Thundarr The Barbarian (1980 - 1982): "Trial By Terror"

Anyone who knows me,that way before Thundarr hit tv,I created my own post apocholypic barbarian Toreus the Slayer-who was despite the attempts of a 12/13 year old teen was 100 % better than Thundarr the Barbarian.But despite this,what I hated about Thundarr was he was totally idiotic-a watered down,censored Luddite version of Conan,with rip off light saber,a stripper asian princess and a Chebacca imatation in Kookla Mister Dancing Bear Suite.And now away we goooooo.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Saturday Morning Cult-TV Blogging: Thundarr The Barbarian (1980 - 1982): "Trial By Terror"



In “Trial By Terror,” Thundarr, Ookla and Ariel arrive in Atlanta just in time to save Thundarr’s friend, Thorak from execution by the corrupt town’s sheriff and his pig-man deputies.Pig man?Kamandi Planet of the Apes anyone?And Thorak-uhh.....did they try real hard to dig that name up cliche barbarian city?After all how guys are called Thorak in fiction?


Specifically, Thorak has been accused of stealing fuel needed by the local villagers.  However, Thorak disputes these charges vehemently and Thundarr believes his friend.Ofcourse he does-Thundarrs a prepper.He supports all the burn down the bookstore hillbilly a holes.

Behind the scenes, a wizard named Artemis -- who lives in a Southern plantation -- is pulling the sheriff’s strings.  Specifically, Artemis needs the valuable fuel so he can launch his fearful new weapon, a vehicle called a “death ship…”-Artemis,also subs as James West's sidekick.Oh wait-sorry-wrong Artemis.Opps.





What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate…what we all got is a failure to entertain,but thats nothing new with the likes of Thundarr the Luddite.

Actually, what we have here is another Thundarr the Barbarian (1980 – 1982) episode that functions -- in an under-the-radar fashion -- as a kind of social critique.  Specifically, the episode looks at the Deep South, and the corruption it imagines there.Wow,how original.

“Trial By Terror” opens with beautiful, highly-detailed images of post-apocalyptic Atlanta, and then moves into such weird imagery as uniformed pig-people driving pre-holocaust police cruisers.  Now, this is where the commentary comes in, at least in a visual sense. These police officers are, literally, pigs.  Modern slang often associates police officers with swine in terms such as “pig” but also “bacon” and “Trial by Terror” actually literalizes the concept.



The pig metaphor works here, in large part, anyway, because the episode strongly creates the impression of corrupt law enforcement officials “feeding from the trough.” Even the human sheriff is fat, and resembles a pig.  Think Boss Hogg on The Dukes of Hazzard. It’s much the same idea here, only with actual pig-mutants serving as police.Think Dandy Don Farmer Maggeggor being an asshole,as usual.

Also, there’s a commentary in “Trial By Terror”-more like ''Trial by Turd'' on entitled aristocracy. Artemis is an effete, over-dressed wizard who lives in a plantation, far away from the ebb and flow of village life.  He wants to control the village, however, and so “buys” the sheriff and the police force, essentially, to make his wishes come true.  But, of course, he doesn’t stand a chance against Thundarr and his fellow tea partiers.



“Trial by Terror” features some of the weirdest visuals yet featured on Thundarr the Barbarian. One shot shows pig-man police officers attacking Thundarr while flying through the air on rocket packs.This looks like,an episode of Captain Planet.


That’s not something you see every day…unless you make it a habit to watch Thundarr: The Barbarian.Help me Obi Wan Kenobi.

Next week, our Thundarr retrospective concludes with the final episode” Prophecy of Evil.”


Posted by John Kenneth Muir at 7:30 AM
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Labels: Saturday Morning Cult-TV Blogging, Saturday morning TV, Thundarr the Barbarian
2 comments:

Anonymous9:20 AM
Another very enjoyable "Thundarr" post, despite the fact that, as a kid, this was one of my least favorite episodes. (I didn't like the "Dukes of Hazard" TV show either, and the similarities between them weren't lost on me, even as a child.) -thats your an idiot.

The one idea that I really did like in this episode was the 'Council of Wizards' that Artemis aspired to join.

I really hope that your very enjoyable "Thundarr" retrospective won't conclude before profiling my personal favorite episode of the series: "Fortress of Fear."

Thanks again!


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SGB1:52 PM
THUNDARR in Atlanta, memorable episode. John fun analysis.

SGB