Defenders of the Earth

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Defenders of the Earth
Defenders of the Earth DVD cover
Genre Animated series
Children's
Running time 30 mins
Starring Loren Lester
Buster Jones
William Callaway
Peter Renaday
Peter Mark Richman
Lou Richards
Sarah Partridge
Country of origin Flag of United States United States
No. of episodes 62
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Defenders of the Earth is an animated television series of the 1980s featuring three characters from comic strips distributed by King Features Syndicate — Flash Gordon, The Phantom, and Mandrake the Magician — battling the Flash Gordon villain Ming the Merciless in the year 2015. Supporting characters include their children Rick Gordon, Jedda Walker (daughter of The Phantom), Kshin (adopted son of Mandrake), Mandrake's assistant Lothar, and Lothar's son L.J. The show lasted for 62 episodes; there was also a short-lived comic book series published by Star Comics (an imprint of Marvel Comics).

Contents

[edit] Premise

The pilot begins with Flash Gordon and his son Rick escaping from Ming the Merciless. Ming has exhausted all the natural resources of his home planet Mongo and has set his sights on Earth. Flash's wife (Dale Arden in the Marvel comic) is captured and Ming tries to brainwash her. She resists to the point of death.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Protagonists

  • Flash Gordon is the legendary space hero and leader of the Defenders of the Earth. He is an ace space fighter pilot and the father of Rick Gordon.
  • The Phantom is the legendary "Ghost Who Walks", and his true name is Kit Walker. According to a note in the end credits, this is the 27th Phantom. This version of the Phantom is different from how he is portrayed in the comics. By chanting "By jungle law, the ghost who walks calls forth the power of ten tigers" he is temporarily given superhuman strength. In the comics, the Phantom does not have any supernatural powers. In the show his horse Hero and his wolf Devil also make brief appearances too.
  • Lothar is superhumanly strong and a close friend of Mandrake.
  • Richard "Rick" Gordon is an impulsive computer genius and the son of Flash Gordon. Rick along with many of the other teenagers of the show attended Central High located in Central city.
  • Kshin is an orphaned Asian boy adopted by Mandrake, who is training him as his apprentice. As the younger of the group, he is always trying to prove he is worthy of being a true hero. Kshin has a pet alien called Zuffy — an orphaned Zuffoid found by Rick Gordon on the planet Mongo .
  • L.J. (Lothar Junior) is the street wise martial arts expert son of Lothar, as well as Rick's best friend.
  • Jedda Walker is the daughter of The Phantom and displays telepathic and limited psychic powers. She has a pet panther named Kisa. Some episodes imply a romantic relationship between her and Rick Gordon.
  • Dynak is the central computer based in the Defenders of the Earth's Headquarters, formerly Flash's wife and Rick's mother (though she is never referred to by name, it is presumed that she is Flash's longtime sexual interest Dale Arden). In the first episode, Ming the Merciless kidnaps and attempts to brainwash her to reveal where Flash Gordon is hiding, but the enormous physical and mental anguish ends up killing her. Before she dies, however, her "essence" is saved in a crystal that is eventually used to power the Defenders' computer.

[edit] Antagonists

  • Ming the Merciless has two children Prince Krotan and Princess Aura and is bent on world domination. This version is made more grotesque in appearance than his traditional Asian appearance to avoid racial stereotyping. In the show his hideout is Ice Station Earth located in the Arctic.
  • Octon is a metallic octopus like machine which advises Ming the Merciless on how to conquer the Earth or defeat Flash Gordon and Co.
  • Garax is the leader of Ming's soldiers, the Ice warriors
  • Mongor is a giant serpent-like pet of Ming the Merciless.
  • Kurt Walker is the older brother of the Phantom. Kurt is a character specifically created for the series, and has never appeared in a Phantom comic book or comic strip story. Indeed, in the Phantom legend, the firstborn son is in the Walker family is always named "Kit" and becomes the Phantom. However Kurt does appear in issue #3 of the Marvel Comics Defenders of the Earth mini-series.
  • The Sky Band is one of the Phantom's oldest foes. In the series, they are space-pirates, while in the comic strips, they are airplane-pirates.

[edit] Episode titles

  1. "Escape from Mongo"
  2. "The Creation of Monitor"
  3. "A Demon in His Pocket"
  4. "A House Divided"
  5. "Bits and Chips"
  6. "The Root of Evil"
  7. "Cold War"
  8. "The Sleeper Awakens"
  9. "The Revenge of Astra"
  10. "The Hall of Wisdom"
  11. "The Mind Warriors, Part I"
  12. "The Mind Warriors, Part II"
  13. "The Lost Jewels of Tibet"
  14. "The Evil of Doctor Dark"
  15. "Diamonds are Ming's Best Friends"
  16. "The Men of Frost"
  17. "Battleground"
  18. "The Panther Peril"
  19. "Fury of the Deep"
  20. "Family Reunion"
  21. "The Defense Never Rests"
  22. "Doorways into Darkness"
  23. "Deal with the Devil"
  24. "Terror in Time"
  25. "Ming's Household Help"
  26. "The Starboy"
  27. "The Gods Awake"
  28. "The Ghost Walks Again"
  29. "The Book of Mysteries"
  30. "The Future Comes But Once"
  31. "Kshin And# "The Ghost Ship"
  32. "The Carnival of Dr. Kalihari"
  33. "The Mystery of the Book"
  34. "Flash Times Four"
  35. "The Frozen Heart"
  36. "Rick Gordon, One Man Army"
  37. "The Rites of Zesnan"
  38. "Audie the Tweak"
  39. "Return of the Skyband"
  40. "Dracula's Potion"
  41. "One of the Guys"
  42. "100 Proof Highway"
  43. "The Time Freezer"
  44. "The Prince Makes His Move# "(1)"
  45. "Prince Triumphant# "(2)"
  46. "The Prince Weds# "(3)"
  47. "The Prince's Royal Hunt# "(4)"
  48. "The Prince is Dethroned# "(5)"
  49. "Lothar's Homecoming"
  50. "Suspended Sabotage"
  51. "The Call of the Eternals"
  52. "The Return of Doctor Dark"
  53. "The Deadliest Battle"
  54. "The Necklace of Oros"
  55. "Ming Winter"
  56. "The Golden Queen, Part 1"
  57. "The Golden Queen, Part 2"
  58. "Flesh and Blood"
  59. "Drowning World"
  60. "The Adoption of Kshin"
  61. "Street Smarts"
  62. "Ming's Thunder Lizards"


[edit] DVD

The First episode appears on the BCI Eclipse DVD releases for

  • Animated All-Stars collection
  • The New Adventures of Flash Gordon: The Complete Series

BCI has also released the first of 2 5-Disc sets that will cover the entire series.

  • Defenders of the Earth - Complete Series Volume 1 (5-Discs) 33 Episodes
  • Defenders of the Earth - Complete Series Volume 2 (5-Discs) 32 Episodes (Spring 2007)

Selected episodes are available in the UK, in compilations including
Hollywood DVD LTD

  • Defenders Of The Earth - The Story Begins

Delta Music PLC

  • Defenders of the Earth Movie (3-Discs)
  • Defenders of the Earth vol 1
  • Defenders of the Earth vol 2
  • Defenders of the Earth vol 3
  • Defenders of the Earth Movie - Prince Of Kro-Tan
  • Defenders of the Earth Movie - Necklace Of Oros
  • Defenders of the Earth Movie - The Book Of Mysteries

[edit] Other media

In addition to the four-issue Marvel Comics miniseries, there have been books including The Creation of Monitor, A House Divided, The Sun-Stealers and Computer Checkmate'.

A line of action figures produced by Galoob included Flash Gordon, Mandrake, Lothar, the Phantom, Ming and Garax.[1]

A video game for the personal computer was also made. It featured the various heroes from the series on a quest to defeat Ming.

[edit] References

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