The Herculoids

The Herculoids
The Herculoids title card.
Genre	Animated series
Created by	Alex Toth
Voices of	Mike Road Virginia Gregg Ted Eccles Don Messick
Composer(s)	Ted Nichols
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	18 (36 segments, 1967–1969) 11 (1981–1982)
Production
Executive producer(s)	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Running time	22 min.: two 11 min. segments (1967–1969) 6 min. segments of Space Stars (1981–1982)
Production company(s)	Hanna-Barbera Productions
Distributor	Taft Broadcasting
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	September 9, 1967 – January 6, 1968
Chronology
Related shows	Space Stars
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

The Herculoids is an American Saturday-morning animated-cartoon television series, created and designed by Alex Toth, that was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The show debuted on September 9, 1967 on CBS. Hanna-Barbera produced one season for the original airing of the show, although the original 18 episodes were rerun during the 1968–69 television season, with The Herculoids ending its run on September 6, 1969.

Eleven new episodes were produced in 1981 as part of the Space Stars show. The plotlines are rooted in science fiction, and have story direction and content similar to Jonny Quest and Space Ghost. This series is set on the distant planet Amzot (renamed Quasar in the Space Stars episodes). The name "Amzot" was first mentioned in the Space Ghost episode "The Molten Monsters of Moltar" (in which the Herculoids made a brief guest appearance) and in the series proper in the "Time Creatures" episode.

Synopsis

The Herculoids battled to defend their planet from menaces on Amzot/Quasar and from outer space. All of the Herculoids displayed Human-level intelligence—employing precision teamwork and complex tactics—as well as emotions, and Zandor and Tara both displayed a working knowledge of complex alien technologies as well as the ability to pilot interstellar spacecraft.

But essentially, Zandor, Tara, Dorno, and the Herculoids were all apparently fighting to keep Amzot/Quasar a technology-free, primitive planet. This is further indicated by the pseudo-barbarian outfits of Zandor, Tara, and Dorno and the fact that technology was used mainly by the various villains, but rarely if ever by the heroes.

Although the "speech" of their companions was limited and repetitive, Zandor, Tara and Dorno demonstrated that Gloop and Gleep, at least, had a comprehensive mode of communication, and that they could at least understand and interpret this language (c.f. "The Mutoids:" "Gleep says that the aliens who landed are attacking Dorno and Tundro"). The "voices" used in the shows were actually brief tracks supplied by two actors and reused throughout the series, in keeping with Hanna-Barbera's thrifty ethos.

A number of episodes featured alien invaders who came to Amzot/Quasar to seek revenge against Zandor for an unspecified battle or adventure from the past. All were apparently technocratic, and the aliens's grudges seemed basically to boil down to them being stymied in their attempts at bringing technology to Amzot/Quasar, which the apparently primitivistic Zandor wanted to avoid.

The show's opening theme was a fully orchestral composition, suggesting uncommon heroism. An alternative opening theme was also utilized for some episodes. All of the show's incidental music was recycled from Jonny Quest.

In some of the seasons, the episodes opened with the following narration: "Somewhere out in space live The Herculoids...Zok the laser-ray dragon! Igoo the giant rock ape! Tundro the tremendous! Gloop and Gleep, the formless fearless wonders! With Zandor their leader, and his wife, Tara, and son, Dorno, they team up to protect their planet from sinister invaders! All-strong! All-brave! All-heroes!! They are The Herculoids!!!"

Continuity with Space Stars

The Space Stars series included the Herculoids in its canon to show that Zandor and his family and friends were well known throughout the galaxy, and good friends of Space Ghost and the Teen Force.

But exactly what had originally made Zandor, Tara, and Dorno as anti-technological and as primitivistic as they were shown to be was never explained in any of the episodes.

Characters

There are eight regular characters:

Humanoids

The three humanoid characters were the only ones who could communicate in English.

• Zandor (voiced by Mike Road) - The protector of Amzot/Quasar. Leader of The Herculoids.
• Tara (voiced by Virginia Gregg) - Zandor's wife.
• Dorno (voiced by Ted Eccles in the original series, Sparky Marcus in 1981) - Son of Zandor and Tara. Despite being their son, he still refers to them by their first names, rather than "Mother" and "Father." However this changed in the 80's revival of the series.

Creatures

The five creature characters of The Herculoids are:

• Zok (voiced by Mike Road) - A flying space dragon. He can emit laser beams from his eyes and tail. His eyes also produce a "nega-beam" that can neutralize certain energy attacks. Zok can survive in space unaided, is capable of interstellar travel, and can breathe fire.
• Igoo (voiced by Mike Road) - A rock ape. An extremely large and powerful simian, he has extremely dense rock-like skin and is nearly invulnerable to harm. In one episode, Igoo wades through a pond of molten lava. Igoo has a kind and gentle temperament as well as a great fondness and devotion for Tara, and would do anything for her.
• Tundro (voiced by Mike Road) - A ten-legged, four-horned rhino/triceratops hybrid. He can shoot explosive energy rocks from his cannon-horn (Zandor, Tara, and Dorno also occasionally shoot similar rocks with slingshots). His natural armor-plating is exceptionally strong, similar to Igoo's rock skin. His legs have the ability to extend to a remarkable length, somewhat like stilts. He can also spin his head at blinding speed, allowing him to drill through solid rock, and has the ability to make magnificent leaps.
• Gloop and Gleep (both voiced by Don Messick) - Two protoplasmic creatures. They are able to absorb and deflect energy blasts and laser beams, often placing themselves between attackers and other Herculoids to act as shields. They can also form shapes including, but not limited to: cushions, trampolines or parachutes to break falls; stretching themselves between tree limbs or rocks to act as slingshots; encircling an attacker's limbs to restrain them, or the entire body to squeeze and render them unconscious. Gloop is the larger of the two.

Other appearances

Outside of their own TV series, The Herculoids also appeared in comic books such as this issue of Cartoon Network Presents #17, from 1999.

Comic books

Outside of their own TV series, the Herculoids made appearances in various comic books through the years. In 1968-1969 they appeared in issues #1-2, and issues #4-7 of the series Hanna-Barbera Super TV Heroes. In 1978 they appeared in issue #3 of the Marvel Comics series TV Stars. Between 1997–1999 they appeared in issues #5, #9, #13 and #17 of the DC Comics series Cartoon Network Presents.

Animated TV series

Roughly contemporaneous to their own series premiere, the Herculoids made an appearance in an episode of Space Ghost, "The Molten Monsters of Moltar" (sources are unclear and/or inconsistent as to exact airdates). In the "Council of Doom" story arc, Space Ghost, while battling the combined might of all of his enemies, meets a number of Hanna-Barbera heroes just as they were debuting in their own respective series. Along with the Herculoids were Shazzan, Moby Dick and the Mighty Mightor, the last two sharing one series.

Several episodes of Space Ghost Coast to Coast mention or show the Herculoids. In "Lawsuit", Space Ghost mentions the Herculoids planet. In the episode "Sequel", he goes to their planet and refers to it as a "rotten hippie monster commune" after they demand he leave while pelting him with stones.

Gloop is mentioned by name and features prominently in the Sealab 2021 episode "Hail, Squishface".

Gloop makes several guest appearances on Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law as well. Gleep is mentioned at one point but he does make cameos in "Mindless" and "Juror in Court", and Zok makes an appearance in "Peanut Pubeerty" (Phil Ken Sebben throws a graph chart at him). Tundro makes an appearance in "Beyond the Valley of the Dinosaurs" firing his energy rocks at Phil Ken Sebben, who forgot to close the hot tub time portal to prehistoric times, Tara appears on the evolution chart in between Fred Flintstone and Race Bannon in "Evolutionary War".

The Herculoids is mentioned in an episode of The Venture Bros., where an old "fan letter" of Dr. Venture to the show is discovered. Upon reading, the letter is revealed to be more akin to hate mail; young Rusty Venture called the Herculoids hippies for not fighting in Vietnam.

Tundro and Gloop appear in an episode of Family Guy, "8 Simple Rules for Buying My Teenage Daughter". In the scene, Gloop fails to get a babysitting job from Lois. In protest, Tundro shows up and fires his energy rocks at Lois. (NOTE: The Herculoids is owned by Hanna–Barbera, not FOX parent News Corp..)

Gloop and Gleep appeared in a cameo as captured prisoners of a hostile alien race in the Dexter's Laboratory episode "Mis-Placed in Space".

Episodes

Original series

Episode	Title	Original air date	Synopsis
1	The Beaked People	September 23, 1967	Krokar, leader of the Beaked People, staged an invasion on the winged monkeys, purposely letting one escape so he can capture Zandor and rule Amzot. (Note: This was the only episode in the 1967 version where Dorno refers to Zandor and Tara as dad and mom; even in this episode Dorno reverts to calling Zandor by his name. In the 1981 revival series Dorno refers to Zandor and Tara as father and mother.)
2	The Raiders	September 23, 1967	Sta-Lak (then unnamed) flew over Amzot; upon seeing Zandor and Zok, Sta-Lak turned his ship invisible to avoid detection, with the intent of taking Tara prisoner.
3	The Pod Creatures	September 16, 1967	An alien spacecraft hovers over Amzot, ordering the pod creatures to destroy all forms of life. The pods then drop onto the planet. Meanwhile, Dorno, Igoo and Gleep, on a mission to get firewood, see the pod creatures as the covers open up and start attacking the trio.
4	Sarko the Arkman	September 9, 1967	Sarko (pronounced Arko in this episode) captured Igoo for unknown reasons, attacked Zandor with poisonous gas, and captured Dorno and Tundro as well.
5	The Mole Men	September 30, 1967	After being woken up by a bird, Zandor investigates Marcon and the Mole Men's plans to invade the surface world, saving a condemned prisoner in the process. Meanwhile, other Mole Men are attacking the Herculoids.
6	The Pirates	September 9, 1967	After killing two creatures with a treasure chest, pirates bury it on Amzot when the Herculoids approach; Dorno is captured and held hostage.
7	The Spider Man	October 7, 1967	A group of spider creatures kidnap Dorno, then try doing the same with Tara. Gloop saves her while Gleep blows a horn beckoning the Herculoids to action. Zandor briefly freed Dorno with his shield but was soon captured with Dorno. After a stalemate Zandor calls the Herculoids to action for one concentrated attack. (Note: this was the first time that the Herculoids were referred to in name within the episode.)
8	Mekkor	September 16, 1967	A group of powerful robots, led by a larger robot, attack the Herculoids.
9	The Lost Dorgyte	September 30, 1967	Zandor rescues a young boy from a vulture; the Herculoids then take the boy back to his heavily-shadowed home because he can not live in sunlight. The insect-looking creatures attack the Herculoids on their way out.
10	Destroyer Ants
11	Defeat of Ogron	October 14, 1967	Andropon and his robots invade Amzot, where the Herculoids easily defeat them. After Andropon continuously threatens to build replacement robot armies (and Zandor continuously vows to defeat said armies), Andropon pits his top warrior Ogron against Zandor and Zok.
12	The Android People	October 7, 1967	Zandor was captured by Gorvac, leader of the Android People, and created a giant evil clone of Zandor with plans to create an army of Zandor clones.
13	Temple of Trax	November 4, 1967	The unnamed high priest of Trax kidnaps Tara in order to use as a sacrifice for the idol Trax, cutting off the Herculoids in their rescue attempt. Can Zandor and Zok, who are miles away, get to Trax in time?
14	Swamp Monster		A hideous monster emerges from a swamp and goes on a rampage, destroying anything it comes in contact with by its radioactive touch. It eventually traps Dorno and Gleep in a cave, and it's up to Zandor and the rest of the Herculoids to rescue them and defeat the creature.
15	Laser Lancers
16	The Raider Apes	October 28, 1967	Gotron and his Raider Apes burn a village in search of gold. The Herculoids come to the villagers' aid.
17	Tiny World of Terror	October 21, 1967	Torrak shrinks the Herculoids down to microscopic size for the purpose of destroying them with his super-powered microbes and then enslaving the galaxy.
18	Prisoners of the Bubblemen	October 14, 1967	Brotak and his Bubblemen kidnap Zandor and Tara for the purpose of using them as scientific experiments.
19	The Time Creatures	October 28, 1967	Oton, leader of the Time Creatures, has determined that in order to rule the world, he has to change Amzot's past, starting with destroying the Herculoids and altering time in his favor.
20	The Gladiators of Kyanite	November 4, 1967	After destroying the last wild creature of Kyanite, Neron and his gladiators capture Tundro. Zandor and Zok, followed by the rest of the Herculoids, arrive at the arena to rescue Tundro and fight the gladiators.
21	Mekkano, the Machine Master	October 21, 1967	Trained machines break Mekkano out of an intergalactic prison, where he vows to destroy the ones who put him in prison: Zandor and the Herculoids.
22	Invasion of the Electrode Men	November 11, 1967	Volton and his Electrode Men flew into a volcanic crater, setting up a dome headquarters to take over Amzot. The Herculoids were easily defeating them until Volton took Tara and Dorno prisoner. Zandor and the Herculoids had to wait until nightfall, when the Electrode Men's power was weakened.
23	Mission of the Amatons
24	Queen Skorra
25	Attack of the Faceless People
26	The Zorbots	November 11, 1967	A terrible wind storm was raging on Amzot. However, Zandor noticed that winds on the left side of a canyon were aiming right, while winds were the opposite direction on the right side. Zandor and the Herculoids investigated, as Konar was destroying Amzot's atmosphere to replace it with his own. Konar sent his henchmen, who were either killed or injured by the Herculoids. As Zandor confronted Konar, Konar brought out the giant Zorbots to take on the Herculoids. Zandor chose to surrender in order to destroy the wind machine from within and, when successful, battle the Zorbots.
27	Return of Sta-Lak
28	Revenge of the Pirates
29	Ruler of the Reptons
30	The Island of the Gravites
31	Malak and the Metal Apes
32	The Return of Torrak
33	The Antidote
34	Attack from Space
35	The Mutoids
36	The Crystalites

Space Stars revival

Episode	Title	Original air date	Synopsis
1	The Ice Monster		Dorno is feeling depressed when Zandor treats him like a child because of his size and age. Meanwhile, an ancient indestructible robotic monster emerges from a block of ice.
2	The Purple Menace		Glowing purple rocks have brought to life purple vines which cause havoc.
3	The Firebird		A volcano erupts, revealing a firebird creature who has taken up residency in the volcano's crater and threatens the Herculoids.
4	The Energy Creature		A meteorite containing an energy creature lands on Quasar. When it imprisons creatures in its coils, it takes on their form and properties also.
5	The Snake Riders		Dorno and Gleep discover a plot by the Snake Riders to take over the planet. The Herculoids must stop the plans for planetary conquest.
6	The Buccaneer		The Buccaneer and his band of pirates arrive on Quasar to look for buried treasure.
7	The Thunderbolt		Saiju, a creature with a voracious appetite, comes upon some electrical-charged rocks and turns into a living electrical monster after eating them. The Herculoids learn that the effects of those rocks are temporary and try to revert Saiju to normal.
8	Return of the Ancients		The descendents/survivors of a highly developed race that was wiped out on Quasar return to the planet after a 1,000-year mission, and they are not happy to find out their civilization is gone.
9	Space Trappers		Space Trappers arrive on Quasar and capture the Herculoids for their intergalactic circus.
10	The Invisibles		A chunk of magnilite lands in the Lost Lake of Quasar. Before long, the Herculoids go up against enemies that they cannot see. Zandor soon learns from the Zelos King Zel that his son Eezo and his followers might be the culprits.
11	Mindbender		While playing, Dorno, Gloop, and Gleep discover and unearth a metal cylinder which contains a big-brained alien. When they release him, he reveals himself to be a member of race that ruled Quasar thousands of years ago. The Herculoids try to recapture the Mindbender.

Voices

• Ted Eccles (originally), Sparky Marcus (in 1981) as Dorno
• Virginia Gregg as Tara
• Don Messick as Gleep, Gloop
• Mike Road as Zandor, Zok, Igoo, Tundro

The Herculoids in other languages

• French: Les Défenseurs interplanétaires
• Chinese: 宇宙泰山 The show was introduced by ATV in Hong Kong as "宇宙泰山" in traditional Chinese or Cantonese, which stands for Tarzan in Space or Universe.
• Italian: Gli Erculoidicode: it is deprecated
• Portuguese: Os Herculóides
• Spanish: Los Defensores Interplanetarios (The Interplanetary Defenders) or Spanish: Los Herculoides (The Herculoids)
• Hungarian: A Herkuloidák
• Japanese: 怪獣王ターガン Kaijû Ô Tâgan (Monster King Targan)

• The characters' names in Japan were Targan (Zandor), Marmi (Tara), Kane (Dorno), Maryû (Zok), Rikira (Igoo), Tangurô (Tundro), Hyûhyû (Gloop) and Bôbô (Gleep).

• Welsh: Sandor. The cartoon was dubbed into Welsh and transmitted during Yr Awr Fawr (The Big Hour) on Sunday mornings. Originally shown on BBC2 Wales and then BBC1 Wales in the late 1970s and 1980s, this was before the introduction of the Welsh language channel S4C in 1982.

Home media releases

On June 14, 2011, Warner Archive released The Herculoids: The Complete Original Animated Series on DVD in region 1 as part of their Hanna–Barbera Classics Collection. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.

See also

• Space Stars

External links

• The Herculoids at IMDb
• The Herculoids at TV.com
• The Herculoids at the Big Cartoon DataBase