The plusses of TAS...

[Warped9]

It has become very much a matter of context. In its time TAS was a cut above what else was being offered for all the reasons already stated throughout this thread. The issue is animation has made significant strides and improved vastly since the era in which TAS was made.

TOS can still resonate with newer audiences as evidenced by its continued popularity. It's simply much more accessible because while it could be argued to be hampered by now dated f/x and not having some of the exotic extras animation allowed it wins out in all other measures.

Today TAS is unlikely to appeal to newer audiences beyond a very few with tastes beyond the conventional. It's somewhat akin to silent film managing to be appreciated by few newcomers weaned on contemporary productions.

 

[BoredShipCapt'n]

Today TAS is unlikely to appeal to newer audiences beyond a very few with tastes beyond the conventional. It's somewhat akin to silent film managing to be appreciated by few newcomers weaned on contemporary productions.

And I do like silent films, so maybe that explains a lot.

 

[Christopher]

I always compare it to Filmation's own The New Adventures of Batman, which *could* have been so much more than it was, what with having Adam West and Burt Ward back as the voices of the dynamic duo, but which got hampered by the usual 'kiddiefication' in the form of one dimensional plots and the focus on cute comedy side-kick Bat-Mite.

And the bizarrely sentient talking Bat-Computer. Otherwise, though, it tried to be a loose continuation of the Adam West series in a lot of ways, using things like the Batpoles and Batphone, as well as continuing on with Batgirl as a regular member of the team. They even promoted Barbara Gordon to assistant DA, although they never did anything with that beyond giving her an excuse to be in Commissioner Gordon's office a lot.

While it's true that some Filmation shows did add more kid-friendly elements like animal mascots, there were others that were remarkably faithful to the source. Filmation's Tarzan: Lord of the Jungle was, aside from the toned-down violence, the single most faithful screen adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs's Tarzan novels that there has ever been. And the same can be said for its Flash Gordon vis-a-vis Alex Raymond's original comics, at least where the first season is concerned. Their Zorro was pretty authentic too -- pretty much anything they adapted from a print medium, basically.

 

[BoredShipCapt'n]

While it's true that some Filmation shows did add more kid-friendly elements like animal mascots, there were others that were remarkably faithful to the source. Filmation's Tarzan: Lord of the Jungle was, aside from the toned-down violence, the single most faithful screen adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs's Tarzan novels that there has ever been. And the same can be said for its Flash Gordon vis-a-vis Alex Raymond's original comics, at least where the first season is concerned. Their Zorro was pretty authentic too -- pretty much anything they adapted from a print medium, basically.

I liked the Tarzan series a lot. Don't think I ever saw their Zorro, but the Lone Ranger series was good also.

 

[Redfern]

Could we count Lt M'Ress as the animal mascot with Human intelligence?

M'Ress: "What?! Do I look like the ship's pet or something?! Do I look like I'd prowl around hunting vermin like tribbles or rodent things from Demorus?!"

Readers" "When you release your claws and bare your fangs like that, uh, yeah."

M'Ress: "Oh...well, never mind."

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[BillJ]

Never as good as TOS, but TAS is entertaining.

 

[Christopher]

I liked the Tarzan series a lot.

It's one of my favorites. Infuriatingly, Disney has a lock on the animation rights to Tarzan because of their movie and its TV spinoff, and that's kept the Filmation series from getting a home-video release for some weird legal reason.

Don't think I ever saw their Zorro, but the Lone Ranger series was good also.

Zorro was shown as part of The Tarzan/Lone Ranger/Zorro Adventure Hour in about 1981, I think. It's unique in Filmation's canon in that it's their only show that ever subcontracted the animation overseas rather than doing it in-house at Filmation's studio. They had so many shows that year that they just couldn't make them all themselves. Fortunately, they subcontracted it to Tokyo Movie Shinsha, the best animation studio in Japan. (They did Akira, and later on would do great animation for shows like DuckTales, Batman: TAS, Superman: TAS, Batman Beyond, and the '90s Spider-Man -- well, their animation on that one started out fantastic but got worse as the budget was cut.) The storyboards and layout were still done by Filmation, so it had their trademark recycling of animation sequences, but the animation was more fluid and dynamic than the homegrown stuff, if somewhat rougher-edged. So they had these nicely done, rotoscoped swordfight sequences, but they were the same damn swordfights in every episode, with the same moves being acted out by different characters as needed.

Their Lone Ranger was pretty true to the prior incarnations of the character, but made Tonto more an equal partner rather than a sidekick, and avoided his use of broken English. They also made the show more educational, building its episodes around figures and events from American history, with the odd consequence that the Ranger and Tonto are involved in events spanning over 30 years without aging a day (and not in chronological order).

 

[FormerLurker]

They probably showed them out of order.

 

[Christopher]

^The DVDs probably have them in production order, and they show the historical events in no kind of chronological sequence.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

And yet for all of these plusses many of us find the show largely a bore. Sure, you can applaud the effort made on all sides, but for all the nice art and "adult" stories the pacing is glacial and the performances mostly lifeless. What Hanna-Barbera figured out early on when they effectively invented the limited animation process back for things like The Ruff and Ready Show and Huckleberry Hound was that if you can't make the animation good you get GREAT voice acting to carry the load. The TOS actors flopped at this, most likely because they weren't well-directed or directed at all. That was a big flaw and it really kills the show.

These are really good points.

 

[FormerLurker]

Oh, Christopher, Christopher, Christopher. I give you low hanging fruit to swing at, and you miss.

 

[Christopher]

Sorry, I don't get it.

 

[YJAGG]

Never as good as TOS, but TAS is entertaining.

I have to disagree take an hour long TOS story and make it fit in a 30 min slot ...now remove the (have to say it) laws of physics (and human anatomy) you have a great platform to work on, almost as good as pure imagination

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

For me, it's about how faithful to the Original Series it all was. In an era when many live-action-to-animation-adaptations were (shall we say) often very loose in how closely they chose to stick to the core material, whether it be with making things overtly more cartoony or adding comedic side-kicks or whatever, TAS deserves plaudits for basically taking the concept of TOS and just doing it in animation.

True; it has been said time and again how different TAS was as an animated spin-off / sequel to what was a celebrated sci-fi drama. The success of TAS was no surpise, as the intent to be a natural continuation of TOS was clear from the talents behind the production.

The following is how Filmation approached TAS, as related on pages 96 & 98 of the fascinating book, Lou Scheimer: Creating the Filmation Generation:

Lou Scheimer (2012): "The network had absolutely zero creative control for Star Trek; they had to accept the show or not accept the show, and I believe that was the first and last time that happened in the history of Saturday morning animation."

Norm Prescott (1973): "This is the first attempt to do an adult show in animation. Never before has an adult audience been challenged to watch a Saturday morning show. We feel it is a bold experiment."

Lou Scheimer (2012): "Wherever she (Dorothy Fontana) went, she begged the fans not to hate the show because it was animated, or it might kill the chances of Star Trek ever becoming another TV show or a movie. And once the fans heard how faithful we were being and how much care we were taking to respect the intent of the original series, they soon came over to our side. Word began buzzing to the 3,000 or so Star Trek fan clubs that Star Trek was coming back!"

Certainly not a spin-off "in name only" or a watered down version designed to appear to the 4-year old set, such as My Favorite Martians, The New Adventures of Gilligan, The Brady Kids, or Jeannie.

 

[FormerLurker]

They probably showed them out of order.

^The DVDs probably have them in production order, and they show the historical events in no kind of chronological sequence.

Oh, Christopher, Christopher, Christopher. I give you low hanging fruit to swing at, and you miss.

Sorry, I don't get it.

I was implying that they made no chronological sense due to their being shown out of order, even with the characters not being shown to age appreciably. I'm sorry to say it, but when you have to explain a joke, it's no longer funny. Maybe my sense of humor is too odd.

 

[Silvercrest]

I thought it was pretty funny!

Don't worry, Christopher may miss low-hanging fruit sometimes -- but I believe he's the one who provided the all-time "hit it out of the ballpark on the second swing".

A few years ago I made some reply to the effect of "Surely you can't be serious!" When it went by without notice, I chimed in "Aw, c'mon, guys, you can't ignore a perfectly good Naked Gun straight line!"

The reply? "Don't call me Akhman."