Before Netflix and Amazon Prime, there was cable television, and many of us who grew up watching it will argue that the 1980s and 1990s were the best years for cartoons. Animated films were gaining popularity; bright colours and superhero themes piqued the interest of both filmmakers and children, and action cartoons abound. One of these action cartoons, The Herculoids, was a little bit on the wacky side, if I may say so.
The Herculoids was a Sunday-morning animated cartoon tv series conceived and made by acclaimed artist Alex Toth that first aired in 1967. The series was revived in 1981 when fresh segments were developed and released, and it has since been rerun on television numerous times. This show is remembered warmly by fans for its unique characters, instructional moments, and sci-fi action. Continue to watch to learn more about this classic cartoon series!
What was it all about?
Two former animation directors for MGM’s Tom & Jerry theatrical cartoons, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, revolutionized animation on television. Hanna-Barbera was able to produce dozens of hours of television cartoons by focusing on character models and backdrops and limiting actual movement. They began with children’s shows such as The Huckleberry Hound Show and Yogi Bear, then moved on to primetime sitcoms such as The Flintstones and The Jetsons. They’d eventually develop action programs, starting with Jonny Quest in 1964. H-B provided audiences with probably the strangest of these series towards the end of the 1960s: The Herculoids.
The Herculoids was a straightforward children’s animated cartoon, so there were no deep and dark underlying themes or tough to understand concepts. The essential nature of the episodes was quite simple, it showed the juxtaposition of good versus evil and how a group of heroes solved problems together via teamwork. Episodes were roughly around twenty minutes long and each episode was divided into two independent adventures, with the twenty minutes evenly divided. Staying true to the action genre, there was lots of fighting and action as The Herculoids defeated the bad guys and threats against their home planet. The premise was decidedly simple but the brilliant execution of the premise is what made this show a fan favorite.
The main attraction of this show was the vivid, bright, and iconic character design, and about the eight heroes that made up The Herculoids. The Herculoids had eight members out of which three members were human and the other five were creatures of various types. The three humans are Zander, Tara, and their son, Dorno who are a space barbarian family. The other five team members are their gigantic pets – Laser dragon Zok, space rhinoceros Tundro, rock ape Igoo and the shape-shifting Gloop and his son Gleep.
The weird monsters but oddly charming communicate with Zandor through grunts and moans, and they frequently have to save his family from inevitable demise. The premise was extremely vague and all that audiences were told was that the eight of them were brave and mighty and were the Herculoids. Their primary jobs were to fight interplanetary invaders and keep their planet, Amzot (which was later renamed Quasar in the 1980’s revival series) safe.
Their planet is shown to be quite primitive, and we rarely see people living on the planet apart from certain occasions where the hero squad shows up to save some villagers. Because of the hero vs villain premise of the show, The Herculoids went up against a variety of foes. It is important to note that this action series did not have a primary or recurring villain like many other shows of that time and instead had a new villain or threat in every episode.
Sometimes one of the heroes is captured or abducted, and the others have to go save him, such as in the case of the pilot episode where in the first segment Dorno is captured by a group of evil, greedy, inter-planetary pirates and the rest go to save him.
The science-fiction theme running through all the adventure is quite evident as we see the heroes go up against robots and aliens in the second episode of the original series along with fighting literally trained machines who help break out a terrible inmate from an intergalactic prison in episode seven. The villains that they encounter are alien creatures of various kinds and the creativity of the creators is definitely visible here. These cool character designs of the heroes as well as the villains made the show gain cult status.
After its first run, The Herculoids appeared in a number of Hanna-Barbera anthology wheel programs, including Hanna–World Barbera’s of Super Adventure, Space Stars, Cartoon Network’s Power Zone, and both the Cartoon Network and Boomerang versions of Super Adventures.
In the episode “The Molten Monsters of Moltar,” the Herculoids make a crossover appearance. Space Ghost meets a number of Hanna-Barbera heroes just as they were launching in their own series in the “Council of Doom” story arc while battling the combined power of all of his opponents. Shazzan, Moby Dick, and the Mighty Mightor were also present, with the latter two sharing a series.
The Herculoids are also mentioned or shown in several episodes of Space Ghost Coast to Coast. Space Ghost references the Herculoids’ planet in “Lawsuit.” Other artists working in various mediums have been impacted creatively by the series.
This odd bunch of heroes has also gotten acknowledgment from more traditional superheroes such as the X-Men and the heroes of Marvel and DC Universes respectively. For example, Professor X is searching for Magik on a planet in the Shi’ar galaxy when the Herculoids appear in issue #50 of the comic book New Mutants. Throughout the years, the Herculoids have appeared in numerous comic books.
They appear in issues #1 to 2 and 4 through 7 of the Gold Key Comics series Hanna-Barbera Super TV Heroes. They first appeared in issue #3 of Marvel Comics’ TV Stars series. Between the years 1997 and 1999, they also appear in issues #5, 9, 13, and 17 of the DC Comics series Cartoon Network Presents. In the DC Comics series Future Quest, the Herculoids played a significant role in 2016. This series features characters from assorted Hanna-Barbera cartoon series such as Jonny Quest, Space Ghost, Birdman and the Galaxy Trio, Frankenstein Jr., and The Impossibles.
Thus, showing how popular this show and the characters were.
Exploring the characters
The characters are the heart and soul of this show. They are the sole reason behind the cult status achieved by the show. The three human members are a family consisting of the father, Zandor who is the Protector of Amzot and also the leader of The Herculoids, mother, Tara who is Zandor’s wife and a hero in her own right and lastly, their Son, Dorno who is infamous for getting abducted by all these various different invading creatures.
The five innovative creature characters of The Herculoids are special in terms of character conception and character design. Mike Road provides the first creature’s voice, Zok. Zok is a laser dragon with bat wings. As far as his powers and abilities are concerned, from his eyes and tail, he can fire laser beams. In addition, his eyes emit a “nega-beam” that may counteract some energy strikes. Zok is self-sufficient in space, capable of interstellar travel, and has the ability to breathe fire. One hell of a dragon if you ask me!
Igoo, a rock ape, comes in second, also voiced by Mike Road. He is a massive and powerful simian with very solid, rock-like skin that makes him practically impenetrable to injury. Igoo wades into a pond of hot lava in one episode and comes out absolutely unscathed. Igoo has a kind and loving nature, except when his loved ones or home are in danger, that is when he goes berserk. It is also quite visible that he has a special liking for and dedication to Tara.
Then there’s Tundro, who’s once again voiced by Mike Road. Tundro is a four-horned rhinoceros/Triceratops hybrid with ten legs. From his cannon horn, he can fire explosive energy pebbles. His natural armour plating, like Igoo’s rock skin, is extremely powerful. His legs have the power to stretch out to incredible lengths, almost like stilts. He can also rotate his head at breakneck speeds, allowing him to bore through solid rock, and do spectacular leaps.
Lastly, we have Gloop and Gleep, voiced by Don Messick. Gloop and Gleep are two protoplasmic monsters. They can absorb and deflect energy blasts and laser beams, and they frequently function as shields between attackers and other Herculoids. They can also shape-shift, which they’ve used in a variety of ways, such as transforming into cushions, trampolines, or parachutes to break falls; stretching themselves between tree limbs or boulders to act as slingshots, and binding an attacker’s limbs to constrain them, or encircling their entire body to squeeze them and effectively make them lose consciousness. They can also split their body mass into distinct pieces under their full control till they rapidly recombine if necessary. The larger of the two is Gloop, while the smaller is Gleep.
These characters have made multiple cameos in various famous shows because of their distinct and iconic appearance. Gloop and Gleep are probably the most obscure of all the creatures but have arguably made the biggest impact on other creators. In fact, the character of Blobert from the A Boy and His Blob franchise was explicitly inspired by Gloop and Gleep, according to award-winning video game designer David Crane.
In the Sealab 2021 episode titled “Hail, Squishface,” Gloop is also prominently featured and mentioned by name. Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law has Gloop as a guest star on several occasions. Gloop and Gleep further have made a brief appearance in the Dexter’s Laboratory episode “Mis-Placed in Space” as captive prisoners of a hostile alien culture.
The other creatures of The Herculoids aren’t far behind when it comes to cameos. Tundro and Gloop appear in the Family Guy episode “8 Simple Rules for Buying My Teenage Daughter.” Gloop is unable to secure a babysitter gig from Lois in this scene. Tundro shows up in protest and throws his energy rocks at Lois. In Space Jam: A New Legacy, Igoo, Gloop, and Gleep make guest appearances.
In the HBO Max series Jellystone! In the episode, “Jelly Wrestle Rumble,” Igoo, Tundro, Gloop, and Gleep were wrestlers. In the season 2 episode “Bleep,” Zandor and Gloop made an appearance. Gloop is depicted as a female in a television episode, where she gets hugged by Zandor. All of this goes on to show how much these characters were loved and embraced by creators and fans alike.
Best Episodes Explored
While the entire series is widely loved, here is a specific breakdown and review of the top 5 episodes of The Herculoids according to IMDB.
The top-rated episode is episode number 3 which featured two stories – The beaked People and The Raiders. In the segment titled ‘The Beaked People’, Krokar, the Beaked People’s ruler, leads an invasion of the Winged Monkeys with the help of his bird-like ‘beaked people,’ letting one flee intentionally so that he might capture Zandor and govern Amzot, taking advantage of the ensuing chaos.
It’s also worth noting that this is the only episode in the 1967 original series where Dorno refers to Zandor and Tara as Dad and Mom; even in this episode, Dorno reverts to referring to Zandor by his given name. Dorno only refers to Zandor and Tara as Father and Mother in the 1981 revival series.
It is a classic Herculoids’ quest to defeat the bad guy. In the second segment, ‘The Raiders’, one of the most common Herculoid tropes is utilized, the abduction of one of the heroes. As the episode begins, we see Sta-Lak, a space raider, as he flies above Amzot and turns his ship invisible to avoid identification after observing Zandor and Zok on the ground below. His evil intentions were kidnapping Tara and looting Amzot and the Herculoids had to defend both Tara and Amzot.
The second-best rated episode is episode 18 from the original series which featured the two stories – The Island of the Gravites and Malak and the Metal Apes. In the first segment, ‘The Island of the Gravites’, Zandor and Dorno come across a man floating in the river who claims to be from Gravite Island and informs them that the island has been taken over by a villain. When the Herculoids go to investigate, they are ambushed by massive gravite creatures. Lotak, who wants the settlement for its vast quantities of gravity, has been creating these monstrous creatures.
Lotak is annihilated when his energy ray backfires, and Zok destroys the mechanism Lotak uses to create his monsters. In the second segment, ‘Malak and the Metal Apes’, Malak, the main villain dispatches his Metal Apes to wage war against the Sea People. One of the creatures shoots Dorno.
The Metal Apes are however finally defeated by Zandor and the Herculoids. The Herculoids pursue a damaged Metal Ape as it returns to Malak’s headquarters in an effort to track down the mastermind behind all this destruction. The remaining Metal Apes are then destroyed by the Herculoids, and Zok sends a steel beam crashing down on Malak and his aide, ending his evil shenanigans.
Third on the list is episode number 17, again from the original run of the series. It features the segments – Attack from Space and The Return of Torrak. In ‘Attack from Space’, Luvanuum, the planet, begins bombarding Amzot. Zaygot, the main villain in this segment tries to ravage Amzot along with his goons however, never fear when the Herculoids are there! In a ship captured from Sarco, the Herculoids travel to Luvanuum.
Their ship is destroyed upon landing, and they are attacked by winged sentinels wielding fatal laser beams. The Herculoids however succeeded in dismantling Zaygot’s base and then using Zaygot’s ship; they returned to Amzot victorious. In the Return of Torrak segment, one of the only recurring villains, Torrak reappears and dispatches a massive fly to catch Tara. The Herculoids pursue and discover that Torrak’s warrior germs that they had faced previously have grown in size and strength, but they still manage to beat them in true Herculoid fashion.
The fourth fan pick is episode number 2 from the original series. The featured segments in this one are The Pod Creatures and Mekkor. In The Pod Creatures, we see an alien spacecraft hovering over Amzot, dropping mechanical pods onto the planet. Dorno, Igoo, and Gleep were on their way to buy firewood when they came upon the robotic pod creatures by chance. The pods open up and assault the trio – a new threat descends on Amzot that the Herculoids have to fight. In the second segment, Mekkor features the story of another science-fiction-based villain. In this segment, The Herculoids are attacked by a group of formidable robots led by a much larger robot.
Last but not least, rounding up the top 5 best-rated The Herculoids episode is none other than the pilot episode itself. The pilot episode features the segments – The Pirates and Sarko the Arkman. In The pirates, the first segment, the story is quite simple and introduces us to the basic recipe of all episodes in this series – heroes versus villains. A gang of pirates buries a treasure box on Amzot after killing two beasts with it.
Dorno is then kidnapped and held captive by them and it is up to the Herculoids to rescue their youngest member. In the second segment, Sarko the Arkman follows an evil villain called Sarko, as he tries his luck with kidnapping or harming the members of The Herculoids. He kidnapped Igoo for unknown reasons, used sleeping gas on Zandor, and also kidnapped Dorno and Tundro. In the end, he was defeated.
These are simply the top 5, there are many more episodes in this series, all of which are widely loved by fans.
What made the show so special?
The show holds a special place in the hearts of millions of viewers who grew up with it and here is why. The characters are at the center of it all once again. The creatures specifically are widely adored because of their unconditional loyalty to the humans and how they were all portrayed as having distinct personalities which was no mean fear because none of them are ever given dialogues, communicating simply through grunts and other animalistic noises.
The show is clearly made for kids and young viewers. How many demographics were they attempting to reach with this wacky space-age prehistoric animated show? Not many but for an adult re-watching the series, there is a lot of nostalgia that helps one sit through the series. Once you get acclimatized to the not up to today’s standard quality of the visuals, it is still extremely enjoyable.
Without a doubt, The Herculoids is a lot of inane fun, but it’s also a remnant from a time when animation’s ambitions were perhaps bigger than the implementation allowed for. This series features some awesome characters, and each ten-minute adventure stands on its own—it is all action with no depth or emotion, so how could it not? There is no hidden meaning or a deep message. It is simply what it is, a fun show for kids and there is a strange kind of beauty in that simplicity.
Despite a far-flung planetary setting that feels locked in the past, The Herculoids is a strange and frequently odd blend of dinosaur-like creatures, exotic aliens, and futuristic technology. It’s a jumble of various influences, tailor-made for generally mindless and straightforward action storylines. But it’s certainly entertaining for young boys who enjoy action and battles with cleverly conceived creatures.
The Herculoids may be the best example of pulp science fiction animation. Every episode introduced a slew of new alien foes with little or no context. It did, however, have very little of the “master of the obvious” dialogue that afflicted all of Hanna Barbera’s subsequent cartoons. The painting has a comic book feel to it. You won’t discover the dreadful rainbow palette that many of today’s cartoons use. Given the iconic characters, stories, and so on, the standard of each episode is consistently good. In fact, it’s the basic pulpiness that hooks viewers and draws them in. As a child, the creative landscapes and creatures captivated many, and they haven’t let go as fans still gush about this series.
The action is well-choreographed, and there are more explosions than in a Michael Bay film or a Super Sentai program. You have some great villains; the villains are mostly your typical bad guys, which is fine because it means they have a new challenge every week. It was mostly made up of robots or wicked aliens who used technology to plunder the planet and destroy all of the species that lived there. Part of what made the show’s confrontations so compelling was that they were based on the traditional theme of nature vs. technology.
Many fans have even asked for a modern revival of this series because they believe that the strong central themes of family, good vs evil and the uniqueness of the characters would be a smash hit. Many parents have enthusiastically introduced their children to this cartoon, showing how much this series is adored.
On July 27, 2021, the entire series was released on Blu-Ray. The Blu-Ray release includes the opening narration and the 2nd season alternate titles that were not released on the earlier Complete Series DVD. Thus, if you are someone who wants to watch the complete series – whether you are just getting introduced to The Herculoids or are a returning fan and want to make a nostalgic purchase, the whole collection is on sale! The nostalgia with this one is very real. Granted the animation and graphics are nothing compared to what we have today but there’s just something about these old animated cartoons. Did you watch The Herculoids? Let us know in the comments section below!