Both production AND airdate orders have problems, that’s the whole point of this thread!
Apart from anything else, neither of them has Lion-O’s Anointment Trials all one after the other, both orders have them scattered all over the place.
Lion-O’s Anointment Trials have to stay together.
I love the thought and attention you’ve put into this. I’m curious to see the “final” episode order that satisfies you.
If someone would post the “best current version” that you have come up with so far I’ll put that on our front page as a news story and we can keep updating it on a page on the site as it develops.
GREAT idea! As the instigator of this project, I whole-heartedly support this idea, as it makes it more open to everybody.
Here’s the latest version. I’ve decided “The Tower Of Traps” should proceed “The Terror Of Hammerhand” because the remark about Tygra wanting the maps accurate can better explain his and the kittens’ absence from “The Terror Of Hammerhand” if that episode comes after it, we can say they’re collating data in it.
Anyway, here’s how it stands at the moment. Episodes 1-22 are pretty cast-iron, and 63-65 are certainly the best ones to finish on, other than that, there’s scope for improvement but it’s still pretty good so far:
- Exodus
- The Unholy Alliance
- Berbils
- The Slaves of Castle Plundarr
- Trouble With Time
- Pumm-Ra
- The Tower of Traps
- The Terror of Hammerhand
- Garden of Delights
- Spitting Image
- The Doom Gaze
- The Ghost Warrior
- The Spaceship Beneath the Sands
- Time Capsule
- Safari Joe
- The Fireballs of Plundarr
- Mandora: Evil Chaser
- Return to Thundera
- The Thunder Cutter
- Lord of the Snows
- All That Glitters
- Snarf Takes Up the Challenge
- Mandora and the Pirates
- Dr. Dometone
- The Sixth Sense
- The Wolfrat
- Out of Sight
- Mongor
- The Rock Giant
- The Super-Power Potion
- The Feliner
- The Feliner Pt 2
- Sword in a Hole
- The Crystal Queen
- Queen of Eight Legs
- The Transfer
- Jackalman’s Rebellion
- Mumm-Rana
- Good and Ugly
- The Shifter
- The Evil Harp of Charr-Ninn
- The Astral Prison
- Excalibur
- Tight Squeeze
- Dimension Doom
- The Demolisher
- The Trial of Strength
- The Trial of Speed
- The Trial of Cunning
- The Trial of Mind Power
- The Trial of Evil
- Turmagar the Tuska
- Trouble with Thunderkittens
- The Secret of the Ice King
- Trapped
- The Mountain
- Divide and Conquer
- Micrits
- The Mumm-Ra Berbil
- Return of the Driller
- Monkian’s Bargain
- Dream Master
- Mechanical Plague
- Eye of the Beholder
- Fond Memories
Any plans to address season 2?
Personally no, for two reasons - but if others see anything wrong with its continuity structure, they can raise the issues.
Firstly, I don’t think there are any major continuity issues with season 2 though - mainly because it can also be called seasons 2-4, and each five-parter that opens each mini-season is an absolute benchmark on continuity, that is to say, nothing in season 3 belongs in season 4 and so on.
So if there are any specific issues, then rearranging as applicable three independent sets of 15 (because each 5-parter goes at the beginning, no question) is a lot easier than sorting out the big season 1! (A bit like when I tackled the problem of continuity within the 13 episodes of “Visionaries: Knights Of The Magical Light” - a very simple job indeed.)
Secondly, I’m not that well up on season 2 (or 2-4), so can offer no expert advice on the matter! But, like I said, if anyone can see any issues on the later series, then it’s fair game.
This sounds like a great idea! I am still trying to find time to go through all of the episodes in this order and really enjoy reading the reasoning behind it.
Okay gang, I’ve updated the front page with a story about the work done in this thread. I’m keen to see where it ends up!
Thanks everyone.
Nice one Grizzlor! Once it is absolutely nailed down as tightly as can be, you might want to include some of the particular continuity notes on certain episodes.
Funny you should mention that because I’ve been quietly uploading the episode guide section and I think these kinds of continuity notes would fit perfectly into the page in the “notes of interest” section for each episode.
When this project has reached a pretty strong “final” result we can add the listing to its own page in the Cartoon section.
Similar to this one:
http://www.thundercatslair.org/animated-series/episode-guide/
Nice job guys!
Is there a reason “The Feliner” episodes can’t serve as Vultureman’s introduction?
As I stated before, Vultureman’s sudden appearance with the mutants has always been very clunky, and none of his episodes really serve as a proper intro. However, by introducing him along with Rataro, the viewer could infer that Slithe immediately sent Vultureman away from 3rd Earth in order to find Rataro, and that’s why he’s been missing from every previous episode.
I know Vultureman makes a comment like, “You know Slithe never listens to me,” but he could be referring to their history together prior to 3rd Earth.
Or does introducing Vultureman with this two-parter create continuity problems with the introduction of mutant tech?
That’s actually a very interesting point. It may or may not work. At the moment, I don’t know. I’d need to watch the two-parter again.
When it comes to Mutant Tech, you’ll notice that I put “The Fireballs Of Plun-Darr” and “Return To Thundera” prior to Vultureman’s first appearance on Third Earth. The latter of course features him in a flashback sequence on Thundera (well, not exactly flashback, but you know what I mean), but he is not seen on Third Earth. And that’s why I put those two episodes before his first appearance on Third Earth - he’s the group’s inventor, so if he isn’t in these two episodes where they’re using technology, it must be because he isn’t on Third Earth yet.
I think the main argument against introducing him in “Feliner” is the fact of Ratar-O also making his debut here but never appearing again (except in “Thundercats HO!”, and in one of the portraits in “Fond Memories”).
And even if we do have “Feliner” introducing Vultureman to Third Earth, his flashback appearance in “Return To Thundera” would still have to precede it for the above reasons.
I think it’s worth considering. Even though it’s not a strong introduction, at least the episode shows Vultureman coming to Third Earth from elsewhere, as opposed to just suddenly and inexplicably being among the other mutants. Perhaps we could conclude that upon the destruction of Thundera, Slithe reluctantly sent Vultureman in search of Ratar-o, thinking Ratar-o’s leadership might be necessary as they traveled to an unknown planet.
Considering how long it took the ThunderCats to reach Third Earth, Vultureman’s extended absence while finding and arriving with Ratar-o could make a lot of sense.
It’s worth looking into, certainly. If “Feliner” is moved forward to Vultureman’s arrival on Third Earth, “Mandora And The Pirates” will also have to be moved forward, because this episode has to come before the two-parter, due to Lion-O stating that the Thundercats don’t have any interstellar craft.
I don’t know about this. Rataro and Vultureman do have that scene in “Feliner Part One” where they talk about Slithe:
Rataro: If you’d called me in before, the ThunderCats would be finished by now, Vultureman.
Vultureman: Caaawww. You know Slithe, Rataro. He never listens to me! Caaaawwwghghwwghwgh.
This suggests that Vultureman has spent a significant amount of time with Slithe on Third Earth, and has had time to observe numerous screwups. It also points to Vultureman as the brains behind Rataro’s visit (something Slithe confirms in their next scene, when he warns Vultureman that this plan had better work).
While this is a clever solution to the where-did-Vultureman-come-from problem, it’s an awfully big pill to swallow. Plus, I feel like pushing “Feliner” earlier into the lineup creates other problems (not necessarily direct continuity problems, but ~feel~ problems). The Lion-O in “Feliner” strikes me as a much more mature Lion-O than in “Lord of the Snows”, for instance. And the relationship between Lion-O and Snarf needs more time to evolve if Snarf is going to really consider leaving.
I think you’ve called it right, Zax. I was meaning to take a look at that episode, or at least that scene, you beat me to it.
Rataro: If you’d called me in before, the ThunderCats would be finished by now, Vultureman.
Vultureman: Caaawww. You know Slithe, Rataro. He never listens to me! Caaaawwwghghwwghwgh.
Ratar-O’s words there clearly group Vultureman with the other mutants in their efforts to destroy the Thundercats. So this is not Vultureman’s initial arrival on Third Earth.
Nice idea though, Wakko - it shows you’re paying attention to these little things, and that’s just the kind of mind we need helping out on this 
Yup, you guys are right. Ratar-o’s comment negates my idea. Poo.
Hey, don’t worry! It was a good idea, it shows you knew what to look/listen out for. And there’s bound to be things we’ve not spotted yet that will help tighten up the order for the later episodes.