The epic Thundercats saga comes to a close
with volume 1 of the top-rated Rankin-Bass animated series' second
and final season. As with the premier season, the storylines in
season 2 are nothing short of epic and filled with momentous
changes, most immediate and notable being the decision to deliver
the season in several multi-part episodes. First up is the five-parter
"Thundercats Ho!" which brings aboard three new Thunderians who also
survived the destruction of the T-cats' home planet and landed on
Third Earth; Lion-O and the others battle the evil Mumm-Ra to save
their companions, and the struggle ends with what appears to be the
destruction of Mumm-Ra. But of course, the villain persists, and
with the help of his henchman Ma-Mutt, revives for a second five-parter
(titled, appropriately enough, "Mumm-Ra Lives!"), and unleashes a
new horde of sinister monsters--the Luna-tacks--who prove more
formidable than any of Mumm-ra's previous mutant armies (so
powerful, in fact, that one damages the Sword of Omens). "Mumm-Ra
Lives!" also serves as an introduction to another new face in the
Thundercats family: Snarfer, nephew to longtime comic relief Snarf.
Fifteen stand-alone adventures follow before the last of the multi-parters
for the set, "Thundercubs," in which several of the heroes are
turned into youthful versions of themselves.
Four more individual episodes round out the set, but
an additional 30 were produced before the series came to a close in
1986. Quality-wise, the episodes are full-frame and presented in
Dolby Digital mono, but lack the remastering that some fans may have
hoped for. Extras are somewhat more irreverent this time around:
there's a nine-minute featurette on the series' composer, Bernie
Hoffner, who is interviewed along with several producers, as well as
the pop band the Rembrandts (best known for performing the theme for
Friends), who are also seen banging out a power-pop version
of the Thundercats theme. Hoffner also gets his own "video,"
in which he provides a solo take on the song. --Paul Gaita
