Retro TV Review: the Herculoids - Action Packed Sci-Fi Animation

So begins each jam packed action adventure of thrilling sci-fi cartoon The Herculoids - which isn't easy to describe. It's a must see for yourself experience, but once you do, you'll be Herculoid hooked. Imagine a lushly beautiful, rain forest planet where Conan the Barbarian lives like a hip Tarzan named Zandor, who's married to stunningly beautiful Xena Warrior Princess like wife Tarra. They raise a courageous blonde surfer type son named Dorno. They protect planet Quasar, aka Amzot, with the help of a colorful cadre of the wildest, weirdest and coolest beasts. It's a purely fun adrenaline blast following the exploits of this super hippie hero family.

If you like non stop action, frantic paced fights in super powered, super heroic battles, Herculoids will satisfy your science fiction friction fancy. Each show runs a half an hour, but breaks up into two tales of nine minutes each. The unrelenting combat creates a sense there's never a break from beating bad guys, and basically that's the case. Over and over, mutant monsters, alienating aliens and crazy creatures way too weird for categorization, invade Quasar intent on domination, capturing a Herculoid or two for nefarious purposes, or a combination. As a Herculoid, you're forever being targeted by extreme evil doers.

Animator Alex Toth crafted these super hippie heroes in 1967 for Hanna Barbera - home of classic toons like The Flintstones and The Jetsons. It ran on CBS until 1969 - then resurrected in 1981 for an ensemble show called The Space Stars - co-starring bass voiced phantom of the space ways Space Ghost, yet another of Toth's popular creations.

They're like a zoo crew of Marvel X-Men or DC Justice League. Zok flies as a dragon, his eyes and tail project destructive laser blasts. Igoo could be a cousin to King Kong, whose rock like skin is near invulnerable. Tundro would be at home in Jurassic Park. He's a rhinoceros like dinosaur whose horn shoots explosive fire rocks. Finally, Gloop and Gleep tickle us, as morphing blobs of hyperactive jelly. They can assume any shape, increase or decrease in size, and even split into multiple versions of their gelatinous selves. Herculoids speak distinctively. Zok screeches like a fearsome bird of prey. Igoo groans deeply and moans fiercely. Tundro growls like a big jungle cat, while Gloop and Gleep sound most unique. They babble in a weird lingo, like warbling bullfrogs, or gobbling turkeys, sped up many times normal speed.

Hardcore animation aficionados will love the retro delights. From Alex Toth's striking principal character designs, to the villainous enemies forever causing chaos, it captures a golden age of science fiction. Gloved hands grip pulsing ray guns, flowing caped, ruthlessly mean bad guys stand menacingly astride floating, gleaming discs of anti-gravity. They swoop down at dizzying speeds to attack in sleek rocket powered assault fighters. Infinitely cool gadgets abound like time machines sending out ear splitting temporal waves, or pulsating alien orbs composed of multi-faceted crystals. It's a true feast for science fiction lovers, and animation fans in particular. Standout episodes include; Invasion Of The Electrode Men, Attack Of The Faceless People, The Time Creatures and Mindbender.

The Herculoids stokes fond memories of Saturday mornings when school work, and stern teacher's looks were merely a faded memory - least until Monday morning. Admittedly, it lacks complex plots, any redeeming social responsibility, with characters sketched from little more than the powers they possess. However, there's a playfulness combined with pounding animated action that worked back then, and still does. With only about a season and a half ever produced, the potential of what could have been lingers. You can still watch The Herculoids - and I often do - on Boomerang, at midnight Mon-Fri. It's mainly a high action, sugary dose of cotton candy TV nostalgia to be sure, yet the high quality animated fun still holds up today.

http://webpages.charter.net/superheroes/herculoids.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Toth