Blast from the Past
Thundarr the Barbarian was a Saturday morning animated television series, produced by Ruby-Spears Productions. It was broadcast during the early 1980s.
Loosely inspired by R.E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian, Thundarr the Barbarian was set in a future (at the time of production) post-apocalyptic wasteland divided into kingdoms or territories--the majority of which are ruled by wizards--and whose ruins typically featured recognizable geographical features from the United States, such as Mount Rushmore, New York City, or Washington, DC. Other episodes with recognizable settings are located in Central America, while one is in London. Another notable feature of this future Earth is that the Moon is now in two pieces, though both pieces still orbit in proximity to one another, and seem to orbit at roughly the same height as the intact Moon once did. The shattered moon and the ruins of the former human civilization were supposedly caused by the passage of a large rogue asteroid between the Earth and the Moon, which, from scenes shown in the opening sequence, caused radical changes in the Earth's climate, geography, and tidal effects, the latter presumably because of the damage to the Moon. However, by the time period in which the series is set, the Earth and Moon seem to have settled into a new balance. In this setting, Thundarr, a muscular warrior, and his companions Princess Ariel (who was a formidable sorceress) and the Wookiee-like Ookla the Mok battled evil wizards who combined magical spells with technologies from the pre-catastrophe world. Further Star Wars influences can be seen in Thundarr's weapon of choice, the "Sun Sword", which projects a blade-like beam of energy when activated, and can be deactivated so that it is only a hilt. The Sun Sword is magically linked to Thundarr and as such, only he can use it.
Loosely inspired by R.E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian, Thundarr the Barbarian was set in a future (at the time of production) post-apocalyptic wasteland divided into kingdoms or territories--the majority of which are ruled by wizards--and whose ruins typically featured recognizable geographical features from the United States, such as Mount Rushmore, New York City, or Washington, DC. Other episodes with recognizable settings are located in Central America, while one is in London. Another notable feature of this future Earth is that the Moon is now in two pieces, though both pieces still orbit in proximity to one another, and seem to orbit at roughly the same height as the intact Moon once did. The shattered moon and the ruins of the former human civilization were supposedly caused by the passage of a large rogue asteroid between the Earth and the Moon, which, from scenes shown in the opening sequence, caused radical changes in the Earth's climate, geography, and tidal effects, the latter presumably because of the damage to the Moon. However, by the time period in which the series is set, the Earth and Moon seem to have settled into a new balance. In this setting, Thundarr, a muscular warrior, and his companions Princess Ariel (who was a formidable sorceress) and the Wookiee-like Ookla the Mok battled evil wizards who combined magical spells with technologies from the pre-catastrophe world. Further Star Wars influences can be seen in Thundarr's weapon of choice, the "Sun Sword", which projects a blade-like beam of energy when activated, and can be deactivated so that it is only a hilt. The Sun Sword is magically linked to Thundarr and as such, only he can use it.
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