"The Herculoids" (1967) TV series 1967-1969

Creator:

Alex Toth

Seasons:

1 | unknown

Release Date:

9 September 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Animation

Tagline:

Somewhere out in space live the Herculoids!

Plot:

In this widely syndicated cartoon, King Zandor and a group of bizarre creatures protect their futuristic kingdom from creatures from other galaxies.

Plot Keywords:

Futuristic | Rock Ape | Alien World | Outer Space | Blob Creatures

Cast

Mike Road	...	Zandor, Zok (1 episode, 1967-1969)
Virginia Gregg	...	Tarra (1 episode, 1967-1969)
Ted Eccles	...	Dorno (1 episode, 1967-1969)
Don Messick	...	Gloop, Gleep (1 episode)

Also Known As:

Zandor (USA) (working title)
Zartan (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

10 min (39 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Hanna-Barbera Productions

Quotes:

[Opening title narration]
Narrator: Somewhere out in space live The Herculoids! Zok, the laser-ray dragon! Igoo, the giant rock ape! Tundro, the tremendous! Gloop and Gleep, the formless, fearless wonders! With Zandor, their leader, and his wife, Tara, and son, Dorno, they team up to protect their planet from sinister invaders! All-strong! All-brave! All-heroes! They're The Herculoids!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Venture Bros.: Twenty Years to Midnight (#2.5)" (2006)

This show didn't insult a kid's intelligence.

Next to Jonny Quest, this was the first cartoon I could recall before or since that didn't continuously waste time telling me what the people/creatures were going to do. Don't these action-oriented cartoon makers of the present day realize that the bulk of the fun is in seeing the resolution happen not laying out the scenario? Oftentimes I was riveted surprised cheered over the victories the principles had over the bad guys. You weren't let in on this menagerie's thought processes other than their characteristic sounds which could have meant anything (Or Tundro's occasionally triumphant smile). When resurrected in the 80's they tried to make some herculoids puppy-dog cute (particularly my favorite the once aloof, brutal to the bad guys Zok which irritated me)and toned down on the violence and make Zandor's family more like us American Earthlings. But who cares it was still good versus bad and not spoiling the surprises of what these adorable creatures did.