 BlackStar promotional poster - For other uses, see Black Star.
The animated television series Blackstar was a science fantasy epic, sometimes reported as a product inspired by the immense popularity of the 1980s Thundarr, the Barbarian. It was produced by Lou Scheimer and Norm Prescott for Filmation. The series was Filmation's second fantasy epic, the first being tucked neatly in as a segment of Tarzan and Tarzan and the Super 7, The Freedom Force. Today Blackstar is regarded by general public as being a cult classic, and is praised by a devoted fan following. Image File history File links BlackStarPoster. ...
Image File history File links BlackStarPoster. ...
Black Star could mean the following; Black star is another name for the phenomenon known as dark stars or black holes. ...
Animation refers to the process in which each frame of a film or movie is produced individually, whether generated as a computer graphic, or by photographing a drawn image, or by repeatedly making small changes to a model (see claymation and stop motion), and then photographing the result. ...
The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...
Thundarr the Barbarian was a Saturday morning animated cartoon show, produced by Ruby-Spears Productions. ...
// The word barbarian generally refers to an uncivilized, uncultured person, either in a general reference to a member of a nation or ethnos perceived as having an inferior level of civilization, or in an individual reference to a brutal, cruel, insensitive person whose behavior is unacceptable in a civilized society. ...
Lou Scheimer was one of the original founders of Filmation animation-company and also an executive producer of many of its cartoons (though only by name due to standardized crediting in most toons, Hal Sutherland received similar treatment). ...
Norman Prescott, was co-founder and executive producer at Filmation Studios. ...
The first Filmation logo. ...
The first Filmation logo. ...
The Super 7 is a well known, and sponsored, group of individuals who are hardcore and never bring that weak shit. ...
Brief Synopsis John Blackstar was an astronaut from a future version of Earth who had been swept through a black hole and stranded on the planet Sagar, where magic and sword and sorcery still ruled the day. Together with his allies, the Trobbits, Klone (a shape-shifting elfin companion), the dragon-bat Warlock, and Mara the Sorceress, Blackstar battled the cruel Overlord, a ruthless Ming-like oppressor, who ruled by the might of the Powersword, one half of the Powerstar, an immensely powerful weapon. Fortunately, Blackstar possessed its other half, the Starsword, which kept the Overlord and his dark minions in check. Ming the Merciless is a fictional character appearing in the Flash Gordon comic strip. ...
(From the opening sequence): John Blackstar, astronaut, is swept through a black hole, into an ancient alien universe. Trapped on the planet Sagar, Blackstar is rescued by the tiny trobbit people. In turn he joins their fight for freedom against the cruel Overlord who rules by the might of the Powerstar. The Powerstar is split into the Powersword and the Starsword. And so with Starsword in hand, Blackstar together with his allies, sets out to save the planet Sagar. This is his destiny. "I am John Blackstar".
Future Earth Very little is known about Blackstar's Earth. The technology is quite advanced, as evidenced by Blackstar's "photon-based" ship and Katana's "fusion-drive" timeship capable of multidimensional travel. At this point, it seems that NASA was taken over by a new organization, since both Blackstar and Katana do not show such insignia.
Planet Sagar Beyond the supposed black hole (which acts more like a wormhole), there's an alien universe where planet Sagar is located. Despite its similarity with Earth, the world is also very different from ours. A Black hole is an object predicted by general relativity with a gravitational field so strong that nothing can escape it — not even light. ...
3D analogy to a wormhole. ...
The Sagar Tree, a powerful mystical place, is ruled by the peaceful pink-skinned Trobbits (a cross between the mythological Troll and Tolkien's hobbit): Trolls with an abducted princess (John Bauer, 1915). ...
In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Hobbits are a subset of the race of Men, sometimes considered a separate race. ...
Balkar - The king and the mentor; also a great alchemist. Rif - the grumpy, flame capped one. Terra - the gardener. Burbil - the babbler. Carpo - the carpenter. Poulo - the mute whistler Gossamer - the huge eared, flying one, resembling Dumbo. Dumbo is the fourth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. ...
Blackstar's abilities and powers As astronaut, Blackstar might have been extensively trained in many fields. He's athletic, and also very witty and intelligent to the point where he often prefers to outsmart his opponent rather than rely only on physical talents. Template:Redirect Template:Redirect U.S. Space Shuttle astronaut Bruce McCandless II using a manned maneuvering unit (MMU) outside the Challenger in 1984. ...
The Starsword is able to absorb, store and reflect any external form of energy attack and, as the other half of the Powerstar, is virtually indestructible. It can also product blasts of energy. It seems that the weapon also generates an invisible "aura" which imbues Blackstar, to a certain extent, with invulnerability, as seen in the fight with Kadray in 'Lord of Time'.
Blackstar's fate In the sixth episode, 'Spacewrecked', Blackstar was briefly reached by his former Earth girlfriend, Lieutenant Katana, who managed to locate him through traces of the "photonic particles" left by the ship. She spent some time on Sagar, before a misadventure with the Overlord forced her to leave the planet without having a chance to rescue Blackstar. Apparently, no more attempts were made, as Katana did not appear in any other episodes. However, the line "his destiny" in the prologue might imply that Blackstar is meant to stay on Sagar forever.
Tidbits and Trivia Originally conceived as an African American character, CBS decided that audiences were not quite ready for this and imposed a number of additional changes to the initial concept. An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ...
It has been suggested that CBS evening news anchors be merged into this article or section. ...
The premiere was on September 12th, 1981 and the entire series original run lasted until 1982. After its cancellation, there was a re-run in 1983-1984, on the wave of He-Man's popularity. Despite favorable ratings, plans for a second season were scrapped. Portal:Currentevents September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years). ...
Episode guide - 01 Sep 12/81 Search for the Starsword (the first episode to air, though not the first episode scripted).
- 02 City of the Ancient Ones
- 04 The Mermaid of the Serpent Sea
- 07 Lightning City of the Clouds
- 10 The Air Whales of Anchar
- 11 The Overlord's Big Spell
- 12 The Crown of the Sorceress
Toys Galoob brought out action figures in 1983-1985, after the show's cancellation, to catch on to the He-Man boom, even adding "laser lights" versions with stone-sparking action. Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. ...
He-Man as seen in a DC comic from December, 1982, one of his earliest appearances and preceding the debut of his animated series. ...
Each of the figures in the line was available with or without the "laser light" action. Evil characters were packaged with demons; good characters were packaged with Trobbits. The Trobbit Gossamear was the hardest to find.
Voice Cast John Blackstar - George DiCenzo; Mara - Linda Gary; The Overlord/Carpo- Alan Oppenheimer; Klone/Balkar/Terra - Patrick Pinney; Gossamear/Burble/Rif - Frank Welker. George DiCenzo is a character actor and once associate producer for Dark Shadows. ...
Linda Gary (November 4, 1944-October 5, 1995) was a voice-over artist for countless animated projects. ...
Alan Oppenheimer (born April 23, 1930 in New York City, New York) is an American voice-actor who has had an active career in cartoons since the 1940s. ...
Patrick Pinney has done voice-overs for animated cartoons, including Mighty Mouse in the short-lived Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures (1987-1988), Chico the Bouncer in Cool World (1992) and Painty the Pirate in SpongeBob SquarePants (1999-present). ...
Frank Welker Frank W. Welker (born February 16, 1945) is an American voice actor. ...
DVD release Blackstar was released on DVD on August 22, 2006, under the name Blackstar: The Complete Series. The package features all the 13 episodes (restored and remastered), plus many other extras, like previously unreleased images, interviews to the authors and the producers, storyboards, trivia and much more.
• 'The Magic of Filmation', an exciting look at the history of the company and creators behind Blackstar and many other animated legends.
• Two episode commentary tracks with producer Lou Scheimer, animator Mike Bennett, writer Michael Reaves, writer Marc Scott Zicree, animator Michael Swanigan, and host/moderator Andy Mangels.
• Extensive gallery of original model sheets, sketches, and presentation artwork of heroes and villains
• Trivia
• DVD ROM Features—all 13 episodic scripts and 5 complete storyboards (PDF format, PC/Mac readable)
External links
- Blackstar Unlimited - Extensive fansite.
- The Unofficial Sagarese Gift Catalog - Great fansite, featuring episode reviews, screen captures, storyboards, deleted scenes, special files, fan fiction stories and much more.
- Return to Sagar - The one and only Blackstar message board in the net.
- Blackstar at the Internet Movie Database
- Planet Sagar - Blackstar Yahoo group featuring files, database and pics.
- Blackstar prologue on YouTube
- Action Figure Archive Blackstar - Action figure guide and online store.
- Entertainment Rights - Rights holder of Blackstar
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