Early 80's action
cartoon on ABC.
In the midst of the original Dungeons and
Dragons frenzy, ABC began showing a new cartoon
called Thundarr the Barbarian. The cartoon had
elements of fantasy, adventure, and science along
with a female character in a short costume,
making it the perfect vehicle for its target
audience.
The series was set in a distant future. After
the destruction of civilization in the early
1990's by the gravitational pull of a rogue planet,
the world returned, but a world ruled by sorcery and
advanced science. People were being oppressed and
mistreated. But a champion arose to defend the
weak and deliver really bad dialogue. He is
Thundarr the Barbarian! Armed with his mystic
flaming sun sword, Thundarr traveled the world
fighting evil. He was accompanied by Princess
Ariel, a dusky-skinned sorceress with a penchant for
calf-high boots and short costumes, and Ookla the Mok, a hairy, fanged creature of incredible
strength and the pronounciation skills of
Ozzy Osbourne.
These three traveled the globe in search of
adventure, battling the forces of evil and looking
for opportunities for Thundarr to speak such
gems of dialogue as "Ariel! Ookla! Ride! or to use
exclamations like Demon Dogs! or Lords of Light!.
The series ran for a year and a half on ABC and is
occasionally shown on the Cartoon Network.