Dungeons and Dragons (without Dice)

Father's Day was this past weekend, and your old pal Pat (aka Dad) Hendry scored a pretty sweet gift...maybe.

Perhaps the greatest contribution thus far that DVD technology has brought to the home viewer is the reasonable packaging and pricing of television series to own at home. In fact, it has been so reasonable that I have been able to start rewatching some of the cartoons that I remember fondly from my youth. Thus far both Johnny Quest and DuckTales have not only given me an euphoric sense of deja vu when I revisited them after nearly two decades, but they have also both lived up to (if not surpassed) the greatness that my youthful opinion rated them with.

Now I am going to put those fond childhood memories to the test with this Father's Day gift: the complete early 1980's Dungeons and Dragons series. This is another series that I have a whole slew of half-formed memories about, and most of them are so awesome. Hank with his bow that shot energy bolts, creatures that were both terrifying and mesmerizing, the villain Venger who rode a dark flying horse, and dragons...some with five heads. Yep, this show had it all when I was younger; giant worms, giant spiders, bullfrog men, armies of the dead, weapons of magic, and (of course) a few lessons to be learned about life.

But there is a distinct difference between Dungeons and Dragons, Jonny Quest and DuckTales: that happens to be that D&D has a lot more potential to suck. Even though I think back upon this series with the same amount of affection as the others, I am also a realist. Jonny Quest was one of Hanna Barbara's prime time cartoons, and it was the first cartoon to be aired by all three major networks. Not to mention it has multiple (albeit inferior) reimaginings of the series. DuckTales had the backing of Walt Disney empire and classic characters that had already stood the test of time blended with all the action of Indiana Jones. It was also the success of this cartoon that made it the cornerstone of the Disney afternoon quartet that followed.

Even in my fairly kind childhood memories, I already know that Dungeons and Dragons has some issues that may not translate well to my adult sensibilities. First off, and potentially most devastating, is Uni the unicorn. This "cute" animal character seems thrown in only because some ad exec somewhere said, "this cartoon needs a cute dog or something" to compete with Schooby-Doo or Bandit. Uni really brought none of the depth that these classic canines brought, what she did bring was usually the most frustrating and idiotic of actions cleverly accented by a taunting bleat. There is also the issue of Dungeomaster, who essentially is a watered down Yoda. The show itself had a goal for the characters, which was to escape the fantasy land they were trapped in and return to good ole twentieth century USA; so naturally there are a ton of episodes where they almost, but don't quite make it...that can get annoying. Lastly, I have no idea how the animation will hold up after 25 years.

Still, I absolutely cannot wait to see this series. Just the thought of finally reinforcing or disputing so many potential memories makes me giddy. As I said, the deja vu of these experiences is euphoric, I just hope the series is decent.

Same to same,

Capt. Hendry