Dungeons & Dragons

I just caught an episode of Dungeons and Dragons after viewing a preview of the cgi series Action Man on the Fox network. I was a bit surprised to see this show listed since I remember it from almost 20 years ago! Shadowdemon was my favourite character.

At first the crude animation seemed a bit jarring, but after the first ten minutes I was hooked(again). Its a wonderfully imaginative and memorable series.

In addition to the comments already made by others I have to highlight the fantastic musical score by Robert J Walsh and Johnny Douglas. I remember their rousing music for Gi Joe and the Transformers. I had forgotten their work on D & D and now wish i could get in on tape!

Those shows from the 80s were so much better in story and execution than the sterile cgi shows pushed on saturday mornings these days.

Nostalgia for cartoons for me will have to be the Hanna Barbera, Ruby and Spears, Sid and Marty Krofft period and Bugs Bunny, so to have this one tagged on is pretty rare for this child of the seventies, but its there.

It was different and unique. The voices were phenomenal, just now learned Adam Rich (Nicholas of 'Eight is Enough') was Presto and not Bobby as I always believed. Donny Most (Ralph Malph on 'Happy Days') and Willie Aames (Tommy on 'Eight is Enough') did the best thing for their careers by doing this cartoon. I managed to get about half or more than half of the cartoons on tape before Fox stopped showing them. Didn't get some I wouldhave liked to have, but I do have some treasures. None of htem ever really bothered me as being bad or less than average. Hands down, the direction in music and sound is what makes this fellow rare among eighties cartoons and cartoons in general, as well as the art and animation. Scooby Doo has a steady run of music with no pauses for effect or reflection, but D & D would get silent when Vengar entered or spoke or one of the kids was unhappy. the music would get gentle during thoughtful moments as well. The show strived to use all six kids evenly and not be dominated by Eric and Presto (Most and Rich) and did a good job doing this while keeping the shows upbeat and entertaining. The concept of a token will always bother me, but Diana did get a boyfriend in one episode and befriended a WW II German pilot in another. LIke Valerie in Josie and the Pussycats, she did often get stuck with the more interesting kids like Eric and Presto. Uni, too, had his moments and met his family of Unicorns. One that will always stand out to me from this show was when the kids decided they had enough of Vengar and wanted Dungeonmaster to tell them how to stop Vengar instead of telling them how they could get home. They meant business, and when DM told them what to do to stop Vengar, it was quiet, and he said "May I go now?" with such humility the likes of which I had never heard and have yet to hear again in a cartoon. Won't spoil how the showdown with Vengar went either. This show was a jewel.

I actually recorded some of the episodes back in 1983- 84 as i had my first VCR at the time. I still have the tapes and they play fine. My favorite episode was "THE SKELETON WARRIOR". It was about dekion the celestrial night that Venger put a spell on. It was awesome. TO bad there aren't anymore out there like this cartoon. After the 80's cartoons generally went downhill. THe best cartoons were in the mid 70's to mid 80's. I wonder why cartoons like this get cancelled? THen they have all the stupid ones they have on today. I used to watch this and the Saturday supercade along with Mighty Orbots and a bunch of other ones. Well those times are over I guess. But we have the recordings to see them again and again.

I grew up watching this back in the 80's and since I've been in college I've had the privilege of getting the series through a collector basis. This is arguably one of the greatest animated series of the 80's, I refuse to call it a cartoon because it is so much more than that! It had great voice actors like Willie Aames(Charles In Charge) and Don Most(Happy Days) providing life to the characters. The theme of the series was that a group of young teenagers and little Bobby go on a rollercoaster ride called Dungeons & Dragons it transforms them to another land in a different time. They try to get home with the guiding wisdom of Dungeon Master(Sidney Miller) and fight off various antagonists along the way, mainly the evil Venger! The characters had much depth to them and the reason I say it was the best because it's competition was Strawberry Shortcake and The Get Along Gang. No Contest! It was on from 83-86.

Six kids climb onto a Dungeons & Dragons ride, but they don't get off at the other end. Instead, they arrive in the Realm - a magical world where they're handed enchanted weapons and guided only by Dungeon Master. The Realm is a dangerous place, and lurking at its heart is the ultimate villain: Venger.

Saturday mornings could have been custom-built specifically for this series. It's the perfect fantasy adventure: rich, imaginative, and surprisingly dark - sometimes very dark. Even as kids, we sensed this wasn't the usual safe, toy-selling fare.

Dungeon Master is fascinating, walking a blurred line between benevolence and something murkier. Is he good? Manipulative? Surely he's powerful enough to send the children home... so why doesn't he?

Venger, brilliantly voiced by Peter Cullen, is the perfect contrast. There's nothing silly or frivolous about him - no slapstick, no winking at the camera. He's genuinely menacing, unsettling even, and that single horn doesn't exactly ease the nerves. What makes him truly interesting is the fact he doesn't lie... whereas Dungeon Master...

There are multiple high points across the run. The Dragons' Graveyard remains the peak - the moment the kids finally snap from burnout and take matters into their own hands. And then there's the opposite end of the spectrum: The Traitor, the one with the Care Bears energy. The only episode where you'll want to escape the Realm without a friendship bracelet.

The animation is terrific throughout. Even when the budget was clearly slashed for the third series, it remains stylish, moody, and distinctly its own thing.

The show wasn't free of controversy either, suffering from the era's "satanic panic" and hand-wringing over violence in children's television. But beneath the noise, it tackled disappointment, temptation, courage, hope, and that eternal tug-of-war between good and evil.

And then, decades later, Requiem arrived - the long-lost finale finally brought to life. It offers a thoughtful, emotional conclusion that fits perfectly with everything the show ever hinted at.

Well worth a trip down memory lane.

9/10.