Dungeons & Dragons (TV series)

Dungeons & Dragons

DVD boxset cover
Genre Action
Adventure
Fantasy
Created by Kevin Paul Coates
Dennis Marks
Takashi
Developed by Mark Evanier
Directed by Bob Richardson (season 1)
Karl Geurs (seasons 2–3)
Voices of Willie Aames
Don Most
Katie Leigh
Adam Rich
Tonia Gayle Smith
Teddy Field III
Sidney Miller
Peter Cullen
Frank Welker
Bob Holt
Composer(s) Johnny Douglas
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 3
No. of episodes 27 + 1 unproduced episode (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) David H. DePatie (season 1)
Lee Gunther (seasons 1–3)
Margaret Loesch (seasons 2–3)
Producer(s) Bob Richardson (season 1)
Karl Geurs (seasons 2–3)
Running time 24 minutes
Production company(s)
Distributor
Release
Original network CBS
Original release September 17, 1983 (1983-09-17)[1] – December 7, 1985 (1985-12-07)

Dungeons & Dragons is an American animated television series based on TSR's Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. A co-production of Marvel Productions and TSR, the show originally ran from 1983 through 1985 for three seasons on CBS for a total of twenty-seven episodes. The Japanese company Toei Animation did the animation for this series.

The show focused on a group of six friends who are transported into the titular realm and followed their adventures as they tried to find a way home with the help of their guide 'Dungeon Master'. A final un-produced episode would have served as a conclusion as well as a re-imagining had the series been picked up for a fourth season. However, the show was cancelled before the episode was made. The script can be found from various sources online and was performed as an audio drama as a special feature for the BCI Eclipse DVD edition of the series.

Overview

The show focuses on a group of friends aged between 8-15 who are sucked into the "Realm of Dungeons & Dragons" by taking a magical dark ride on an amusement park roller coaster. Upon arriving in the realm they meet Dungeon Master (named for the referee in the role-playing game) who gives each child a magical item.

The children's main goal is to find a way home, but they often take detours to help people, or find that their fates are intertwined with that of others. The group come across many different enemies, but their primary antagonist is Venger. Venger is a powerful wizard who wishes to rule the realm and believes the power from the children's weapons will help him to do so. Another recurring villain is Tiamat, who is a five-headed dragon and the only creature Venger fears.

Throughout the show, a connection is suggested between Dungeon Master and Venger. The final un-produced episode "Requiem" would have confirmed that Venger is the Dungeon Master's corrupted son (making Kareena, Venger's sister DM's daughter), redeemed Venger (giving those trapped in this Realm their freedom), and ended on a cliffhanger where the six children could finally return home or deal with evil that still existed in the Realm.[2]

Characters

Protagonists

Left to right: Hank, Eric, Diana, Presto, Sheila, Bobby and Uni. in the first episode "The Night of No Tomorrow"
Venger, the main villain. Trapped in "The Dragons Graveyard"

Antagonists

Episodes

The show ran for 27 episodes split into three seasons of thirteen, eight, and six episodes respectively. Most of the episodes served as 'stand alone' stories; however, towards the end of the series, the storyline involving Venger being revealed as Dungeon Master's son was sewn into several episodes. This storyline would have climaxed in the un-produced finale "Requiem".

Opening credits

Fear not: Ranger, Barbarian, Magician, Thief, Cavalier, and Acrobat. That was Venger, the force of evil. I am Dungeon Master, your guide in the realm of Dungeons and Dragons!

The opening credits served as an introduction to the series and an explanation as to how the children ended up in the realm. It begins with the group getting on the "Dungeons & Dragons" ride, which then transports them to the realm. Dungeon Master appears to give them their individual weapons to defend themselves from Tiamat and Venger.

The credits were altered for the second and third seasons. It started in a similar way to the first with group getting onto the roller coaster. Once in the realm, however, the characters can be seen in a castle and already in possession of their weapons fighting various enemies before Venger appears and says -

"There is no escape from the realm of Dungeons and Dragons!"

The credits featured an orchestral score composed by Johnny Douglas, which played alongside the soundtrack of Dungeon Master. However, in France it ran with the song "Le Sourire du Dragon" sung by Dorothée and in Spain, the theme song "Dragones y Mazmorras" ("Dragons and Dungeons") sung by Dulces became very popular.

Controversy

The level of violence was controversial for American children's television at the time, and the script of one episode, "The Dragon's Graveyard", was almost shelved because the characters contemplated killing their nemesis, Venger.[6] In 1985, the National Coalition on Television Violence demanded that the FTC run a warning during each broadcast stating that Dungeons & Dragons had been linked to real-life violent deaths.[7] The series spawned more than 100 different licenses,[8] and the show led its time slot for two years.[1][8]

Merchandise

The show produced a variety of spin-off merchandise.

DVD releases

In Region 1, BCI Eclipse (under license from Disney) released Dungeons & Dragons - The Complete Animated Series on DVD for the very first time on December 5, 2006. The 5-disc set featured an extensive array of special features including documentaries, commentaries, character profiles and more. This release is now out of print as BCI Eclipse ceased operations in December 2008.[9]

In June 2009, Mill Creek Entertainment acquired the rights to the series and subsequently re-released the complete series on August 25, 2009, in a 3-disc set without any special features but with almost all the original music restored; the release contains all the televised episodes but does not contain the radio play of "Requiem".[10]

Toys

An Advanced Dungeons & Dragons toy line was produced by LJN in 1983,[11] including original characters such as Warduke, Strongheart the Paladin, and the evil Wizard Kelek that would later appear in campaigns for the Basic edition of the roleplaying game. None of the main characters from the TV series were included in the toy line, but a connection does exist, as Warduke, Strongheart, and Kelek each guest-starred in their respective episode of the series. Only in Spain and Portugal were PVC figures of the main cast (Hank, Sheila, etc.) produced.[12][13]

Games

The PC game Baldur's Gate II features a parody Easter Egg in the form of portraits featuring Hank and Bobby in the Adventurer's Mart in Athkatla, Amn. Both portraits can be clicked and the player can read jokes that imply they were eaten by Tiamat.[14]

Books

Several books on this series were released at the time of its greatest popularity.

Awards

For her work on the series, Tonya Gayle Smith (as "Diana") was nominated for Outstanding Young Actress in an Animation Voice-over at the 1984-1985 Youth in Film Awards.[16]

In January 2009, IGN ranked Dungeons & Dragons at #64 on its "Best 100 Animated Series" list.[17]

References

  1. 1 2 "Dungeons & Dragons FAQ". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2008-10-03. Retrieved 2008-10-03.
  2. "Requiem" was a unresolved cliffhanger -either a series finale if the series had been canceled -or as a opening for a fourth season if the series had been renewed-although without either Dungeonmaster aa a guide or Venger as a main villain
  3. 1 2 3 "Archive of Development of the Dungeons and Dragons Cartoon: Series Bible". Mark Evanier. Archived from the original on 2007-10-06. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
  4. "Point of view, by Mark Evanier". NewsFromMe.com. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  5. Requiem - The Unproduced Dungeons and Dragons Finale at michaelreaves.com (the author's official site) (archives)
  6. "Preface to Requiem: The Unproduced Dungeons and Dragons Finale". MichaelReaves.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
  7. Evil influences: crusades against the mass media p.153 - Author: Steven Starker, 1989.
  8. 1 2 "The History of TSR". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2008-10-04. Retrieved 2005-08-20.
  9. Tvshowsondvd.com
  10. "Dungeons and Dragons - Mill Creek Acquires the License to the Classic '80s Cartoon". Retrieved 2009-06-26.
  11. "Series 1 & 2 of the original LJN toyline at toyarchive.com". Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  12. "Spanish set of PVC figures based on the TV series at toyarchive.com". Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  13. "Portuguese set of PVC figures based on the TV series at toyarchive.com". Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  14. Dungeonsdragonscartoon.com
  15. "Dungeons and Dragons Cartoon Show books". RPGGeek. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  16. Seventh Annual Youth in Film Awards: 1984-1985. YoungArtistsAwards.org. Retrieved 2013-12-06.
  17. "Top 100 Animated Series". IGN. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
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