] type='image/vnd.microsoft.icon'/>
Showing posts with label filmation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label filmation. Show all posts

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Aquaman Episode 36 - To Catch A Fisherman

sgsg

Aquaman Episode 36 
- "To Catch A Fisherman" by Bob Haney


This final (*sniff*) episode of Aquaman opens with Tusky and Imp playing hide and go seek. Suddenly, Tusky disappears, confusing the sea horse. He alerts Aquaman and Aqualad, and they start a search. They can't find him after many hours, so Aquaman suggests they consult Oceanus, The Old Man of the Sea, who lives in a giant clam and "knows all."


The shriveled old man tells Aquaman to go "where the sea burns" to find Tusky, which sends our heroes to an underwater volcano which makes the sea around it appear on fire. They see what they think is Tusky trapped inside some hardened lava, but it turns out to be a stuffed fake! Waiting for them there is the villainous Fisherman, who has the drop on them via his series of harpoons, fired from his super-cool attack ship (The Fisherman has always had some sweet rides).

sg
sg
sg

The first harpoon "lassoes" some lava, dragging it around Aquaman and Aqualad so when it hardens they are trapped. They soon escape, and Aqualad pretends to be knocked unconscious so the Fisherman will focus on Aquaman. Meanwhile, Aqualad goes back to Oceanus, demanding to know why he led them into this trap. Unfortunately, Oceanus is...gone!

Aqualad hears Tusky in distress, finding him and the real Oceanus trussed up nearby. The Fisherman posed as Oceanus as part of his plan! After being freedm Oceanus tells Aqualad that "only a two-legged fish can be caught by a two-legged bait." Heading back to the fray, Aqualad attacks The Fisherman while Aquaman, after freeing himself from another lava prison, also gets in on the fight.

The Fisherman threatens to blow everyone up via some nefarious Big Yellow Button, but Tusky helps out by knocking him out via the fake Tusky being dropped on his head:

sg
sg

The Fisherman is trussed up by some seaweed, leaving Aquaman and Aqualad to check back in on Oceanus. The Fisherman cries for help after being repeatedly needled by Tusky, and Aquaman and Aqualad wave goodbye to Oceanus. The End!


As I said above, this is the final episode of Aquaman. The following season, Aquaman would be replaced by Batman, the show would change titles to The Superman/Batman Hour of Adventure, and the Sea King's moment in the sun would be over. He wouldn't be seen outside the comics more or less until 1973, the first season of Super Friends. Many decades later, pop culture commentators would wonder why someone as seemingly second tier as Aquaman would be placed alongside icons like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, not understanding this show is the reason. It stayed in syndication through the 1970s, hit the home video market in the 1980s, and has remained available in one form or another all the way to the present.

While of course having very limited resources with which to produce a weekly show, Filmation did Aquaman a great service, by presenting him as such a brave, powerful force for food. Sure, the alien races he took on were less than terrifying, but the show gave Aquaman such an amazing, candy-coated world of adventure to swim around in every week, it was bound to create a generation of devoted Aquaman fans. It sure worked on me--as a kid I ate this show up, and it was one of the reasons I grew up loving the Sea King so much.

I hope you've enjoyed these looks back at the show, it was fun to revisit after so many years. Now that the summer is officially here, and after eight and half years of one regular Sunday feature or another, I've decided to take a bit of a rest and not immediately replace Saturday Morning Sundays. This will be the Shrine's last Sunday post for a while, so I can not be so chained to my computer and actually go see this thing they call Outside. Thanks to everyone who followed along...now, let's head for home, tadpole!

sg


Sunday, June 14, 2015

Aquaman Episode 35 - The Silver Sphere

sgsg

Aquaman Episode 35 
- "The Silver Sphere" by Dennis Marks


At an undersea sulphur pit, a silver sphere appears which seems to have magical properties. Unfortunately it rests right on the land division of two different races, the blue Tortoids and the green Lizard Men. One of the Tortoids claims ownership, so when one of the Lizard Men says it's here, the Tortoid promptly shoots him in the face with a ray gun, stealing the sphere.


This quickly escalates into full-scale war, so guess who arrives to clean this mess up? Of course, Aquaman! After some well-thrown hardwater projectiles, the Sea King attempts to talk some sense into these knuckleheads:

sg
sg
sg

Each race says the sphere is theirs, so Aquaman comes up with a more peaceful way of determining ownership: a series of physical contests, with whoever winning getting to own the sphere for a year. Little do they know, but Black Manta is nearby, watching all this with a plan to steal the sphere from all of them!

When some Manta Men show up blasting, one of the Tortoids saves Aqualad from getting hit. Aqualad then agrees to sub for him in the sphere contest, much to the delight of the shorter, less physically agile Tortoids. The first competition is a race through razor-sharp sea brambles, with the Lizard Man winning after he(?) cheats.

Aquaman informs him that Black Manta has stolen the sphere, but to keep the peace Aqualad should continue with the games so he can retrieve it. The second contest is a wrestling match, with the young man putting the Lizard Man in a vice-like grip until he begs for mercy. Meanwhile, Aquaman tracks down Black Manta, but soon finds himself playing Anastasia Steele to Manta's Christian Grey:

sg
sg

The Tortoids and the Lizard Men discover the sphere is gone, and assume Aquaman has stolen it for Atlantis. Aqualad explains the truth, and they warn him that if Aquaman does not return with it, he will be enslaved to both races. The contest goes on, with Aqualad winning the third competition. Meanwhile, Aquaman frees himself thanks to his finny friends and brings back the sphere, with Manta close behind in his Manta Ship.


With the help of a whale, Black Manta is knocked into the sulphur pit, much to the cheers of everyone. Having won the contest, Aquaman awards the sphere to the Tortoids, who say that they have reached an agreement to share it, to even more cheers from everyone. The End!


This is Black Manta's final appearance on the show, and it's a little sad he is so easily dispatched. The Filmation Manta Men are some of my favorite examples of their visual creativity, I can never get enough of those creepy looking dudes with their worried faces.

The sequence with Aqualad wrestling the Lizard Man is probably the most outwardly violent in the whole series, there's a close up of his rattling tail going limp as he taps out thanks to Aqualad's chokehold. The kid really wanted to win!



Sunday, June 07, 2015

Aquaman Episode 34 - Three Wishes to Trouble

sgsg

Aquaman Episode 34 
- "Three Wishes to Trouble" by Bob Haney


While on patrol, Aqualad and Tusky find a weird old jug sitting among a wrecked ship. Aqualad opens the jug and out pops...Snork The Genie!


Aqualad is granted three wishes (of course), and the first thing he asks for is a giant robot. His wish is granted, and he commands the robot to clean up all the debris laying around this part of the ocean. Unfortunately the robot does its job too well, using its powerful suction to dredge up everything in its path, including Tusky and Storm!

sg
sg
sg

Aqualad consults Snork, using his section wish to ask for a "giant robot smasher." Snork complies and the robot is destroyed. Aquaman arrives demanding to know what the hell is going on, and Aqualad tells him about Snork. The Sea King tells his young irresponsible charge to get that genie back in the jug, but Aqulad doesn't quite comply. Instead, he uses his third wish to ask for telepathic powers similar to Aquaman's!

Aqualad does the vu-vu-vu thing, accidentally releasing a small army of mutant fish who go on a rampage! He tries to command them back into the dark cave they came from, but he finds his powers gone. When queried, Snork cheekily points out that Aqualad asked for the powers "one time only", and he has fulfilled that wish. Realizing he's in trouble, Aqualad calls on Aquaman who uses his powers to get his finny friends on the case, forcing the angry sea creatures back from where they came.:

sg
sg

Aquaman has had enough, commanding a puffer fish to come and suck up Snork. He then spits the genie back in the jug, with Aqualad sealing it back up. The End!


This is the second episode in a row where Aqualad does something really stupid and Aquaman has to pull his fat out the fire. Sidekicks, am I right?

Snork The Genie is right out of Central Cartoon Casting, with a funny voice and a slightly more cartoony visage. He did a few guest spots on other cartoons like Shazzan and The Brady Kids before retiring and settling down in Laurel Canyon. His lawsuit against Hanna-Barbera regarding their Snorks animated show was not successful.


Sunday, May 31, 2015

Aquaman Episode 33 - The Stickmen of Stygia

sgsg

Aquaman Episode 33 
- "The Stickmen of Stygia" by Oscar Bensol


This episode opens with Aqualad and Mera preparing to play a practical joke on Aquaman. It involves putting together a fake spaceship that looks like it has crashed on the sea floor. Aqualad then sends out a distress signal to Aquaman, who heads out post-haste.


Unbeknownst to all of them, some aliens from the planet Stygia are keeping an eye (a big one) on all of them. Aquaman gets closer to the source of the signal, only to figure out pretty quickly this is a gag. Unfortunately, the whole thing goes wrong when a boulder Aqualad wedges loose tumbles out of control, and heads for Mera!

Aquaman throws himself in the way, getting knocked for a loop. He then chastises the two of them, only to watch Aqualad get blasted by the Stygian's immobilizer ray!

sg
sg
sg

Aquaman gets hit with it too, but manages to escape the beam with the help of some finny friends. He then destroys the "eye cannon" the ray was emitting from, only to find himself dodging torpedoes fired from the aliens' ship. They carry knockout gas, and one of them finds Mera, rendering her unconscious. Some of Stygians come out of their ship and begin firing at Aquaman's finny friends, making the Sea King realize a different plan is needed.

sg
sg

Aquaman pretends to surrender, only to threaten the Stygians with a "reverse force ray", which seems to come from the fake wrecked ship that Mera and Aqualad had put together. Using the same gag on the Stygians that was attempted on him, Aquaman gets the aliens to give up and head home, leaving him, Aqualad, and Mera to have a good laugh. The End!


At no point in this series is it ever suggested that Mera is Aquaman's wife, or girlfriend, and here it seems that she's not even his contemporary: in fact, she acts more like a sidekick ala Aqualad. Although I did find it interesting that when the practical joke goes on, it's really on Aqualad who gets a scolding. Arthur couldn't help play favorites...

I love the shots via the Stygians' POV. They're very 1960s.


Sunday, May 24, 2015

Aquaman Episode 32 - The War of the Quatix and the Bimphars

sgsg
Aquaman Episode 32 - "The War of the Quatix and the Bimphars" by Dennis Marks

Aquaman and Aqualad are attending a meeting with the U.S. Government, where they are shown a newly discovered planet, Q344. There are signs of life on this entirely aquatic planet, so they ask the Marine Marvel to investigate and engage. Aquaman agrees, asking when they are scheduled to leave. The general replies, "Right now!"

Aquaman, Aqualad, and Tusky(?) board a water-filled rocket, and a few hours later land on the planet. They find that this strange planet is filled with innocuous-looking, but dangerous, life--from menacing fauna to a race of lizard-like creatures who take them prisoner!
sg
sg
sg
This race of creatures, known as The Quatix, insist that Aquaman and Aqualad are spies for The Bimphars, another race living on the planet. Aquaman tries to explain the truth, but the Quatix won't listen. Just as they are about to be attacked by a giant squid, Aquaman bends the bars of their cage and they escape.

They then are attacked by The Bimphars, and Aqualad is kidnapped. Aquaman is knocked out, something The Quatix deduce means that the enemy of their enemy is their friend. The leader of the Bimphars tells Aqualad that they are going to wage war with The Quatix, and he must help them win! Meanwhile, the same demands are made on Aquaman by The Quatix!

Small armies of both sides approach each other, ready for battle, led by Aquaman and Aqualad. At the last moment, our heroes grab the leaders of each race and stick them in the tentacles of the giant squid!:
sg
sg
Aquaman threatens them both, saying he has commanded the squid to destroy whatever side makes war, thereby forcing the two races to make peace. The Bimphar and Quatix leaders vow to do just that, and Aquaman, Aqualad, and Tusky head for home. The End!


This is one of my favorite episodes, partly because it shakes things up from the usual "bad guy attacks" plot, and because it moves at a such a crazy, breakneck pace. The U.S. Army had a rocket out on the pad, full of fuel and ready to launch, what would they have done if Aquaman had said no? Call the Teen Titans?

This episode's title calls the orange guys "The Bimphars", but in the show they are called "The Bimphabs." Maybe it's a regional thing.


Sunday, May 17, 2015

Aquaman Episode 31 - The Programmed For Destruction

sgsg
Aquaman Episode 31 - "The Programmed For Destruction" by Dennis Marks

My favorite Guns N' Roses album!


On a remote island, The Brain (oh great, him again) is working on yet another plan to destroy Aquaman. This time it involves building a computer that has every known fact about the Sea King, so when it is asked how to kill him, it spits out a perfect plan!

In this case, the plan is to create a "buoyancy ray" that will force Aquaman to float to the surface. Such a ray comes from certain crystals buried in the sea floor, so the Brain orders his men to head to a particularly mineral-rich part of the ocean.
sg
sg
sg
Aquaman and Aqualad get wind of this, and engage the Brain's mini-henchmen. One of them zaps Aqualad with a freeze ray, rendering him immobile. Aquaman gets hit with it too, but they get free thanks to some high frequency soundwaves emitted by some dolphin pals.

Meanwhile, the Brain has distilled enough of the crystals' energy to be used for the buoyancy ray. They aim it at Aqualad and some finny friends, causing them all to head to the surface! Aquaman heads into a nearby cave, marshalling the help of weird fish he calls "cyclops." When the Brain hits Aqualad with the buoyancy ray, it opens its mouth revealing one giant glass eye! The beam is directed back at the Brain's ship, causing it to rise:
sg
sg
Aquaman then sneaks aboard, reversing the beam's polarity, allowing Aqualad and the rest to return to the deep. The Brain's ship is smashed by a whale with Aquaman atop, meaning the threat is over...for now.


Oh Brain, when will you ever learn? There are numerous shots of his henchmen standing around, just sort of looking at each other. Of course that was Filmation's way of filling some time without having to create new animation, but I tend to think it was the little Brain guys muttering to each other what a feeb their boss is.




Sunday, May 10, 2015

Aquaman Episode 30 - The Vicious Villainy of Vassa

sgsg
Aquaman Episode 30 - "The Vicious Villainy of Vassa" by Oscar Bensol

The villainous Vassa is back, with a new plan: using a series of laser drills to burrow into the sea floor. The plan? To attack Atlantis from underneath! Vassa did fracking way before it was cool.
sg
sg
sg
Meanwhile, the Aqua-Team ("and Mera", the narrator adds) is in Atlantis, talking to its Minister of Defense. A new alarm system has been put in, alerting the citizens of trouble. And it's going off now!

Suddenly, several geysers of water spring up in the middle of the city, spewing gallons of water into the air. Aquaman and Aqualad head off to investigate, and are met by some of Vassa's Mer-Men. Back in Atlantis, the water level rises, so Mera heads out to see if she can help. She is spotted by Vassa and kidnapped via a water vortex:
sg
sg
Aquaman and Aqualad make short work of the Mer-Men, but then the Sea King finds himself about to be zapped by one of Vassa's laser cannons. Mera frees herself from her Mer-Man captor long enough to redirect the beam, saving Aquaman's life!

He then swims aboard Vassa's ship, and starts cracking Mer-Men skulls. He then orders some giant mantas to cover the holes in Atlantis' floor, stopping the water from rising. Vassa and her henchmen are then put to work, pumping out the water. The End!


This episode has some fun, relatively "new" stuff to look at: the background paintings of Atlantean architecture, plus Mera plays a larger role than usual. And I could watch Aquaman bonk Mer-Men heads together all day!