Totally! Tygra overcoming the key stone powers on his own would have been better, maybe just by watching his friends in danger (like Cheetara overcoming her fear in “Telepathy Beam”).
I think that was the problem with most (if not all) of Tygra-centered-episode where he was the victim. Unlike Panthro, Cheetara, Lynx-O, Sanrf or even the kittens, who got out of trouble on themsleves, every time Tygra got in trouble and screwed it (“Trouble with Time”, “Fireballs of Plun-Darr”, “Garden of Delights”, Turmagar the Tuska", “Crystal Canyon”, “Mossland Monster”), he was saved by another TC, mostly Lion-O and the SoO. Even when he got to save the day in “Out of Sight” he screwed it and needed the SoO’s help to get back to being visible! It would have been nice to see him reverting a bad trait of him on his own for a change. I’d rewrite mosty (again, iif not all ) of them.
I always like how Tygra saved the day in Pumra. One of the few times were logic used having the architect and designer of the Lair going to shut of the power source rather than Lion-O. As Jaga is said ‘‘Ingenuity is called for, not bravery and strength’’.
Exactly! I mean for a guy who can turn invisible, Tygra sure was underused. Just imagine how many recon missions he could have conducted against the TCats’ enemies? Instead he usually used his invisibility against foes who could see through it (Red -Eye, Mongor, Phospho-R Lake etc).
I think a lot of that can be put down to Peter Lawrence’s dislike for the characters as he thought was an unnecessary and bland character. It’s really odd as I always really liked Tygra and wish more of his powers and skills were shown in more episodes.
Well then he was in the perfect position to change that. He could have written a Tygra-centric episode and turn him into a necessary and interesting character instead of just continuing to sideline poor Tygra.
I agree. He was the most mature and he oozed leadership. He should have been the mentor to Lion-O instead of Jaga, who appeared haphazardly, often to give ambiguous advice. I would have loved if there had been an episode where Tygra, even temporarily, takes over the mantle of Lord of the ThunderCats.
I liked that too. It was an early episode and I guess writers put much more into them, trying to highlight every TC and not only Lion-O.
Also, don’t forget that Tygra beat Mumm-Ra (Pumm-Ra) with his bare hands in that ep. Again though, he didn’t get any credit for any of that at the end, maybe because, for the same reason that it was an early episode, they were setting the TCs as a team.
I remember Lawrence saying nobody cared for Tygra, but don’t recall him calling him bland and unnecessary. Did he really? I can respect his opinion on bland ((although I don’t share it), but unnecessary? A tiger unnecessary in a show called ThunderCats? Now, if he was talking about Tygra’s skills and powers, then they should have tried harder with the character. He was a world of possibilities that they didn’t explore. Maybe Lawrence and co were the bland and unnecessary LOL.
That would have been great! Lion-O falls prisoner and it was on Tygra to conduct the TCs in a rescue mission. Kind of like when Eric the Chavalier took the leadership of the gang in “Dungeons and Dragons”, but without the comicity and moral lesson at the end LOL
I can’t recall where I read that but here is Peter Lawrence’s direct quote from ‘Hear the Roar’: ‘‘Tygra was always enigmatic (and a spare part in my view).’’
Considering he was one of the main forces and writers behind Silverhawks I wonder why all of the heroes and characters in it were so boring, bland and characterless LOL.
It would have been cool to have Tygra as an advisor figure much like He-Man/Prince Adam had Duncan/Man-At-Arms.
Did peter lawrence hate Pumyra too? She was very underused. I mean her medical Knowhow could have been used for plenty of episodes but as the series went on it seems they focused more and more on Lion-O.
since we’re on the subject of typgra. How about episodes focusing on him where you’d write something?
I completely agree! Pumyra’s medical abilities would have been a fantastic addition to the show. She could have been utilized so many times in place of the SoO healing somebody.
All that is wrong with the later series of Thundercats can be directly attributed to Peter Lawrence. As head writer after Leonard Starr left, it was his responsibility to make sure the scripts measured up, but he really fell short. As for his own scripts, after he took over he didn’t do much beyond the last two 5-part episodes, and those really introduced all the ideas that were fundamentally wrong with the show. He was the one who pushed it in the wrong directions. Now, OK, Starr wrote “Mumm-Ra Lives” which introduced the Lunataks, but at least that’s just a matter of individual taste. Lawrence brought back Thundera just like that for season 3, and then had them de-camp to that same planet in season 4, and actively leave behind two of their team, presumably the two that he liked the least. It’s the writers’ job to bring out the best in the main characters, not to decide someone like Tygra is unnecessary and leave him behind.
I never understood why in that episode they all attacked Mumm-Ra and the Mutants directly. Wouldn’t it have been better to use Cheetara’s speed, Tygra’s invisibility and Panthro’s extendable arms to get back what they were looking for (was it the book of omens or one of the power jewels?). What writers do in order to show the main hero’s (Lion-O) strenght and why the second one (in this case Tygra) would never be worthy of that title.
True. The NS definitely portrayed Lion-O’s weaknesses much more than the original though. The other members of the team were not relegated to “helpers” as much.
