The Mighty Orbots

Great animation, great action. Even some good in-humor from the announcer/narrator (Gary Owen).

I knew this show only lasted one season and was very disappointed, but I had no idea it floundered because of a lawsuit from the creators of the very very very inferior "Gobots". Figures. Ah well, if you want to look at the silver lining, they didn't have a chance to run this show into the ground with cut-budget or somehow less fantastic additional seasons. Not that they were likely to do so, it just seems like the best stuff we remember back then was short lived, maybe because it didn't get the chance to disappoint us.

And, by the way, you guys, the Orbots' arch enemy (the big round bright orange and red...sphere of plasma with multiple eyes) was named UMBRA.

Combining super-heroics with the giant robot craze of the 80's, mixed in with a style that mimics Japanese Anime (and why not, since most of the animators were, indeed, from Japan), "Mighty Orbots" was a wonder to behold. The stories were solid for a half-hour "kids' show," and the animation was clean from day 1.

The 5 Orbots each had their own unique talents, which became part of the talents of the fused giant robot known as Mighty Orbots. (OK, the name isn't sensational, but that's about the only campy bit.) Tor was the "strong-bot" of the team; he formed the main torso of Mighty Orbots, with MO's head rising out of his body to replace Tor's head. Bort was a shape-changer; he was one of MO's leg. Bo, the confident female weather-wizard Orbot, became one of MO's arms, while shy Boo, whose talents were more ephemeral as well, became the other arm. Crunch was the "fat bot" who was always eating; he was MO's other leg, as well as the primary energy source for the giant robot. Finally, Ono (or "Oh No!," as she was always fond of saying) served as the "key" to activate MO, while seated in the command craft with the Orbots Commander (who was secretly Rob Simmons, builder of the Orbots); the craft entered MO's torso and became the command center.

Oh, how I wish these episodes were available on DVD, and that we could see some new ones.

Most excellent of shows of the giant robot genre. Insane plots and superb animation for its time made me want to watch this every Saturday morning. On par with or sometimes better than Transformers, Robotech, and Voltron. Even the theme song was cool and catchy. The music from the rock and roll episode really sticks with you. Too bad it was only one season. The characterization of the robots was also excellent. The only annoying thing i remember from the show was the announcer explaining everything too much even though it was Gary Owens who has a great voice. I'm lucky enough to have the garbage episode and the rock and roll episode on tape and both are excellent episodes. Highly recommended watching.

When one thinks of "the Mighty Orbots" one thinks in my opinion, the greatest 80's animation of that time that lasted only one full season due to them being sued by the makers of the sorry ass "The Gobots". The Orbots paved a way in the formation of anime with a fast paced action with a really soothing jazz fill. I still remember the first episode entitled, "The Magnetic Menace" and I was blown away. My favorite episodes were "The Wish World" and "The Jewel of Targon" in which in both episodes that the five robots have to combined themselves to combat a much larger menace like the Shadow Agent Plamist and the Targonian Jewel Monster respectively. Most people will agree that there will never be a show like this ever again and that they should make this in DVD and I hope that they will do this one day. In fact this show was one of the many best things of the decade that I hated and that is the infamous 80's. Long live the Mighty Orbots, Champions of Justice!!!

I always wondered what became of the Mighty Orbots. When I found out the show was canceled due to a stupid lawsuit concerning the extremely cheap and bottom of the bargain basement bin GoBots, I was very disappointed. I have fond memories of getting up early on Saturday mornings so I could enjoy the adventures of these Mighty Orbots. It was very well animated, and the plots kept you guessing at what would happen next. I also admired the nature of each of the Orbots' personalities. They weren't over-the-top, so it was easy to develop a bond with all of them. It definitely introduced a better quality of anime in the American market and this was apparent in the success of Robotech, Transformers and Voltron. Ironically, the GoBots tanked horribly and was always seen as a "poor man's" version of the Transformers. Maybe one day somebody will decide to re-release the Orbots or pick up the series again. At the very least, I hope that a DVD is forthcoming.