#8 MAY 25, 2021 · 4 yr ago
I enjoy the post movie era of the show, but it lacked a few of the things that made Season 1 special.
First of all, I loved exploring Third Earth and discovering it right along with the Thundercats. With every new location, new ally, and new enemy, it just made the show more exciting. What new stone of Third Earth would they over turn next? Sadly, by the time Darkside was established as The Lunatak's territory, it felt like there was nowhere left to explore in Third Earth, and that simple fun of the older episodes was kind of lost.
Also, with the huge expansion of the cast with New Thundercats and a whole new group of main bad guys, certain things were lost as well. Spotlight episodes focusing on individual Thundercats became less common, and with The Lunataks around, guest villains became a thing of the past (that is until the New Thundera episodes, but bare with me). With no more one or two shot guest villains, there were no more possibilities to have like a Safari Joe or a Driller or a Mongor or a Ratar-O come around, or even some new villain to leave an impression like they did. In the episodes between Mumm-Ra Lives and The Last Day, the only guest villains I recall off the top of my head were The Mad Bubbler, The Berserkers for one last hurrah, and in a weird choice, Captain Cracker (seriously, of all the Season 1 guest spot villains, he was the one they brought back?).
Speaking of the new characters, The New Thundercats never really gelled with me, and I felt like the writers struggled to find out what to do with them too. Lynx-O was basically a walking PSA. Yes, I'm all for respecting blind people and people with disabilities, but they handled it with the subtlety of a jackhammer. Heck, the wheelchair bound Chip "No one is ever really disabled as long as he has courage" Chase from Transformers was more subtle than Lynx-O. And then poor Ben-Gali and Pumyra never really got much to do. Ben Gali faired the better of the two by virtue of having a cool weapon and being the blacksmith, but Pumyra never rose above being "The other female Thundercat".
And then there is Snarfer. OK, I liked Snarf just fine in Season 1, but he worked best in small doses. When you had a second and more obnoxious Snarf around, not only does it kill any appeal the original might have, but it makes it harder to get a break from the Snarfs. It didn't help that the "Snarfs are immune to X" became way overused to the point of being annoying. The worst offender of this is seen in "Thundercubs Part 2".
Honestly, my favorite thing about The New Thundercats was their main vehicle, the Thunderstrike. That thing was cool as heck and gives the legendary Thundertank a ride for its money as coolest T-Cat vehicle.
Then I better talk about The Lunataks who I actually like based on their designs, abilities, and the mission statement of giving the now expanded Thundercats team more of a physical threat. Their designs in particular stand out to me as they look both extraterrestrial and like something inspired by Elven fantasy, giving them that Sci-Fi/Sword & Sorcery mix that the show had going for it. Unfortunately, they mostly peaked with their introduction in the Mumm-Ra Lives miniseries. Tugg Mugg and Redeye in particular suffered from what I like to call "Bane-Doomsday" syndrome. Bane is best remembered for breaking Batman's back...a moment that happened very soon after his debut. Doomsday is known for being the creature that fought Superman to death and literally nothing else. Both characters peaked fairly early, and sadly, that was the fate of the Lunatak's two goons. Tugg-Mugg broke the Sword of Omens...and never lived up to that moment ever again. Redeye saw Tygra when he was invisible, and sadly, that's pretty much all he's known for. Compare that to The Mutants, who had their best moments spread out throughout Season 1 instead of peaking at the pilot episode. And Chilla, while useful and ruthless with her ice powers, never provided much entertainment or development beyond her gimmick.
Luna and Amok's "Master-Blaster" style relationship was fine, and they were able to mine that on at least a few occasions. And then there is Alluro, who was probably the best served of all the Lunataks over their time in the show. His ability to talk down the Thundercats was something that managed to stay useful all throughout, and his presentation and disturbingly calm voice made him stand out over pretty much all the other main characters.
Now lets talk about bringing Thundera back, which was both a blessing and a curse. It gave them a ton of new macguffins to play with during The Treasure of Thundera arc, and allowed Mumm-Ra to FINALLY get a sword to rival the Sword of Omens with the Sword of Plun-Darr. It also allowed for new places to explore, adding back some of that Season 1 sense of discovery that kind of got lost. However, it also raised a ton of questions that never really got answered, like, uh, how did New Thundera reform exactly? Was it Jaguara and the Gyroscope, because if so, why didn't she make herself known to the Thundercats or anybody else? She just reformed the planet and hoped for the best? Also, why did the Snarfs leave their paradise like Planet of Snarfs to go to the husk of a world with New Thundera? Maybe Mumm-Ra enslaved them all and dragged them there, but then if so, why didn't they go back at the end of Thundercubs? The dialogue surrounding that whole thing is confusing too.
I do like that the Thundercats eventually defeated Mumm-Ra, The Mutants, and The Lunataks and freed Third Earth for their friends. And moving the show to New Thundera permanently presented some possibilities. We got more guest villains back out of necessity, though now, poor Mumm-Ra was left without much help and was woefully outnumbered. In Season 1, The Thundercats were the strangers to a strange land where danger lurked around every corner. Here, it felt like Mumm-Ra was the underdog going up against a force that was growing, expanding, and always gaining more power over the land, and it cuts the drama in half when the main villain doesn't feel as much of a threat as he used too. Also, without the more comedic Mutants around, Mumm-Ra had to play goofball more often. An episode like "Helpless Laughter" that portrays Mumm-Ra the way it does would have never happened in Season 1. And for the life of me, I'll never understand why Tygra and Pumyra were so unceremoniously written out of the show.
The post movie era of the show also contains some of the very worst episodes in the series. Seriously, if I was going to do a top ten worst (actually, didn't I do that on these forums years ago?). The Circus Train, Exile Isle, Runaways, Hair of the Dog, Sideswipe, Chain of Loyalty, Cracker's Revenge, and so on all come to mind.
Sounds like I'm ragging on the post movie episodes, but I'm not. Its just when I look back on the show, most of my fond memories are with Season 1. That was when the show was it is most fun and most pure.
That said, there are plenty of Post-Movie episodes I enjoy. For example:
1) Catfight = Feels like a kid came up with the concept, but I mean that in a good way. We get to see the Thundercats fight!
2) Psych Out = The ending with Snarf saving the day is off, but this episode made Alluro stand out big time.
3) The Mask of Gorgon = Fun episode that explores an ancient legend, and its the last time The Warrior Maidens played a big role. Also, there's a giant monster at the end. I like that, haha.
4) Time Switch = A fun and goofy episode, and it was a fun way to revisit the Cave of Time.
5) Mumm-Rana's Belt = Honestly, a very good entry that covers the relationship between Luna and Amok and highlights their co-dependence on each other while also giving Pumyra the closest thing she ever had to a spotlight episode. It also kind of fixed Mumm-Rana, a character I really didn't like in her previous entry.
6) Crystal Canyon = An obvious and maybe a little too "on the nose" Anti-Drug PSA, but watching Tygra wilt away as he became a slave to the Keystone was actually pretty disturbing.
7) The Telepathy Beam = If you like Cheetara, this episode is must see. Also, the false visions provided a fun way to basically work every major villain into the episode.
8) Key to Thundera = The secrets of the Book of Omens start to be revealed. Its also interesting how this episode basically sets up the series finale.
9) Bracelet of Power = Another fun goofy episode, with a hilarious exchange between Snarf and Mumm-Ra.
10) The Jade Dragon = Hachiman's farewell to the series is a satisfying and wild episode that is almost too much to handle.
11) The Last Day = Feels like an appropriate series finale TBH.
12) Malcar = A fun guest villain is featured, but we also get to see Jaga Vs. Mumm-Ra for the first and only time in the series.
13) Ma-Mutt's Confusion = Ma-Mutt finally get a spotlight episode and Mumm-Ra is the one who learns the lesson of the day. Also, say Babylonian Barbarian Boiler out loud...its a lot of fun!
14) Shadowmaster = Claudis' fate is finally revealed, giving us one of the more emotional episodes of the post movie period. Return to Thundera is such a memorable episode that it made sense to do a follow up to it, even this late in series.
15) Touch of Amortus = A fun creepy episode.
16) The Zaxx Factor = Vultureman's last hurrah, with a little Third Earth history and a fun guest character thrown in for good measure.
17) Book of Omens = The series finale crams alot into its run time, giving us an apocalyptic story, the finale Mumm-Ra/Lion-O confrontation, and an awesome ending with the Thundercat signal coming to life.
And there are other good episodes too. Those are just the ones that stick out to me the most. Issues aside, I did enjoy this period of the show.
