Dragones y mazmorras

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 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.

I have been playing D&D for over 15 years now, and I have to say the series ran just like the old D&D. Granted, the newer aspects of the game itself don't really apply, but back in the 80's, this series was right on target. I liked it so much, I have been searching and saving for it for some time now, and will eagerly buy it as soon as I can. The animation was good for its time, the story lines were always good, and there was always a great balance of good and evil. Every episode actually had a moral to it, though it wasn't always apparent. It was a great series for adults and children alike, for it's content and the action-packed sequences.

First off, for all you fanatics out there, the D&D cartoon is on the air, at least for the summer of 2000. It's on every Saturday on Fox at 11 a.m.! By the way, this is a national thing, not just some syndicated local station.

Why is it back on the air? I'd bet it's cuz of the Harry Potter mania going around and Fox (Who has a toon deal with Saban, who in turn owns the D&D cartoon, G.I. Joe and Transformers). Check out foxkids.com for more details.

Regarding my Harry Potter theory, all the advertisements feature Presto, the magician of the group, so that's why I'm betting it's their way to cash in on the hero of the English kids books.

Anyway, they've run two episodes as far as I can tell and they were "The Illusionist" and "The Day of the Dungeon Master." Both surprised me at how fast-paced the stories were, giving little time for establishing shots or explanatory information.

"The Illusionist" was the worst of the two, a story about Presto rescuing a girl from Venger's clutches. "The Day of the Dungeon Master" centered around Eric and how he inherited the Dungeon Master's powers for a day. "Day" was very entertaining, mostly because it was so character driven.

Regarding animation, it isn't as good as I remember it, but still passable when you look at "Pokemon" and "NASCAR racers." I would say it's just one step below "G.I. Joe" quality.

Don Most, the actor from "Happy Days", is by far the best voice actor and really carries the rest of the cast. But Willie Ames, Peter Cullen and whoever does the Dungeon Master are right on the mark.

Remembering my love for the series, I must say it's cool to see it again, because I so rarely saw it during it's original run. Why? Cuz they always preempted it for sports or decade-old repeats of "Land of the Lost."

But you know what disappoints me most? With nearly 15 years of better technology and computer generated effects at their disposal, they couldn't kill that damn unicorn!

Dungeons and Dragons ranks as one of the best cartoons ever, it makes me glad I grew up when I did as there were so many fantastic shows. Fantastic animation, great stories, plenty of adventure, and some phenomenal vocal acting from all cast members. I can remember being miffed as a youngster to discover the show never had a concluding episode, I was surprised to learn it only spanned three series, I would have thought it had a huge following. So many wonderful characters and great episodes, the best for me being The Dragon's Graveyard, which is brilliant.

Now in my thirties, and not usually into animation, I'm stunned by how much I've really enjoyed watching the show from start to finish, great viewing for all ages. 9/10