In 1981, Hanna-Barbara jumped on the post-Star Wars boom by reviving and repackaging their 60s outer space heroes Space Ghost and The Herculoids (mixing both classic episodes and newly-made installments) with two other space-themed cartoons - The Teen Force and Astro (from The Jetsons) & The Space Mutts - for an hour-long programming block called Space Stars.
I really don't remember much about this series - I was getting to the age where I preferred to sleep in on Saturdays, and aside from Thundarr & Blackstar, I wasn't watching many new cartoons then - but I do remember being disappointed that the new Space Ghost shorts featured a re-designed Phantom Cruiser, eschewing the sleek, classic Alex Toth look in favor of something that more closely resembled a Star Wars or Galactica type spaceship.
So pretend it's Saturday morning, September 26, 1981, and enjoy this brief taste of Hanna-Barbara's Space Stars!
I want "sixty laser-blasting minutes of action, adventure, fun!!!"
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this. Love the cheesy run cycle Space Ghost has in the preview.
I didn't know about the re-designed Phantom Cruiser. That clip didn't have a great shot of it, so I did a quick Google for it to see how disappointing it was. Didn't find it immediately, but did find this super-cool papercraft version someone made! http://scifiprimepaper.webs.com/scifivehicles.htm
Loved the Herculoids... watched it religiously for years! Great memories.
ReplyDeleteThat really looks like it was awful. Space Ghost and Herculoids look much worse than the original versions did. Of course, I think by that time Hanna Barbera was more interested in being economical than...well...good.
ReplyDeleteWatching that clip, I was sure that Gary Owens had done the voice of that version of Space Ace, but apparently it was Michael Bell. It sucks to be an aging Star Kid with a fading memory!
I vaguely remember this show. Funny how "Space Ace" looks like Biggs Darklighter from Star Wars. Ha.
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