"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)

a superhero menagerie

Herculoids,created by Alex Toth was unique among the numerous superhero cartoons of the 60's being done by Hanna/Barberra & others.Focusing on 5 different creatures who lived on the planet Quasar along with the human-looking Zandor,his wife Tarra, & their son Dorno,they would battle alien invaders every week.Or some menace already existing upon their world.We really never knew why Quasar was so important to all of the alien invaders who seemed to have no connection to one another.There didn't seem to be any other lifeforms like Zandor & his family,or the Hercs themselves.Were they all indigenous to the planet?But it was still funto see the weekly action with this group.Zok the flying dragon that had ray beams emanating from both eyes & tail,Igoo the huge,powerful rock-like ape,Tundro a hybrid-looking triceratops/rhino,& Gloop & Gleep,the blobs.The other animated series were about traditional looking superheroes,replete with costumes & secret identities.Here we had a family like Tarzan,Jane & boy.Instead of African wildlife,we had alien animals with various powers.The art was wonderful,as was the voice talent.In this age of revivals,Herculoids would be wonderful to see again.This time around though let's hope the mysteries of the series could be addressed.