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For the band, see Ookla the Mok (band).
Thundarr the Barbarian is a Saturday morning animated television series, created by Joe Ruby and produced by Ruby-Spears Productions. It lasted 2 seasons, 1980-81 and 1981-1982. Action figures of the three main characters were released by Toynami in 2004.
[edit] Concept and charactersTwenty-one half-hour episodes were produced by Ruby-Spears Productions, an independent animation house formed by the co-creators of Scooby-Doo, from October 1980 to September 1982, when the show went off the air. The show ran on the ABC network. Reruns of the program appeared on NBC's Saturday morning lineup in 1983. Directly inspired by comic books, with the likes of R.E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian and Flash Gordon, Thundarr the Barbarian is set in a future (A.D. 3994) post-apocalyptic wasteland divided into kingdoms or territories—the majority of which are ruled by wizards—and whose ruins typically feature recognizable geographical features from the United States, such as Atlanta, Cape Canaveral, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Mount Rushmore, New York City, San Francisco or Washington, D.C. Other episodes with recognizable settings are located in Central America, while one is in London. Another notable feature of this future Earth is that the Moon was broken in two pieces, but the gravity of the pieces drew them back together, orbiting at roughly the same height as the intact Moon once did. The shattered moon and the ruins of the former human civilization were supposedly caused by the passage of a runaway comet between the Earth and the Moon in 1994, which, from scenes shown in the opening sequence, caused radical changes in the Earth's climate, geography and tidal effects. However, by the time period in which the series is set (2,000 years later), the Earth and Moon seem to have settled into a new balance. The hero Thundarr, a muscular warrior, was meant to be strongly akin to the comic book characters Thor the God of Thunder, Conan The Barbarian, and most especially Namor The Submariner. In this setting, Thundarr and his companions Princess Ariel (a formidable young sorceress) and the Wookiee-like Ookla the Mok traveled the world on horseback, battling evil wizards who combine magical spells with technologies from the pre-catastrophe world. Other enemies include The Brotherhood of Night, a group of werewolves who could transforms others into their number by simple touch, the cosmic Stalker from The Stars, a predatory, malevolent cosmic vampire, humanoid lizards and mutants. Intelligent humanoid-animal races include the rat-like Groundlings and the cat-like Moks. Further Star Wars influences can be seen in Thundarr's weapon of choice, the Sunsword, which projects a blade-like beam of energy when activated, and can be deactivated so that it is only a hilt. The Sunsword's energy blade can deflect other energy attacks as well as magical ones, can cut through nearly anything, and can disrupt magical spells and effects. The Sunsword is magically linked to Thundarr and as such, only he can use it; however, this link can be disrupted.[1] Comic book writer-artist Jack Kirby worked on the production design for the show. While many people believe that Kirby was the primary designer of the show (mainly due to his similarly themed Kamandi: The Last Boy On Earth), the main characters were in fact designed by fellow comic book writer-artist Alex Toth, who also designed the popular character Space Ghost for Saturday morning television. Toth, however, was unavailable to continue working on the show, so most of the wizards and other villains and secondary characters that appear on the show were designed by Kirby. He was brought onto the show at the recommendation of comic writer Steve Gerber and comics and animation veteran Mark Evanier, who realized that the same imagination that produced Kamandi could contribute significantly to the series. Indeed, the evil wizard Gemini, the only repeating villain on the show, resembles Darkseid, an infamous Kirby villain. The series was the creation of Steve Gerber, creator of Marvel Comics' Howard the Duck. The name Ookla actually comes from University of California, Los Angeles (commonly known as UCLA). Gerber and friend Martin Pasko were having dinner in the Westwood area one night during the time Gerber was writing the bible for the series. Gerber commented to Pasko that he had not yet decided upon a name for the Wookiee-like character the network insisted be added to the series, over Gerber's objections. As the two walked past the gate to the UCLA campus, Pasko quipped, "Why don't you name him 'UCLA'?" Pasko later became one of several screenwriters also known for their work in comics, such as Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway, to contribute to the show. After writing several scripts, singly and in collaboration with Gerber, Pasko became a story editor on the second season. Other writers included Buzz Dixon and Mark Jones.[citation needed] The opening narration to the show is as follows:
Bob Ridgely provided Thundarr's voice, frequently uttering such pronouncements as "Demon dogs!", "Lords of Light!", and the Thundarr war-cry (which resembled a cowboy's shout stretched out to "Ahhhhhhhhh-Hee!"). [edit] Other primary characters[edit] Ookla the Mok
Ookla is a member of the mok species, a leonine humanoid with fangs and yellow eyes. In Thundarr the Barbarian's back-story, Ookla and Thundarr were enslaved in the court of the wizard Sabian until Sabian's stepdaughter Princess Ariel helped them escape. As a mok, Ookla has great strength, usually fighting by ripping up a nearby sapling or piece of wreckage to club his enemies. Although on a few occasions he has been shown to use a longbow that fires a type of paralyzing arrow. However, he is also the most likely of the heroes to charge right into an enemy attack or to be enraged by unusual nuisances or threats. Moks also have a fear of water. Thundarr knows more about mok culture than most humans of his era; both Thundarr and Ariel generally understand the howls that make up Ookla's speech. Whereas Thundarr and Ariel ride horses for transport, Ookla's steed is another quadrapedal species called an equort. The name Ookla is a phonetic spelling of the initialism UCLA. Henry Corden voiced Ookla. [edit] Princess Ariel
[edit] BackgroundNot much was revealed about Ariel's history before she met Thundarr except that she was the stepdaughter of an evil wizard named Sabian and that she learned knowledge of magic and the Earth's history from his library. In the episode "Battle of The Barbarians" Ariel recognizes their location as Chinatown in San Francisco and states that her own ancestors may have lived in a place much like this, thus putting forth the notion that her ancestors were of Chinese heritage. The titular barbarian was once a slave of the evil wizard Sabian, but he was set free by Princess Ariel. It is also thought that she gave Thundarr his principal weapon, the Sunsword. It was never revealed exactly where she was a princess. At times she shows romantic feelings toward Thundarr, though he never outwardly returns them. Princess Ariel was voiced by Nellie Bellflower. [edit] Special abilitiesPrincess Ariel is a powerful and intelligent sorceress who possesses style and versatility in her use of magic. Additionally, she possesses knowledge of Earth’s past, which she read about in her stepfather's library.[2] She possesses a quick wit and seems to always have an answer for everything. Her most common feats of sorcery involved creating shapes of light that contained force and/or solidity, ranging from throwing exploding spheres at opponents to levitating weights to summoning nets, shields, or bridges over chasms.[2] She was also able to magically produce light, heat, and whirlwinds, reassemble and/or reanimate inanimate objects or ancient machinery, manipulate the basic elements, and produce formidably powerful energy blasts. When needed, she could also paralyze or hypnotize an enemy. In the Thundarr stories, an evil wizard or sorceress' reign of terror and power is based upon how well he/she was able to combine science (mostly leftovers from the past) with the magical arts. Some relied more heavily on science and others more on magic (or mystic items). Ariel was definitely a more magically adept type magician, though she had proven on many occasions to be able to use her magic to reassemble or reanimate ancient technology and machinery. She was not as powerful a mystic as Gemini, Mindok the Mind Menace, or Skullos, but the levels of her spells were very diversified and unique. As such, she was not helpless in battle against wizards of their level. Ariel's magic had one weakness: it required the use of gestures (typically raising both hands together above her head) and could usually be blocked by anything that grabbed or bound her hands. Some enemy wizards apparently had the same limitation, which Ariel exploited by bringing to life pieces of their clothing or furniture to seize them before they could react. [edit] Episodes and locations[edit] Season 1 (1980–1981)
[edit] Season 2 (1981–1982)
[edit] Allusions in other fiction
[edit] DVD releasesThundarr the Barbarian has not been released on DVD. No plans have been made to release it on DVD. [edit] References
[edit] External links
Categories: American science fiction television series | American children's television series | American Broadcasting Company network shows | NBC network shows | 1980s American animated television series | 1980 television series debuts | 1982 television series endings | Ruby-Spears superheroes | Post-apocalyptic television series | Fantasy television series | Saturday morning programming on NBC | Saturday morning programming on the American Broadcasting Company | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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