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Dungeons & Dragons (TV series)

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Dungeons & Dragons
DVD cover for the United States release
GenreAnimated Series
Fantasy
Created byGame:
Dave Arneson
E. Gary Gygax
Screenplay:
Kevin Paul Coates
Mark Evanier
Dennis Marks
Voices ofWillie Aames
Don Most
Katie Leigh
Adam Rich
Tonia Gayle Smith
Teddy Field III
Sidney Miller
Peter Cullen
Frank Welker
Bob Holt
Country of origin United States
 Japan (animation)
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes27 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producersDavid H. DePatie (Season 1)
Lee Gunther (Season 2)
Margaret Loesch (Season 3)
ProducersBob Richardson (Season 1)
Karl Geurs (Seasons 2-3)
Running time24 minutes
Production companiesMarvel Productions
Toei Animation
TSR Entertainment
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseSeptember 17, 1983[1] –
December 7, 1985

Dungeons & Dragons is an animated television series based on TSR's Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. A co-production of Marvel Productions and TSR, the show was popular in the United States and ran for three seasons on CBS. The show's story editors were Hank Saroyan and Steve Gerber, both of whom contributed episodes and had a firm hand in the writing of the series.

Appeal

The level of violence was controversial for American children's television at the time, and the script of one episode, "The Dragon's Graveyard", was almost shelved because the characters contemplated killing their nemesis, Venger.[2] In 1985, the National Coalition on Television Violence demanded that the FTC run a warning during each broadcast stating that Dungeons and Dragons had been linked to real life violent deaths.[3] The series spawned more than 100 different licenses,[4] and the show led its time slot for two years.[1][4]

Premise

The general premise of the show is that a group of children are pulled into the "Realm of Dungeons & Dragons" by taking a magical dark ride trip on an amusement park roller coaster.[1] Invariably, the children try to return home, but often take detours to help people, or find that their fates are intertwined with the fate of others.

Upon arriving in the Realm the children are a little out of place, but the Dungeon Master, named for the referee in the role-playing game, assuming the role of their mentor, appears and gives them each clothing and magical paraphernalia to suit their abilities.[1]

Characters

Protagonists

The main characters of the show are six friends, ranging from age 7 to 15, trying to find their way home. They are:

  • Hank, the Ranger (Willie Aames): At fifteen,[5] he is the oldest of the gang, along with Eric, and a natural leader. Hank is a Ranger, with a magical bow that shoots magical arrows of glowing energy.
  • Eric, the Cavalier (Don Most): The 15-year-old cavalier is the spoiled child, originating from a rich home. On the surface Eric is the big-mouthed coward of the show, and he also fulfills the role of the comic relief character. Despite his egotism, selfishness, and snobbery, Eric is potentially also the most realistic character, complaining about the dire situations in which he is involved and voicing concerns which might be common to inhabitants of our world transplanted to the Realm. Despite his cowardice and reluctance, Eric has a well-hidden heroic core, and constantly saves his friends from danger with his magical shield, which can project a force field. Series developer Mark Evanier revealed that Eric's contrary nature was mandated by parents groups and consultants to push the then dominant pro-social moral for cartoons of "The group is always right; the complainer is always wrong."[6]
  • Diana, the Acrobat (Tonya Gail Smith): Diana is fourteen years old.[5] She is an acrobat, and an outspoken and tomboyish member of the group. She is skilled at handling animals, and is a self-assured, confident person. These qualities make her the natural leader in the absence of Hank. It is mentioned that Diana was chosen as the acrobat because in her real world she is an Olympic-level gymnastics practitioner.
  • Presto, the Magician (Adam Rich): 12-year-old Albert, better known as Presto,[5] is the wizard. Presto fulfills a role of the well-meaning, diligent, but hopeless magician. He is something of a caricature of the stereotypical "nerd" figure prevalent in early 1980s comedies.[citation needed] He suffers from low self-confidence and nervousness, which manifests in the use of his magical hat. He is able to pull an endless succession of various tools from it; but often these will be, or appear to be, of little use. There are also numerous instances when the whole group is in danger, whereupon Presto will draw from his hat precisely what is needed in order to save all of his friends.
  • Sheila, the Thief (Katie Leigh): As the thief, 13-year-old Sheila has a magical cloak that, when the hood is raised over her head, makes her invisible. She is Bobby's older sister and therefore very protective of him. In both the Spanish versions of Spain and Latin America, Sheila was not a thief, but a mage or illusionist.
  • Bobby, the Barbarian (Ted Field III): Bobby is the youngest member of the team (he has his eighth birthday in the Servant Of Evil episode). He is the barbarian, as indicated by his fur pants and boots, horned helmet, and cross belt harness. He is Sheila's younger brother; in contrast to her, Bobby is impulsive and ready to run headlong into battle, even against physically superior enemies. He has a close relationship with Uni.
  • Uni, the Unicorn (Frank Welker): Bobby's pet, a baby unicorn, which he discovers in the first episode and retains as his companion throughout the show. She has the ability to speak, though her words are not quite discernible; she usually is heard echoing Bobby when she agrees to his opinions.
  • Dungeon Master (Sidney Miller): The group's friend and mentor, who provides important advice and help, but often in a cryptic way that would not make sense until the team has completed the quest of each episode. It is Dungeon Master who supplied the companions with their weapons and clues for their numerous opportunities to return home. As the series progresses, from his repeated displays of power, it begins to seem possible and later, even probable, that Dungeon Master could easily return the companions home himself. This suspicion is confirmed in the script for the unmade series finale, "Requiem", wherein Dungeon Master proves he can do just that, without any difficulty.[7]

Antagonists

  • Venger, Force of Evil (Peter Cullen): The main antagonist and Dungeon Master's son (as revealed in the episode "The Dragon's Graveyard" and again in the lost episode "Requiem") as well as Karena's brother ("Citadel of Shadow"), Venger is an evil wizard of great power who seeks to use the children's magical weapons to bolster this power. Though described as an evil force, comparable to the devil, it is occasionally hinted that he was once good, but fell under a corrupting influence. This is later revealed to be true in the finale "Requiem", where Venger is eventually restored to his former self.
  • Shadow Demon (Bob Holt): A shadowy demon. He is Venger's personal spy and assistant. He often informs Venger about the kids' current quest.
  • Tiamat (Frank Welker): Venger's arch-rival is a fearsome dragon with a screeching voice and five heads. Although Venger and the children both avoid Tiamat, the children make a deal with her in "The Dragon's Graveyard" to thwart Venger. She is named after the Tiamat of Babylonian mythology.

Episode & plot guide

Main article: List of Dungeons & Dragons episodes

Awards

Theme song

The cartoon ran in the United Kingdom and United States with an instrumental theme; however, in France it ran with the song "Le Sourire du Dragon" sung by Dorothée; in Spain, the theme song "Dragones y Mazmorras" ("Dragons and Dungeons") sung by Dulces became very popular.

In other countries, it also ran with a local translation of this song.

Toys

A Dungeons & Dragons toyline was produced by LJN in 1983.,[8] including original characters such as Warduke, Strongheart the Paladin or the evil Wizard Kelek that would later appear in campaigns for the role-playing game. None of the main characters from the TV series was included in the toyline, but a connection does exist, as Warduke, Strongheart and several characters from the toyline occasionally guest-starred in some episodes of the series. Only in Spain and Portugal were PVC figures of the main cast (Hank, Sheila, etc.) produced.[9][10]

DVD releases

In Region 2, E1 Entertainment UK (formerly Contender), originally under license from Twentieth Century Fox and later from Disney, released Dungeons & Dragons on DVD in the UK in four volume sets between June 27, 2005 - Jan 15 2007. They also released a complete series set on October 18, 2004, prior to releasing the 4 volume sets.

In Region 1, BCI Eclipse (under license from Disney) released Dungeons & Dragons - The Complete Animated Series on DVD for the very first time on December 5, 2006. The 5-disc set featured an extensive array of special features including documentaries, commentaries, character profiles and more. This release is now out of print as BCI Eclipse ceased operations in December 2008.[11]

There are differences between the R1 & R2 releases. The US DVD release is notable for having a specially created "radio play" of the final episode, "Requiem", that was never made (this is not available on the UK DVD). Likewise an episode guide booklet, and role-playing game material booklet was created for the US release which the UK one does not have. The US release, however, is also notable for having had some music alterations for copyright reasons, i.e. parts of the original scores for the last nine episodes have been replaced with various instrumental tracks from other episodes of the series plus a few from other sources. In the UK release, however, all the original music is intact.

In June 2009, Mill Creek Entertainment acquired the rights to the series and subsequently re-released the complete series on August 25, 2009, in a 3-disc set without any special features but with almost all the original music restored; the release contains all the televised episodes but does not contain the radio play of "Requiem".[12] Mill Creek also released a single disc best-of DVD on the same day.

Broadcast history

 United States

  • CBS (1983–1986)
  • syndicated thereafter

 United Kingdom

 Hong Kong

 Mexico

 Japan

 Brazil

 Spain

 Czech Republic

 Germany

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Dungeons & Dragons FAQ". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2008-10-03. Retrieved 2008-10-03.
  2. ^ "Preface to Requiem: The Unproduced Dungeons and Dragons Finale". MichaelReaves.com. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
  3. ^ Evil influences: crusades against the mass media p.153 - Author: Steven Starker, 1989.
  4. ^ a b "The History of TSR". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2008-10-04. Retrieved 2005-08-20.
  5. ^ a b c "Archive of Development of the Dungeons and Dragons Cartoon: Series Bible". Mark Evanier. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
  6. ^ "Point of view, by Mark Evanier". POVOnline.com. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
  7. ^ Requiem - The Unproduced Dungeons and Dragons Finale at michaelreaves.com (the author's offical site)
  8. ^ "Series 1 & 2 of the original LJN toyline at toyarchive.com". Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  9. ^ "Spanish set of PVC figures based on the TV series at toyarchive.com". Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  10. ^ "Portuguese set of PVC figures based on the TV series at toyarchive.com". Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  11. ^ http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Site-News-BCI-Shut-Down/11064
  12. ^ "Dungeons and Dragons - Mill Creek Acquires the License to the Classic '80s Cartoon". Retrieved 2009-06-26.
  13. ^ TVGlobinho - Infantil - Rede Globo
  14. ^ http://www.fernsehserien.de/index.php?serie=5288
  15. ^ http://www.zeichentrickserien.de/dungeon.htm
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External links

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