Lion-O's Annointment Trials??

Cartoons ThunderCats (1985)
1

Whoa, so what the heck happened here?

I just got Season 1 Volume 2 this weekend, and was SOOOO excited to see Lion-O’s trials again. :smiley: I still am, but I don’t understand something…

Didn’t all 5 of his trials air 5 consecutive days for one entire week?? :confused: I could have sworn they did in my childhood, but they’re spread out all over the discs in this set! I thought that’s so weird…then I looked some online, and one site’s episode guide has them grouped together, but TV.com has them listed separately apart too, with original airing dates—thereby showing that they did not air all in one week.

But I was 100% sure they did! Don’t they kind of “preview” the very next trial for the next day in each one? I remember at the end of Panthro’s trial Cheetara found her spot to spend the night for her trial with Lion-O the next day, and after Cheetara’s trial the Kittens went to get ready for their trial with Lion-O the next day, etc.

So what the heck is goin’ on here?

I just may have to watch these episodes consecutively anyway, since that’s how I remember them. :wink: It’s so just so odd that I totally remember them one right after the other, but the Internet tells me otherwise…

2

I seem to remember them being all together as well. I have not watched my dvds in a while so I cant remember for sure. Ill check it out when I get a chance.

3

I believe its been discussed here before somewhere, the Trials did air apart. I think Cartoon Network might have showed them one after the other though.

4

Interesting Bengali, because I mentioned this in a 'Cats thread at the He-Man.org too, and other folks also recall the episodes airing consecutively in one week; and that’s how I remember them vividly. It cetainly does make a lot more sense, anyway. Maybe some other stations aired them in different orders or something?

5

Cartoon Network did show the trials one after the other. Chris and Purrsia know the answer to this question, but from what I remember…it has something to do with the production order and air date order. I think the originally airing of the trials in the US did not show on consecutive days; again, I might be mistaken, but I think the trials were shown every friday for five weeks.

I’m sure Chris and/Purrsia will correct me, so I apologize in advance if I confused everyone even more! :stuck_out_tongue:

6

I think, yeah, it was production numbers and such which is why they were split up. They’re supposed to air next to each other (doing otherwise, such as on the DVD’s, make absolutely no sense whatsoever) so what annoyed me when I purchased the second volume of the first season was to watch each one, I had to change DVD’s all the time. They are a fantastic set of episodes, though although I still love ThunderCubs more (just for Part 5 with uber-scary MummRa and the cool new music). :smiley:

7

Hmm, well I know I saw them on network TV in 5 consecutive days, because the end of each trial episode “teased” the very next day’s episode, and I vividly recall the Trial of Cunning airing on a Wed. because my dad was gonna take us to church, and I was watching ThunderCats quietly pleeeeeeeeading with all my strength for him to not remember until ThunderCats was over, cause I just had to see the trial! lol :smiley: (I think he told us to go right at the tail ending—phew! lol)

Exactly. If the episode are the way I remember them, the next trial is “set up” for the next day at the end of each episode (Cheetara camping out on a tree, the cats at Cats Lair telling the ThunderKittens to get to their positions, etc.). Why on Third Earth they decided to split them up is beyond me—unless they were afraid people would keep the “trials disc” (if they were all on one disc) and sell the others, or try to sell the trials disc, lol.

8

I do remember as a child the trials were aired every Friday for 5 weeks.

I understand the issue with the productior order, US air dates, etc… but in the very first annoinment episode, Snarf tells Lion-o "You will have to face each Thundercat over the next 5 days.

So that really puts a kink in the whole “continuity” thing.:rolleyes:

9

I wonder if somehow different markets showed them in different orders, or if they re-ran season 1 and put the trial episodes together or split them apart? This is a big mystery, because I know I saw them 5 days in a row, and on network TV, not Cartoon Network re-runs (I’m 30 so I remember, lol). But I loved this show back then—I saw it most every day, and I was SOOOO into the trial episodes, so I’m sure I saw them on their first run in my market—5 days in a row.

10

To be fair to the boxset, the other episodes are okay to average to bad but ‘Excaliber’ is awesome and that’s really the only great episode on there that I can think of. :slight_smile:

11

Chris here…

I’ve always been lead to believe that the Anointment Trials aired on a specific day each week whilst ThunderCats was being aired for the first time in the US - e.g., ThunderCats would be on Monday - Saturday, and each Saturday a new part of the Anointment Trials would be shown. However, perhaps it varied from network to network across the US…? :slight_smile:

I know when the Anointment Trials episodes aired on the BBC they were broadcast consecutively - and, I’m told that when Cartoon Network in the US began showing ThunderCats in the mid-1990s, the Anointment Trials were shown on consecutive days! :slight_smile:

And yep, in case anyone’s uncertain, the Anointment Trials episodes are written as taking place on consecutive days, each one following directly on from the other with nothing else supposed to be taking place inbetween - thus making it all the more bizarre that WB’s DVD releases of the series split them up! :frowning:

Take care… :slight_smile:

12

Yeah Chris, that’s what I’m thinking, because I remember the end of each episode setting up the next day, and especially the Trial of Cunning airing on Wednesday because of my whole ThunderCats vs Church tension. lol

13

I remember this vividly as a child. I was about ten years old when the trials first aired on T.V.

They showed regular episodes during the week and only showed each trial on Friday. I remember wondering what would happen next as they only showed other reruns and then the new ep on Fridays. Ah, this takes me back.

That is why the eps were spaced out in the DVDs…because they were when they were first aired in the U.S. I had to wait a week to see what would happen. Sure they have DVDS now but I remember living this when I was a little girl.

I need to edit this post…I remember back in 1986 seeing commercials for the new Thundercats movie about to play at 8pm on FOX…I was in Catholic school at the time and I marked my school calender about it. It was a two hour movie and I begged my dad to watch it. He was so cool about it too. He let me watch it and allowed me to stay up till 10 pm.

14

Here in Los Angeles the five Anointment Trial episodes were aired through the week, beginning on Monday and ending on Friday. I should know; I videotaped them back to back. :slight_smile:

15

“HAIL LION-O! LORD OF THE THUNDERCATS!”

I did it, I just finished watching a full week of Lion-O’s anointment trials! :smiley: I started Sunday, and just now finished the Trial of Evil. I was originally going to watch all of them Sunday, but after the Trial of Strength I had a lot to think about and reminisce, so I just thought, hey, why not do it like when I first saw them in like 1985, and watch them in 5 consecutive days? So I did, and it was so much fun! :thumbsup:

I LOVE how the Trial of Speed comes to such a competitive, on-the-edge-of-your-seat finale between Lion-O and Cheetara—that is SO cool! And I always thought his trick on WilyKit and WilyKat with WilyKat’s lariat was funny, lol (I actually got to do that very same “run and get jerked back while tied to something behind you” thing in a college game on an event day, with a female friend, so I know how Kit and Kat felt! lol! It was so much fun!)

And I remember as a kid thinking it was SO COOL how the Tygra clan was gifted with special mind powers, and we got to see Tygra use them—how awesome! My only quibble is that his “thinking” sound sounded too electronic—I would have preferred a more “supernatural” or “ethereal” sound, just something not so sharp and tinny.

And I loved how all the cats would unscrew their insignias out and give them to Lion-O, and we could see the little circles where they fit in on their outfits. :slight_smile:

But man, those mutants sure got in the way! Grrrrr, danged mutants, leave Lion-O alone and the others alone and stay out of the trials! :mad:

Man, these episodes are so great! And Lion-O looked very good in his ceremonial outfit! :slight_smile: It was very fitting for him.

Wow, it was so exciting, now I can’t wait to see all the other season 1 volume 2 episodes! :smiley:

16

The anointment trials were a great set of episodes, over all.

As for the debate about the sequence, everything has pretty much been explained. Teach me to come in late :wink:

To add my remembrances from back when though…I’m pretty sure in my TV market in the US (midwest, I guess?) shows like Thundercats, He-Man and Voltron aired five days a week…usually sometime after school. I can’t say for certain if the trials aired back to back then - it’s just been too long! - or if they went as Lynxie remembers but -

I do remember the CN reruns in the late nineties had them back to back, and so did the fan site lists and the bootleg videos going around etc, so I got used to them that way regardless. And I agree, it makes more sense and they are surely written as a 5-days-in-a-row story line.

I have seen many different ep lists based on different things, and each one seems to have the differences apparent for season one - the anointment trials being the most glaring thing given the way it is written and the fact that none of the other multi-part eps get split up, do they?

What I found most irksome about it, though, was having to change up the sequence on an ep guide…I wanted it to match the dvd, but now some of its ‘facts’ are off as I was noting things like "this is the first time ‘x’ happened in the series’ >.<

Still, not the end of the world I suppose :cool:

17

I cant speak for anywhere else, but here in the UK the trails were certainly shown in consecative order, one each day. I vividly remember watching them after school.

18

Chris here…

You’re correct that the BBC showed the Anointment Trials episodes consecutively, but if they were shown on consecutive days (i.e. Monday - Friday) then that would be during re-runs. At the time the Anointment Trials episodes were first broadcast (September 1990), the BBC used to show ThunderCats once a week - from memory, I believe it was on a Monday at about 4:35pm-ish! :slight_smile:

Take care… :slight_smile:

19

well here in the us when i was younger i do remember that they were defenitly in consecutive order unlike the cartoon networks airiing and also the dvds released here in the us