Galaxy Rangers is similar to Bravestarr but the stories are a lot more mature in nature compared to Bravestarr which is very similar to He-Man.
Captain Kidd has an interesting voice you will recognise. 
So much Iâd figured out for myself, sort of space cowboys thing. I have heard that it had stronger continuity arcs than the average 80s cartoon. Iâll have a look for the pilot at some point over the weekend. And donât tell me who the voice is, Iâd like to recognise it for myself!
It definitely had some great episodes. But I still have to finish watching about 25 episodes. The pilot episode is quite good.
BTW I think Spiral Zone is better compared to M.A.S.K. than G.I. Joe as it is a smaller team. M.A.S.K. also have their headquarters in a mountain.
What is it with mountain HQâs in 80s cartoons? Traditionally, itâs the villains that have the mountain hideout, certain Bond films testify to that!
Yes, Spiral Zone have a small team. Thereâs a couple of extra members added to each team midway through the season, in episodes 30 (Ned Tucker and Ben Franklin join the Zone Riders), 31 (Crook joins the Black Widows) and 34 (Rawmeat joins the Black Widows, although heâs shown in episode 33 already!) Hence my listing those episodes under âimportantâ.
Ned becomes their main pilot when he joins the team; and funnily enough he looks a LOT like Ectar in Visionaries! Although he wasnât voiced by either of the Visionaries actors. His voice was provided by Frank Welker, who didnât quite get the Aussie twang right at first (thereâs one line where he sounds Scouse! I could understand if he sounded Cocnkey by mistake, but Scouse?!). Hal Rayle did voice Ben and Rawmeat, however. Crookâs voice is unidentified, but I think itâs either Hal Rayle or Michael Bell.
M.A.S.K. had Boulder Hill, Skeletor had Snake Mountain, Shaman from Bravestarr had Star Peak and I believe Galaxy Rangers had a base on earth built into a mountain.
Dirk Courage, not keen on his name, reminds me of Duke from G.I. Joe and Matt Tracker from M.A.S.K.
It sounds like a name a film star in the 40s or 50s would give himself. Indeed, itâs the sort of name thatâs SO macho youâd wonder if the actor was covering up for something, a la Rock Hudson . . .
Some 80âs cartoons had some odd man. I still maintain that if He-man/ Master of the Universe comeback they need to definitely change He-manâs name to just Adam Greyskull or something and loose the -man and -or at the end of the other charactersâ names.
Some villains from cartoons have terrible names. Like Starcom and Skeleton Warriors had Emperor Dark and Baron Dark.
Not forgetting Doctor Dark in DotE!
I watched episode 4 of Avatar last night - OK, itâs starting to get quite decent, worth sticking with yet.
I also watched the first episode of Galaxy Rangers, and recognised Earl Hammondâs Vultureman voice as Captain Kidd (I also recognised his stern authoritarian voice elsewhere, the sort of voice Jaga had when alive and issuing orders, and also for Commander Simpson in Thunderbirds 2086).
GR looks pretty decent, although I have issue with the fact that apart from Fox, none of the other heroes got a proper introduction, they just suddenly appeared (and admittedly were formally identified) when the implants were done.
Yes the introduction of Goose, Doc and Nikko always annoyed me as they just showed up. But their backstories get explained further on.
It is a very good series and gets a lot better as it goes on.
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It gets even better as it goes on. Although if I remember right the next episode is okay. You really should give it chance until episode 8 or 10.
The problem with Avatar is that it isnât completely episodic like a lot of the 80âs cartoons. Each episode is basically supposed to build on the on going journey and their characters. You need to think of each episode more like a chapter in a book. (Each season is actually called bookâŚand each episode chapterâŚ)
I would honestly say the second half, episodes 11 to 20, are even better than the first ten.
12 and 13 are especially good and build Zukoâs character a lot. Even if you give up on it (you shouldnât!) you should still watch those two episodes. Same with the last three episodes those are also great.
Iâll watch some more tonight/tomorrow, and some more C.O.P.S. as well.
Actually, on the subject of C.O.P.S., I did a bit of looking around online, because I had a sneaking suspicion of something that wasnât right. Specifically, Bulletproofâs voice. His voice is cool, but a bit devoid of emotion. And sure enough, Ken Ryan, who plays him, is the wrong colour! I thought this black character didnât sound black. And remember, I could tell that the actor voicing Panthro was black the moment I heard him back in 2008 when I got that VHS.
It gets even better as it goes on. Although if I remember right the next episode is okay. You really should give it chance until episode 8 or 10.
The problem with Avatar is that it isnât completely episodic like a lot of the 80âs cartoons. Each episode is basically supposed to build on the on going journey and their characters. You need to think of each episode more like a chapter in a book. (Each season is actually called bookâŚand each episode chapterâŚ)
I would honestly say the second half, episodes 11 to 20, are even better than the first ten.
12 and 13 are especially good and build Zukoâs character a lot. Even if you give up on it (you shouldnât!) you should still watch those two episodes. Same with the last three episodes those are also great.
Well, I just saw episode 5 a moment ago, that was pretty good. I think Iâll carry on with it, just watching an episode each night. Itâs definitely starting to grow on me. And donât forget, the Thundercats remake didnât completely grab me until episode 6, âJourney To The Tower Of Omensâ. That and âLegacyâ next after really made me think, âyeah, this is all right!â
And btw, not being completely episodic is fine by me. Thatâs one of the things the Thundercats remake did better than the original, stronger continuity arcs and all that. Thatâs the problem weâre having figuring out the continuity order for it (and DotE for that matter!).
Finally got to the end of that scene in the Visionaries story this afternoon; the scene that I halted in the middle of back in 2011, the first scene in the village where events are really set in motion. It feels like the story has finally blasted off now. Next scene, return of the rest of the Spectral Knights; the story starts with half of them away on a tour of the southern allied cities, so Ectar, Arzon and Cryotek are alone in New Valarak, and having to deal with another hair-brained scheme from the Botanical Garden Committee - Ectar does not have Leoricâs patience, and it is Cryotek, ironically, who stops him from completely flying off the handle. Sort of. Almost. He interrupts him before he crosses the line. What with Leoric having spent several weeks away from New Valarak touring the various cities of the other Spectral Knights, along with Feryl and whoever lives in the direction they were going, Ectar has been in charge of the city for quite some time and is getting sick of meetings like this. Consequently, he was just itching to get stuck into the Darkling Lords when he went out on patrol with Arzon, and he got his wish. They say be careful what you wish for, you might get it, well, this minor skirmish with Reekon and Mortdredd was harmless in itself, but has some unfortunate consequences . . .
I donât have the DVD anymore so I am not sure of the episode names but there are a lot of good GR episodes. One I especially liked was a tribute to âMurder on the Orient Expressâ.
âGalaxy Strangerâ is a great episode. Very Clint Eastwood inspired.
Avatar really does grow on you the more you watch it. There are some voices in episode 6 YOU SHOULD recognise.
The big difference between Avatar and Thundercats 2011 is they did everything better. The pacing of the overall story and quest is better. Same for the building of each character, including the bad guys.
Cheetara is pretty boring and bland and only shines in about two episodes but compared to Katara she really grew on me and became probably my second favourite character of the show. And her character developed really well over the three seasons.
I couldnât help but start to like Zuko, especially as the series progresses.
It would be really interesting to hear your opinions on the first full season of Avatar compared to the one season of Thundercats 2011.
Iâll let you know tomorrow night then if I recognise any voices!
I suppose in character development terms, Cheetara and also Panthro kind of went so far then just stopped.
GR tribute to âMurder On The Orient Expressâ eh? You mean as in everybody-dunnit?
Actually, that reminds me of a story I wrote about 15yrs back, that was basically Ice Station Zebra within my Star Trek-esque universe. I took a look at it recently, but shuddered, as the hero made some huge leaps of logic in his deductive reasoning. Oh well . . .
In some ways, I think I prefer writing with the Visionaries characters, I already know how they react to things. I donât have to create characters from scratch - lazy, I know, but . . . actually, the story Iâm writing at the moment does include one new character of my own creation who is central to the plot, the woman Ectar falls in love with. Yes. Ectar in love. Heâs the last one to become so infatuated, which is precisely why I chose him for this story! (Thatâs the great thing about the world of Visionaries, thereâs always a way of making the least likely character do the thing you want them to do!)
A bit like when I wrote âShape Of The Mindâ, I picked Feryl because heâd be the last Spectral Knight to side with Darkstorm. One blow to the head and amnesia solved that problem!
Kind of a common theme here, I ask myself two questions:
- Which character is the least likely to do [whatever it is]?
- How do I get him/her to do it?
I will have to read one of your stories sometime. That new one seems very interesting. I had forgot about the botanical committee LOL.
Well itâs just a murder on a passenger freighter ship.
ââI suppose in character development terms, Cheetara and also Panthro kind of went so far then just stopped.ââ
Exactly. Cheetara was pretty much just there along with Panthro, Kit and Kat for scenery as they never really did anything else worthwhile after there big episodes. The episode where Panthro loses his arms is pretty much his last interesting episode. Kit and Kat had a like two episodes then that was that.
Itâs odd you should say you like writing for characters that are already created. For some fantasy pieces I prefer using actual characters instead of ones I have to make up and design for a painting. Although I have actually come up with a character, loosely based on a couple existing characters, I am going to use for a series of fantasy paintings. I need to do some design sketches so I have a proper image of what he looks like for when he is put on canvas.
Between the BGC in âHonor Among Thievesâ and the zoning issue in âThe Overthrow Of Merklynnâ, itâs abundantly clear that meetings are the bane of Ectarâs existence (and probably paperwork too, but I think heâs responsible enough to actually do his paperwork when necessary and THEN moan about it).
Well itâs just a murder on a passenger freighter ship.
OK, fair enough. Iâll see for myself.
ââI suppose in character development terms, Cheetara and also Panthro kind of went so far then just stopped.ââ
Exactly. Cheetara was pretty much just there along with Panthro, Kit and Kat for scenery as they never really did anything else worthwhile after there big episodes. The episode where Panthro loses his arms is pretty much his last interesting episode. Kit and Kat had a like two episodes then that was that.
Well, they had a bit more than Panthro and Cheetara. They got more attention, especially later in the run, particularly in episodes 18 and 22.
Itâs odd you should say you like writing for characters that are already created. For some fantasy pieces I prefer using actual characters instead of ones I have to make up and design for a painting. Although I have actually come up with a character, loosely based on a couple existing characters, I am going to use for a series of fantasy paintings. I need to do some design sketches so I have a proper image of what he looks like for when he is put on canvas.
Itâs weird. Maybe itâs because Iâve never been that great a team player, and my function in a team tends to be correcting everyone elseâs mistakes!
Still, itâs useful to have ready-made characters to write for, extrapolating what seems likely and so on. When I write a Visionaries story, the question I ask myself is always, âwould this work as an episode?â - thatâs the question any fan fiction writer should ask themselves. Unless theyâre doing something COMPLETELY different within their chosen world, that should be the criteria used for writing fan fiction. Some Visionaries fanfics Iâve read just get it completely wrong. I strive for integrity, I would like to be able to think of my fanfics as the unofficial extension to the seriesâ canon.
A fanfic should definitely work as an episode. I read two Thundercats fanfics and they were absolutely awful. Not just in terms of not working as an episode, just bad writing in general.
I have only ever read three fanfics.
Iâll have to show you mine at some point. I need to redraft the first of them though, âForeign Eyesâ - the others sort of follow on from it. Itâs not like theyâre building up to anything, but âShape Of The Mindâ references things in âForeign Eyesâ, and âReign Of Terrorâ begins immediately where âShape Of The Mindâ ends.
Did you watch anymore?
I watched episode 2 of Galaxy Rangers this morning. Definitely enjoying it. Heroesâ wives in 80s cartoons didnât have very good prospects, did they! Mind you, Eliza Fox hasnât done quite as badly as Dale Arden!
Iâve also just watched another episode of C.O.P.S. - The Case Of The Bogus Bride. Felt a bit sorry for Berserko there. But nice to see Mirage actually going properly undercover for a change! She didnât get much chance to shine, she wasnât in many episodes - ironic that, apart from Bulletproof who was in every episode, from what Iâve seen, itâs one of the female characters, Mainframe, who was in the most episodes, and the other, Mirage, in the least. Still, at least one of the two ladies was really in the forefront as a really good female role model.
You will definitely like the rest of Galaxy Rangers then. 
I think I recall seeing that episode of C.O.P.S. on TV.
I had to laugh at the immaturity of Berserko in this, and in âThe Case Of The Stuck-Up Blimpâ - when they need certain items for their next operation, they just go into a shop and steal them! In that episode itâs tuxedos, in the wedding episode, itâs dresses, rings, cake, everything! I guess itâs to make sure the viewers know these guys are bad, but it wouldnât happen like that in real life, if youâre planning a big caper, you donât draw attention to yourself by committing some petty crime like that!