.  What if the crew can't save the Earth in time?  What if the ship runs out of food on the way to Iscandar?  

In this atmosphere of irritation, low-morale, and worry, meanwhile, Wildstar experiences more bad dreams of his past on Earth, and the death of his parents.  The week's most valuable crew member turns out to be Nova, who alone seems to understand what is happening to the crew, and struggles to enhance morale as camaraderie breaks down.

I enjoyed how this Star Blazers cleverly gets at an idea I firmly believe about human life, or at least about my own.  People say that sharks must always be moving forward, or they'll die.  I don't know if that's true, per se, but the observation seems accurate about human nature.  

Mankind must always be seeking the next horizon, the next challenge, or he stagnates.  I believe an argument could be made that our small, bitter politics of today are actually killing the human race.  We stopped dreaming big after the moon landing in 1969 (the year of my birth), and now we see only austerity and limits, and terra firma.  

In some sense, we need the challenge of what's out there, over the next summit, to move forward.  That's the Argo's crisis this week.  It's marooned in that multi-tentacled storm, and unable to go back or go forward.  The ship and her crew are paralyzed, and when paralyzed, humans start turning on each other; they turn inward.

Fortunately, our heroes escape this trap in space, and again resume the long odyssey to that distant planet, Iscandar.

Only 280 Days left!

Star Blazers, Episode #13

The 1970s animated series Star Blazers has really hit its storytelling stride, at least if my perception  of the last few episodes is correct.  

This week's installment concerns the capture of a Gamilon pilot -- "the first ever captured" -- and the anger and hostility that the alien provokes in Derek Wildstar.

The blue-skinned Gamilon captive "looks harmless," but Wildstar nurses a grudge against him, and his race. 

We see why in an emotional,sustained flashback.  In this sequence, we see Derek as a boy, and meet his brother Alex, a pilot.  Life seems pretty good for the Wildstars, but then, out of nowhere, the planet bombs rain down. 

We see these weapons of mass destruction decimate London and other great cities, and watch as Derek's family is forced to evacuate to a survival center, and then, finally, petition to move to an underground metropolis.  Lastly, we watch as Derek's loving parents die in a Gamilon strike, leaving the young Wildstar completely alone. He has no home, and no family left...

The scene with the death of Derek's parents is pretty strong stuff.  One moment, his parents are standing under the tree where Derek's father proposed marriage to his mother. The next moment, we see that very tree destroyed, with ruins all about.  The Wildstar family tree is literally and metaphorically destroyed, and it's an emotional wallop.

But -- and this is important -- Derek doesn't kill the Gamilon pilot when he has the chance to do so.  

Instead, he looks at the alien's face and sees, roughly a (blue) mirror of his own. 

Derek realizes that the pilot is not that different from him, in the grand scheme of things.  The Star Force then makes the right choice, and frees the pilot from captivity, especially since his mind has been wiped and he has no knowledge of his people, their actions, or even the missions he has flown.   The so-called "great victory" for the Argo was not capturing the Gamilon, but in showing him their essential decency, their great humanity.

How we treat prisoners of war is a huge controversy today in real life, and Star Blazers re-affirms the idea that we cannot act like savages simply because we have been grievously wronged.  If the values we trumpet are more than mere words, then we have to be better, and more civilized than our enemies.  We must take the high road, even though the high road is more difficult.

I love that Star Blazers gets that idea, and reiterates it in such an emotional, direct context. 

Only 305 days left to save Earth!

Thundarr the Barbarian in "Challenge of the Wizards"

In “Challenge of the Wizards,” Thundarr, Ariel, and Ookla end up in an “ancient city of pleasure” -- Las Vegas, and are captured by the sorcerer Basim. 

The heroes are soon taken to his stronghold, and informed that they must compete in a deadly race so as to earn “the helmet of power,” a device of unlimited magical power.

If Thundarr and his friends survive the “canyon of doom” -- and a battle on Hoover Dam -- they will not only receive the helmet, but earn the right to free several innocent villagers from captivity at Basim’s hand.

But the wizard has a double-cross in mind…

Jaunty and fast-moving, “Challenge of the Wizards” is a bit more original-seeming than many of the previous episodes of Thundarr the Barbarian, mainly because of the organizing principle of the car race, which features unique Death Race 2000-style vehicles like the spiked “wheel machine” and the “scorpion machine.” 

Also, it’s a kick to see the series’ three heroes riding around in a 20^th century dune buggy.

Even the challenges that the triumvirate encounters during the race, including a grizzly snake -- a giant serpent with the face of a bear -- and a storm of toxic acid rain, speak of the episode’s general ingenuity and sense of imagination.  

The final battle, inside a Las Vegas casino, is also great fun.  The evil double-crossing wizard is magically captured and imprisoned inside an ancient slot machine, but only after Ariel defends herself by enlarging a bicentennial coin to enormous size.

Star Blazers: Episode #12

This week's episode of the animated series Star Blazers (1979) finds tons of new menace for our intrepid Star Force.  

The evil Gamilon leader Desslok attempts to trap the Argo with a space net, pursues the giant ship with an energy gas cloud that consumes matter, and then tries to lure the embattled space battleship into a Red sun nicknamed "the Sea of Fire."

And if all this isn't trouble enough for one crew, Captain Avatar is rapidly weakening, and refuses to be hospitalized for his grave condition...

This episode is one of the best so far in the series, for a couple of dynamic reasons.  

In the first case, the pace is faster.  Up till now, we've been getting a menace a week (like the Desslok space mines, or the ultra menace missile...), with the Argo laboriously avoiding it, and destruction.  This week's installment provides three challenges to overcome in twenty-minutes, and so the episode flies by.

More importantly, character development doesn't have to take a back seat this week to all the space adventuring.  

Instead, we watch as the brave Captain Avatar -- my favorite character -- starts to succumb to the radioactive sickness that is also poisoning many denizens of Earth.  In noble fashion, Avatar refuses to be hospitalized, counting himself responsible for the success or failure of the Argo's mission to Iscandar. Unfortunately, he is so ill, he can hardly give orders, and that fact actually jeopardizes the mission.

As you might suspect, Avatar's illness is the beginning of an important plot-turn in the series, and it's heart-breaking to witness.  Avatar is a figure of stability and wisdom in Star Blazers, and so to watch him grow ill is both difficult and upsetting.  

But, of course, if one follows the Joseph Campbell "monomyth" pattern, the wise old general or elder must -- after imparting his wisdom -- leave the stage to make room for the new, young hero...

In terms of other character developments this week, the series finally begins to pay some attention to the long-dormant or at least unexplored attraction between Nova and Derek Wildstar.  

As the episode opens and closes this week Nova wishes upon a star, to the taunts of Wildstar.  

But Nova leaves the young officer speechless when she notes that her wish is "for a certain person to fall in love" with her.

I think we both know who that person is, don't we?

Star Blazers, Episode #11

It’s back to the same, tired old formula this week on Star Blazers (1979), as the Gamilons develop another fiendish weapon to stop the Argo from reaching Iscandar and acquiring the cosmos DNA device.

This week, that weapon -- developed by Talan -- is a batch of fearsome “Desslok Space Mines.”  

Almost immediately, the mines locate Argo (in all of space…) and deploy around the ship.  At first, the Argo uses a balloon decoy (or “baby” Argo) to test the devices, but it is blown up. 

Realizing that they have been ensnared in a deadly, rapidly-springing trap, Captain Avatar orders his crew to locate and destroy the Space Mine Control…hoping to defuse all the devices at once…

The key question to ask here (besides one involving IQ9 coming down with the hiccups…), is how did the Gamilons get a mine-field on the very course that Argo happened to be following?  

Space is big, after all, and the Argo has eluded the Gamilons constantly.  I would think that one ship in the vastness of space would be hard to track down, especially since, as this episode reveals, the Gamilons have no idea where Argo is headed.

The abundantly familiar aspects of this episode -- Gamilons develop new weapon, Argo escapes -- are disappointing, but for the first time, some energy spent is developing the leader of the villains, the Desslok character.  Here, he kills an underling (in the mode of Darth Vader, or a James Bond villain henchman…) for a breach in protocol.  

“I can’t stand a man who laughs at his own jokes,” says Desslok.

More intriguingly, the episode culminates with Desslock transmitting a message of “congratulations” to Captain Avatar and the Argo crew for having defeated the space mines, and getting this far outgunned and outnumbered.  It’s a surprisingly decent and “human” act, and acknowledges the heroism of the human race, and the Star Force.

With just 311 days left, the Argo jumps out of the solar system, and hopefully into a new plot-line…

Thundarr the Barbarian in "The Brotherhood of Night"

In “The Brotherhood of Night,” Thundarr, Ariel and Ookla ride through the ruins of Washington D.C., and Thundarr notes (amusingly) that “these woods have an evil reputation.”  Some people would say the same thing about the city today.

Thundarr's description proves accurate when he learns of a werewolf cult that is transforming innocent villagers into lycanthropes. The leader of the werewolves also hopes to transform the powerful wizard Infernus into a man-beast, in hopes of making his pack invincible.

When Thundarr is bitten by a werewolf, Ariel and Ookla must discover a way to reverse his transformation…

I must confess that at several episodes in at this point, the imagery of Thundarr the Barbarian is proving far more interesting and creative than the narratives are.  

Although “Brotherhood of the Night” throws werewolves into the mix, the story is very similar to previous ones. In particular animal people battle human villagers for supremacy and Thundarr interferes to fight on behalf of the humans. So far we’ve seen shark-people (“Attack of the Amazon Women”) bat people (“Raiders of the Abyss”) and crocodile people (“Harvest of Doom.”) 

Even the idea here, of Thundarr transformed into an enemy, harks back to “Harvest of Doom,” and Ookla’s enslavement under the influence of death flowers.  

Thus far, Thundarr has shown precious little variation in stories, and the repetitive nature of the stories is becoming a bit dull.

But again, I must accentuate the beautiful post-apocalyptic visuals. In this episode, Thundarr visits the ruins of D.C., and very frame in the half-hour features famous aspects of that town. In short order, we see the Capitol Dome, the White House, and Smithsonian. 

In fact, the episode’s final battle is set at the museum, and once more we get the weird (and slightly unsettling…) notion regarding this post-apocalyptic future.  All of our history is lost, and insignificant…just background material in a barbarous world of magic, mysticism and savagery

Star Blazers, Episode #10

Here, the Argo is, at long last, ready to leave the solar system and make a dash for Iscandar to retrieve the life-saving Cosmo DNA. 

But before the Argo leaves the solar system, the crewmen and women must make their goodbyes to Earth, and Earth Command.  Captain Avatar notes solemnly that it might be even worse to be stuck on Earth than facing danger aboard the Argo.  “They can only wait.  We can act.”

As time to communicate with Earth runs out, Nova arranges for each crew member to get five minutes on“the telecommunicator” with family and loved ones.  Mark Venture telephones his Mom and Dad, and talks to his brother Geordi, who is building a model of the Argo in the living room when the connection goes through.  

Meanwhile, Nova speaks to her own parents, and learns that her mother is obsessed not with the impending end of the world…but with finding a suitable husband for Nova upon her return.

These “goodbyes” to family are emotional enough, but then the episode follows up on such heartfelt moments with the revelation that men like Avatar and Derek Wildstar are even worse off. 

They have no one on Earth to even say goodbye to. Talk about feeling lonely...

Until the last few frames of episode ten when Desslok appears, there’s not a twitching, threatening Gamilon in sight, and that’s a very good thing, as Star Blazers diagrams the emotional impact of the Argo’s journey.  The crew must not only accept its mission, but the vast distance from Mother Earth. And the people from Earth are hungry for hope…any hope.  

“We have a great need of news of the Star Force…can we hope?” asks the Earth commander. 

In short, this episode makes up for the last several middling weeks of Star Blazers, which merely tread water in terms of narrative The focus here is rightly on the crew and the fact that it carries the weight of the world upon its shoulders.  

The only negative I can point out, as before, is the detail surrounding the “star warp.”  Already -- several episodes back -- the Argo has jumped twice, and yet this episode again explains the concept of folding space all over again.  And also, I’m not quite clear why the star jump distances have been so short.  The first jump barely took the Argo from Mars to Jupiter.

Still, this entry is a very strong episode in the series, and all of “galactic space” is ahead.  Only 315 Days left…

Star Blazers, Episode #9

The ninth episode of the 1970s animated series Star Blazers (1979) does a strong job of showcasing imaginative visuals, and for that reason, this installment is considerably more interesting than some of the earlier episodes.

In this Star Blazers episode, a damaged and “very vulnerable” Argo suffers damage during an attack by the Gamilon fleet and subsequently seeks shelter inside an asteroid belt.  These asteroids are the remnants of the destroyed tenth planet in our solar system, Minerva.  Realizing that the ship is “not fit to go into battle now,” Captain Avatar approves a risky defense strategy by Engineer Sandor.  

Specifically, he activates an experimental “polarity reactor” which magnetizes the ship’s hull, and pulls nearby asteroids onto the ship…essentially burying the ship inside rock on all sides.  This new “asteroid camouflage” prevents the Gamilons from easily locating the Argo, at least for a time.

This episode features many dynamic visuals, which makes it a more interesting and lively segment than some so far.  For instance, we see Argo’s engineers working on the damaged hull of the ship in a thoroughly impressive sequence.  This EVA reveals scope well, with a team of personnel set against the backdrop of the detailed ship, and again, this is precisely the kind of composition that live-action programs of the day like Buck Rogers and Battlestar Galactica would have been hard-pressed to emulate.  Here, the audience gets a sense of the massive scale of the repair efforts.

The visuals of Argo encased in asteroid rock, and then surrounded by a rotating weapon called an “asteroid ring” (to deflect Gamilon fire) are also incredibly impressive and inventive.  It’s been a few weeks since the show has revealed such flights of imagination.

If this episode boasts any weakness at all, it is in the characterization of the villains, the Gamilons.  These aliens sweat, grovel, whimper, gasp and are forced to speak dreadful dialogue such as “Boy that Star Force is really clever!”  In toto, one wonders how the Gamilons ever defeated the planet Earth, and brought it so low.  In virtually every episode thus far they are depicted as ineffective, even incompetent bunglers.  Lacking courage, loyalty and equanimity, one wonders how the Gamilon race has endured…

After the serious action featured this week, there are only 338 days left for Argo to complete its mission to Iscandar.  And the bloody ship still hasn’t left the solar system yet…