#1985 Dungeons and Dragons cartoon

[disgruntledexplainer]

Leading the way in terms of awards was the much-anticipated Baldur's Gate, a fantasy role-playing game set in the world of Dungeons and Dragons.

-TLDR News Daily

[thegayhimbo]

Stranger Things x Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Crossover Review

If you haven't yet, be sure to check out my other Stranger Things Reviews. Like, Reblog, and let me know what your thoughts are about the show or the upcoming final season! :)

Stranger Things Reviews/Theories

Stranger Things Comics/Graphic Novels:

Stranger Things Six

Stranger Things Halloween Special

Stranger Things The Other Side

Stranger Things Zombie Boys

Stranger Things The Bully

Stranger Things Winter Special

Stranger Things Tomb of Ybwen

Stranger Things Into The Fire

Stranger Things Science Camp

Stranger Things “The Game Master” and “Erica’s Quest”

Stranger Things and Dungeons and Dragons

Stranger Things Kamchatka

Stranger Things Erica The Great

Stranger Things “Creature Feature” and “Summer Special”

Stranger Things Tales From Hawkins

Stranger Things Tie-In Books:

Stranger Things Suspicious Minds

Stranger Things Runaway Max (Part 1 of 3)

Stranger Things Runaway Max (Part 2 of 3)

Stranger Things Runaway Max (Part 3 of 3)

Stranger Things Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Part 1 of 3)

Stranger Things Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Part 2 of 3)

Stranger Things Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Part 3 of 3)

Stranger Things Rebel Robin Book and Podcast (Part 1 of 2)

Stranger Things Rebel Robin Book and Podcast (Part 2 of 2)

Stranger Things Hawkins Horrors Review

Stranger Things Flight Of Icarus

Stranger Things Lucas On The Line

Stranger Things Episode Reviews:

The Vanishing of Will Byers (Part 1 of 2)

The Vanishing of Will Byers (Part 2 of 2)

Synopsis: Set before the events of Season 3, Mike, Will, Lucas, Dustin, and Max take a field trip with Mr. Clarke's class to New York City (with El secretly tagging along) to explore all the sights in the Big Apple. However, when the group gets separated from the class and encounters an old enemy, they're forced to join with some unexpected allies as they attempt to stop a world-ending threat........

Observations:

This is one of those comics where I wish I had been in the writers room so I could understand what their thought-process was.

The premise: Sometime in 1985, the Party is in New York City on a field-trip with Scott Clarke's class (why and how they get this trip arranged is never explained). Along the way, they split from the main group and end up lost in the underground subway. As they try to come up with a plan, they hear sounds coming from the tunnels and go to investigate. Guess who they end up running into?

DEMODOGS...........except with robotic parts attached to them?!

To make this more surreal, the Party gets saved by (you guessed it) the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMMTs for short):

Later on, after introductions are made and explanations given, the kids and TMNTs (with encouragement from their sensei Splinter) discover that:

a.) The robotic demodogs (referred to as Demomousers by Dustin) are being controlled by Baxter Stockman, a mad scientist who's one of the Turtles adversaries.

And b.) There's a gate in NYC allowing demodogs and demogorgons to come through, and the Mind Flayer is preparing to invade.

Realizing they need to join forces, the Party and TMNTs attempt to take down Baxter and the Mind Flayer before they bring ruin to the city.

If all of this sounds weird, you now know how I felt reading it.

I'll admit when it comes to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I'm not an expert. I have some knowledge of the franchise from when I was growing up, mainly from the 1987 cartoon and the first two live-action TMNT movies (no, NOT the Michael Bay produced ones), but as far as the comics go, I've never read the original ones. In terms of my knowledge:

I know the 4 turtles are named after famous Italian Renaissance artists: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo.

I know they have a sensei named Splinter, a former human martial arts instructor from Japan named Hamato Yoshi who was transformed into a rat via a chemical mutagen (since the chemical mixes the DNA of living beings who've been in contact with one another, and Splinter had constantly been in contact with rats while living in the sewers).

I know that the turtles were originally ordinary turtles that Splinter adopted in the sewers before they also got infected with the chemical and (because they were in contact with Splinter when he was human) became humanoid turtles.

I know Splinter named and trained the turtles in ninjutsu, adopting them as his students/children.

I know Splinter and the Turtles arch-enemy is Oroku Saki, aka The Shredder. He was responsible for dumping the chemical that transformed them, he runs a criminal ninja organization called "The Foot Clan," and (in the 1987 TV show at least), he has two animal/human hybrid henchmen named Rocksteady and Bebop. Also, Shredder aims for world-domination.

I know Shredder was allied with an alien brain named Krang from Dimension X, and they operated from a station called the Technodrome.

I know there was a scientist named Baxter Stockmam (who's one of the main antagonists in this comic) who created MOUSERS (also present here) that did his bidding and reeked havoc.

I know about April O'Neil, the news reporter who is an ally to the turtles, and Casey Jones, a violent vigilante who wears an ice hokey mask and has a bag of weapons, who is also an ally to the turtles. They make a brief appearance in this comic towards the end:

Finally, I know about this earworm of a song:

Like I said, my knowledge primarily comes from the 1987 show and the first two movies. What little I'm aware of about the original comics is that the turtles all wore the same red-eye masks before later media would color-code each turtle (likely so audiences could tell them apart). In typical 80s fashion, the comics were dark and gritty. Judging by how the Turtles are depicted here in this crossover, it appears they based the Turtles characterizations off their original comic book iterations:

This brings me to one of my problems with the crossover: Because it's dead-set on portraying the characters in a grim fashion, it doesn't leave much room for humorous interactions between the turtles and the kids. What little humor is present is either forced, or just recycled jokes from the show. Stranger Things is rooted in the science-fiction/horror genre, but it balances it out by having funny moments between the characters to level out the tension. Same thing can be said for the 1987 TMNT cartoon: Part of what made that work is the creators realized how absurd the premise was, and embraced the weirdness while having fun with it. This comic expects the reader to take the story solemnly, and all it does is highlight the ridiculousness of its premise.

Another issue I have is the whole crossover aspect. I know this isn't unique to TMNT and characters from this franchise have done crossovers with Batman, Power Rangers, Street Fighter, Transformers, Archie Comics, etc. The difference though is that 1.) These were usually done with other superhero or cartoon characters franchises, and 2.) To my understanding, most of those crossovers weren't usually considered canon in either universe.

This comic on the other hand tries REALLY HARD to make itself canon in the Stranger Things universe by setting it between seasons 2 and 3, before The Battle of Starcourt:

On top of that, when the kids and the Turtles finally confront Baxter at his lab about his motivations, he reveals he was a colleague of Dr. Brenner, which is how he knew about El:

This ends up creating several plot-holes:

1.) You'd think that if the events in this comic took place in the show's continuity, the kids would have talked about it at least once during seasons 3-4. I have a hard time imagining, for instance, that Dustin wouldn't have been chatting Steve's ear off about encountering a bunch of humanoid turtles living in NYC sewers, or the Demomousers they had to fight off.

2.) Same problem with Baxter Stockman and Dr. Brenner's relationship: No mention of it on the show? That's not even including how this relationship is at odds with Brenner's character since he considered other people (even fellow scientists) to be beneath him in terms of intellect. Brenner was NOT a man who saw others as his equal.

3.) Since Stranger Things is a show set on referencing 80s media and paying homages to it, and since the TMNTs were a big franchise in the 80s, does that mean the first volumes of the TMNT comics that came out in 1984 don't exist in this universe? Especially when the kids reactions to first encountering the TMNTs is not knowing who they are:

I get that Stranger Things is a fictional show that requires suspension of disbelief when it comes to its science-fiction elements (i.e. The Upside Down, El's powers, etc), but for the most part, it was grounded in a believable way. By that, I mean its universe was set up to be one that could conceivably take place in this reality. From its references to historical moments that occurred in real life, to its disturbingly realistic portrayals of bullying, bigotry, Cold War paranoia, homophobia, racism, government corruption, abuse, forced conformity, trauma and grief, and other social issues, to the whole dynamic of the Party being outcasts trying to survive middle school and high school. It's a coming-of-age story that also acts as a deconstruction of the 80s, and uses science-fiction elements in service of that goal. I've talked before about the Upside Down being a not-so-subtle metaphor for Hawkins and the 80s as a whole: Things look shiny, bright, and appealing on the surface (especially since the 80s continues to be a decade our current culture is obsessed with romanticizing), but when you actually dig deeper, there is rot underneath.

By setting the Stranger Things universe in the TMNT universe, it breaks that illusion in favor of turning it into popcorn entertainment. Some would argue Stranger Things was already this to begin with, but considering how the Duffer Brothers incorporated the themes I've just described into their work when they could have ignored them altogether, and considering how Stranger Things has a passionate fanbase dedicated to analyzing the show, its characters, and how it acts as a commentary for events and situations in the present, I would argue the show transcends that in a way TMNT never could. This comic tries to achieve this, with the Turtles (and Splinter) preaching about the importance of friendship, how everyone has challenges, not being defined by where you come from, etc, but all of these themes were already examined on the show way before this comic ever came out (and in a much more satisfying manner). Here, it comes off as repetitive without offering anything new to the table.

This isn't to say that the comic itself is bad. It still has cool moments and impressive visuals, and the fights between the heroes and the monsters of the Upside Down are a treat to behold:

The levels of detail put into these images is impressive, and it's neat seeing each member of the Party take up weapons to deliver damage to the Mind Flayer and his monsters.

On top of that, there were elements in the comic that (whether intentional or not) tie into the show and leave a lot to chew on.

For example, the whole fight against Baxter Stockman's forces and the Mind Flayer gives an idea of what we might see in Season 5. Whether it's the main characters dealing with Colonel Sullivan (who's still set on capturing El) or Vecna's impending invasion.

Even Baxter Stockman and his ambush of the heroes reminds me of Colonel Sullivan and the soldiers under his command from S4:

There's also Will's description of the Upside Down being worldwide and how the dimension isn't just limited to Hawkins (which is something S4 also confirmed):

There's also the Turtles speculating that El's powers are tied to the Upside Down, which is something I've discussed in my reviews (specifically Six and Suspicious Minds):

Additionally, the comic introduces the idea that there are other dimensions out there besides the Upside Down that can be traveled to.

While I doubt the Utroms (i.e. the alien brains) that the Mind Flayer possesses will be making an appearance in season 5 (or the TMNTs for that matter), the idea of multiple dimensions is something the Duffer Brothers could explore in the final season. It could also give more detail about what the Upside Down is, and whether the Mind Flayer really was just black particles with no conscious that Vecna formed into his avatar, or it was a multi-dimensional conqueror (as I've seen speculated by parts of this fandom) and it was simply dormant until Vecna woke it up and started collaborating with it:

But like I said, this is all speculation.

Overall, my feelings about this comic are mixed: On its own, it's a decent read and has plenty of cool moments and creative imagery. However, when you look closely at the story and how it's supposed to tie into the Stranger Things universe.........it starts falling apart. I think fans will enjoy this crossover for the sheer entertainment of it, but I seriously doubt this is going to be counted as canon.

[thefugitivesaint]

I finally got around to watching ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ and caught the “blink and you missed it” reference to the CBS cartoon series that ran from 1983 to 1985 (many of you reading this were probably not yet born). As far as “fan service” goes, subtle is appreciated.  Fun movie. Entirely enjoyable for what it is and what it’s doing. 

[gaddaboutgriffon]

Going to work on turns this into a master post of prompts I’ve made. Prompts I like, and things I alike and would be willing to write things on.

My own Posts. Superwoman AU

Super Phantom DCxDP

Future Son?! DCxDP

Super X-man

DND Young Justice

DPxDC A Tale of Two Jacks

Age Reversal

Teenage Mutant Ninja Wizard

Alien PETA

Young Justice Spider

The Year of the Dragon

Superwoman Kara

Spleen Surprise DCxDP

Benders in DC (ATLA x justice league)

Random OC Villain Character not connected to any existing media

Not mine but I am invested in.

Time Winder. Connected to Time Travel Teen Parents

Re-alive ray superson

Pack less misunderstandings

Thermon aka Ghost Pokémon

Red Arrow’s Ghost

Halfa universal clone donor

Snookums the kryptonian guard dog!

Niche unheard of crossover ideas. (Some not even a one shot on ao3🥲

Wild Kratts x How to Train Your Dragon

Series and media I like or liked and enjoy fan discussion and fics on (may include Cartoons, Books, Movies or Games.)1 How to train your dragon2 Transformers Prime (cartoons, NOT the movies)3 Avatar the last air-bender. (Not including Korra)4 Teenage mutant ninja turtles (cartoon series)5 Spectacular Spider-man (cartoon Series)6 Redwall (cartoon and book series)7 Pokemon (cartoon and game)8 Sonic the hedgehog (cartoons, and comics.)9 Justice league (the 1990 animated series. NOT the live action movies) And batman animated. 10 My Little pony FIM (G4 cartoon) 11 Marvel Cinematic Universe (before Disney bought it)12 Wings of Fire (books)13 Ben 10 (cartoon)14 Star wars (past liked not present)15 Star trek original series (past liked not present)16 Neo-pets ( Toys. great concept but not the best executed game)17 Kungfu Panda (cartoons)18 Teen titans (original Cartoon, not go)19 Rangers apprentice (books)20 Kim possible (cartoon)21 Lilo and stitch (cartoon)22 American Dragon (Cartoon)23 Big Hero 6 (cartoon) 24 Guardians of Ga’Hoole (books. don’t bother with the movie)25 Epic (animated movie by Blue Sky studios)26 Atlantis the lost Empire (Disney cartoon)27 Big bang theory (TV)28 Lord of the Rings (movies and books.)29 Dragon Quest (games)30 Wild Krats (cartoon)31 The Fluppy Dogs (cartoon)32 Zootopia (cartoon)33 Nelvana Care bears (cartoon specifically the 1985 to 1988 series)34 Last man standing (what can I say he reminds me of my dad)35 Bones (TV)36 Warrior cats. (books only read up until power of three arc)37 Flash (TV)38 Home improvement (TV)39 Steven Universe (cartoon. concept was good but poorly executed story)40 Phineas and Ferb (cartoons)41 Milo Murphy’s law (cartoon)42 Amphibia (cartoon)43 Emperors new groove. (cartoon)44 Harry Potter (books)45 Chronicles of Narnia (books)46 Dinotopia (TV movie, and books)47 Encanto (cartoon)48 Jane and the dragon. (cartoon)49 Gravity falls (cartoon)50 Swat Kats (cartoon)51 Chip and Dale rescue rangers (cartoon) 52 Ducktales (cartoon) 53 Prince of Egypt. (Animated movie) 54 Danny Phantom. (Cartoon) 55 Puss in Boots (dreamworks movies)56 Young Justice (cartoon have not read the comics) 57 Batman Wayne family adventures (web comic. 58 Tower dungeon farmer (web comic)

[dndhistory]

415. Michael Reaves -  Dungeons & Dragons, Episode 23: The Time Lost (September 21, 1985)

Another episode of the Cartoon series and this time we get some time travelly, cross universe, goodness with Venger showing himself as a Nazi. In fact, Venger has a plan to bring both a modern day (1980s, I mean) fighter plane and a World War II nazi plane into the world of D&D, so as to give the nazis the superior technology which would allow them to win the war back in out world and therefore stop the kids from being born at all in our universe.

What Venger didn't count on was transporting a "nice nazi" into his world, who quickly strikes up a friendship with the party of kids and sees his new condition as a way to start his life afresh. Captured by Venger he does go along with his plan, only to at the end return to WWII in order to help defeat Hitler. 

Not really an episode that progresses that story much further or that really explores the world of D&D, it's still an interesting one in terms of the extent to which Venger will go to defeat the kids and retrieve their magical weapons. Straight up Nazi supporter, not nice Venger. The German pilot is called Josef Muller which was the name of a couple of germans who resisted against the Nazis (both related to the Catholic Church) but none of them was in the Luftwaffe, so they don't really match, even if the episode gives us to understand that this was an actual historical character that helped defeat Hitler. 

[fiabex]

Dreamwidth Roundup

Nominations are now closed, and our closing posts are up! We have final clarification posts, and we have the post about tag set clean up!

Mods will be going through the tagset, but we also welcome your input! If you see an issue with tags already in the tagset, please comment on the tagset cleanup post, but if you think that a tag you nominated didn't make it into the tag set, please send that comment to clarification post 4!

More details about the fandoms that are parts of the clarification posts below the cut:

Nominations Clarification Post 3

Nominations Clarification Post 4

Tagset Cleanup

Nominations Clarification post 3:

Fandoms with Queries

+Anima (Manga)

Crossover Fandom

DCU (Comics)

Dimension 20 (Web Series)

Dredge (Video Game)

Dungeons and Dragons (Cartoon)

Elden Ring (Video Game)

Fairy Tail

Gary and His Demons (Cartoon)

Gundam 00

Imperial Radch Series - Ann Leckie

Magic Kaito

Nantucket Trilogy - S.M. Stirling

Original Work

Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)

QSMP | Quackity SMP

Red Dwarf (UK TV)

Ride Kamens (Video Game)

Shadow and Bone (TV)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types

Transformers Generation One

Westworld (TV)

Xenoblade Chronicles (Video Game)

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Video Game)

少年白马醉春风 | Dashing Youth (Live Action TV)

Fandoms with Rejections

A Date With Death (Visual Novel)

Crossover Fandom

Disco Elysium (Video Game)

Dungeons and Dragons (Cartoon)

Earth Girls are Easy (1988)

Exordia - Seth Dickinson

Gothic (1986)

Hazbin Hotel (Cartoon)

Persona 4

Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon

Warframe

방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS

人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 | The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù

少年白马醉春风 | Dashing Youth (Live Action TV)

Additionally, we have some updates about In-Universe tags and the umbrella tags that reference them (example: "Medium Opt-In: Any - Any Nominated In-Universe Medium")!

Nominations Clarification post 4:

Fandoms with Queries

Barely Lethal (2015)

Batman Beyond

Benjamin January Mysteries - Barbara Hambly

Books of the Raksura - Martha Wells

Chicago Fire

Crossover Fandom

Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02

Doctor Strange (Movies)

Fallen London | Echo Bazaar

Fire & Blood - George R. R. Martin

Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling

In Nomine

Mapp & Lucia Series - E. F. Benson

Monster Prom (Video Games)

Murdoch Mysteries

Original Work

QSMP | Quackity SMP

Sanders Sides (Web Series)

Schmigadoon! (TV)

Stellar Firma (Podcast)

Stellaris (Video Game)

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes - Suzanne Collins

Thor (Movies)

What If...? (Cartoon 2021)

僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Manga)

英雄伝説 閃の軌跡 | Sen no Kiseki | The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel Series (Video Games)

龍が如く | Ryuu ga Gotoku | Yakuza (Video Games)

Fandoms with Rejections

A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin

Biggles Series - W. E. Johns

Chicago Fire

Chicago Med

Children of Time Series - Adrian Tchaikovsky

Compilation of Final Fantasy VII

Crossover Fandom

Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02

Fallen London | Echo Bazaar

Friends at the Table (Podcast)

John Wick (Movies)

Ladyhawke (1985)

Original Work

Stranger Things (TV 2016)

The Expanse Series - James S. A. Corey

The Fall of the House of Usher (TV 2023)

The Long Earth Series - Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter

The Saint of Steel - T. Kingfisher

Voltron: Legendary Defender

Welcome to Night Vale

[sulan1809]

Réquiem - O capítulo final jamais animado de Caverna do Dragão

Se você viveu na década de 1980, provavelmente deve se lembrar de Caverna do Dragão, um desenho animado derivado de Dungeons & Dragons, um jogo de interpretação de personagens ambientado em um universo de fantasia medieval. Em Caverna do Dragão, seis jovens são transportados para um mundo de fantasia medieval e são eles, Hank, o arqueiro, líder do grupo; Eric, o cavaleiro, um rapaz esnobe, advindo de uma família rica, que vive sempre reclamando, sendo um covarde de alívio cômico, mas apesar de ser um pouquinho egoísta e indiferente, ainda assim ele é leal aos companheiros dele; Diana, a acrobata; Presto, o Mago, Sheila, a Ladra(o único momento que a classe da garota era mencionada se dava na abertura do cartoon, que era facilmente ignorada pelas crianças naquela época, no entanto, a classe de Sheila não foi mencionada no cartoon, por reclamações dos pais, pois eles acreditavam que os ladrões não deveriam ser vistos como algo “Maneiro”, então os produtores evitaram mencionar o nome da classe de Sheila); e por fim, Bob, o Bárbaro. Eles são auxiliados pelo Mestre dos Magos, que dá conselhos para eles, então desaparece em seguida. Durante a jornada para encontrar o caminho de casa, os seis jovens, em companhia de Uni, o unicórnio, enfrentam inimigos aterradores, o maior exemplo sendo o Vingador, que tenta frustrar a jornada deles, que se resume a voltar para casa, o tempo todo. 

Mas e o episódio final?! Pois bem, Caverna do Dragão foi cancelado em 1985, sem uma conclusão oficial para a jornada dos seis adolescentes que buscavam o caminho de casa, fazendo que a terceira e última temporada do cartoon tivesse um episódio a menos. No entanto, Michael Reeves, um dos roteiristas de Caverna do Dragão, escreveu um script para o último episódio, denominado Réquiem, que foi gravado no formato de um audiodrama. Nesse episódio, o Mestre dos Magos e o Vingador se encontram sozinhos, e o vilão faz uma proposta: ele deseja saber o quão valentes são os pupilos do Mestre dos Magos no caso dele os abandonar; Se eles obtivessem êxito na missão deles, poderiam retornar para o mundo deles, caso contrário, seriam destruídos. Os heróis partem em uma jornada perigosa, depois de terem sido abandonados pelo Mestre dos Magos, então o Vingador aparece e lhes oferece uma possibilidade de retornar para casa. Eric, Sheila e Presto aceitam a proposta do Vingador, enquanto que Hank, Diana e Bob recusam. Mais tarde, os heróis se reúnem para uma batalha final, e por fim eles descobrem que foram trazidos para aquele reino com o objetivo de auxiliar na redenção do Vingador, que era o filho perdido do Mestre dos Magos, que foi corrompido pelo poder do mal. Com isso, os jovens decidem se voltariam para casa ou se continuassem por lá...

[sunbowmarvelarchive]

Eight of Rick Merwin's unused premises for the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon.

Read them in full at: https://sunbowmarvelarchive.blogspot.com/p/mp-400-dungeons-dragons-1983-1985.html

[gforcedrew]

🙌 Yes, Hank the Ranger, Presto the Magician, and the rest from the animation series plus the city of Neverwinter from the ongoing MMORPG have made a leap into live-action as easter eggs. #DnDmovie 🎬 youtu.be/syU2tunI8eA

#DungeonsAndDragons ('83 - '85)

📺 youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6fJmjt84zZiskWINt9hpU74q57g6qYtG

#Neverwinter

🎮 youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe1j0cHUL18ZyUqA_6dmZqMGHuWLo6EfV

Dungeons & Dragons

📰 gizmodo.com/dungeons-dragons-honor-among-thieves-dnd-80s-cartoon-1850219336

[greensparty]

Remembering Earl Boen, Adam Rich and Owen Roizman

This weekend we lost three entertainers. Here is my combined remembrance:

Remembering Earl Boen 1941-2022

Actor Earl Boen has died at 81. He is most known for playing Dr. Silberman in The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. He was so good as the antagonist who doesn’t believe what Sarah Connor is saying happened.

Linda Hamilton and Boen in Terminator 2

In addition to the Terminator movies, he appeared in countless movies, TV shows and voiceover work, notably “The Border Song” episodes of ALF, “The Pony Remark” episode of Seinfeld, and in Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult.

The link above is the obit from Hollywood Reporter.

Remembering Adam Rich 1968-2023

Actor Adam Rich has died at 54. He was most famous for playing Nicholas on Eight Is Enough (ABC-TV 1977-1981). That was a series I got into when it was in syndication in the 80s. I was actually a fan of the firefighter series Code Red (ABC-TV 1981-1982). He was also the voice of Presto on Dungeons & Dragons (CBS 1983-1985), a Sat. morning cartoon I loved as a kid. 

Rich on Eight is Enough

The link above is the obit from CNN.

Remembering Owen Roizman 1936-2023

Cinematographer Owen Roizman has died at 86. He was nominated for 5 Best Cinematography Oscars and won an Honorary Oscar in 2018. He is especially noteworthy for the work he did with William Friedkin (The French Connection and The Exorcist), Sydney Pollack (Three Days of the Condor, Absence of Malice, and Tootsie) and Lawrence Kasdan (I Love You to Death). That is quite a group of directors to have made several films with. Other great films he was the DP on include Play It Again, Sam, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, and he was the DP on Vision Quest, as well as Madonna’s music videos from the soundtrack for “Crazy for You” and “Gambler”. So many memorable images he photographed: the NYC car chase in French Connection, the exorcism scene in The Exorcist, any of the awesome paranoid moments in Three Day of the Condor, and the urgency and ticking clock of the subway hostages in Pelham One Two Three. 

Roizman behind the camera with Pollack directing

The link above is the obit from Hollywood Reporter.

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

Dungeons & Dragons (TV series)

[mattdom]

[iamsoretro]

Dungeons & Dragons (TV series) Intro

A group of six friends who are transported into the realm of Dungeons and Dragons as they try to find their way home with the help of the Dungeon Master. The series ran from 1983 - 1985. 

[usagirotten]

Hasbro Cartoon Classics Dungeons and Dragons Cartoon Figures are coming

Four new Dungeons & Dragons Cartoon Classics products are being announced today! The new 6-inch scale figures join the Cartoon Classics line and feature packaging inspired by the art of the original animated series, making for wonderful display collectibles. Each of the four items also comes with its own exclusive bonus, ranging from special die or accessories. The series ran from 1983 to 1985, and followed a group of kids sucked into the world of Dungeons and Dragons, where they meet the Dungeon Master, and battle the evil Venger.  The figures will be part of the Target Geek Out releases for September 23, 2022. They are being produced by Hasbro, and look to be 6″ scale. The four figures that make up the initial wave are: - Diana, the Acrobat - Hank, the Ranger - Venger with the Dungeon Master - obby, the Barbarian with Uni   Read the full article

[thecastingcircle]

Today, here is Part Two of our deep dive into the legendary issue "Comics Features #33" Marvel Starlog January-February 1985.

Legendary because it shows Marvel(/Sunbow) Productions' early shows in development ("Transformers", "Spiderman and His Amazing Friends") and an interview with Stan Lee.

This post having to do with "Dungeons and Dragons". This is the second picture showing the gang in their pre-TV debut final designs. Again, some things are the same as on TV and some are different. Diana, Hank, Bobby, and Uni (with green hair) are finished. Eric, Presto, and Sheila still needed work.

Let's start with Eric, his Cavalier outfit is in it's final design. He also has an animal companion "Horsie" (not his real name) and his shield still has him floating above the fray. But what's that in his other hand? Is that another "Object of Power"? Is that a magic, electrified whip? Why does Eric get to have 3 things to everyone else's one? Why does Eric get to ride a horse when everyone else is walking?

We think the idea of Eric having a weapon where he gets to go on the offense instead of always being on the defense is an intriguing idea. However, Eric is such a chicken he'd never actually use it. Why can't everyone have two weapons?

Next is Presto, still in the orange robes, with stars and moons on his hat, eyeglasses still square, but this time he's pulling a chicken out of the magic bag he wears at his waist. The same bag is in his final design.

Whoa, here's a final design of Presto from Gary Gygax's family's private collection. One figure is shown pulling a giant turkey leg out of his magic bag. What? Can it only do poultry? Presto never used that bag during the series.

Did Presto have a magic hat, magic bag, and a "Book of Spells"? Or was the hat not magic? That means he and Eric had more than one "Object of Power".

Last is Sheila the Thief, her romper- shorts set is sleeveless, she's got fingerless, elbow-length gloves, she's wearing the "Cloak of Invisibility" while visible. She's missing her freckles. Is the cloak not magic in this version and just a fashion statement. She's got a giant key. Is that her "Object of Power"? And what does it do? A magic key that can open any door? Definitely would help a Thief.

Let's look at her face- it different from any other picture of Sheila in the entire series. She looks like a bad girl who's enjoying thievery. That would have been an interesting turn for Sheila's character. Her overcoming her shyness through being sneaky instead of disappearing through a cloak of invisibility. There's no way CBS would have let that happen on their Saturday morning cartoon.

Hooded, visible Sheila lives on in merchandise today:

This shirt is available from Walmart.

If this was what could've been for Presto, Eric, & Sheila....... what could've been for Hank, Diana, & Bobby? Enquiring minds want to know what other "Objects of Power"/character designs could they have had.

Mark Evanier (who developed the series after Dennis Marks) has a still active blog where he writes about lots of things. Maybe if the fandom emailed him we could generate a response.

Give credit, where credit is due: all the pictures from "Comics Features #33" were scanned, enlarged, and found on Galaxy Ghoul's blog, who is truly doing the Lord's work.

Enjoy Part 1:

[dndhistory]

419. Mark Shiney & Michael L. DePatie - Dungeons & Dragons, Episode 24: Odyssey of the Twelfth Talisman (September 28, 1985)

We're now at the final section of the Cartoon Series, there's only 3 episodes to go after this, and Michael Reeves, who had been the driving force behind the story telling in the last few episodes is gone from the show until its end. Here we get two new writers and it's easy to tell that they are nowhere near as comfortable with the material as Reeves was.

This isn't a great episode, it sets the characters on a quest to retrieve a magical medallion and introduces a new character called Lorne, but it's also a pretty racist episode with a villain that is nothing more than a romani racial stereotype, dark-skinned, hunched, missing teeth, riding around in a caravan, and a thief at that. The people of the villain are actually referred to as "those people '' by Lorne which is pretty cringe inducing. Well the 80s certainly were a different time.

Fortunately the villain redeems himself at the end as he goes head to head with Venger and ultimately there is a lesson of racial tolerance in the episode, although not before just making a group of people a bunch of racial stereotypes. Unfortunately the last few episodes of the series are a case of diminishing returns.