"Voltron: Defender of the Universe" (1984) TV series

Director:

Franklin Cofod

Seasons:

1

Genre:

Animation | Family | Sci-Fi

Plot:

This series focuses on 5 lion robots and their pilots as they fight vs. the evil forces of king zarkon and prince lotor.

Plot Keywords:

Pilot | Planet | Robot | Good Versus Evil | Young Man

Cast

Jack Angel	...	King Zarkon / ... (52 episodes, 1984)
Michael Bell	...	Lance / ... (52 episodes, 1984)
Peter Cullen	...	Narrator / ... (52 episodes, 1984)
Neil Ross	...	Keith / ... (52 episodes, 1984)
B.J. Ward	...	Haggar / ... (52 episodes, 1984)
Lennie Weinrib	...	Hunk / ... (52 episodes, 1984)

Also Known As:

The New Adventures of Voltron (USA) (reissue title)

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:L (some epiosodes) | Iceland:LH (some epiosodes) | USA:TV-Y7

Company:

World Events Productions

Trivia:

Pidge, who was a member of the Lion Voltron Force, had a brother named Chip, who was part of the Vehicle Voltron Force. However, the two Japanese inspirations for the show, "Hyakujû ô Gô-Rion" (1981) and "Kikô Kantai dairugger XV" (1982) are not related, up to and including these characters.

Goofs:

Continuity: In order to activate the Lions, each team member had to insert a special key. In many instances when Keith is starting the Voltron forming sequence, his key can still be seen on his tunic, but then is also seen on the panel of his lion, and then moves in the same way - left to right - as it already did when first being used to activate the Black Lion.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: From days of long ago, from uncharted regions of the universe, comes a legend; the legend of Voltron, Defender of the Universe, a mighty robot, loved by good, feared by evil. As Voltron's legend grew, peace settled across the galaxy. On Planet Earth...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Lost: Fire + Water (#2.12)" (2006)

"Form Blazing Sword!!" A Good But Very Repetitive Cartoon/Anime.

The problem with Voltron is that it's way too predictable. Almost every episode follows the same pattern.

1. Zarkon comes up with a plot to attack planet Arus and/or defeat Voltron.

2. The evil witch Hagar designs a new Ro-Beast guaranteed to defeat Voltron. (yeah right)

3. Zarkon executes his plan.

4. After some turmoil, the Voltron team discovers Zarkon's plot.

5. Hagar's Ro-Beast is unleashed on planet Arus.

6. The Voltron team enter their Lion robots.

7. The Ro-Beast clobbers the Lion robots. (complete with Lion pilots Allura & Pidge's annoying screams.)

8. The Lion robots merge to form Voltron. (complete with REPETITIVE dialogue from Voltron team leader Keith.)

9. The Ro-Beast clobbers Voltron.

10. Voltron team leader Keith FINALLY remembers to "Form Blazing Sword!!". (duh!!)

11. Voltron slices the Ro-Beast in half and destroys it. (Why does it take so long?)

This pattern gets old pretty quick and even as a kid back in 1984, I thought it was repetitive. I used to change the channel as soon as Voltron formed the blazing sword. Despite the repetitiveness, Voltron is still more sophisticated than most American cartoons. However "Robotech's" plots and characters were far more sophisticated and made Voltron that much harder to watch. Anyway it's still a good cartoon and worth checking out. If you like Voltron, you'll also probably like the cartoon/anime "Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs". It has a Voltron-like robot (named Ram-Rod) and team members with a wild west theme.