godzilla - The original animated series - COMPLETE (cartoonchaos org exclusive)

Tv rips taken from tnt godzilla week - I have scanned google like hell , that's why upped it as everyone is asking why never volume 2 or 3 i upped those before , now i bring you all of season 2 as well



Enjoy cuds cartoonchaos.org :)



HANNA-BARBERA'S ANIMATED GODZILLA TV SERIES



Perhaps one of the most interesting incarnations of Godzilla ever seen was depicted via the animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera, which first aired on NBC on September 9, 1978.

Lasting for three seasons (although only the first two seasons featured new episodes), for a total of 26 episodes, the Godzilla animated series went through a format change each season, and the quality of the production is still a matter of debate among G-fans. The source material for this section comes from a combination of my personal observations and the wonderful article in G-FAN #24 by Danny DeAngelo, to whom I am indebted.



Godzilla’s character was changed in many ways for this animated outing, and it reflected the heroic version of the Kaiju King then being seen through the G-films of the 70’s, which were just finished being released in America at this time. In fact, Godzilla’s appearance in the series catered to every popular misconception about the Kaiju King that has ever existed in the Western world. Godzilla appeared to be his regular 1970’s height of 50 meters, although he was described in the opening theme song as being “30 stories high,” which would have made him considerably larger (remember, due to a translation error in the American version of the first G-film, most Americans incorrectly believed that Godzilla was 400 feet tall during this time; he was actually about 160 feet).

Godzilla was colored green (he was actually a charcoal gray in color in the films prior to this series) and he breathed real fire rather than the bluish-white bursts of concentrated atomic radiation seen in the movies. In fact, although an origin for Godzilla was never given in the series, this version of the Kaiju King seemed to have no connection to radiation at all. He also had the new power to project laser beams from his eyes, which, unlike his flame breath, he could utilize underwater.

Also, Godzilla was basically a gigantic super-hero in this series, just as he was portrayed in the G-films of the 1970's.



Disappointingly, Godzilla’s famous Toho roar was replaced by a rather generic sounding growling noise, courtesy of the late actor Ted Cassidy, whose unforgettable voice was best known in his portrayal of Lurch on The Addams Family TV series in the 1960’s. Godzilla retained his trademark dorsal plates, however, and his general phenotype was similar to the movie version. Also, to Hanna-Barbera's credit, Godzilla's appearance in this series looked fairly menacing, and not "cute."



Godzilla was given a regular non-Japanese human cast, something he never had in the original movie series, and he served as the defender of this small group of intrepid adventurers. The aforementioned human cast consisted of the crew of a small ship dedicated to scientific exploration called the Calico, which was headed by Captain Carl Majors. The ship was equipped with hi-tech scientific equipment such as a mini-sub, a helicopter, and various electronic surveillance devices. The ship also boasted hydrofoil struts, enabling it to cruise about the ocean at high speeds when necessary.

The rest of the crew included female scientist Dr. Quinn Darian, her African-American assistant Brock, her young nephew Pete Darian and an infant member of Godzilla’s ‘species’ named Godzooky, who many non-G-fans continue to erroneously believe was intended to be the same character as Minya, Godzilla’s surrogate son from the Showa film series. Like Minya, Godzooky was perceived as being cute by female viewers and annoying by male viewers. Godzooky was much smaller than Minya (about 10 feet tall, for easier interaction with the crew of the Calico), and he also could only blow rings of smoke from his mouth (unlike the luminous energy rings that Minya would emit in his mostly unsuccessful attempts to project searing atomic radiation from his maw). Unlike either Godzilla or Minya, however, Godzooky had membranous wings under each arm that enabled him to fly.

Godzooky’s exact relationship to Godzilla was never elaborated upon in the series, but according to the Hanna-Barbera series bible, the little kaiju was “an infant relative of Godzilla’s.” Other sources have described Godzooky as Godzilla’s “nephew.” The little guy had a very brave heart, often attempting to assist Godzilla in the latter’s battles, but inevitably he only succeeded in getting in the way, and despite the obvious comic relief tendencies of the character, I always had nothing but respect for the Little G.



How Godzilla and the Calico crew first joined forces was never revealed in the series itself, although it was stated in the series bible. The crew of the Calico discovered Godzooky trapped between two huge slabs of coral, and helped free him. Adopting the friendly young creature into their lives, the Calico crew’s kindness was noted by Godzilla, who then became the ship’s protector.



Godzilla could be summoned by the crew of the Calico through one of two methods: a small device that was carried around by Capt. Majors that emitted a long-range sonic frequency that Godzilla could easily hear, and which was activated by the simple pushing of a button on the device, or by Godzooky himself, via the little monster's cry. Illogically, Godzilla always seemed to appear immediately whenever the distress signal was activated, no matter where in the world the Calico happened to be at the time!



Naturally, the series has been criticized for its simplistic plots and dialogue, and it was admittedly created for a young audience. Nevertheless, the series can still be considered enjoyable, since despite the ever-present comic relief offered by Godzooky and the relative simplicity of the stories, those stories were nevertheless serious in tone, and they usually revolved around Godzilla and the Calico crew facing a new and deadly giant monster (no Toho monsters other than Godzilla himself appeared in the series). Although no bloodshed could be shown obviously, the battles were often quite physical, and rather fast-paced due to the fact that the stories encompassed only 24 minutes of air time. Several of the monsters were actually destroyed, one of the very few times that death was ever even implied on Saturday morning shows, except for the original Johnny Quest series (which complimented the Godzilla cartoon quite well when featured alongside it in the second season).

In defense of the series, J.D. Lees has said “at least Godzilla was a serious fighter, and never played the clown.” I concur with J.D. wholeheartedly on that one.



The opening theme song was a classic (despite mentioning every misconception concerning the Big G imaginable) and it went as follows: “Up from the depths...30 stories high...green...breathing fire...his head in the sky...Godzilla! Godzilla!! Godzilla!!! And Godzoo-oo-ky!”

As Danny deAngelo pointed out, considering the standards of Saturday morning animated fare at the time (with few really memorable shows outside of Scooby Doo and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, the only long-term survivors of that decade), the Godzilla series could very well be considered a stand out.



When the series first premiered, it was called The Godzilla Power Hour, and the Big G shared those 60 minutes with episodes of Jana of the Jungle, a sort of female version of Tarzan. The series proved popular, and the second season expanded the show to 90 minutes, and it was thus renamed The Godzilla Super 90. In addition to featuring new episodes of both Godzilla and Jana of the Jungle, the added 30 minutes provided viewers with an excellent treat...the re-showing of Hanna-Barbera’s classic 1960’s run of Johnny Quest, one of the first animated series on TV ever to feature live action style violence and even death on the small screen.

Unfortunately, although the initial episodes in season two were good, the final few were below par, with the last three not even featuring giant monsters for Godzilla to battle.

By season three, Godzilla was paired with Hanna-Barbera’s bionic canine super-hero Dyno-Mutt into The Godzilla/Dyno-Mutt Hour, with no new episodes and a little less dignity (at least his previous two show consorts, Jana of the Jungle and Johnny Quest, were serious in tone).



For those who want to see Hanna-Barbera’s animated version of Godzilla, the series was finally been released to DVD by Sony in 2006. That was quite a long time to wait.



All the episodes of both seasons of the series are covered just below, many of which have comments afterwards, where I considered them to be warrented.



1) THE FIREBIRD

As a long dormant volcano in Alaska suddenly erupts, the crew of the Calico decides to investigate the phenomena. Suddenly, an enormous winged creature called the Firebird, since she literally thrives in super-heated lava and breathes fire, emerges from her resting place in the volcano (there is actually a legendary avian creature by that name in Russian mythology, though this fact is not alluded to in the show).

The Firebird flies across the frozen Arctic Sea to find a place to spawn, the heat from her body causing huge floods as her very proximity melts glaciers. Godzilla is called to the rescue by his human friends, and after a fierce battle, he defeats the Firebird by trapping her in an undersea cave.



Comments: This was one of the best episodes in the entire series, as the Firebird was an excellent initial foe for Godzilla, and this first episode was given much positive hype in the media at the time. This is also the only episode of the series to be released to video during the 1990's, as it wasn't until 2006 that the series was released to DVD.



2) THE EARTHEATER



San Francisco is threatened as a bizarre, quadrapedal multi-colored subterranean monster appears underneath the city. The creature is called the Eartheater, since it lives by devouring huge amounts of rock, soil, and steel, wreaking much havoc in the process by causing buildings and other man-made structures to collapse; the Eartheater also projects waves of sonic force from two antennae on top of its head to help it dig, but which can also be utilized as a formidable weapon in battle.

As the crew of the Calico travel into the underground tunnels created by the Eartheater to investigate, they’re trapped by the creature. Calling on Godzilla for assistance, the Big G rescues the Calico crew and drives the Eartheater above ground during the ensuing battle. As the earth-devouring monster climbs the Golden Gate Bridge to escape, Godzilla knocks the creature off of the structure with his laser beams. Landing in the water, the Eartheater discovers his fatal weakness as he dissolves into mud.



Comments: The Eartheater was another nifty adversary for the Kaiju King, and the San Francisco setting was an interesting locale for Godzilla.



3) ATTACK OF THE STONE CREATURES



After discovering the ancient hidden pyramid of Ra-Mal in Egypt, an archeologist named Jarvis is suddenly besieged by two giant, quadrapedal sphinx-like monsters made of stone, who attack the hapless scientist with waves of freezing winds from their mouths.

As the crew of the Calico docks in a small town near the Nile River, they come across the severely frostbitten Jarvis, whom they nurse back to health. Jarvis then describes his ordeal to the crew, explaining that the Stone Creatures are mystical guardians of the pyramid who will attack anyone or anything that dares approach it. Naturally, the Calico crew decides to investigate, and they fly their mini-copter to the area, only to be attacked by the Stone Creatures themselves.

They call upon Godzilla, who engages the rocky beasts in battle, at one point being frozen solid by the combined might of both the creatures' cold blasts. Godzilla finally defeats the Stone Creatures when the two rocky monsters charge him simultaneously, and the Kaiju King side-steps, resulting in a head-on collision that shatters the twin granite kaiju into rubble, thus ending their threat to the citizens of Egypt.



Comments: This episode was mediocre but interesting in that it featured Godzilla in Egypt, a locale I personally always wanted to see him in (the Godzilla of the later Tri-Star animated TV series faced a similar menace in Egypt).



4) THE MEGAVOLT MONSTER



As the Calico investigates a strange electromagnetic power source beneath the sea near the Bali Trench, an oil tanker is sunk by what appears to be a bolt of lightening that originates underwater.

As Dr. Darian, Brock, and Godzooky travel underwater in the bathysphere, they are attacked by the source of the lightening bolt, the Megavolt Monster, an aquatic kaiju that resembles a giant electric eel. The monster severs the bathysphere’s umbilical cord, and the craft ends up landing on an underwater desert that’s protected by an air bubble. There the trio discovers an entire colony of Megavolt Monsters who acquire their electrical power by feeding off an electrolyzed outcropping of stone, which appears to be the mysterious power source that the crew first investigated.

After battling the first Megavolt Monster to a standstill to save the Calico, Godzilla arrives at the underwater desert to save the bathysphere crew, and he penetrates the air bubble, causing the sea to rush in and destroy the rocky power source, thereby rendering the Megavolt Monster colony powerless.



5) THE SEAWEED MONSTER



While diving in the sea near the West Indies, Dr. Darian and Brock are startled when they are attacked by a bizarre mutant life form...a creature composed entirely of seaweed, which continues to grow increasingly larger as the plant beast merges with more and more seaweed. The two divers barely escape the plant creature’s two huge tendrils as they frantically swim back to the Calico.

There they call upon Godzilla to deal with the creature, and while the Seaweed Monster is no match for Godzilla, the Kaiju King can’t seem to severely injure the plant creature’s physical substance. As the Seaweed Monster menaces a nearby inhabited island, Dr. Darian notices that a severed piece of the creature completely dried up after excessive exposure to sunlight. Thus, she directs Godzilla to drag the Seaweed Monster onto land, where the searing tropical sunlight eventually causes the plant creature to wither and die.



Comments: The Seaweed Monster gets my vote as the lamest Godzilla foe in the animated series, but the early scenes of the creature menacing Dr. Darian and Brock underwater were quite suspenseful.



6) THE ENERGY BEAST



After a meteor falls to Earth, an investigating man finds nothing there but a mysteriously glowing tree. After he leaves, the ‘tree’ reverts to its true form, an alien beast that resembles a giant centipede.

Requiring large amounts of energy to survive, the Energy Beast attacks the Mesa City Dam, absorbing energy from its hydroelectric turbines, and growing much larger in the process. Since the Calico crew is (conveniently) in Mesa City at the time, they summon Godzilla, who drives off the alien Energy Beast, but the former appears to have been injured in the process.

A short time later, a mysteriously glowing Godzilla attacks an electrical power plant, and fails to respond to either the crew’s signal, or Godzooky's call. This leads the crew to suspect that Godzilla either went mad after his encounter with the Energy Beast and became such a creature himself, or that there is somehow more than one Godzilla (actually, any 6 year old with half a brain immediately figured out what was really going on). Godzooky puts out a call for the real Godzilla, who shows up and battles his double.