Yeah. Some sources say the establishing episodes are just the first two, others (probably the majority) call it the first 4, but I’ve always viewed it as the first 6. If you’ve never treated them as such, then watch those first six one after the other, you’ll be convinced.
I no longer need to be convinced. Now I just want to watch all six in a row! That sounds like a great way to spend part of the impending blizzard. 
As for a new question, how about this:
What characters work as paid mercenaries, and in what episodes?
Let me think.
[ul]
[li]Cptn. Shiner and hios crew - Thundercats Ho![/li][li]Berserkers - Thundercats Ho![/li][li]Driller - Return of the Driller[/li][/ul]
About the previous question (being a Tygra fan I can’t hold myself back lol), I always liked that episode for many Tygra-reasons. Tygra entering CatsLair and being the one who kind of saves the day. I also liked that he turned invisible without the aid of his bolowhip, and that he defeated Mumm-Ra with his bare hands (he might have not known it was Mumm-Ra the one he was defeating, but still. I always wondered if he knew, would it have been a different story? Also made me wonder why it was so hard for the TCs to do so in future episodes).
1 Like
I think “Tygra_Rules” has probably got them all. Just to add to his answer that the Driller also was hired and paid in “Spitting Image” and Capt Shiner and his crew were also employed in “Sword in a Hole”. 
We’ll wait for Zax to deliver the final verdict.
Oh, wow. I completely forgot to come back and issue a verdict!
With Wilycub’s addenda for Driller and Shiner, the only other one I had in mind was the Inflamor in “All That Glitters”—a mercenary paid by the ThunderCats! Mumm-Ra also makes a promise of gold to the Berserkers in “Together We Stand”, but they never actually get paid.
You’re up, Tygra_Rules!
1 Like
Infalmor! I thought of him while posting my answer, and then compeltely forgot lol.
Let me think a couple of days please.
Wilycub, did you get my reply to your PM?
Yes sir! I just finished sending you a reply!
OK, here it goes.
Robotic anthropomorphic characters (thus, Technopede and such don’t count).
OK, let’s see:
Screwloose
Mule (Safari Joe’s helper)
Captain Cracker (and Polly?)
Driller (?)
Chimera (?)
Burnout (?)
Isn’t Quickpick robotic as well?
Edit: Do robots like Hercules and Sampson count as they are really controlled by Dr. Dometone?
The Automaton
Captain Cracker’s Robots on the Jolly Roger
See-Thru
I was actually thinking of autonomous characters lol
Yes, Quick Pick does count. I think Kymera counts as well.
I think that gives it to Liam. Your turn!
OK, here’s one. Which recurring characters (not the main heroes and villains) appeared in episodes written by different writers?
Just to make the question clear, I’ll give an example, if there was a character called Sabretooth who appeared in an episode by Peter Lawrence and and one by Bob Haney, that would count. If there was a character called Pawsome who appeared in three episodes all written by William Overgard, that could not count.
This is a great question—I’m really interested to hear some of the answers. Here are the ones that jumped to mind for me.
Captain Shiner appeared in “Sword in a Hole” (Overgard) and “ThunderCats Ho!” (Leonard Starr).
Mandora appeared in mostly Overgard episodes, from “Mandora the Evil Chaser” to “Sideswipe”, but also in “Return to Thundera!” (Peter Lawrence).
Rataro and Snarfer both first appeared in “Feliner” (Stephen Perry) and then resurfaced in “ThunderCats Ho!” (Leonard Starr).
Hammerhand in his first form appeared in “The Terror of Hammerhand” (Ron Goulart and Jules Bass) and then in “Spitting Image” (Howard Post). In his later incarnation, he appeared in “ThunderCats Ho!” (Leonard Starr) and “Together We Stand” (Herb Englehardt).
Grune appeared in “The Ghost Warrior” and “ThunderCats Ho!” (Leonard Starr), then later in “Return to Thundera!” (Peter Lawrence).
Whole races like the berbils, wollos, bolkins and warrior maidens appear in so many episodes, I think it’s weird to consider them, frankly, even when they have obvious recurring leaders like RoBear Bill and Willa. Thoughts on that?
A agree with Zax, a very good question indeed! A few that I can recall:
Jagara - “Return to Thundera” (Peter Lawrence), “Screwloose” (William Overgard), “Well of Doubt” (Dennis J Woodyard)
Turmagar - “Turmagar the Tuska” (C H Trengove), “ThunderCats HO!” (Leonard Starr)
Mumm-Rana - “Mumm-Rana” (Bob Haney), “Mumm-Rana’s Belt” (James Rose)
Unicorn Keepers - “Terror of Hammerhand” (Ron Goulart and Jules Bass), “Snarf Takes Up The Challenge” (Peter Lawrence)
Hachiman - “The Thunder-Cutter” (Overgard), “ThunderCats Ho!” (Starr), “Hachiman’s Honor” (J Larry Carroll)
I wasn’t really thinking in terms of whole races - although whether their leaders count is a very good question.
You two are about equal at the moment. I can think of at least two other recurring characters that haven’t been mentioned.
A few more that I thought of:
Torr - “Return to Thundera - Part III” (P. Lawrence), “Well of Doubt” (Dennis J Woodyard)
Snowman - “Lord of the Snows” (Bob Haney), "ThunderCats HO! - Parts II, III, IV (Leonard Starr), “The Mad Bubbler” (Kimberly Morris)
Snowmeow - “Lord of the Snows” (Bob Haney), "ThunderCats HO! - Parts II, III, IV (Leonard Starr), “The Mad Bubbler” (Kimberly Morris)
Claudus - “Return to Thundera” (Peter Lawrence), “The Shadowmaster” (Dennis J Woodyard)
OK, Wilycub, I’ll give it to you.
Snowman and Snowmeow also appeared in “Secret Of The Ice King” (Bob Haney), and Snowmeow in “The Trial Of Mind Power” (Leonard Starr).
Thanks, Liam! Here’s my question:
Willa usually appears in episodes either alone or together with her sister Nayda. Which is the only episode in which Nayda appears without Willa?