OFFICIAL: ThunderCats 2011 Cartoon Discussion Thread

[Darkspecter]

The only thing that's bothering me a tad with this series so far is Lion-O is someone uneven, characterization-wise. In some episodes he's so wise, smart and cool-headed...like the first 2: showing kindness to the reptile (which pays off in the end), the courage to believe in technology, standing up to the king AND his people, etc.

In the third episode he's a jerk to two Thunder kittens who will probably die if left on their own...and he tells them to get lost. That doesn't seem like Lion-O at all.

In episode 5 (newest one), he wants to do the opposite of everything Panthro does basically to prove "he's in charge." Umm...maybe someone who's been fighting battles for twice as long as you've been alive has good advice? Kings are supposed to listen to reports and make decisions...not just make arbitrary ones. Lion-O was kind of a dumb@$$ in the first half of this episode. Panthro was a stone cold jerk for the first half though...

[Mr. Shokoti]

Overall the episode was OK but I could have really done without Panthro's hair & tail, his post-Frank Miller Batman personality, Mumm-Ra's Stargate-like pyramid, and Bucky Katt(God I hate that ridiculous tooth).

Driller was cool though.

[13977]

Don't have time to write much as I'm just about to set off to the airport but really enjoyed this episode, best since the first two. Was surprised, but pleased, to see Driller, and great to have Lynx-O mentioned by name this time.

[Alexx]

The only thing that's bothering me a tad with this series so far is Lion-O is someone uneven, characterization-wise. In some episodes he's so wise, smart and cool-headed...like the first 2: showing kindness to the reptile (which pays off in the end), the courage to believe in technology, standing up to the king AND his people, etc.

In the third episode he's a jerk to two Thunder kittens who will probably die if left on their own...and he tells them to get lost. That doesn't seem like Lion-O at all.

In episode 5 (newest one), he wants to do the opposite of everything Panthro does basically to prove "he's in charge." Umm...maybe someone who's been fighting battles for twice as long as you've been alive has good advice? Kings are supposed to listen to reports and make decisions...not just make arbitrary ones. Lion-O was kind of a dumb@$$ in the first half of this episode. Panthro was a stone cold jerk for the first half though...

Well I'm sure someone who's lost his father and entire home while also still being a youngin' is probably gona go through a lot of emotions! In the third episode he's a jerk because he JUST lost his father and his home. I mean, he's walking through the rubble there. I'm not sure I'd be a happy camper either. In the next episode he's friggin' RECKLESS! Thankfully he seems to get over that by the end. In the episode with Emmerich he takes what he learned from the sand sea too seriously and figures running is the best option all the time! He learns from this as well, as you can't take a lesson and go too far in either direction.

Now, with the current episode, he's learned what it's like to take the lead...and now, because he's still young, he thinks he should be taking the lead and calling the shots. It worked in the thorn forrest, and heck - Panthro is supposed to be very loyal - so he should be taking orders right off the bat, right? Well, that didn't turn out to be true...and to make matters worse for Lion-O, his next "order" to attack outright is completely ignored, so he overreacts again!

Personally I think it all makes sense for a troubled youth who has to deal with extreme loss, leadership, and trying to find balance.

[TheFallen]

Awesome episode. If the plan is to make me want more after every episode then it is working.

I was a bit disappointed that Grune decided to play the coward heel and powder instead of staying to fight. I felt that he was built up to be as much as a bad ass as Panthro therefore he should have stayed and fought. He had already beaten Panthro so his confidence in a rematch should have been high. Mind you, he must have thought he had already killed Panthro so I guess he would have been suprised to see him again.

It is good to see Mumm-Ra is not being over exposed but I would like to see him cut loose a bit and show why he should be so feared.

I did get a very big Star Wars feel with the episode. The music in Mumm-Ra's tomb reminded me of the final duel in TPM and the Grune/Panthro fight felt like a mish-mash of all the Star Wars lightsabre duels. The comradeship of Grune/Panthro reminded me of Kenobi and Anakin, including the final betrayal.

Overall, it was still a very good episode and almost a polar opposite of last weeks touching episode.

[wyldman11]

He was also probably thinking the other Thundercats wouldn't play fair and would join in. For one he had helped take down their civilization, and two he probably wouldn't have and he tends to think others think like he does.

[markatisu]

The only thing that's bothering me a tad with this series so far is Lion-O is someone uneven, characterization-wise. In some episodes he's so wise, smart and cool-headed...like the first 2: showing kindness to the reptile (which pays off in the end), the courage to believe in technology, standing up to the king AND his people, etc.

In the third episode he's a jerk to two Thunder kittens who will probably die if left on their own...and he tells them to get lost. That doesn't seem like Lion-O at all.

In episode 5 (newest one), he wants to do the opposite of everything Panthro does basically to prove "he's in charge." Umm...maybe someone who's been fighting battles for twice as long as you've been alive has good advice? Kings are supposed to listen to reports and make decisions...not just make arbitrary ones. Lion-O was kind of a dumb@$$ in the first half of this episode. Panthro was a stone cold jerk for the first half though...

I am not sure he is uneven at all, he never wanted to be King and now he is so he lets that get to his head occasionally. I lost my father last year, I know the rage that goes on and if my dads heart attack has been in the form of a physical person I could attack I can sympathize. Its why they give victims families a chance to tell the killer how much they hurt them in murder trials.

Everyone of his emotions is in line with what I would expect given the circumstances he runs into.

As far as this last episode, I mean really you think he is supposed to let Panthro tell him what to do? Claudus would never do that.

If you read any amount of history you will see its filled with people like that, its partially where the saying power corrupts comes from. In the premiere nobody listened to Lion-O and Tygra was always acting superior to him when he got the chance. Now Lion-O is king and all the cats owe their allegiance to him, that is going to come out in his ego and emotions from time to time.

As for Panthro he seemed in line as well, I mean he was sent out and left for dead by Grune. Then after saving Lion-O he probably had his worst fears confirmed that everything he knew and loved is now dead. Did not realize you should be cheerful and ecstatic over that kind of news

[Shredder]

What might be fun.. if mumm-ra kills grune for too many failures.. by sucking out his soul, trapping it, and burying it under a tree ;o)

[Mosquitor87]

Just watched the new episode. I really enjoyed the back story between Panthro and Grune. Seeing Driller was a very cool surprise! Great episode indeed! Can't wait til next friday's episode!

[Tundra_Torque]

I was excited to see Driller, too.

While I didn't see the first episode, I was also excited to hear Lynx-O mentioned. I also enjoyed Grune's story arc this episode. The flashbacks that were tied into the present storyline reminded me a bit of an episode of Lost.

[EldestSon]

this was a really good episode. brought back the epic feel and nothing illogical popped out to me. story was good (both of them).

was i the only one that noticed mumm-ra's foot and ankle? it looks like he is...or was...a cat?!?

[Alexx]

was i the only one that noticed mumm-ra's foot and ankle? it looks like he is...or was...a cat?!?

I was wondering that myself! My wife was putting together some legos on the floor while I was watching the episode, and as I was talking about Mumm-Ra, she asked if he was a cat mummy or some demon. I responded with demon, right away, but then I thought: "You know....I'm not sure!" I mean, he was certainly humanoid in his beast form in the original cartoon. Then he comes walking down the stairs in this new scene and she's like "See! He's a cat person!" It's certainly not out of the ballpark here. Either way, this show is doing a bang-up job of drawing me in and making me interested in all the questions it raises!

[BCI Guy]

I was a bit disappointed that Grune decided to play the coward heel and powder instead of staying to fight. I felt that he was built up to be as much as a bad ass as Panthro therefore he should have stayed and fought. He had already beaten Panthro so his confidence in a rematch should have been high. Mind you, he must have thought he had already killed Panthro so I guess he would have been suprised to see him again.

Panthro wasn't exactly alone. I doubt Grune thought Lion-O, Tygra and Cheetara were just going to stand and watch a one-on-one battle between the two of them.

[Shredder]

assuming this third earth is our earth, like it was in the original...where do you think the new thundera is placed?

In the original, it's pretty clear the thundercats land somewhere in northern africa, if they are that close to egypt and the pyramids.

Here, I'd wager more toward greece, based on how thundera looks

[King Kahn]

Tails.....

Can someone explain these to me? some of the cats have them and some do not.

At first I thought maybe they only have them as kids/kittens and they loose them after awhile but then we saw a flashback in episode 5 of lion-o/tygra fighting and neither had tails.

HOWEVER, Panthro had a tail in the flashback when he met grune and later in the flashback he no longer had a tail.

Sorry, but this is just bugging me and I really hope they have some sort of explanation for this.

[Darkspecter]

I knew you guys would bring up the loss of his father as the reason. I get that he would be different after that...but he would have left two young children to possibly DIE?! I don't think so.

About Panthro: no, Lion-O shouldn't do what he says blindly...but he should LISTEN and then make his decision to take the advice or make another plan of action. It's like I said: King's advisers and such.

[wyldman11]

Tails.....

Can someone explain these to me? some of the cats have them and some do not.

At first I thought maybe they only have them as kids/kittens and they loose them after awhile but then we saw a flashback in episode 5 of lion-o/tygra fighting and neither had tails.

HOWEVER, Panthro had a tail in the flashback when he met grune and later in the flashback he no longer had a tail.

Sorry, but this is just bugging me and I really hope they have some sort of explanation for this.

I was curious about that also, I could also see certain 'breeds' having them. I could also see Panthro losing his at some point. Maybe they are born with them but some have them removed for things like military reasons. Of course in reality this would cause potential balancing problems and other things.

I knew you guys would bring up the loss of his father as the reason. I get that he would be different after that...but he would have left two young children to possibly DIE?! I don't think so.

About Panthro: no, Lion-O shouldn't do what he says blindly...but he should LISTEN and then make his decision to take the advice or make another plan of action. It's like I said: King's advisers and such.

I think they are handling some of Lion-o's issues a bit too quickly, and in some cases I would mind seeing it linger or build for an episode or two.

The show is kind of a mix of episodic but with an over story going on. It's the lessons of Lion-o. So there is a theme, and often in the early episodes you build your audience before getting to the more meaty story (Book of Omens in this case).

[JonWes]

About the tails -

I believe it was the producers or the writers who said, in an interview, that the tails were a class thing. Lower classes had the tails, upper classes did not. So I'm thinking that Panthro might have had has clipped when he ascended to his current rank.

EDIT: found the exact quote:

http://crewofomens.tumblr.com/post/8...#disqus_thread

"As we wanted to diversify the cat races (and other animals species). My
approach was to give some tails and also make the ears different. For
WilyKit and Kat, the points of their hair is actually the tips of their
ears. That’s right, the whole part of their head is their ear.

The fur along the side of their head is, well, ear hair. So when you see Kit tie up her ponytail it’s actually pinning her ears back. My hope was that we could use the animal characteristics of putting the ears back when scared or threatened or perking one up when trying to listen would be interesting for a more dynamic character trait. Especially for comedy.

While we’re here let me explain the tails a bit. Again, I thought it would be cool to introduce social class stigmas amonst the thunderan people. Having been born with a tail in some opinion would be considered less evolved. A birth defect if you will. But as a design element, like a cape, the tail can give a sense of direction on a stagnant pose or give a sense of direction or movement to the arc line of the pose. In real life, cats tails can tell us more about the emotion of the animal. For example if it’s sitting still the tail may be swatting with a thump (which from watching my cat) meaning it’s going to pounce in a moment. Or when it slumps shows the cat is relaxed.

There is also the play that the tail helps with the balance of the cat, since the kids are like the acrobats of the group, I wanted to keep that aspect. Hope this give some insight…

-Dan"

[Firefly]

I enjoyed this episode much better than the last two. I like Grune's backstory. I was surprised to see Panthro won over so quickly.

[King Kahn]

About the tails -

I believe it was the producers or the writers who said, in an interview, that the tails were a class thing. Lower classes had the tails, upper classes did not. So I'm thinking that Panthro might have had has clipped when he ascended to his current rank.

EDIT: found the exact quote:

http://crewofomens.tumblr.com/post/8...#disqus_thread

thanks for the heads up. Good to know. I wonder if they will actually talk about this in the series?

[EldestSon]

About the tails -

I believe it was the producers or the writers who said, in an interview, that the tails were a class thing. Lower classes had the tails, upper classes did not. So I'm thinking that Panthro might have had has clipped when he ascended to his current rank.

EDIT: found the exact quote:

http://crewofomens.tumblr.com/post/8...#disqus_thread

er...couldn't a lower class cat just clip his tail?

[markatisu]

I knew you guys would bring up the loss of his father as the reason. I get that he would be different after that...but he would have left two young children to possibly DIE?! I don't think so.

So you knew what the overlying reason was, hence why we brought it up?

And he did not leave them to die? he just said he was not going to take care of them and be a babysitter. With the destruction of his entire kingdom, the death of his father, and his desire for revenge I think that was a suitable notion.

The way you are phrasing things he would have ordered them to stay behind, did he do that? Did he keep them from coming along? It seems he fed them and allowed them on the journey as long as they were not a burden. That is nothing like you are saying, his initial reaction was that they could not come but when he saw that it was pointless he just marched forward and they followed along.

About Panthro: no, Lion-O shouldn't do what he says blindly...but he should LISTEN and then make his decision to take the advice or make another plan of action. It's like I said: King's advisers and such.

That is all fine and dandy but there are some monarchs who don't do that, especially when they are younger. I can discuss them in detail if you really want to

You were acting like it was totally unrealistic that Lion-O would ignore Panthro just out of spite, that is not reality. That kind of stuff happens all the times, its why a lot of people in charge of militaries and troops learn the hard way when being hard headed.

[Darkspecter]

So you knew what the overlying reason was, hence why we brought it up?

And he did not leave them to die? he just said he was not going to take care of them and be a babysitter. With the destruction of his entire kingdom, the death of his father, and his desire for revenge I think that was a suitable notion.

The way you are phrasing things he would have ordered them to stay behind, did he do that?

Yes, yes he did.

Did he keep them from coming along? It seems he fed them and allowed them on the journey as long as they were not a burden. That is nothing like you are saying, his initial reaction was that they could not come but when he saw that it was pointless he just marched forward and they followed along.

If Wilykit and Wilycat were regular kittens/children who weren't so ballsy, they would have asked, he would have said no and the lizards would have found and killed them...because they're only kittens/children. So...yeah. Uncalled for. The only reason they're still alive is because they basically gave Lion-O the middle finger by saying they're headed in the same direction and his group just happens to be in front of them.

[Lord Anubis]

I picked up the new deluxe talking/light up figures tonight, well just Lion-O, and he's amazing!!!!!

The legs DO not move, wich sucks, but the HO! pose, sound and light are really terrific, I dont know why so many people are *****ing about his legs, this is almost a statue, but its really exciting and fun! I geeked out in toys r us so bad, im suprised parents didnt hide their children.

[markatisu]

Yes, yes he did.



If Wilykit and Wilycat were regular kittens/children who weren't so ballsy, they would have asked, he would have said no and the lizards would have found and killed them...because they're only kittens/children. So...yeah. Uncalled for. The only reason they're still alive is because they basically gave Lion-O the middle finger by saying they're headed in the same direction and his group just happens to be in front of them.

I am not going to argue with you, we see things differently and that is fine

I picked up the new deluxe talking/light up figures tonight, well just Lion-O, and he's amazing!!!!!

The legs DO not move, wich sucks, but the HO! pose, sound and light are really terrific, I dont know why so many people are *****ing about his legs, this is almost a statue, but its really exciting and fun! I geeked out in toys r us so bad, im suprised parents didnt hide their children.

I am on the fence with that one, I think I need to see it in person