THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN: EPISODE 9 – VALLEY OF THE MAN APES (1980)
In this episode, Thundarr, Ariel, and Ookla are traveling through a desert and come across a group of man-apes digging up a giant gorilla arm. It’s a relic from an old movie studio and their plan is to bring the giant mechanical ape “The Mighty One” back to life. Then they can take over every village in the area, namely one full of tiny people. Can Thundarr, Ariel, and Ookla thwart the man-apes diabolical plan, or will the mechanical menace to life, or will “The Mighty One” destroy them?
I am guessing that Filmways was afraid of getting sued by whoever owned the rights to KING KONG at the time, but this gorilla they are building had to be referring to the giant mechanical KING KONG used in 1976’s version.
The storyline for this one is freakin rad. I love the idea of bringing a mechanical KING KONG into this series and having him wreak havoc, but it’s pretty clear the man-apes didn’t expect to have to deal with Thundarr, Ariel and Ookla. “The Mighty One” is formidable and there are some really cool sequences with him in this. This is another episode where Thundarr treats Ariel and Ookla with respect, but he isn’t afraid to just pick Ariel and climb over a wall to safety without asking first. So there’s that.
Art wise this is a pretty solid episode. I do think they could have put some better detail into some of the panels with the plane but overall the look of the man-apes makes sense and the little villagers almost look hobbit-ish which I thought was a cool touch.
Fact – Apparently there are real random dragons just hanging out near old movie studios in this universe. This part of the plot seemed completely out of left field. The villagers are worried about the man-apes and being at war with them but neither group is concerned about a dragon?
Bonus Fact – Ariel doesn’t need gas to run any vehicle. She has the power to just make anything fly or drive or whatever. She doesn’t seem to use this power much.
Best Line – None. I think the storyline carried itself, but there aren’t any great one-liners in this.
For me, this thing gets a 6 out of 7. This is another one of my favorite episodes and it really does a good job of stretching what the creators were willing to do with the series.
GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF FILMWAYS TELEVISION AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.
A look around the series...
THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN: EPISODE 1 – SECRET OF THE BLACK PEARL
THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN: EPISODE 2 – HARVEST OF DOOM
THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN: EPISODE 3 – MINDOCK THE MIND MENACE
THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN: EPISODE 4 – RAIDERS OF THE ABYSS
THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN : EPISODE 5 – TREASURE OF THE MOKS
THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN : EPISODE 6 - ATTACK OF THE AMAZON WOMEN
THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN : EPISODE 7 - THE BROTHERHOOD OF NIGHT
THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN : EPISODE 8 – CHALLENGE OF THE WIZARDS
THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN : EPISODE 10 - STALKER FROM THE STARS
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