Overly slow dialogue delivery in some episodes

Anybody notice how some episodes (mostly the later Seasons') often had scenes in which the voice actors are speaking at an overly slow tempo? Even if the situation is one of urgency. For those of you who watch "The Jimmy Kimmel Show", it's like his "Drunk Donald Trump" segment. :)

I find it quite annoying at times and often play such episodes at around 1.5 its normal speed. Then it sounds "normal". I don't know the real reason for this. My guess is that the recording was probably shorter than 20 minutes and thus the voice tempo was slowed.

"Wilycub, post: 119127, member: 25043" said:

Anybody notice how some episodes (mostly the later Seasons') often had scenes in which the voice actors are speaking at an overly slow tempo? Even if the situation is one of urgency. For those of you who watch "The Jimmy Kimmel Show", it's like his "Drunk Donald Trump" segment. :)

I find it quite annoying at times and often play such episodes at around 1.5 its normal speed. Then it sounds "normal". I don't know the real reason for this. My guess is that the recording was probably shorter than 20 minutes and thus the voice tempo was slowed.

I noticed that also.

Ya, I always thought that was a bit weird as well. It would seem rather odd to have the VA speak more slowly if they are slightly short of 20 minutes. Couldn't they just add in some stock footage of a fight scene or something?

I'm just guessing that they slowed down the voices after they had recorded to stretch it out to fill 20 minutes. Don't really know if this was the reason, but I'm surprised that the supervising director didn't notice this.

Most of the episodes in the first half of Season 1 have normal tempos. Truth is, R/B really were more concerned with cutting costs as much as possible. That's why we got poorly animated episodes and poor stories as the series progressed. They just wanted to wrap up TCats as quickly as possible no matter how popular it was. There was never going to be a Season 3.

"Wilycub, post: 119137, member: 25043" said:

I'm just guessing that they slowed down the voices after they had recorded to stretch it out to fill 20 minutes. Don't really know if this was the reason, but I'm surprised that the supervising director didn't notice this.

Most of the episodes in the first half of Season 1 have normal tempos. Truth is, R/B really were more concerned with cutting costs as much as possible. That's why we got poorly animated episodes and poor stories as the series progressed. They just wanted to wrap up TCats as quickly as possible no matter how popular it was. There was never going to be a Season 3.

It's a shame as the first season is great and there are several good episode later in the series...but regardless of how much I liked Thundercats growing up...when taking into account seasons 2,3 and 4 the series as a whole really does not stand up to well compared to a lot of other 80's cartoons.
Poor animation is one thing but it is more excusable that boring predictable writing and uncharismatic voice acting. RB really should have spent more cash on hiring the better writers who were doing amazing work on other shows and hiring some more distinctive voice actors to really add to a character. RB did have some good voice actors with good range but there is only so many voices one person can do...still at least the Voice work was better than Filmation's He-Man. ;) The Filamtion He-Man MOTU cartoon was a lot like the toys. Just like all the toys looked pretty much the same, the vast majority of characters sounded the same LOL.

The dialogue in ThunderCats was indeed kind of slow. The slowness was most apparant in characters like Mumm-Ra. :mummra

"Wilycub, post: 119137, member: 25043" said:

I'm just guessing that they slowed down the voices after they had recorded to stretch it out to fill 20 minutes. Don't really know if this was the reason, but I'm surprised that the supervising director didn't notice this.

Most of the episodes in the first half of Season 1 have normal tempos. Truth is, R/B really were more concerned with cutting costs as much as possible. That's why we got poorly animated episodes and poor stories as the series progressed. They just wanted to wrap up TCats as quickly as possible no matter how popular it was. There was never going to be a Season 3.

Yes, it's really a shame how Thundercats was handled at the end. I know I may be in the minority but I feel like the show had so much left to give! New writers could have really breathed new life into the storylines and there was so much potential left in certain characters as well as a whole universe to expound on.

"adssse, post: 119142, member: 25051" said:

Yes, it's really a shame how Thundercats was handled at the end. I know I may be in the minority but I feel like the show had so much left to give! New writers could have really breathed new life into the storylines and there was so much potential left in certain characters as well as a whole universe to expound on.

That was one area where the Filmation MOTU cartoon outdid Thundercats. They may have lacked in animation and big voice cast but the creativity of the writers they used and the way they expanded MOTU really helped the franchise.

I need a little help here. The slow dialogue is something I've never picked up on. Can someone point me to a good example? This might help explain why so many of the later season episodes felt shallow on story compared to season 1.

"ButterflyBoy, post: 119149, member: 16168" said:

I need a little help here. The slow dialogue is something I've never picked up on. Can someone point me to a good example? This might help explain why so many of the later season episodes felt shallow on story compared to season 1.

I'm sorry I just can't seem to recall a specific scene to tell you. Which is kinda strange since these "slow talking" scenes really irked me! It's been a while since I watched the cartoons myself. I'll try to watch and pick out some examples. :)

But if anyone remembers any specific scene, please feel free to chime in with an example for ButterflyBoy.

Mumm-Ra always talked slowly anyway, and it added to his menace. The same was true of Jaga, which added to his sense of wisdom.

Basically Earl Hammond talked slowly! Maybe he did get slower as the series progressed, maybe it was his advancing years, I don't know.

Most '80 cartoons like ThunderCats had somewhat slow dialogue as well, now that I think of it.

Not all though. Transformers usually has a lot going on in it, likewise Defenders Of The Earth. Hmm, the first two shows we covered in ROCKS! (And if anyone wants to join the discussions late, they're perfectly welcome to add their comments on the episodes selected!)

Not necessarily a slow tempo, but being a Tygra fan, I noticed Peter Newman's voice differing in the charatcer from season 1 to season 2... or is it just my idea?

I've especially noticed how Tygra sounded in "Day of the Eclipse" and the five-part "ThunderCubs" miniseries.

I have season 1 on DVD, and I also have a copy of the feature length version of Exodus that a friend copied for me on VHS about 9yrs ago. They are at different speeds. Tape error could account for this, of course.

When Willa debuted in the episode "Trouble with Time," she sounded decent, but as ThunderCats progressed, her voice became more dramatic.

So, where is everybody? Missing the action and missing you guys! :(

"Tygra_Rules, post: 121178, member: 9228" said:

So, where is everybody? Missing the action and missing you guys! :(

We've been doing just fine. :)

"Tygra_Rules, post: 121178, member: 9228" said:

So, where is everybody? Missing the action and missing you guys! :(

Agreed. It has been quite slow. More Thundercats talk is always desired!