Thundercats Episode 5 - Old Friends Discussion

[SPLIT LIP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valdin

I am glad Jaga is not dead, he is awesome! This episode was cool.
One thing that is eatting at me slightly though. Grune to me sounds a little like mr crabs from spongebob squarepants. I looked it up and its the same voice actor. Its a little hard to take Grune serious thinking that. He is an awesome character and a great villain.

Just my 2 cents

He also did the voice of Lex Luthor from the DC animated Universe.

Net zero.

[Sideswipe80]

Anyone else wondering if Mumm Ra is an ancient alien judging by his pyramid?

[Ravenxl7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPLIT LIP

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valdin

I am glad Jaga is not dead, he is awesome! This episode was cool.
One thing that is eatting at me slightly though. Grune to me sounds a little like mr crabs from spongebob squarepants. I looked it up and its the same voice actor. Its a little hard to take Grune serious thinking that. He is an awesome character and a great villain.

Just my 2 cents

He also did the voice of Lex Luthor from the DC animated Universe.

Net zero.

He also voices Silas from Transformers Prime, and Destro from G.I. Joe: Renegades. Though out of all the voices I've heard him do, I think Grune is my favorite one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sideswipe80

Anyone else wondering if Mumm Ra is an ancient alien judging by his pyramid?

I've considered the possibility, but if I had my choice, I'd rather he not be. Would feel odd if he was the alien who crashed on their planet, sort of a reversal of the original show... Which I suppose, if they handled it well, I'd be ok with it. Though I have to admit, the Thundercats turning out to be descended from a race of aliens that crashed onto Third Earth a long time ago would be more appealing to me, lol.

[Sideswipe80]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valdin

I am glad Jaga is not dead, he is awesome! This episode was cool.
One thing that is eatting at me slightly though. Grune to me sounds a little like mr crabs from spongebob squarepants. I looked it up and its the same voice actor. Its a little hard to take Grune serious thinking that. He is an awesome character and a great villain.

Just my 2 cents

Yeah I wonder how long Mumm Ra will keep him alive for. I'm also curious as to how in the world they managed to imprison Mumm Ra.

[Valdin]

Thats a good question. Also who would be powerful enough to inprison him. How they did it would make for a damn good episode.

[Sideswipe80]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valdin

Thats a good question. Also who would be powerful enough to inprison him. How they did it would make for a damn good episode.

Heck yeah it would. I'm also curious about the sword belonging to him.

[Valdin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ravenxl7

He also voices Silas from Transformers Prime, and Destro from G.I. Joe: Renegades. Though out of all the voices I've heard him do, I think Grune is my favorite one.


I've considered the possibility, but if I had my choice, I'd rather he not be. Would feel odd if he was the alien who crashed on their planet, sort of a reversal of the original show... Which I suppose, if they handled it well, I'd be ok with it. Though I have to admit, the Thundercats turning out to be descended from a race of aliens that crashed onto Third Earth a long time ago would be more appealing to me, lol.

That works He was great as the villain in the Highlander movie, don't forget that one.

That is a puzzle to see Mummra come with a Sword of omens and a claw shield. Especially since he tried to handle it once and got his hand zapped cause it was protected against evil.

[Ravenxl7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valdin

That works He was great as the villain in the Highlander movie, don't forget that one.

Forgot about that, lol. Hadn't seen Highlander in quite some time. As good of a voice actor as he is, he also makes for a really good screen actor. Wasn't much, but I like his part in the newest Nightmare on Elm Street movie.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valdin

That is a puzzle to see Mummra come with a Sword of omens and a claw shield. Especially since he tried to handle it once and got his hand zapped cause it was protected against evil.

It's the sword of Plundarr, and the shield he has is something new for the reboot. It should be interesting to see when he obtains them, and how he does so.

[Sideswipe80]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ravenxl7

Forgot about that, lol. Hadn't seen Highlander in quite some time. As good of a voice actor as he is, he also makes for a really good screen actor. Wasn't much, but I like his part in the newest Nightmare on Elm Street movie.


It's the sword of Plundarr, and the shield he has is something new for the reboot. It should be interesting to see when he obtains them, and how he does so.

I can't even remember how he got the sword of Plundarr in the original series now.

[GrimlocksPS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pinero

he said at the celebration with Panthro He want to be king in front of a crowd and finding the the book might help him do so until they take the journey and Grune got tired and started having doubts and mummra came. Grune help train lion-o and tygra.. He wanted to be his own king in which it is acceptable since there army have ranks and he felt already he was soon to be destined until lynx-o was a shocker to be the leader of the mission in which Grune got offense about which lead to his evil ways to crave for power

Learn to read between the lines sir.

Grune made it apparent from the first flashback that he wanted to be King. He is of a lower class of Cat (hence the tail) and it was even referenced in story that he couldn't be King as he's not a Lion. Each flashback was a slow progression of his descent into betrayal.


Anyways. I am looking forward to how they explain Mummras origin or how he got imprisoned.

[SPLIT LIP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ravenxl7

Would feel odd if he was the alien who crashed on their planet...

Who says he had to have crashed?

[Darkliger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lody

What the phuck is a samoflange?

It's a sumoflange!

I have to do that again!

Helluva line and shows that the creators and writers are aware of the rich history of the Thundercats


Yet another Lynx-o reference

and the effing DRILLER!!

Oh man, that have to release him as a figure!

That samoflange line had me laughing for a bit . Driller look awesome I really hope we get a figure of him.

[Covenant]

Anyone notice that Cheetara's dialog is kinda stilted and robotic as is her voice acting? They better do a Cheetara-centric episode soon because her character is becoming an afterthought.

[Pinero]

from the looks of Panthro past Mummara been imprisoned for a very long time, way pass Cladus days.. its legendary on how he was imprisoned and prolly will never be told.. and Cheetera is cool, its just the exodus so you cant expect much yet

[Covenant]

Panthro definitely looks like Jet Black but the topknot is all Hellboy.

[BB Shockwave]

But seriously, what the heck is a samoflange? I must have missed that reference in the old series...

GrimlocksPS - Grune did not have a tail, only Panthro did. But neither of them were lions, as Panthro pointed out. After these flashbacks, it is quite apparent why Grune took a liking to Tygra, he pretty much saw himself in the kid - talented but due to his parentage, would never become king.

[BB Shockwave]

HD Version of episode now up!

[buma24]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BB Shockwave

HD Version of episode now up!

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sesshomaru]

Mumm-Ra lives in a Technodrome and the sword of omens use to be his? What the hell is wrong with the writers? I know it's not the original story but still come on people! Also Where is the cauldron and the statues of the Spirits of evil? It looked much more creepy and evil that way. Anyways, I'm disappointed with the series so far and I'll give em one more episode. Anymore F-ups and I'm done.

[Saint Phe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sesshomaru

Mumm-Ra lives in a Technodrome and the sword of omens use to be his? What the hell is wrong with the writers? I know it's not the original story but still come on people! Also Where is the cauldron and the statues of the Spirits of evil? It looked much more creepy and evil that way. Anyways, I'm disappointed with the series so far and I'll give em one more episode. Anymore F-ups and I'm done.

I'd say it's more of a Technopyramid. And I think the Eye was his, and the Thundercats put it in the Sword. Also, the statues are totally in the sarcophagus room. There's a good shot of them in Ep. 3.

[GrimlocksPS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BB Shockwave

But seriously, what the heck is a samoflange? I must have missed that reference in the old series...

GrimlocksPS - Grune did not have a tail, only Panthro did. But neither of them were lions, as Panthro pointed out. After these flashbacks, it is quite apparent why Grune took a liking to Tygra, he pretty much saw himself in the kid - talented but due to his parentage, would never become king.

Ooops my bad. Grune had a pouch thingy on his butt. It was half out of the shot and my brain must have seen Panthros tail and added a tail to Grune lol.

My point still stands though. Grune had an obsession with power and that meant being King. He was going to do it by any means necessary.

Cool explanation about Tygra, i didn't really think about like that.

[SPLIT LIP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sesshomaru

Mumm-Ra lives in a Technodrome and the sword of omens use to be his? What the hell is wrong with the writers? I know it's not the original story but still come on people! Also Where is the cauldron and the statues of the Spirits of evil? It looked much more creepy and evil that way. Anyways, I'm disappointed with the series so far and I'll give em one more episode. Anymore F-ups and I'm done.

Uh, F-ups?

So subtle writing changes meant to give a better sense of conflict and more developed backstory is a fuck up?

[Hyper Jaguar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Covenant

Anyone notice that Cheetara's dialog is kinda stilted and robotic as is her voice acting? They better do a Cheetara-centric episode soon because her character is becoming an afterthought.

Chill. We're only five episodes in. Heck, we haven't even gotten a Tygra focus episode yet.

[Swontonimus Prime]

I am not sure if it's been mentioned here before, but I've noticed that based on the way they explained the mythology of the current Thundercats (mostly from the first episode, especially the way the Thundercats talk about the Sword of Omens and Mumm-ra), the current Thundercats could be descendants from the original series. Maybe I watched Transformers Beast Wars too much, but the setup so far can lead to several different ways and I think if the writers wanted to, they could take the descendants route and be successful. I know it can be a stretch to say that everything is happening again in almost the exact same way as their ancestors did with the same names and all, but we can still have some leeway with it.

This idea is based on the fact that the Thundercats population and King Claudis laughs at technology as if it was a myth, including the story of Mumm-ra. Maybe all of this happens long AFTER the original Lion-O defeated Mumm-ra and sealed him in his own fortress with the Sword of Thundera. After Mumm-ra's defeat, Lion-O ushered in a new kingdom and thus, the new Thundera began. And after several hundreds of years, for some unexplained reason, technology and the story of Mumm-ra became stories of old. The current Thundercats have already colonized Third Earth and built their own kingdom. They refer to their kingdom as Thundera, but maybe they don't realize they were FROM a planet called Thundera. So it is possible that they could be the descendants from the original Thundercats. I would love to see them go with this story. It would be a very cool way to connect the two series, like how Transformers did it with Beast Wars.

What do you guys think?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ravenxl7

I've considered the possibility, but if I had my choice, I'd rather he not be. Would feel odd if he was the alien who crashed on their planet, sort of a reversal of the original show... Which I suppose, if they handled it well, I'd be ok with it. Though I have to admit, the Thundercats turning out to be descended from a race of aliens that crashed onto Third Earth a long time ago would be more appealing to me, lol.

[Ravenxl7]

It's a possibility, but in the end, not very likely. I doubt technology would have been forgotten like that. Also, the new team is too similar to the original team to just be a coincident. There are definitely certain elements that could have lead this series to be a sequel to the original, but there's too many differences for that to make sense.

If it does somehow turn out that they are the descendants of the original show's cast, than it's even a more amazing show, as most new shows that are created as sequels to their predecessors turn out horrible (G.I.Joe and Voltron are two that come to mind). It would mean that it's actually possible to make a sequel to an old TV show and have it not suck, lol.

[Swontonimus Prime]

Exactly, not likely, since the series does give a feeling that it wants to be its own legacy. However, like I said, the coincidences of the names could be just left to our stretch of imagination. Just curious, what differences are you referring to that you think would make it a big problem in making this a sound and logical sequel. I haven't rewatched all the episodes, but the two filler episodes don't seem to add much to the mythology, so I guess it would be based on the first hour and the last episode possibly? So far, from what I recall, most of the Thundercat mythologies are all vague and can be rewritten to be reconned later on to fit the old series, if they wanted to do so without creating too many major plot holes. Or maybe I am just grasping at straws in hopes they connect the two series. I loved the art and voice casting from the original series, but this series has so much more depth and better writing that finding a way for the two to coexist in the same world would be cool.

On a sidenote:
The new Voltron sucks .. like every other reincarnation of Voltron. They need to make a Voltron series for the orignal fans that grew up. They should start by watching the new Thundercats and Beast Wars on how to re-start a popular cartoon series. Toys don't sell as well as they can if no one cares about the characters the toys are based off of.

GI Joe Renegades, GI Joe: Resolute, GI Joe: Sigma 6 were actually pretty good, but then again, they are reboots and not actual sequels. Everything else, sequel or not has sucked.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ravenxl7

It's a possibility, but in the end, not very likely. I doubt technology would have been forgotten like that. Also, the new team is too similar to the original team to just be a coincident. There are definitely certain elements that could have lead this series to be a sequel to the original, but there's too many differences for that to make sense.

If it does somehow turn out that they are the descendants of the original show's cast, than it's even a more amazing show, as most new shows that are created as sequels to their predecessors turn out horrible (G.I.Joe and Voltron are two that come to mind). It would mean that it's actually possible to make a sequel to an old TV show and have it not suck, lol.

[Pravus Prime]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swontonimus Prime

I am not sure if it's been mentioned here before, but I've noticed that based on the way they explained the mythology of the current Thundercats (mostly from the first episode, especially the way the Thundercats talk about the Sword of Omens and Mumm-ra), the current Thundercats could be descendants from the original series. Maybe I watched Transformers Beast Wars too much, but the setup so far can lead to several different ways and I think if the writers wanted to, they could take the descendants route and be successful. I know it can be a stretch to say that everything is happening again in almost the exact same way as their ancestors did with the same names and all, but we can still have some leeway with it.

This idea is based on the fact that the Thundercats population and King Claudis laughs at technology as if it was a myth, including the story of Mumm-ra. Maybe all of this happens long AFTER the original Lion-O defeated Mumm-ra and sealed him in his own fortress with the Sword of Thundera. After Mumm-ra's defeat, Lion-O ushered in a new kingdom and thus, the new Thundera began. And after several hundreds of years, for some unexplained reason, technology and the story of Mumm-ra became stories of old. The current Thundercats have already colonized Third Earth and built their own kingdom. They refer to their kingdom as Thundera, but maybe they don't realize they were FROM a planet called Thundera. So it is possible that they could be the descendants from the original Thundercats. I would love to see them go with this story. It would be a very cool way to connect the two series, like how Transformers did it with Beast Wars.

What do you guys think?

I'm pretty sure it was said somewhere along that it wasn't their intention, though at least at this point it does feel like it could be a long distant continuation. Either is quite welcome as long as they keep the quality up.

[Covenant]

On a sidenote:
The new Voltron sucks .. like every other reincarnation of Voltron. They need to make a Voltron series for the orignal fans that grew up. They should start by watching the new Thundercats and Beast Wars on how to re-start a popular cartoon series. Toys don't sell as well as they can if no one cares about the characters the toys are based off of.

The new Voltron indeed does suck! So does Transformers Prime. When are cartoon writers going to realize that having a little gang of disobedient teens getting into all kinds of trouble does not make for a good story. Every episode is the same: There's a situation, the adults/robots go to deal with it, they tell the kids to stay. The kids follow even though they know they shouldn't. The kids get into more trouble and the adults have to rescue them. The kids, who are awesome, can somehow manage to save the day. Everyone gets together for a group hug and a laugh. Woohoo! Pay me the big bucks for coming up with the plot lines for the next 50 episodes!!

[Swontonimus Prime]

Actually, I really enjoy Transformers Prime. I do understand the annoyance with the kids, however, Miko is my favorite and the most enjoyable (tolerable) human. The rest are bleh, and Jack is getting annoying. To me, I perceive her as getting all of them in trouble because she knows that's what going to happen anyway and still does it for the rush, however, the rest of the humans are generally just too stupid to know anything. hahaha I do wish they would lessen the human involvements in these stories and give them less of a role like the original series. As for the formula they use, yes, it can get tiresome, but, at least, it's not the same Pokemon "gotta get them all" formula that the Minicon/Energon story arc had. Given how our culture has changed and how TV for kids have changed, too, I can understand why the series have been so kiddie-centric. They want to sell shit to kids and make them beg their parents to buy all their crap. Also, our corporate media has created a culture of stupid people who can't think for themselves, so TV and movies have to dumb it down for them, thus the vicious cycle continues. Sure, most of the 80s cartoons are almost unwatchable by grownup standards, but they still set a standard in creating memorable mythology and unforgettable characters. The stories are simple, but not so simple that it has to hold your hand through everything and explain everything for you, which is what cartoons of the 2000s up to now give off the feeling of. Not all cartoons, but a lot of them do. Unfortunately, there are not that many original IPs not associated to the 80s/90s IPs that can stand on its own. Hell, they can't even do a reboot of an existing IP w/o screwing it up. ie Voltron. This is why I believe the cartoons of the 80s/90s were the best times for cartoon/Saturday morning lineup and I say that after I got over the nostalgia factor. No, really. hahaha

Quote:

Originally Posted by Covenant

The new Voltron indeed does suck! So does Transformers Prime. When are cartoon writers going to realize that having a little gang of disobedient teens getting into all kinds of trouble does not make for a good story. Every episode is the same: There's a situation, the adults/robots go to deal with it, they tell the kids to stay. The kids follow even though they know they shouldn't. The kids get into more trouble and the adults have to rescue them. The kids, who are awesome, can somehow manage to save the day. Everyone gets together for a group hug and a laugh. Woohoo! Pay me the big bucks for coming up with the plot lines for the next 50 episodes!!

[BB Shockwave]

Transformers Animated started out with a clip from an old G1 episode called "War Dawn" and later we see Optimus is watching this as an old history tape... Which of course, does NOT mean Animated is descended from the G1 universe. It's just a nod to us fans, from the creators. I see the same here, and see little reason to think much about it.

OFF-topic, but TF Prime is quite... mediocre. It's not bad. Armada, Energon, RID, Cybertron... those were BAD. Prime, simply, just... has no soul. The CGI budget limits don't help either (few characters, easily disposable Con stormtroopers, same bland grand canyon settings every week) or the horribly wooden acting of Peter Cullen... I can't believe I am saying, it, but he was better in the movies then he's in the cartoon. Also, the whole thing is drawn out. More things happened in 3 episodes of Thundercats then the whole 22 episodes of Prime. (Oh and Miko needs to die, horribly. Getting into trouble a few times, Sari or Spike did that too... but after almost dying in a cave-in also due to her fault, 1 episode later she sneaks after the bots to snap pictures of a battle? GAH! And she does this every friggin' time...) The only thing I enjoy in Prime is Knockout, who is an excellent character, Arcee, who has finally some character depth, and poor Skyquake, who sadly got killed off just when he started getting interesting.

Back on topic... I simply love the designs used for the lizard guards/miners in this episode. They looked a lot like the two that Lion-O freed in the first episode. I wonder whether that angle will come into play later... Lion-O will be much less keen on peace then before, and the lizards have practically won. But as the preview shows, they are now simply under a new master who does not seem to value them much (from the way Mumm-Ra treats Slithe). Having pretty much gotten what they wanted, namely fertile land and food for their families, I wonder how long they'll want to serve Mumm-Ra.

Also, I am curious how the other "mutants" will come into play. I doubt they'll start out as Mumm-Ra's allies. Maybe they'll even be his enemies, considering how much the balance of power changed after the destruction of the Thundercat empire.