The Saturday Morning Podcast
Rewind and take a deep-dive back to the 80's to see how all those wonderful Saturday Morning shows came to be. Explore the cast, creation and legacy of all your childhood favorites. Relive what it felt like to wake on Saturday Morning in the 80s -- It'll make you feel like a kid again!
Grab a bowl of cereal, 'toon in, and experience the greatest decade the world has ever known!
The Saturday Morning Podcast
S01E01 Thundarr the Barbarian
In this premiere of THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN, your Saturday Morning historian, Christopher Jay, takes a look at the origin of the show. Included, is a look at the talent behind the scenes, a rundown of the pilot episode, “Curse of the Black Pearl”, and a look at the legacy of THUNDARR after all these years.
Hold on to your equorts and take a ride through Numaria with us all the way back to October 4, 1980.
Thanks for tooning in.
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THE SATURDAY MORNING PODCAST
“Thundarr the Barbarian”
0. OPENING (PRE-RECORD)
MUSIC: “HIJACK”
ME: Wake up, it’s The Saturday Morning Podcast. Let Mom and Dad sleep in and come back with me to the 80’s. Let’s grab a bowl of Golden Puffs or Apple Cinnamon Cheerios and flip on the tube. I’ve got the TV Guide and hours of nothing to do.
My name is Chris and I love all the Saturday Morning cartoons. When I was a kid, I lived for Saturday mornings. Now that I’m an adult, I want to relive all those great shows and see how they came about.
Let’s take a deep dive back to the 80’s and see what’s waiting. Rewind!
FX: REWIND SOUND
1. INTRO
MUSIC: EARLY 80s SYNTH
ME: Lords of Light! It’s time to follow THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN on his action-adventure story through a post-apocalyptic Earth. Premiering on ABC in October 1980, it tells the story of Thundarr, Princess Ariel and Ookla the Mok (mock), as they fight villainous wizards and rat-like Groundlings. Thundarr is a former slave equipped with his sunsword, who’s blade is made of pure energy. Hold on to your equorts, it’s time to explore the world of THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN.
“THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN” THEME
* * *
FX: AMBIANT FOREST SOUNDS
ME: According to the Thundarr wiki: “Thundarr was born in Numeria and has lived there most of his life. He was enslaved at a young age and eventually became the favorite gladiator of a Numerian wizard. During that period, he caught the eye of Ariel, the wizards adopted daughter and became friends with Ookla, a Mok gladiator. Ultimately Thundarr convinced Ariel to help him and Ookla escape. Together the three ride throughout Numeria fighting oppression and attempting to free the people of their homeland from the oppressive whims of the ruling wizards and the foul Black Sovereign.”
Thundarr carried his sunsword, a sabre of pure energy that could cut through metal. But it’s Achilles’ heel was bronze, a metal it couldn’t cut through… for some reason?
Princess Ariel is a sorcerous and a scholar, having learned of the past through her step-father’s library. She is considered to be the brains of the group, and Thundarr depends on her knowledge. She has a crush on Thundarr, but the warrior seems oblivious to this, a fact that irritates Ariel to no end.
Ookla the Mok is a beastman who is the muscle of the group and deadly with his stun-bow. He is the Mok who helped Thundarr over-throw the evil wizard Sabian in the slave revolt. While Ookla doesn’t seem to speak in a human language, Thundarr understands his howls just the same. The Mok rides a quadrupedal horse called an equort as the group makes their way across Numeria.
FX: STATIC
2. THE CREATORS
MUSIC: “HAPPY MEMORIES” (CONT SEG 2-4)
ME: THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN was the brain-child of Steve Gerber and produced by Ruby-Spears Productions.
Ruby-Spears was formed in 1977 by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, two former writers at Hanna-Barbera. Together, they created “Scooby-Doo, Where are You!” in 1969. Forming their own company, and executives at ABC, they created shows like “Fangface”, “The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show” and “Heathcliff”. They brought their Hanna-Barbera sensibility to Saturday morning, while giving their former employers stiff competition.
In the world of comic books, Steve Gerber was then known as a writer on “Man-Thing” and the creator of “Howard the Duck” for Marvel. On “Man-Thing”, he was known as the writer who helped to define the character and take it to new heights. “Howard the Duck” was a satirical look at the world, through the eyes of an outsider.
In the book “Steve Gerber: Conversations”, he explains how THUNDARR came about:
“That came out of a lunch meeting I had with Joe Ruby in, I think, September 1979. The earliest ballyhoo was beginning to appear on the “Conan” movie, and it had occurred to me that a sword-and-sorcery series had never been attempted on television, let alone Saturday morning. We met, and I proposed the idea. He liked it, took it to the network, and I suppose he got a development deal, since he called me back a week later and asked me to come on staff for a month or so to develop the show. He had formulated a few ideas about what could be done with it and we designed it very specifically to be workable within the restrictions we knew existed on Saturday morning adventure series. When you tailor a show that way from the beginning, sometimes you come out ahead in terms of the final production. The limitations have all been dealt with from the outset, and the ways around them are built into the concept, so you don’t find yourself constantly having to overcome some new and unexpected complaint from the censors.”
* * *
ME: Among the many artists brought onto the project at Ruby-Spears, two in particular stand out as being well-suited to bring THUNDARR to life.
Jack Kirby, epic artist and creator, started at Marvel when they were still Timely Comics, and contributed designs to THUNDARR. This came at a time when Kirby had left Marvel, feeling he was not treated well, and pursued a career in animation. He would contribute designs to “Turbo Teen” and THUNDARR, among others.
I personally feel his design work can be seen in the design of the main characters. After all, Kirby had a hand in creating the likes of Captain America, The Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Thor, the Hulk and Iron Man. If you need a group working together, but in conflict, with a physically strong leading man built like a marble statue, Kirby was your man.
Alex Toth was a veteran of Hanna-Barbera animation, having already had a twenty year career when THUNDARR came along. He worked on many classic shows, including “Jonny Quest”, “Space Ghost”, “Birdman”, and “Sealab 2020”. Critics noted that Toth understood visual storytelling and was among the best in the field.
With this dynamic team assembled, THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN was off and running. Now they just had to assemble the perfect cast…
FX: TV STATIC
3. THE PERFECT CAST
MUSIC: “HAPPY MEMORIES” (CONT SEG 2-4)
ME: Robert Ridgely was cast as THUNDARR. During this time, Ridgley was also The Collector on the “Richie Rich” animated show. He played General Ross on the live-action “Incredible Hulk”. Throughout his career, he performed much voice-over work, appearing on “The Dukes”, “Strawberry Shortcake” and “Flash Gordon”. He’d appear as multiple characters on “Alvin and the Chipmunks”, also produced by Ruby-Speers. He brought the quality of strength and leadership to Thundarr.
Nellie Bellflower was cast as Princess Ariel. In animation she was featured in “Return of the King” and “Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July”. In the 70’s, Bellflower ran the gamut, appearing in live-action shows that helped to define the decade, including “Happy Days”, “Barney Miller”, and “Starsky and Hutch”.
Henry Conden AKA Ookla the Mok, played Fred Flinstone after original voice actor Alan Reed died in 1977, and was a voice-over staple for Hanna-Barbera. He appeared in both live-action and animation, bouncing between the two mediums. Of the main cast, Conden’s credits may have been the deepest, going back to 1947.
It wasn’t just the alchemy of the main cast that made it work, the guest stars brought it to life as well.
FX: TV STATIC
4. GUEST STARS
MUSIC: “HAPPY MEMORIES” (CONT SEG 2-4)
ME: Several well-known actors lent their voices to the adventures in Numeria. That included Joan Van Ark from “Knots Landing” as Captain Corden, Nancy McKeon from “Facts of Life” as Tai, and Michael Ansara, known for the original “Star Trek” and “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century”, as Vashtarr.
But perhaps the best-known character actor was Keye Luke, who provided additional voices to this and other series, and played Zevon. He was #1 son in the “Charlie Chan” movies of the 1930s, performed in live-action and animated television and movies. He was an artist that created promotional artwork for the 1933 “King Kong”. He was in “Star Trek” and “Gremlins” and was all over TV in the 80’s. If that wasn’t enough, he was all but cast as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the 1977 “Star Wars” before Alec Guiness accepted the offer.
After these messages, we’ll be right back.
VINTAGE COMMERCIALS #1 (1:30)
5. THE PREMIERE
FX: AMBIENT FOREST SOUNDS (SEGS 5-8)
ME: If you watched the premiere of THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN, the date was October 4, 1980. Jimmy Carter was the President of the United States. “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen was the Number One song in the country. Movie-goers went to the theatres to see “My Bodyguard” staring Chris Makepeace and Ruth Gordon. Ed Asner and Mason Adams from LOU GRANT were featured on the TV Guide.
If you were a kid in 1980, maybe you got up early and got yourself breakfast. Maybe you had cereal, like a bowl of Chocolate Donutz or Waffelos.
If you were an ABC kid, you knew “Saturday’s Best on ABC”. Their line up started at 8 AM with SUPER FRIENDS.
Next up was a repeat of FANGFACE, followed by THE FONZ AND THE HAPPY DAYS GANG. Two great tastes that taste great together: RICHIE RICH and SCOOBY-DOO in their own show. And if you didn’t get enough Scooby on this hour-long show, an episode of SCOOBY-DOO CLASSICS was on next.
At 11 o’clock, it was everything you were looking for. THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN premiered with “The Curse of the Black Pearl”.
It opened with fanfare, detailing the cosmic cataclysm in 1994 that wasted the planet. It caused tsunami’s to crash huge waves on the cities, and volcanoes to erupt and wreak havoc on Earth.
Two-thousand years later, a world of savagery, super science and sorcery emerged. A slave breaks his bonds and fights for freedom, equipped with his fabulous sun-sword. He is THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN.
The story opens with mountains and overgrown foliage against wreckage of crashed airplanes and rusted cars.
Thundarr, Ariel and Ookla find a human held prisoner by Groundlings, rat-like creatures. The human, Tyron, is rescued by Thundarr’s sun-sword, Ariel’s magic and Ookla’s stun-bow, and a healthy dose of brute strength.
Tyron carries the Black Pearl, a gem with secret powers. The old man is taking it to a village of humans in Manhat. Injured by the Groundling’s attack, and too weak for the journey, Tyron gives the Black Pearl to Thundarr and charges him with the mission. Tyron tells Thundarr that the Black Pearl’s owner, the evil wizard Gemini, feared humans getting the gem for unknown reasons.
To help Tyron, Ariel puts the wounded man into a magically-induced coma to heal him.
Thundarr declares, “To the ruins of Manhat!”
The Groundling leader tells Gemini about losing the Black Pearl. The wizard commands the Groundling to use their weapons to stop Thundarr, or the rat-like creatures will be punished.
On the way to Manhat, Ariel questions what the Black Pearl is. Thundarr doesn’t care, it will reveal itself at the right time.
Overlooking Manhat, we see what’s left of what was once the Manhattan boro of New York. We see the ruins of the Twin Towers and Statue of Liberty - relics of a long-forgotten past.
Ariel creates an energy bridge and the team starts to cross over the marsh into Manhat. But the Groundlings, fifty of them, attack. Thundarr fights the rats who attack on motorcycle, and is victorious. The trio cross into Manhat and towards Tyron’s village.
From his tower, the two-faced wizard Gemini vows to recover the Black Pearl, and heads towards a fight with Thundarr.
Arriving in Manhat, Ariel explains that humans used to live in the city. She learned about the past in books she read in her step-father’s library.
Exploring the subway, Ariel is kidnapped by Gemini, and held ransom in exchange for the Black Pearl.
Thundarr and Ookla attack Gemini, but the wizard casts a freezing spell. Only the Mok is affected, it didn’t work on the barbarian.
Gemini disappears, his spell broken. Thundarr realizes the power of the Black Pearl protected him from the wizard’s magic. If more pearls could be made, the wizards would be powerless.
Back above ground, Gemini’s knights arrive in a helicopter, ready to fight the barbarian and his friend. The knight are proven to be machines and easily defeated.
Thundarr and Ookla steal Gemini’s helicopter and fly off to confront the wizard and rescue Ariel.
Thundarr’s battle with the knights was witnessed by a human in hiding. He reports what he saw to his village. These are Tyron’s people, in hiding and afraid of Gemini. If Thundarr should ever return to their village, they vow to fight with him.
In the helicopter, Thundarr and Ookla find Gemini’s hideout. The barbarian attacks as the Mok flies the machine. Thundarr senses Ariel’s presence, and dodges dangers to rescue her. Thundarr comes face to face to face with the two-faced Gemini. From her cage of captivity, Ariel uses a spell to seal Gemini’s double face shield. Thundarr cuts the cage bars and they flee the lair.
Thundarr and Ariel make it outside, at the top of a tower, to see Ookla getting frustrated with the helicopter, the Mok tears the machine apart. Ookla bails out of the cockpit, forcing Thundarr and Ariel to make a daring leap off of Gemini’s tower, straight on to their waiting equorts.
Watching them escape, Gemini vows to follow Thundarr back to Manhat - both to retrieve the Black Pearl, and to seal the barbarian’s fate!
Back at the Manhat human village, Thundarr finds Tyron has returned to his people, and is in good health. About to give the Black Pearl to Tyron, Gemini rides in on a black cloud of thunder and lightning. The wizard demands the pearl.
The villagers refuse, and Gemini brings the ruined Statue of Liberty to life to destroy the Manhat village - “The final battle begins!”
Liberty’s torch shoots fire at the village, but Ariel holds it off with her magic. All their efforts fail: Ookla can’t hurt it with brute strength, the Sunsword can’t cut through it. Gemini has all but won and, again, demands the return of the Black Pearl.
Reminded that he has the pearl, Thundarr hurls it at the Statue, which is enveloped in blue lightning and is stopped. Defeated, Gemini vanishes from the village.
Now knowing what the pearl does, Tyron and his people will continue to search for more pearls as a weapon against further evil wizard attacks.
The villagers of Manhat wave good-bye as the brave trio gallop off to other adventures.
FX: TV STATIC
6. THE TOP THREE
FX: AMBIENT FOREST SOUNDS (SEGS 5-8)
ME: Of the twenty-one episodes across two seasons of Saturday Morning Television, many have become fan favorites. Overall on the imdb, the series is rated at 7.5. This is phenomenal for a show that hasn’t a new show in nearly 40 years.
According to the fans, here are the Top Three Episodes:
#3 - “Prophecy of Peril”. Vashtarr, an evil wizard, steals the Crystal of Prophecy. The Crystal gives him a window into his future where he can see his downfall. When the crystal shatters, Vashtarr knows that three women will lead to his downfall: Maya, an element shifter buried in the ruined city of Endorr (no relation); Cinda, a solitary barbarian living in the Canyon of Death; and Valerie Storm, an Old Earth Super model.
#2 - “The Curse of the Black Pearl”. Score, I just covered this and I don’t need to get into it again. Less work for me!
And #1 - “Island of the Body Snatchers”. This Season Two ep finds our trio investigating the Mystery Zone, an island where ships have been wrecked. On the island is evil witch Circe, who needs to find a sorceress to fight a curse. If she can’t, the curse will turn her to stone. Enter Ariel, and Circe switches bodies to leave her prison island, and threatens Thundarr and Ookla.
And there you have it, the fans have spoken.
FX: TV STATIC
7. THE CENSORS
FX: AMBIENT FOREST SOUNDS (SEGS 5-8)
ME: As with most TV shows of the time, THUNDARR had his fair share of run-in’s with the network censors. At the time, networks were trying to curb violence on Saturday morning. If a child could imitate the fighting, it was not allowed to be on TV. Gerber sited that THUNDARR could never trip anyone because kids could imitate it and hurt someone in real life. If a character threw a huge stone boulder at a villain, that was deemed OK by the censors. Kids didn’t have the strength for such a feat. Gerber observed, ironically, that these rules served to upscale the violence, not curb it. Notes for the censors also led to the Sunsword being pure energy, as knives and real swords were not allowed on Saturday morning. Likewise, Ookla’s “stun-bow” had arrows that looked like suction cups to show they couldn’t actually hurt anyone. They never killed, only stunned.
FX: TV STATIC
8. AIR TIMES & CANCELLATION
FX: AMBIENT FOREST SOUNDS (SEGS 5-8)
ME: THUNDARR originally aired on ABC in the 11 AM time slot. In the Fall of 1981, it was bumped up to Noon, being replaced by “Laverne & Shirley in the Army”. Can you imagine tuning in for your weekly sword fight with evil wizards, and you get… Schlemiel and Shlimazl!? What a letdown for youngsters everywhere who loved THUNDARR.
In the Spring of 1982, ABC opted to move the show to an 8:30 time slot in order to attract more attention. It is possible that kids weren’t seeing the show because of how late in the day it originally aired. But again, the network made a strange choice. THUNDARR now occupied the time slot held by “Heathcliff” the previous season. From garbage-eating cat to dystopian future… maybe not the perfect fit.
Despite the low ratings on ABC, the network ordered eight additional episodes for season 2. They moved it to an earlier time slot in the hopes it would be a hit. Sadly, the ratings continued to decline and it was cancelled at the end of this run.
Cancelled on ABC, it was rerun on NBC through the Spring of 1984. When it left the Peacock Network, it was replaced in its 12:30 time slot with “Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends”. At least if you’re losing one action show as a watcher, you didn’t get it replaced with light-hearted shows like “Going Bananas” or “The Smurfs”.
What might have ended THUNDARR was the violence it showed in its episodes. While it may be considered tame now, the 1980’s saw the rise of TV groups who lobbied that TV was harming the minds of young children with the use of violence. Parents who took those groups to heart may have blocked their kids from watching THUNDARR, thereby hurting the ratings.
Whatever the reason for the cancellation, THUNDARR ran a mere Twenty-One episodes.
When we return, we’ll look at the aftermath and legacy of THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN.
VINTAGE COMMERCIALS #2 (1:30)
9. AFTERMATH
MUSIC: “NOSTALGIC”
ME: In the years after the show, series creator Steve Gerber would go on to work on other iconic 80s shows, such as “Dungeons & Dragons”, “G. I. Joe” and “The Transformers.” He would return to the world of comic books, even working on “Dr. Fate” at the end of his life in a Las Vegas hospital. Sadly, Stephen Ross Gerber passed away on February 8, 2010 at the age of 60. He is survived by his daughter Samantha.
Jack Kirby worked with Ruby-Spears productions again on the animated series “The Centurions.” Kirby spent many years of his life fighting Marvel Comics over the ownership of his original art, which was locked away in a warehouse. Marvel finally returned approximately 2000 original pages of Kirby’s art, out of an estimated 13,000 he had drawn in his career. At the time of his death in 1994, he was working with Image Comics for a book called “Phantom Force”.
Artist Alex Toth died at the age of 77 at his drawing board in 2006. Looking at his credits, it appears that THUNDARR was the last show that Toth designed characters for. His original designs were reused for Cartoon Network Shows, such as “Space Ghost: Coast to Coast”, “Sealab 2021” and “Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law”.
Actor Robert Ridgley continued to work as an actor right up until his death at the age of 65 in 1997. He appeared in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Boogie Nights” and even reunited with Henry Conden in the 1996 animated short “The Flintstone’s Christmas in Bedrock”.
Speaking of Henry Conden, he continued acting, but only in voice work, from 1982 until his retirement in 2000. He once said that all the casting directors were getting younger and younger, and had no knowledge of his long and impressive career. Irritated at having to prove himself over and over, he exclusively performed in animation. He passed away at the age of 85 in 2005, five years after his retirement.
Actress Nellie Bellflower’s last acting credit was in 1983, as she turned her attention to producing. She found the stage play that would become the Johnny Depp film “Finding Neverland”, and worked out the development deal at Miramax. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband.
FX: TV STATIC
10. THE LEGACY
MUSIC: “HORIZONS”
ME: In the years after the show left the airwaves, it was evident that THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN was gone, but never forgotten.
In 2004, toy manufacturer Toynami released action figures of Thundarr, Ookla and Ariel. They were a limited release and quickly snapped up by collectors and die-hard fans. The action figures had been a long time coming, as Mego promised figures in the 80s, but they never materialized. Instead, Mego backed away from THUNDARR to produce figures for another show all children loved in the 80s… “The Love Boat”! Wait… really? They thought Captain Stubing would sell better than Thundarr? Was there really a world where a Gopher action figure was needed over Ookla? Could Ariel have been our cruise director? What a strange decision to make.
Anyways… The Toynami figures are scarce now, but can be found at a steep price on dot-coms like Amazon and ebay.
And THUNDARR has invaded pop culture in other ways. It got a mention on the CBS series “Elementary” episode “One Watson, One Holmes” in 2015.
There is a New York City band named Ookla the Mok.
In 2017, it was revealed that the band Morbid Angel was inspired by THUNDARR to name their album “Kingdoms Distained”.
If you weren’t a child of the 80s, and would like to see the show, it was released on DVD in 2010 as part of Warner’s Manufacture-On-Demand service. You can buy episodes or a season on Amazon, iTunes and Google Play Movies. Sadly, I don’t see it streaming anywhere, but I could be wrong about that.
FX: TV STATIC
11. CONCLUSION
ME: It’s been Forty years since Thundarr and his Sunsword made their debut on Saturday morning. It might only have lasted two brief seasons, but it is far from forgotten. And, in this day and age of continuations and reboots, who knows what the future holds for THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN. After all, Jack Kirby’s creations are more popular than ever and fueling the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There’s talk of reviving “Howard the Duck” past the few movies he’s recently been featured in. It’s proof that Steve Gerber is still remembered for the work he created. Maybe THUNDARR will be discovered by a new generation and live again.
Until next time, Demon Dogs!
END WITH THUNDARR END THEME
12. FOLLOW & END (PRE-RECORD)
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