Thundercats: Season One, Volume 2
When reviewing cartoons from the eighties, nostalgia becomes the deciding factor. This classic action adventure from the former after school exploits of Lion-O, the leader of the Thundercats, an alien race of super-powered felines stranded on an unknown planet after the destruction of their own planet, Thundera. A band of evil mutants followed them to the new planet, called Third Earth, and the battle for control begins.
Flat stories with one-dimensional characters would be painful today, but add in the nostalgia factor, and these 20-year old episodes start purring. From Lion-O’s oddly designed homoerotic costume (it’s made up of underwear and a muscle shirt with a hole to reveal his tummy muscles along with his sword that grows when he’s excited) to colorful villains who can’t take a hint, Thundercats offers the kind of show that entertained us as children while today we laugh at the simplicity.
Almost everyone of the 32 episodes in this six-disc volume involve some scheme by the villainous Mumm-Ra to destroy the Thundercats, from manipulating Spidera, Queen of Eight Legs (a giant spider) to controlling the Rock Giant (a rock giant). Following the pattern, Lion-O gets separated from the team and often captured. He eventually finds a way to get to his Sword of Omens, which is of course, out of his reach. After yelling his catch phrase of “Ho!,” the sword calls the other Thundercats to his aid and the bad guys are defeated. And don’t forget the corny joke at the end.
Classics litter the box set, specifically the five part Anointment of Lion-O where he must challenge each member of the Thundercats to earn his status as leader. The template gets tweaked for these episodes and makes Lion-O a stronger leader, instead of the most masculine character to need rescue. He has to perform his tasks without his sword, making him come up with inventive strategies. There are villains and mutants, of course, but they offer peripheral amusement instead of a distraction.
Volume two of season one offers 32 episodes for more than twelve hours of cat-scratching entertainment along with “Thundercats Ho! Creating a Pop-Culture Phenomenon,” an interview with executive producer Arthur Rankin Jr offering fun insight into a fun series. Don’t expect a deep analysis, none is needed. This is action at it’s after school simplest.
