DEFENDERS OF THE EARTH! Appreciation AND Continuity Order

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When a friend copied Bravestarr for me a few years back, there’s one episode, I think it’s called “Balance Of Power”, that features a robot that always reminds me of the Annihilator.

Thinking here, about the toyline, and how the Thundercats toyline included e few guest characters in it, I’m now giving serious thought to what a “proper” DotE toyline would have included.

GOODIES:
Flash, Phantom, Mandrake, Lothar
Rick, Jedda (with Kisa), Kshin (with Zuffy), LJ
Monitor playset including Dynak X
Swordships and Copters, all capable of seating 2 figures

BADDIES:
Ming, Garax
Kro-Tan, Ice Robot, Man Of Frost
Ice Station Earth playset including Octon
Roboships, Flying Throne Room, and yes, keep Mongor as a vehicle, that was fair enough.

Guest characters:
Goran, Prince Barin, Theron
Kurt Walker, Doctor Dark, Graviton, Zorelda, Princess Astra, Clay Soldier

I believe some of the aliens died when they took the necklace of Oros and gave it to the phantom.

And I only watched that episode last night - my brain is having an off day today! Oh well, I did finish the chorus of the song I’m working on yesterday, so it’s not all bad!

Galaxy Rangers really pushed it with bad guys getting killed. From what I recall there was a lot.

I’ll give it a look when I’ve finished with DotE.

The majority of USA shows never showed many deaths from battle. You really should watch an episode of G.I. Joe, so many laser blasts, missiles and vehicles exploding and no one ever got hit.

That, I can definitely believe!

and Anime shows like Robotech and Gundam never shied away from characters getting killed in battle.

Same holds true for The Legend Of Prince Valiant. There were plenty of deaths there. I guess in the 1990s they started to push the boat out a bit, and/or maybe they figured the setting for LoPV meant that kids who knew a thing or two about those days would expect it to be bloody and understand. I don’t know.

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Not sure if I have seen that episode. Is that a big dark grey robot with Viking like horns on his head? If so I have seen it.

That’s a good character list for toys. Although you forgot the Gripjaw. I would also like Rick’s van and that big ship DOTE had called the terry(?). It seemed to differ in style between episodes. They really should have used it a lot more and made it a stand out vehicle like the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars.

It pretty much had to be shown in LOPV. it wasn’t too graphic but to show them being beaten and not killed in that day and age would have been odd. Although I always found it odd how the guy that took over Valiant’s kingdom spared his Father and family when he beat and allowed them to leave rather than kill them.

It’s good you finished your song, it seems we are both in a creative mood LOL. My dragon turned out rather well. http://www.paintingsilove.com/image/show/380448/dragon-lake?path=artist&artist=markmoore

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The one where 30-30 loses Shaman’s staff.

That’s a good character list for toys. Although you forgot the Gripjaw. I would also like Rick’s van and that big ship DOTE had called the terry(?). It seemed to differ in style between episodes. They really should have used it a lot more and made it a stand out vehicle like the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars.

Of course, how could I forget the Terry? I don’t know quite how they spelt it in the scripts, but yes, it does change style - not so much between episodes, as differing in function. It changes shape according to whether it’s in the air, space or underwater. And yes, Gripjaw. Rick’s van, not a bad idea - in which case LJ’s motorbike wouldn’t go amiss either.

Oh, and Beastmaster in the guest villains! Can’t believe I forgot him! I said Princess Astra, and “Diamonds Are A Ming’s Best Friend” is the brilliant episode that “Revenge Of Astra” could only dream of being . . . d’oh!

It pretty much had to be shown in LOPV. it wasn’t too graphic but to show them being beaten and not killed in that day and age would have been odd. Although I always found it odd how the guy that took over Valiant’s kingdom spared his Father and family when he beat and allowed them to leave rather than kill them.

Cynan, the enemy king was; yes, I think Valiant’s father said they were lucky to escape with their lives. (And of course, Valiant’s father has a very recognisable voice - if the show is still on youtube, check it out!)

It’s good you finished your song, it seems we are both in a creative mood LOL. My dragon turned out rather well. http://www.paintingsilove.com/image/show/380448/dragon-lake?path=artist&artist=markmoore

Nice!

I watched “100 Proof Highway”, “Return Of The Sky Band” and “The Rites Of Zesnan” tonight.

“Return Of The Sky Band” is probably my favourite of those three, an interesting bit of Phantom history. “The Rites Of Zesnan” is an interesting look at the rivalries between the kids, although the ending is a bit sudden.

“100 Proof Highway”, if you haven’t seen it yet, is a strange episode, and a difficult one to review fairly, you’ll see why. It’s not that bad, it’s just . . . different.

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That’s a good episode of Bravestarr, I remember it now. I must watch it again. That’s episode was near the beginning of the tape that had ‘The Mind Warriors part 1’ near the end.

The Terry looked good in ADemon in his pocket but in some episodes like ‘Return of the Skyband’ (watched it yesterday) it almost looked like an elongated flying saucer.

I must try and watch ‘Diamonds…’ Watching DOTE again has been very enjoyable unlike a couple years ago when I was re-watching G.I. Joe which I just found to be more of a chore instead of an enjoyment. Although I will say there was a few good episodes I enjoyed there was a lot I didn’t.

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It’s the first episode on the tape in question. This friend did about eight or nine episodes each of Bravestarr and Count Duckula on the same tape (segregated), and did two tapes like that for me - not at the same time, obviously then he would have set one tape aside for each!

The Terry looked good in ADemon in his pocket but in some episodes like ‘Return of the Skyband’ (watched it yesterday) it almost looked like an elongated flying saucer.

Yes - that’s its outer space mode. It looks like that in part 3 of Prince Kro-Tan as well, and also, in “Like Father Like Daughter”, but I think that’s an animation glitch, because the grownups took the Terry (in its normal form) at the start of the episode, but the kids fly out in what looks like the Terry’s “space shuttle” form later on. I think it was meant to be just a regular eagle fighter, like they use in “The Mystery Of The Book” when the adults have already taken the Terry.

I must try and watch ‘Diamonds…’ Watching DOTE again has been very enjoyable unlike a couple years ago when I was re-watching G.I. Joe which I just found to be more of a chore instead of an enjoyment. Although I will say there was a few good episodes I enjoyed there was a lot I didn’t.

“Diamonds Are A Ming’s Best Friend” is up there with “Bits ‘N’ Chips” as one of the truly great, really exciting, episodes. Everybody has their part to play (except perhaps Lothar). Although there’s a really spooky goof when Jedda talks in Kshin’s voice for one line, praising Rick’s piloting skills. Obviously the scripts sent to the voice cast and animators didn’t quite match! That said, that’s not a major fault, so I still give the episode five stars.

Pick of the series for me:

Prince Kro-Tan (whole movie)
The Adoption Of Kshin
Sleeper Awakes
Diamonds Are A Ming’s Best Friend
Bits ‘N’ Chips
The Lost Jewels Of Tibet
The Evil Of Doctor Dark
Kshin And The Ghost Ship

Low points:
Ming’s Household Help
The Panther Peril
The Thunder Lizards Of Ming

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I was meaning one of my recorded tapes from years ago lol.

I can’t really pick my top episodes until I see the whole series but I would agree with 4 or 5 of your top picks so far.

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Yes, I did realise that, I could have been more specific about how I meant it - after all, how would you even know which episodes he did for me? For that matter, I can’t even remember all of them myself!

I can’t really pick my top episodes until I see the whole series but I would agree with 4 or 5 of your top picks so far.

The Necklace Of Oros would be up there if it wasn’t for part 3 being nothing to do with the rest of the story. Once you’ve gone through the whole series, watch this “movie” again, but omit part 3. You’ll see what I mean.

It’s funny, when they edited episodes together to make these “movie” adventures, they just made little snips from the individual episodes - which in some cases robs us of vital details - when in the case of this particular movie, they could have just removed part 3 and nothing would be lost!

There are some edits that really get my goat here. I’ve told you about some of the edits in “The Story Begins”, well, that’s nothing compared to some of the edits in Prince Kro-Tan:

Flash’s initial fight with the Gorp in part 2 - so that when he refers back to it in part 5, we don’t know what he’s talking about!
An early scene between Kro-Tan and Throck, to establish the latter’s choosing to side with the Defenders. When we first see him talking to Jedda and being on her side, again, “where did that come from?”
In part 4, Phantom, Mandrake and Jedda’s initial scene where they happen across the snowbeasts (we first discover them up the tree!)

Most of the edits in The Book Of Enigmas are harmless, but in “Kshin And The Ghost Ship”, some of Ming’s scenes are cut, including the bit that tells us why he’s looking for the compass. Also in “The Mystery Of The Book”, they cut some of the chase between the parent-beasts, notably the bit with LJ and Rick being thrown into the circle.

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I liked the Prince Kro-Tan movie but I prefer the Book of Enigma movie, but I think nostalgia is making me like it more. Although I really love the Kshin and the Ghost Ship episode.

I watched Diamons are a Ming’s Best Friend. I liked it well enough but I don’t think I would put it on my favourites list. I noticed Rick had a lightsaber in it LOL. Having saif that, why did the Flash Gordon toy come with a flaming sword? I know he had a sword briefly in the live action movie but did he ever use a sword in the cartoon at any time. Having said that, that isn’t the weirdest thing about the toyline. Lothar’s package describes him as a ‘Ninja from the Caribbean’.

I don’t like episodes being edited with the exception of one video. One of the first two video cassettes I ever got was Star Fleet X-Bomber: The Quest For F-01, which was a movie edited together from various episodes of the TV series. I still haven’t finished watching the series fully. It is a very good sci-fi puppet show. It is a lot like Gerry Andersons Thunderbirds and Terrahawks but it is Japanese and far superior. You should check it out if you haven’t seen it. It has a great theme tune. In fact it’s in my top three all time theme tunes. It was so awesome Brian May from Queen did a cover of the closing credit theme and used footage from the show for the music video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7GFU5ncKhU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zf--YjsVcY

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I’m a little unsure how you mean that. Do you mean you’re not sure if your preference for the Book Of Enigmas is due to nostalgia, but you love “Kshin And The Ghost Ship” regardless?

I still have a hard time calling the Book Of Enigmas a “movie” - as I’ve said many a time, the five parts are completely independent, parts 2-4 could come in any order and it would make no difference.

Prince Kro-Tan, on the other hand, is a fully integrated 5-parter, the only true 5-parter the show had. Would have made a brilliant series finale, and indeed that’s where it goes on my continuity order. (The fact that Ming is left behind on Mongo at the end possibly helps - and the whole concept of “if we defeat Suramong, we get Ming back!”)

I watched Diamons are a Ming’s Best Friend. I liked it well enough but I don’t think I would put it on my favourites list. I noticed Rick had a lightsaber in it LOL. Having saif that, why did the Flash Gordon toy come with a flaming sword? I know he had a sword briefly in the live action movie but did he ever use a sword in the cartoon at any time.

Never, as far as I’m aware. Not even in “Terror In Time”. Rick’s use of the lightsaber is unique in the series.

I like the episode because everyone has their part to play. Well, maybe not Lothar, but everyone else certainly. Like “Bits ‘N’ Chips” in that respect (everyone except Kshin there). Beastmaster is a worthy villain, and had the show got a second season, would have been an interesting character to bring back. Certainly, if the show had had a “proper” toyline, he’d have been a worthy addition to the action figure collection (if Thundercats could have figures of Mongor or Safari Joe, DotE could have figures of Beastmaster or Graviton). Oh yes, and a Crystal Soldier or two!

Having said that, that isn’t the weirdest thing about the toyline. Lothar’s package describes him as a ‘Ninja from the Caribbean’.

Well, half right! He is from Jamaica in this series, but the ninja part is more applicable to his son.

I don’t like episodes being edited with the exception of one video. One of the first two video cassettes I ever got was Star Fleet X-Bomber: The Quest For F-01, which was a movie edited together from various episodes of the TV series. I still haven’t finished watching the series fully. It is a very good sci-fi puppet show. It is a lot like Gerry Andersons Thunderbirds and Terrahawks but it is Japanese and far superior. You should check it out if you haven’t seen it. It has a great theme tune. In fact it’s in my top three all time theme tunes. It was so awesome Brian May from Queen did a cover of the closing credit theme and used footage from the show for the music video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7GFU5ncKhU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zf--YjsVcY

I haven’t seen the show, but I am a huge Queen fan, and many years ago, someone made me a copy of Brian May’s Starfleet EP!

Haven’t seen any more DotE tonight. Catching up on iPlayer with stuff from last week (and consequently missing a couple of things tonight that I’ll need to catch up with tomorrow!).

Next on my continuity list is “Dracula’s Potion”, then I think “Rick Gordon - One Man Army”, then in no particular order, “The Thunder Lizards Of Ming”, “The Drowning World”, “Street Smarts”, “The Deadliest Battle” and “Flesh And Blood” - before finishing off with Prince Kro-Tan. Nearly done!

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I mean when comparing Enigma to Kro-Tan I think I prefer the Enigma 5 parts more as I have fond memories of watching them as a child. Also I think Kshin and the Ghost Ship was a brilliant episode and with it being part of the Enigma series might be making me prefer the Enigma series.

But the Kro-Tan movie is definitely the perfect end for the series.

By the way did you ever see this clip of Defenders Of The Earth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rfc0o1k_HM

I am a big fan of Queen also. I was watching a documentary about Queen back in 2003 and I so surprised when I seen the clip of the Star Fleet video and him talking about it. :smiley: When I was getting back into collecting when I was starting college in 2002 I got a collecting magazine (Model and Collectors Mart) and I was surprised to see a shop selling Star Fleet merchandise as I had never seen any at all. I called the shop up and to say the items where a bit out of my price range is putting it politely. I made a promise though to myself that one day I would own the large and most expensive Star Fleet item, the Blitzkreig Combination Dai-X robot. There was smaller versions of the robot but they were not very good or screen accurate and could not change into the three separate ships. Long story short I sold off a lot of my other collections and by chance I found one on EBay, loose and slightly incomplete but I bought it for near £250. Sadly customs seized it and I had to pay and extra £70+ top get it. It was nice but in its condition it wasn’t worth £300+. A couple years later I sold it for less than £200. I did write a review of it for Collectiondx.com
http://www.collectiondx.com/toy_review/1980/blitzkreig_combination_big_daix

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I guess I have more familiarity with the first half of the series, and could be biased in some cases towards episodes I have stronger memories of - that said, I never had any of the Kro-Tan episodes recorded as a kid. Any bias I might have towards that would stem from it being the saviour of the series for me back in 2008 - which I think is somewhat justifiable under the circumstances!

But the Kro-Tan movie is definitely the perfect end for the series.

Absolutely, big storyline, big villain at the end, the whole “we get Ming back” idea, the Zuffoids on Mongo, yes. I haven’t come across any episode that says “this must come after the Prince Kro-Tan movie”, so I’m sticking with my original claim that it belongs at the end.

By the way did you ever see this clip of Defenders Of The Earth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rfc0o1k_HM

Erm, I’d heard of it, but hadn’t seen it until now. Not something I’ll bother with a second time.

I am a big fan of Queen also. I was watching a documentary about Queen back in 2003 and I so surprised when I seen the clip of the Star Fleet video and him talking about it. :smiley:

I guess it is an unusual thing to bring up even in that context!

I saw Queen + Paul Rodgers a couple of times when they toured together, and am intrigued by their tour with Adam Lambert. Might be worth a look.

Of course, the show I’m thinking about mainly is Bryan Adams in november, this’ll be the 6th time I’ll have seen him. It’s to mark the 30th anniversary of his classic album “Reckless”, which is still his best work. The really famous songs from there are “Summer Of '69”, “Heaven” and “Run To You”, all greats, and it also contains another treasure in the form of “One Night Love Affair”, which I’m currently practising.

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I am not a fan of Robot Chicken, that clip is wrong in so many ways. The cartoon had them going up to space to save the earth lots of times.

I must watch Dracula’s Potion and a few other tonight.

In the documentary they were showing the four members solo projects when Queen went on a break.

It would have been cool to see Queen + Paul Rodgers. Not sure about Adam Lambert, I know of him but I can’t say I have heard any of his music. I don’t think it would really compare to seeing Freddie, Brian, John and Roger though. :smiley: A guy I used to work with seen them on their last tour in the mid 80’s.
I was never a big fan of Bryan Adams, I liked his early stuff though. I might have heard that song you are practicing but I am not sure I will look it up and have a listen when I get chance. I have seen some of my favourite bands live like Metallica, Megadeth and Judas Priest etc. Next I want to see Bruce Springsteen or Prince.

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My problem exactly!

I must watch Dracula’s Potion and a few other tonight.

One assumes that had he drunk the potion, the Phantom would have turned into a tiger. It’s a weird episode, but I kind of like it. One of Bunch & Cole’s better offerings. I’d say second best after “Flash Times Four” (in which we see why Lou Richards didn’t do many other voices besides Flash, he doesn’t have much of a vocal range, as it were. Aside from Flash’s clones, and his Mind-Warrior-Nemesis Radiarm, or however it’s spelt, I can only count two guest voices done by Lou Richards, a newsreader in “The Panther Peril” and a presenter in “A Demon In His Pocket”).

In the documentary they were showing the four members solo projects when Queen went on a break.

It would have been cool to see Queen + Paul Rodgers. Not sure about Adam Lambert, I know of him but I can’t say I have heard any of his music. I don’t think it would really compare to seeing Freddie, Brian, John and Roger though. :smiley: A guy I used to work with seen them on their last tour in the mid 80’s.

I have the Wembley DVD, one of the best concert DVDs I have ever seen. Freddie at his peak was flawless. Nobody else has ever had a fraction of Freddie’s stage presence.

I was never a big fan of Bryan Adams, I liked his early stuff though. I might have heard that song you are practicing but I am not sure I will look it up and have a listen when I get chance.

A couple of youtube users have set “One Night Love Affair” to clips from “Aladdin” - the longer version of those two uses the superior, “Anthology” mix of the song (and puts a snippet of the Aladdin song “A Whole New World” at the end with some credits on, that’s why it’s longer, although the shorter version doesn’t quite use the whole record, it cuts out abruptly).

I have been playing this song to death for the last few weeks. Well, not to death, but at least once most days. I’m just about note-perfect on it now. I only recently realised that I’d been playing it wrong for the last 12yrs. The chorus didn’t quite use the chord sequence I thought it did. Still, problem now fixed, I’m ready to rock!

What I like about Bryan Adams is that his uptempo rockers have real melodies to them, giving them added singalong value. That’s unusual for the faster songs. Not many acts have this.

The other thing I really respect Bryan Adams for is his courage in setlist selection. Both of his most famous songs, “Summer Of '69” and “Everything I Do”, he does about 1/3 of the way into the set. Most acts leave their absolute biggest numbers until the very end, not Bryan!

I have seen some of my favourite bands live like Metallica, Megadeth and Judas Priest etc. Next I want to see Bruce Springsteen or Prince.

Apart from Bryan Adams, I’ve seen Paul McCartney (brilliant but wouldn’t see him again, his voice is starting to crack a bit); Elton John (twice, first time he was having an off day, second time he was amazing), Billy Joel (marvelous), Def Leppard (three times, but I probably won’t bother again, the third time was only because they were co-headlining with Whitesnake who I like but hadn’t seen), Ray Davies (of The Kinks, twice), Styx, Status Quo, and recently, Foreigner (definitely got to see them again, next time they come over here).

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I only found out a while ago that Lou Richards who voiced Flash also voiced Leaser-1, in the Gobots. He was the leader of the Gobots and the Defenders of the Earth.

I have two Queen live shows, not sure of the venues though.

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It’s funny when you find voice actors you know cropping up all over the shop, as indeed they did back in the 80s! Peter Renaday (Mandrake) was also Splinter in TMNT, and Prince Valiant’s father (although he only appeared in about 5-6 episodes).

Speaking of TMNT, the pedigree of the voice cast there:

Peter Renaday (Splinter) - also Mandrake and Prince Valiant’s father
James Avery (Shredder) - also Sir Bryant
Cam Clarke (Leonardo) - also Dogtanian
Barry Gordon (Donatello) - also Razor from Swat Kats, and Reggie in Gravedale High, and much more besides!
Rob Paulsen (Raphael) - also Robert Draconarius in Prince Valiant, and, I’ve recently discovered, Rude Dog

And that’s just the stuff I know!

I have two Queen live shows, not sure of the venues though.

It should say on the box where it is - or at least roughly where in the world

I didn’t watch any more DotE last night - tired after swimming. Just five regular episodes and Prince Kro-Tan still on the list.

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Wow. I never though about Mandrake and Splinter. How could I have missed that. It’s odd because I am pretty good at recognising voice actors. Maybe it’s because when I was young with DOTE being such a favourite I just mentally placed them by themselves from a lot of other cartoons.

Actually it’s only one show on DVD, it’s not an official DVD but if I recall correctly it is somewhere in France.

I watch Call of the Eternals yesterday while I was waiting on my paint drying. It was okay, not one of the best though.

I am thinking of doing a painting of The Phantom when I get chance.

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I didn’t spot it at the time, when I was a kid I didn’t spot that many voices, the only one I recognised was Barry Gordon, whose voice was particularly distinctive.

However, a few years ago, just after properly getting back into DotE, getting what limited Region 2 DVDs there were, I suddenly had one of my “memory moments”. I have (and this is not a brag, just a statement of fact), a particularly excellent memory. And one day I was lying in bed, thinking about cartoons, and somehow I got thinking about the wise characters in cartoons, such as Splinter, and as soon as that rat entered my mind, I thought, “that voice was Peter Renaday, I’m sure of it!” - and next time I was online, I checked, and of course it was.

I had another such example earlier this week, I was thinking about the actor Dan Hedaya, known to me as Nick, Carla’s ex-husband in “Cheers”, and also from an episode of “Monk”, in which he played the eponymous detective’s father. I suddenly thought, “wasn’t he also Tully in the first Addams Family film?” - and sure enough, he was!

Actually it’s only one show on DVD, it’s not an official DVD but if I recall correctly it is somewhere in France.

Not one that rings any bells with me then. I have Wembley '86, Milton Keynes '82, Montreal '81 (with a bonus disc including their Live Aid performance!), and a VHS of Hungary '86. I also have the two DVDs they did with Paul Rodgers - the first, “Return Of The Champions” in 2005 is the Sheffield show, the one I went to! (The other is Ukraine 2008.)

I watch Call of the Eternals yesterday while I was waiting on my paint drying. It was okay, not one of the best though.

Agreed. It’s pretty good, it’s grown on me, it’s sort of like a better version of “Doorways Into Darkness”, in that it has a small measure of the depth that that episode was missing. Not an all-time classic though.

I am thinking of doing a painting of The Phantom when I get chance.

Go for it!

I watched “The Thunder Lizards Of Ming” this afternoon. Glad I’ve got it out of the way. It’s one of the low points. Bunch & Cole clearly had no understanding about dinosaurs.

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I was just looking up Peter Renaday on IMDB.. He has done a lot of shows. Another one I missed was he did the voice of Grapple in Transformers. Although I only ever seen one episode briefly in the 80’s with him in it and no more until 2004.

I really like that show ‘Monk’, I have all the seasons on DVD.

I am trying to expand my portfolio so I was think of doing some super heroes instead of nothing but landscapes and portraits.

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Didn’t know that. He’d have made a good Jaga as well.

I really like that show ‘Monk’, I have all the seasons on DVD.

He makes Jack Lemmon’s character in “The Odd Couple” look positively normal by comparison!

I am trying to expand my portfolio so I was think of doing some super heroes instead of nothing but landscapes and portraits.

And why not! Perhaps all the Defenders? Lothar in particular has so much visually going on with him that he’d be a really good one to paint.

Well, my best of Beth Nielsen Chapman CD finally arrived today. Third time lucky! I initially ordered it way back in may, from a supplier in America. 3wks later, the parcel arrived, but it contained the wrong disc, by an artist I’d never heard of. I contacted them, they promised to correct the error, and 3wks later, the same wrong disc arrived. I contacted them again, it turned out they didn’t have the CD I was looking for, so refunded me. So I placed a fresh order for it from a different seller; it arrived today and played through fine. At last!

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He would have been good as Jaga, a younger one especially, but I think Earl Hammond’s voice for him was perfect.

I can’t say I have ever heard of Beth Nielsen Chapman. It’s annoying when they mix up orders. I remember several years back I bought a 4" Dai-X robot from Star Fleet and I waited over 6 weeks then contacted the seller who said he was sorry and that he thought he had posted it.