Way back when I first made this page, I said that my favorite episode was Crystal Canyon. Once I saw all the episodes and my character tastes became a little more set, a new favorite took its place, although I still do like Crystal Canyon quite a bit. My all-time favorite, however, is Psych Out. I don't say that only because I am such a big Alluro fan, although I'd be lying if I said his starring role didn't factor into it.
One reason I like it is that because Alluro kicks some major ass in it and comes very close to defeating all of the Thundercats. The scene where he first gets his hands on the Egora Talisman is very impressive, and I love how he makes Lion-O bow down before him. Another reason I like this episode is the exchange between Mumm-Ra and Alluro early on. I thought it was very well done, both animation-wise and in writing. It's also got an interesting plotline. Even though all Thundercats episodes are predictable (the standard setup of bad guy winning at first and then getting his ass kicked at the end followed by a cheesy joke and/or moral in the epilogue) this one was interesting, and as much as I hate to admit it, did have a good moral: basically, that when you get too high on yourself, you tend to screw up (like poor Alluro) and someone you underestimate (like Snarf *grumble*) can get the better of you. Although the official lesson was the whole speech about "the greatest power lies within yourself, not in some outside source" but the other message was something I found to be more meaningful. So actually, there are two lessons to be learned from this episode. And hey, we evil fans can always hit "stop" around the time Snarf shows up and pretend that's where the show ends.
As I mentioned above, I also like Crystal Canyon. The main reasons I enjoyed that episode are that firstly, it has a lot of both Tygra and Alluro in it, and two, I think it's a good story. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the crystal was a metaphor for addiction, and the show gave a good example as to why it's important not to fall into that trap of becoming dependent on something like that to get through the day, and how doing so can mess up your life, but it did it without getting preachy about it. It also carried a lot of weight because it showed it both through a hero character, and then a villain (showing that anyone can be affected) and not just someone we'd never seen before. Plus it had some good dialogue and character interactions. We got to see Lion-O in "spy" mode, listening in on the Lunatacs' calls to each other, the angst of worrying about Lion-O after the crash, and Tygra gradually losing it before he came to his senses. (Not to mention the Alluro/Chilla subtext: "That's good night and thank you, Thundercats! Come on Chilla, let's go celebrate!" and "If you're good, I may even give you to Chilla. What a wonderful pet you'd make!")
On the other end of the quality spectrum, but also a favorite is the Overgard classic Exile Isle. Not only has this episode provided me with countless images both serious and for the Inquirer, but it's hilarious. Captain Cracker is funny as hell, and the contrivances... oy! Lie translator, rock salt, LOL! And of course the unforgettable lines like "Come back here you pussy lover!" and "Lion-O, have you ever seen a walking palm tree before?" just add to the fun. Between this and Side Swipe, you've got some MST-worthy comedy gold.
The creepiest one in my opinion is Trapped. Although it was a good episode, it's one of those that gives me the willies. I can't imagine being stuck in that tiny capsule for as long as the Thunderkittens were since I'm somewhat claustrophobic. I had to actually fast forward through parts of it. This was the only episode that ever actually bothered me. It left me with the same icky feeling that the cockroach episode of The X-Files did.
Another episode that gave me the creeps was Divide and Conquer, with the part where Cheetara was stuck in the giant beehive. Ick. I get freaked out around wasps. The giant bees came back in Mumm-Ra Lives, too. Oh, and while we're on the subject of the bees from hell, I have a little point I'd like to make about that episode (Mumm-Ra Lives Part 4). That proves, despite what the show says, that snarfs are capable of evil! Tearing into the hive to sic them on Alluro? That's a bit above and beyond self-defense there. That's sadistic. I won't argue that Alluro didn't have it coming, but please, don't tell me that snarves are incapable of evil after seeing that.
Ghost Warrior was also a cool episode, but Grune haunting Cat's Lair definitely had a creepy factor to it as well.
Funniest Episode: Helpless Laughter. If for no other reason, this episode should be watched for the scene where Mumm-Ra gets an attack of the giggles.
Other episodes with funny lines/scenes:
From Thundercats Ho! Part Three: Captain Shiner, referring to Slythe riding the nose diver on top of Jackalman in a rather interesting position: "So, finally, the mighty mutant warriors! And a pretty pair you make, I must say, eh men?" I almost fell out of my chair at that one. I have a wav of that one if you'd like to hear it.
The entire scene between Mumm-Ra and Ma-Mutt at the beginning of Ma-Mutt's Confusion. Personally I think this entire episode (along with Side Swipe) was either written by someone who had been smoking something mighty strong at the keyboard, or it was written in the spirit of parody or some kind of spoof of itself, like that Jose Chung's From Outer Space episode of The X-Files.
Tygra's acid-trip-like reaction to "Silky's" fruit in Garden of Delights.
In Hair of the Dog, where Snarf sings his goofy song about candy fruit.
All of the episodes with Captain Cracker have some funny lines. And I know I mentioned it above, but I have to bring it up again: the walking palm tree in Exile Isle. "It's not gonna present you with a coconut, matey!"
From Side Swipe, when Luna and Alluro are probing Lynx-O's brain and can't get anything on the monitor: Luna: "Doesn't this man have a thought in his head?" Also in Side Swipe, if you look closely when Vultureman is reading the newspaper, Luna is on the cover of it! See? There are tabloids on Third Earth!
The "Snarf-Ra the Ever-Living" scene in Hair of the Dog.
Little Lion-O owning the Lunatacs in Time Switch, and Panthro making goofy faces at baby Lion-O in the same episode.
Weirdest Episodes:
Side Swipe. This episode, while very entertaining, leaves the viewer with a distinct "WTF?" feeling while watching it. First off, there are little mentions of things one would not expect to see on Third Earth (space travel traffic laws, Mexican takeout, Chilla having a driver's license and registration for her Ice Runner) along with the entire inane plot, which boils down to Chilla getting road rage, ramming Snarfer with her Ice Runner (rather than going around it? Er, okay...), and then Mandora hunting her down to issue her a traffic ticket. Lynx-O escorts Mandora to Dark Side (no explanation as to why the non-Thunderian can't just fly over Fire Rock Mountain herself) where he gets captured. Mandora apparently doesn't feel this violates the law, even when they probe his brain and hold him against his will, or when Luna tries to eject her into deep space. No legal issues there. But damn it, Chilla ran a snarf off the space highway and she has to go to traffic court! And to make sure she goes, she'll even make her drink anti-freeze. (Hello police brutality!)
Ma-Mutt's Confusion. Not the greatest episode created by the Thundercats writers by far, but it's redeemed in its entertainment value, in a Twilight Zone-ish sort of way. This is the episode that you half-expect the Energizer bunny to come marching through in the middle of. After all, it's not every episode that we're treated to the Ever-Living Source of Evil himself, Mumm-Ra, not only apologizing to his dog but promising to be nice to him, and falling apart without him. This episode also awards the Thundercats all dunce caps for taking in Ma-Mutt. Yes, good guys are obligated to take pity on the unfortunate, but come on! Mumm-Ra's familiar? Thundercats, the clue phone is ringing for you.
Now while I like Thundercats, and I don't dislike the very last season (everything after "The Last Day") nearly as much as I used to, I still don't think that it was up to par with the rest of the series. This is definitely where it "jumped the shark".
First of all, writing out Tygra and Pumyra by leaving them on Third Earth? Not cool. Okay, Tygra got one episode where he came back, but Pumyra was completely dissed. The last time we saw her was one whopping line in Cracker's Revenge and neither of them were even in the finale.
They weren't the only ones to get the shaft, though. The Lunatacs and Mutants got it too, in a big way, being written out for the season aside from a couple of meager guest appearances. The Lunatacs got to return in Cracker's Revenge where they were written as entirely too wimpy and pathetic, and aside from appearing in one of the Return to Thundera episodes and Vultureman's bookmobile escapade in The Zaxx Factor, we didn't see the Mutants either.
To make up for this lack, we got a bunch of one-shot villains and antagonists. Some of them had some cool potential (Malcar, Baron Tass, and Zaxx) but other episodes were real stinkers. Swan Song? Oh puh-leez. This is Thundercats, not Captain Planet. Or how about Amortus, a villain that sounds either like he's Tygra talking underwater, or Tygra attempting to imitate Hachiman while drunk.
The gyroscope concept was overdone and really pegged the WTF-o-meter for me, although I will say that I do like the characters of Jaguara and Tor so at least there were a couple of good things to come out of those episodes.
On The Various Five-Parters:
Lion-O's Anointment Trials: Not bad, but not my favorite either. I'd rate these #4 out of the 5 five-parters. The notion of having Lion-O come of age and earn his title was cool, but being that I'm more of a character interaction than action fan, I didn't get a whole lot out of these. Don't get me wrong, I don't think these episodes were bad or anything, but there are many episodes I enjoyed more.
Thundercats Ho! The Movie: My second favorite miniseries. I loved the introduction of the new Thundercats and the appearances by so many recurring characters like Ratar-O, Captain Shiner, Grune, Hachiman, and the Berzerkers. It also had a great plot and nice animation. That said, if you're not much of a drinker, don't use this one as a test run for the drinking game. I did, with my friend PumMyra, and the Mutants (especially Monkian's "hoo hoo"s) had us drunk and out of play before we got finished with Part Four.
Mumm-Ra Lives!: This one, as you might have guessed, is my favorite! Mumm-Ra returns with stronger magical power and brings in the Lunatacs. This miniseries has the is the Lunatacs at their best and most powerful, while they're clearly a force to be reckoned with, as opposed to some of their more cringeworthy appearances in the later seasons. Despite the somewhat incoherent flow of the episodes (parts 1-3 seem to go together, while 4 and 5 seem like they should be taking place much later) they're still pretty cool. My only complaints are the giant bee scene I talked about above, and the random appearance of the talisman used to defeat Mumm-Ra, which is never mentioned again after the Lunatacs all go after it.
Thundercubs!: My third favorite. I like the concept of the Treasure of Thundera, but the notion of the planet reforming is quite a stretch in the realm of believability, even for a show with breathing in space. The flute was cool, and it was nifty seeing Cheetara, Panthro, and Tygra as kids. I would have liked to see a little Bengali, Pumyra, or Lynx-O as well though. (Point to ponder- had it been Lynx-O in the canyons of youth, would his sight have been restored?)
Return to Thundera: Oh boy. Well, since you know that none of the
above were my least favorite, it must be this one. Unfortunately this
miniseries was an omen of lesser caliber episodes to come in the final
season. It marks Pumyra's last appearance (unless you count her one
whole line in Cracker's Revenge) and the last of the Mutants (except Vultureman)
as well. Parts were funny in a silly way (Captain Bragg falling
through space and not dying and him hitting on Mandora, for instance) but even
that stuff and the introduction of Jaguara and Tor were not enough to redeem
awful gyroscope plot.
The Last Day, Hachiman's Honor, Garden of Delights, Cracker's Revenge, The Doomgaze, Dimension Doom, Mumm-Rana's Belt, Dream Master, The Shifter, Jackalman's Rebellion, The Mountain, Mandora and the Pirates, Tower of Traps, Catfight, Out of Sight, Time Switch, Ravage Island, and Wild Workout.
Back to Musings or Thundercats Zone.