Which series from the 1980's was better overall (i.e. in Storyline Animation Production, Direction of the Shows etc) Masters of the Universe or Thundercats?
Same goes for Blackstar and Thundarr the Barbarian?
Who are the true Masters of the Universe?
Thundercats is clearly a cut above all the other shows you mentioned. Masters of the Universe used a lot of limited animation and way too much stock footage. Storyline, Thundercats seemed more epic because of the overall story arc.
shareThunderCats usually had better animation than He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. The animation for ThunderCats was outsourced to Asia where good work could be done cheaply. He-Man was produced entirely in the US. American animators were paid more so Filmation routinely reused drawings to cut costs. He-Man boasted impressive background paintings and special effects, however.
I like how ThunderCats used story arcs. It allowed the writer's to craft epic plots and develop Lion-O's character as the series progressed. Most syndicated animated series at the time were discouraged from doing multi-episode storylines because TV stations might broadcast them in the wrong order, which is what happened to the ThunderCats five-parter "Lion-O's Annointment". Continuity was less important on He-Man. He-Man never changed and the episodes were usually self-contained stories.
The ThunderCats faced greater challenges than He-Man and his friends. The ThunderCats escaped the destruction of their homeworld and had to relocate to an unfamiliar planet. One of the characters died on the show, which was unheard of in an American TV cartoon at the time. Lion-O was less powerful than He-Man and Mumm-Ra was a more menacing villain than Skeletor.
He-Man was toned down for TV. The mini-comics included with the early Masters of the Universe toys were darker: He-Man was a barbarian wandering a planet where civilization had collapsed following a Great War. The Filmation series replaced the post-apocalyptic Eternia of the mini-comics with King Randor and Queen Marlena's enlightened kingdom and introduced the kid-friendly characters of Prince Adam, Cringer, and Orko.
"I like how ThunderCats used story arcs. It allowed the writer's to craft epic plots and develop Lion-O's character as the series progressed. Most syndicated animated series at the time were discouraged from doing multi-episode storylines because TV stations might broadcast them in the wrong order, which is what happened to the ThunderCats five-parter "Lion-O's Annointment"."
LOL - that really reflects badly on the intelligence of the TV network people. Over here in England, the Annointment Trials were broadcast consecutively, both times I saw them as a kid. Evidently British TV people are a lot more savvy than American TV people (or at the very least, they were in the 1980s and 90s)!
But on a serious note, yes, story arcs were good. And even in the non-consecutive episodes, you can see certain plot points evolving. The best example is the relationship with the Warrior Maidens. First met in "Trouble With Time", they mention in "The Fireballs Of Plundarr" about being caught up in the middle of the struggle between the Thundercats and the Mutants. Next time we see them, in "The Thunder-Cutter", Lion-O takes an early-warning device to them, and then in "Out Of Sight", we see that device in operation. Nice touches of continuity.
The "Lion-O's Anointment" episodes were not only shown in the wrong order when they were originally broadcast in the US, they were also placed out of sequence on DVD and in reruns on Teletoon Retro.
share"The "Lion-O's Anointment" episodes were not only shown in the wrong order when they were originally broadcast in the US, they were also placed out of sequence on DVD and in reruns on Teletoon Retro."
Actually, to be fair, the same problem occurs on the region 2 DVDs - which means TV people here in England are not as clever as they were when Thundercats was originally aired.
There's a few other problems with the DVD order (which I understand to be the original US airdate order) - notably "Trouble With Time" comes after "The Terror Of Hammerhand" rather than before "Pumm-Ra", where it belongs.
Mind you, some of the continuity issues relate to the original production order as well - like Tygra's ability/inability to swim, Vultureman's first appearance etc. The best way around it that I can see is that certain episodes should be sequenced as follows:
The Spaceship Beneath The Sands (Mutants get their tech)
The Time Capsule (Kittens get their spaceboards)
Safari Joe (Kittens seen on spaceboards)
The Fireballs Of Plundarr (Tygra has learned to swim, Lion-O & Panthro talk about the Mutants' technology like it's only just happened recently)
Return To Thundera (Cats' attitudes to Mutant technology is more aware)
Lord Of The Snows (Vultureman's first proper part)
All That Glitters (follows on immediately)
Moreover, I think it's worth withholding "The Ghost Warrior" until after "Spitting Image", because
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I think MOTU was the better show overall. You have to give props to Filmation for trying to keep US animation going as long as they did.
shareThundercats has aged better because it's better on every level but
MOTU had much better toys
Well pretty soon we can watch He-Man & the MOTU and the Thundercats throw down courtesy of Mattel & DC Comics -
http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/new-crossover-series-to-star-he-man-and-the-thundercats/122539