Continuity Order for Season 2 (Episodes 66-90)

[Wilycub]

Great list and reasoning, Zax!

@thezaxfactor

Who else is absent when? Maybe we can force some additional logic!

Well, as far as I remember, this is a list of the absentees for Season 2 (using your order). I’m ignoring the first two 5-parters as their order is not going to change irrespective of characters’ presence or absence. Please let me know if I’ve made any mistakes (which I’m sure I must have! ;))

Also one thing that I noticed, not sure if it affects Zax’s current continuity order, but at the beginning of “Ravage Island”, Lion-O and Snarf have just finished putting the ThunderClaw together, indicating that it was destroyed/damaged in the previous episode? All the other ThunderCats seem to be working on the other vehicles as well.

ThunderCats Ho!
Mumm-Ra Lives!
Together We Stand (Panthro, Snarfer, Slithe, Jackalman, Monkian, Vultureman, Chilla, Red-Eye)
The Mask of Gorgon (WilyKit, WilyKat, Snarfer, Slithe, Jackalman, Monkian, Vultureman, Luna, Alluro, Red-Eye)
The Mad Bubbler (WilyKit, WilyKat, Mumm-Ra, Ma-Mutt, Slithe, Jackalman, Monkian, Vultureman, Tug-Mug, Red-Eye)
Psych Out! - (Snarfer, Slithe, Jackalman, Monkian, Vultureman, Luna, Chilla, Tug-Mug, Red-Eye)
Day of the Eclipse - (WilyKit, WilyKat, Lynx-O, Bengali, Snarfer, Pumyra, Slithe, Vultureman, Luna, Alluro, Chilla)
Runaways - (Lynx-O, Bengali, Snarfer, Pumyra, Slithe, Jackalman, Monkian, Vultureman, Luna, Alluro, Chilla, Tug-Mug, Red-Eye)
Catfight - (Slithe, Jackalman, Monkian, Vultureman)
Ravage Island - (Tygra, Ma-Mutt, Luna, Alluro, Chilla, Tug-Mug, Red-Eye)
Vultureman’s Revenge - (Panthro, Cheetara, Tygra, Lynx-O, Snarfer, Pumyra, Mumm-Ra, Ma-Mutt, Luna, Alluro, Tug-Mug, Red-Eye)
Soundstones - (Mumm-Ra, Ma-Mutt, Monkian)
Mumm-Rana’s Belt - (Cheetara, Tygra, Lynx-O, Snarfer, Mumm-Ra, Ma-Mutt, Jackalman, Vultureman, Alluro, Chilla, Tug-Mug, Red-Eye)
Hachiman’s Honor - (Snarf, Panthro, Cheetara, Tygra, Bengali, Pumyra, Mumm-Ra, Ma-Mutt, Slithe, Jackalman, Monkian, Vultureman)
Time Switch - (Lynx-O, Bengali, Snarfer, Pumyra, Mumm-Ra, Ma-Mutt, Slithe, Jackalman, Monkian, Vultureman)
Sideswipe - (Panthro, Cheetara, WilyKit, WilyKat, Tygra, Bengali, Pumyra, Mumm-Ra, Ma-Mutt, Slithe, Jackalman, Monkian, Red-Eye)
Hair of the Dog - (Slithe, Jackalman, Monkian, Vultureman, Luna, Alluro, Chilla, Tug-Mug, Red-Eye)

[Ocean_Doot]

@thezaxfactor

I say we place it after “The Mad Bubbler” (in which Aluro appears briefly) but before “Day of The Eclipse” (from which he’s absent). Luna will have demonstrated poor leadership a few times by then, notably failing to obtain the thundrillium from the Bubbler’s mine, which was Aluro’s idea. Plus, this will give him the next two episodes off.

Ooo, that’s nice. The detail of Luna failing to accomplish a plan that Aluro came up with is a great catch … I missed that completely.

[Ocean_Doot]

@Wilycub

Also one thing that I noticed, not sure if it affects Zax’s current continuity order, but at the beginning of “Ravage Island”, Lion-O and Snarf have just finished putting the ThunderClaw together, indicating that it was destroyed/damaged in the previous episode? All the other ThunderCats seem to be working on the other vehicles as well.

Sneaky!

Well, the obvious question I guess is, does the episode we have right before it now work? Did the ThunderClaw get damaged in “Catfight”? (I can’t quite recall … I feel like there were scenes of the Thundertank and the Thunderstrike shooting at each other … ?)

[ButterflyBoy]

@Ocean Doot

Sneaky!

Well, the obvious question I guess is, does the episode we have right before it now work? Did the ThunderClaw get damaged in “Catfight”? (I can’t quite recall … I feel like there were scenes of the Thundertank and the Thunderstrike shooting at each other … ?)

Nope, the Thunderclaw did not appear in “Catfight”. For what its worth, I always took the opening scene of “Ravage Island” to mean that they were disassembling/reassembling all of the vehicles as part of routine maintenance.

Aside from that, the only times I can recall the Thundeclaw being involved in an incident was in “Mumm-Ra Lives! - Part Five” when it was, well, left at Sky Tomb and in “The Last Day” when it crashed.

To go off topic a little bit (sorry, don’t shoot)- it can be frustrating how the show would play so fast and loose with their vehicles and even fortresses. Sometimes they would be seemingly destroyed only to reappear the next episode like nothing happened. For example, like in “Divide and Conquer” - I never got how the mutants and their vehicles survived their collision at the end. Also, the Thundertank AND the Tower of Omens are seemingly destroyed in “The Last Day” only to be brought back the next episode. I get that we are suppose to just know that they were rebuilt, but it really made no sense for them to rebuild the tower. The frustrating part is that on one hand, we the audience are sort of “trained” to accept that vehicles have an in-universe permanence to them - they can be destroyed, left behind, etc. and return without explanation. BUT THEN, sometimes the writers would change it up. Like the Ratstar - it is detroyed in “Feliner”, ok, good. Then its back without explanation in “Thundercats Ho!” but ends up in the ocean. Alright. But then in “Thundercubs!” it is intact at Castle Plundarr, non-operational due to having been “wrecked”. The Lunattacker is damaged and seemingly abandoned in “The Sound Stones” but is back good as new in “Thundercubs!” when it seems to be destroyed again (only this time, it sticks :-p) So sometimes, as the plot demands, the magical ability to rebuild vehicles and fortresses goes out the winder. I feel like this is a common trope of 80’s cartoons, but as I search my brain at the moment to come up with other examples, I am left wanting. Can anyone else think of examples of other shows doing this type of thing?

[LiamABC]

@ButterflyBoy

Nope, the Thunderclaw did not appear in “Catfight”. For what its worth, I always took the opening scene of “Ravage Island” to mean that they were disassembling/reassembling all of the vehicles as part of routine maintenance.

Aside from that, the only times I can recall the Thundeclaw being involved in an incident was in “Mumm-Ra Lives! - Part Five” when it was, well, left at Sky Tomb and in “The Last Day” when it crashed.

To go off topic a little bit (sorry, don’t shoot)- it can be frustrating how the show would play so fast and loose with their vehicles and even fortresses. Sometimes they would be seemingly destroyed only to reappear the next episode like nothing happened. For example, like in “Divide and Conquer” - I never got how the mutants and their vehicles survived their collision at the end. Also, the Thundertank AND the Tower of Omens are seemingly destroyed in “The Last Day” only to be brought back the next episode. I get that we are suppose to just know that they were rebuilt, but it really made no sense for them to rebuild the tower. The frustrating part is that on one hand, we the audience are sort of “trained” to accept that vehicles have an in-universe permanence to them - they can be destroyed, left behind, etc. and return without explanation. BUT THEN, sometimes the writers would change it up. Like the Ratstar - it is detroyed in “Feliner”, ok, good. Then its back without explanation in “Thundercats Ho!” but ends up in the ocean. Alright. But then in “Thundercubs!” it is intact at Castle Plundarr, non-operational due to having been “wrecked”. The Lunattacker is damaged and seemingly abandoned in “The Sound Stones” but is back good as new in “Thundercubs!” when it seems to be destroyed again (only this time, it sticks :p) So sometimes, as the plot demands, the magical ability to rebuild vehicles and fortresses goes out the winder. I feel like this is a common trope of 80’s cartoons, but as I search my brain at the moment to come up with other examples, I am left wanting. Can anyone else think of examples of other shows doing this type of thing?

The Ratstar is also destroyed in “Mumm-Rana” - and, moreover, without either Vultureman or Ratar-O on board.

Yes, there are other shows that did this.

In “Defenders Of The Earth”, both sides lost ships all the time, and were seemingly able to replace them with little effort (most of the time!). Of course, they had a bit more equipment on hand to do this with . . .
In “Visionaries”, the Spectral Knights’ vehicles take a hell of a smashing in “The Power Of The Wise” - but in the next episode aired, “Horn Of Unicorn, Claw Of Dragon”, we do see Galadria doing maintenance work on one of them. That said, in continuity terms, “Lion Hunt” belongs in between those two, and the vehicles are both seen working normally there! (I thrashed out a seamless continuity order for the 13 episodes of this show many years ago.)

[thezaxfactor]

@ButterflyBoy

Nope, the Thunderclaw did not appear in “Catfight”. For what its worth, I always took the opening scene of “Ravage Island” to mean that they were disassembling/reassembling all of the vehicles as part of routine maintenance.

I thought the same, since the other ThunderCats are working on other vehicles at the same time.

But, overall, vehicle and fortress damage is definitely something we should consider in establishing a proper continuity. It played a significant role in LiamABC’s thread for Season One continuity—no reason not to consider it here, too.

@ButterflyBoy

Also, the Thundertank AND the Tower of Omens are seemingly destroyed in “The Last Day” only to be brought back the next episode. I get that we are suppose to just know that they were rebuilt, but it really made no sense for them to rebuild the tower.

Oh, wow, you’re right. Why rebuild the Tower at all?!

As for the Tank, you could argue that it really was destroyed, and then Panthro rebuilt it on New Thundera. Only the ThunderStrike and Feliner go to New Thundera, and then the Whisker joins the fleet in “Return to Thundera! Part III”. The Tank doesn’t reappear until a while later in “Malcar”. As a side note, I really like the Tank being destroyed in “The Last Day”. The Tank is the first thing Panthro built when they arrived on Third Earth, so seeing it destroyed beyond repair just before leaving for permanent resettlement of New Thundera has some nice symmetry.

[LiamABC]

@thezaxfactor

I thought the same, since the other ThunderCats are working on other vehicles at the same time.

But, overall, vehicle and fortress damage is definitely something we should consider in establishing a proper continuity. It played a significant role in LiamABC’s thread for Season One continuity—no reason not to consider it here, too.

I remember it also played a part when I was compiling a continuity order for Thunderbirds - I placed “The Imposters”, the ONLY episode in which Thunderbird 2 makes no appearance whatsoever, IMMEDIATELY after “Terror In New York City”, in which that same craft is severely damaged (and by its being out of commission, we see, as if we didn’t already know, just how vital it is to International Rescue!).

Between that and my continuity order for Visionaries, you’ll see why I got started on one for this show as well!

@thezaxfactor

Oh, wow, you’re right. Why rebuild the Tower at all?!

As for the Tank, you could argue that it really was destroyed, and then Panthro rebuilt it on New Thundera. Only the ThunderStrike and Feliner go to New Thundera, and then the Whisker joins the fleet in “Return to Thundera! Part III”. The Tank doesn’t reappear until a while later in “Malcar”. As a side note, I really like the Tank being destroyed in “The Last Day”. The Tank is the first thing Panthro built when they arrived on Third Earth, so seeing it destroyed beyond repair just before leaving for permanent resettlement of New Thundera has some nice symmetry.

The Thundertank did go with them to New Thundera, it can be seen slung under the Feliner and Thunderstrike when they leave Third Earth.

[ButterflyBoy]

@LiamABC

The Thundertank did go with them to New Thundera, it can be seen slung under the Feliner and Thunderstrike when they leave Third Earth.

…are you sure? I just reviewed part one of “Return to Thundera!” and I can’t see the Thundertank at all.

[Tygra_Rules]

@thezaxfactor

The only thing we haven’t addressed with this order are character absences. Earlier in the thread, the absence of Tygra and the Kittens was mentioned as being a commonality between “Ravage Island” and “Catfight” (with them returning at the end of “Catfight”). Our order has them consecutive but reversed, and also just after “Runaways”. Perhaps the events of “Runaways” resulted in the Kittens getting dedicated training time with Tygra, so they’re not far away—just busy.

Who else is absent when? Maybe we can force some additional logic!

That was me, but i realized I was wrong. I thought those two eps (“Ravage Island” and “Catfight”) could have been related given the Tygra and the kittens’ absence in both, with them returning at the end of “Catfight”, but the Feliner made an appearance in “Ravage Island” and I suppose Tygra and the kittens would have taken it to their space mission in “Catfight”, so that can’t be the explanation for their absence in “Ravage Island” (maybe they just stayed in CatsLair). A possibility to that is that they took another vehicle to their space trip, so the Feliner could have stayed in Third Earth, and then the connection between the two eps is possible.

[Wilycub]

@Tygra_Rules

That was me, but i realized I was wrong. I thought those two eps (“Ravage Island” and “Catfight”) could have been related given the Tygra and the kittens’ absence in both, with them returning at the end of “Catfight”, but the Feliner made an appearance in “Ravage Island” and I suppose Tygra and the kittens would have taken it to their space mission in “Catfight”, so that can’t be the explanation for their absence in “Ravage Island” (maybe they just stayed in CatsLair). A possibility to that is that they took another vehicle to their space trip, so the Feliner could have stayed in Third Earth, and then the connection between the two eps is possible.

If I remember correctly, I don’t think that the ThunderKittens mention that they had gone into space. They only say that they went on a “field trip”. Maybe the trip was to some place on Third Earth and didn’t require the Feliner?

[Daremonger]

@Wilycub

If I remember correctly, I don’t think that the ThunderKittens mention that they had gone into space. They only say that they went on a “field trip”. Maybe the trip was to some place on Third Earth and didn’t require the Feliner?

I remember that.

[LiamABC]

Well, I finally have all the episodes on my computer, so can look to contribute something constructive to this exercise!

[LiamABC]

@ButterflyBoy

…are you sure? I just reviewed part one of “Return to Thundera!” and I can’t see the Thundertank at all.

I can’t remember offhand whether it’s underneath, on top, or sandwiched in between, but it’s definitely there.

[ButterflyBoy]

@LiamABC

I can’t remember offhand whether it’s underneath, on top, or sandwiched in between, but it’s definitely there.

There must be a scene that I can’t locate. I’ve looked until my eyes bleed and I can’t find it.

[Tygra_Rules]

@Wilycub

If I remember correctly, I don’t think that the ThunderKittens mention that they had gone into space. They only say that they went on a “field trip”. Maybe the trip was to some place on Third Earth and didn’t require the Feliner?

If you’re correct, then we can place “Ravage Island” right before “Catfight” and then Tygra and the kitten’s absence in the fuirst adn most of the second one would be explained and it will make sense.

[thezaxfactor]

Hmmm. We have “Ravage Island” after “Catfight” so that Mumm-Ra enlisting the Mutants to help him there can follow the Lunataks’ ditching him in “Catfight”. Also, we wanted “Catfight” after a string of no-New-Cats episodes, which “Ravage Island” isn’t.

[Ocean_Doot]

@thezaxfactor

Hmmm. We have “Ravage Island” after “Catfight” so that Mumm-Ra enlisting the Mutants to help him there can follow the Lunataks’ ditching him in “Catfight”. Also, we wanted “Catfight” after a string of no-New-Cats episodes, which “Ravage Island” isn’t.

Yes, I personally like this better. The absences of certain characters in certain episodes doesn’t strike me as something to be explained or used to dictate order, because it happened a lot and certainly always seemed arbitrary. I’d rather keep Catfight before Ravage. But, I will yield to the majority.

[Daremonger]

I’m certainly enjoying this alternate route you guys are taking ThunderCats’ second season.

[LiamABC]

Well, I’ve had a look at season 2 again now, and I have mixed thoughts. Notably with the start and end decisions:

“Catfight” really should be retained as the first regular episode - the less chance that the new cats have had to prove themselves, the more understandable the established characters’ potential distrust of them is.
The decision to put “Hair Of The Dog” at the end does work though - this is the only season that doesn’t have a proper custom-built finale (“Fond Memories”, “The Last Day” and “The Book Of Omens” are all designed in this mould), and this episode is the closest we have to such. Why the creators put “Vultureman’s Revenge” at the end is beyond me.

[Wilycub]

@LiamABC

“Catfight” really should be retained as the first regular episode - the less chance that the new cats have had to prove themselves, the more understandable the established characters’ potential distrust of them is.

I’m also kind of leaning towards that explanation and order. It makes sense that the seeds of doubt could be more easily planted in the original ThunderCats’ mind as they are not fully familiar or entirely trusting of the new trio. To me, this seems like a more obvious and stronger reason to place “Catfight” at the top rather than after the episodes in which the new ThunderCats are absent. But that’s just me.