Thundercats The New Series

I grew up watching the classic Thundercats. They were amazing. I had the action figures and everything. I remember my friends and I would play games outside where we were the Thundercats. I was always Lion-o and my best friend's sister was always Cheetara. We would run and chase after Mumm-rah and, on one occasion, I remember climbing on top of the house to pretend we were at the top of the Thundercats' Lair.

I missed watching the old series. I found copies of the old series many years ago when you could not get them on VHS or DVD. A couple of years ago, they finally released the entire series on DVD. Now you can own them. I remember seeing videos on YouTube claiming they were going to release a live action movie. I am still hoping for that one. It turned out to be a hoax.

Then the comics came out. There were not that many of them. I'm not sure why. I thought they sold pretty well. But the series only lasted a year or two as far as I know. Then finally the Cartoon Network decided to release a new version of the Thundercats. This one came out this year (2011).

Below I am going to talk about each episode as I watch them. I would love to know your comments about the show and maybe what your favorite character and episodes might be. Please take a moment to leave those comments below.

Lion-o is not the whiny kid we got to know in the original series decades ago. He may still be young, and act like a teenager, out to chase after girls and searching for technology outside of his kingdom, but he is strong, and already has a wisdom that will make him a great king.

He can hold himself in a fight and is always thinking when he is spoken to by the people of his kingdom, even the people outside his kingdom. He wants to help everyone who is in need. He wants to help others, not just his own kind.

The Sword of Omens is something that holds great power. It makes an already powerful king, even more powerful. It makes a young prince look inside himself for that power that will make him great.

Tigra is Lion-o's Brother, who both bests him in most arenas. Lion-o is destined for the throne. Together they make a great team. Against each other Lion-o always seems to have a slight disadvantage.

Cheetara is a mysterious ally. She is quick and always seems to be there when Lion-o needs her. I am sure he has some sort of crush on her that we will get to see later on in the series.

The beginning of this series starts with an epic war, one that seems like that of "The Lord of the Rings" and "Troy" We watch as the Cats are attacked by the lizards in a way that reminds us of some of our own human history, and it ends with horrible tragedy; a tragedy that lights a fire in the soul of a cat, a cat that will rebuild the kingdom of Thundera.

I love the Music Kit Plays in the opening of this episode. Kit and Kat are looking to join Lion-o and his crew. They think they are the only cats alive in Thundera. Lion-o has hardened his heart. He does not want the kittens to follow them. He wants to avenge the death of his father.

On their Journey they come across a sand sea, on top of which is a very steampunkesque looking ship full of walking fish. The captain of this fish is after a giant squid with the vigor of Captain Ahab of "Moby Dick". It might sound cliche, but the imagery and story thus far is more intriguing than trite.

Lion-o Learns that he has the same Revengeful heart that the captain of this ship has and is well on he way to his own destruction because of it. He sees what happens when he runs into danger blindly because he can only see the evil monster that has done him wrong.

My Favorite Quote From This Episode: "Give Him Back You Slimy Sack of Tentacles!"

There is a life lesson in this episode; something to remind us that we are only there for a moment, then we are gone. We are a moment in the grand scheme of things, the timetable of the Universe. Is there a reason that we live, a purpose to our existence.

This episode introduces us to a race of beings that are basically plants. They only live for a day, then they die. They live their entire life in a moment of ours. They learn to be who they are and live for the moment, because they will not get another.

Emerick is a being that will live with Lion-o as a lesson, a reminder to live for today. Make you life count, because you only have a limited number of days before you are gone. Make the journey worth something, even if you don't get to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

At the end of Episode 4 We were surprised by the appearance of an old friend. Panthro shows up in his Thundertank. He lays waste so some lizards and we get to see where he has been for the first four episodes.

I like the way they structured this plot in this one. There is a main goal, to get Thundrilium to power the Thundertank. There is a power struggle between Panthero and Lion-o. Panthero does not believe Lion-o has what it takes to wield the Sword of Omens. Lion-o intends on proving himself.

As they follow their quest to find the power giving mineral, Panthero remembers how he and Grune met and became the best of friends. He remembers the power greed Grune had and how that greed ultimately led him to releasing Mumm-rah .

We finally, after several episodes of traveling, get to find the book of Omens. This book is an extremely powerful artifact that in the wrong hands could mean the destruction of all civilization. That is why the Clerics gave their lives to hide it so no one would be able to find it.

Lion-o had to find belief in himself to be able to get the Sword of Omens to give him the site he needed to find the book. He learned a simple truism that sometime what we truly are looking for may be sitting right in front of us all the time, we just could not see it because we were looking too hard.

This episode starts to show some of the history of Thundera and the power struggle between good and evil and who Mumm-rah really is. It is just a glimpse, but it is enough to make me want to know more. There is a hint of a past human civilization that makes me want to keep watching. Then there is the first appearance of Mumm-rah the Everliving and a small taste of his true power.

The Book of Omens has borrowed the spirit of Lion-o and shows him how the Sword of Omens was created and how Mumm-rah was originally defeated. I thought this was an amazing episode. I thought the writers would have dragged the clues about the sword and Mumm-rah throughout several episodes. I was kind of hoping for that. I wanted to be given nuggets about the past rather than one large flashback.

I did enjoy watching the way the sword and gauntlet was made, and the power it gave Leo. I also enjoyed the way the episode ended. I don't want to give too much away, but we know how the different species on 3rd Earth came to pass. I look forward to the rest of the series. I feel this is the end of the first act of the season. We now know what Lion-o's mission in when it comes to Mumm-rah. Now all we have to do is watch it unfold.