The subject: Thundercats. First aired from 1985-1987.

Plot in two sentences: Survivors of a race of cat-like people come to Third Earth after their planet is destroyed and try to adjust to life on this strange new world. They are constantly hounded by the evil mutants who are likewise stranded, and by Third Earth’s hometown brand of evil-doer, Mumm-ra, who have teamed up to steal the Thundercats’ mystical Sword of Omens which contains the Eye of Thundera.

Ah, Thundercats, -- if there’s ever a championship of iconic cartoon shows from the 1980s, this is certainly going to be a heavyweight contender. At the time, it came off as an adventurous, action-packed cartoon with really fun and enjoyable characters -- both good and evil -- really, awesome music, and a hero, Lion-o, who had one of the most bad-ass swords in the history of fictional swords. Plus, Lion-o had a cool mane of red hair, which was great for kids that had a huge tangle of red curls themselves. Bet your ass that no one ever called Lion-o “Ronald McDonald” when he was growing up on Thundera.

Looking at the show today, it’s stood the test of the last twenty years pretty well. It doesn’t feel young and hot, by any means, but it’s a series that grew up into a fine looking middle-aged woman. Stacie’s mom, if you will...

Thundercats has got it goin’ on, it’s on DVD, and I’ve waited for so long…

Okay, song break is over. If there’s one annoyingly cutesy fault about Thundercats, it’s the fact that the naming conventions for everything in the series are kept to an almost idiotically literal level. Shall we have a character roll call? Lion-o, Tygra, Panthro, Cheetara, Wilykit, and Wilykat comprise the Thundercats. The mutants go by the names Slythe, Monkian, Jackalman, and Vultureman. And now we’re presented with the opportunity for a quiz!

Instructions: Match the name with the character’s physical attributes.

Good job!

The “biggest” bad guy in the series goes by the name of Mumm-ra. You’ll be astounded to learn that he’s a mummy, and lives in an ancient pyramid! In fact, the only regular character in the series that doesn’t have a literal name is the Thundercats’ friend and companion Snarf. But Snarf is called “Snarf” because he’s… a snarf. We do find out later, though, that his name is really “Osbert,” when his nephew “Snarfer” shows up after being kidnapped from… THE PLANET OF THE SNARFS.

Snarf.

I wish that the naming convention issues ended there, but watch and see the Thundercats name all of their possessions with the same principles -- they drive a Thundertank, fly in a Feliner, and live in a Cat’s Lair, all of which are powered by… Thundrillium! Almost starts to beg questions like “Does Lion-o remember to wash his hands in the ThunderSink after using the litter box?” “Does Panthro seem like the kind of guy that wears too much ‘ThunderObsession’ by Calvin Feline?” And, dare we ask, “Does Cheetara ever go on the ThunderRag?“

For all the crap that I can give the writers about that awful habit, I will gladly give them equal credit for keeping this series fresh and inventive. Absolutely it jumps the shark in the third season, but in the earlier times, the ideas are really quite fresh and inventive. While keeping the action primarily about the battle between ‘cats and mutants, we are introduced to a plethora of secondary characters, some of which recur in ongoing long-range plot points. This series doesn’t live episode to episode -- there’s actually some long-term continuity here, which immediately places it above the likes of many other contemporary shows, including the popular He-Man.

Third Earth itself is used as a blank canvas for plot fodder -- need a new “evil” thing to fight for today’s episode? Easy, just make something up! Need a sudden ally? Call on Willa, the Warrior Woman, or the Berbills… or have someone fly in from some distant place in space, or hell, let’s unlock some alternative dimension. It’s a vast and varied tapestry, all of which is held together by a small thread of consistency in each episode -- No matter the degree of danger of need for help in any episode, Lion-o is apparently contractually bound to do two things: Use the Sword of Omens to give him “sight beyond sight” and use the Eye of Thundera to summon his comrades by going “Thunder-thunder-Thundercats Hoooooooooooooooooo!” (You probably didn’t notice this at the time, but it’s obvious now that all of that animation was recycled every episode, probably to save money.) Although most of the time, the “Thundercats Ho!” thing is justified in the story, there are still a few obvious times that Lion-O uses it to call his friends after the fighting is over, or just to seemingly swap jokes with them. “Hey Tygra, thanks for coming in such a hurry -- have you heard this one? A Priest, a Rabbi, and a ThunderNun walk into a Kit-Cat club…”

The thing that occurs to me after the fact is that I don’t remember ever seeing a whole lot of Thundercats merchandise around when the series was out. Sure as hell, there’s a ton of shirts out there now with the Thundercats logo (for people like me who will buy them to illustrate our coolness), but then… I remember a few basic figures, I think there was a Sword of Omens toy as well… not a whole lot compared to the likes of He-Man, Transformers, or certainly not GI-Joe, all of which would go out of their way to make up new characters simply to sell a corresponding action figure. I suppose that’s another credit toward the writing, as well… those folks were actually there to tell a story, as opposed to selling stuff for the franchise.

The big kid’s final evaluation: Thundercats has stood the test of time well. It brings up some great feelings of childhood without being horribly tainted by age. If you were a fan, don’t hesitate to rent it or even buy it, because chances are you’ll find it enjoyable. It’s also one to introduce your own kids to, because the stories and action manage to transcend the occasionally “dated” look of the animation. To boot, there’s generally a good life lesson to a lot of the episodes, which are obvious to spot as an adult (seldom to the point of “that’s kind of preachy, isn’t it?), but can serve as pretty good examples to a kid.

And with that, we leave the familiar confines of Third Earth for new territory… please remember to turn off the ThunderLights when you leave. The cost of Thundrillium has been going up.