Posted by boyo on Feb 7, 2011 22:55 (Feb 7, 2011 22:55)
As a child, you never really appreciate some of the cynical marketing ploys which major companies employed in an attempt to get you to get your parents to part with their hard earned cash. Toys were just toys and cartoons were just cartoons.
Well, not in the case of my favourite TV series from my childhood, the brilliant Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors. Originally, Jayce started out life as a line of badly selling toys that were created by the American toy giant Mattel and to help boost their flagging sales a cartoon inspired by the toys was created.
Mattel brought the writer of other classic kids cartoons like The Mysterious Cities of Gold and Ulysses 31 Jean Chapolin on board to bring the toys to life. In 1985 the series was broadcast in France and successfully rebroadcast in numerous countries including the UK and US.
The main story of Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors centred on Jayce's search for his long lost father, Audric, who had vanished after his experiment to try and cure all famine went horribly wrong and he accidentally created a race of evil plants called the Monster Minds.
Led by Saw Boss these creatures were hell bent on taking over the universe one planet at a time and used great vines that travelled through space at incredible speed to reach a planet and engulf it. Saw Boss had incredible psychic powers that let him control the massive vines; they also allowed him to teleport his fortress anywhere in the universe and have access to potent clairvoyance powers.
The only way the Monster Minds could be destroyed was by uniting the two pieces of The Root. One half belonged to the missing Audric while the other to his son Jayce and thus the premise of the series was created. Jayce's never ending search to find his father was tied in with the destruction of the Monster Minds and no matter where Jayce went these creatures would hunt him down.
But Jayce was not alone in this quest because he was joined by the Lightning League. This unlikely bunch of characters travelled the galaxy in a massive sailing space ship called The Pride and fought the vehicular Monster Minds in their own unique and customisable fighting vehicles.
Before his experiments went awry, Audric created Jayce's adopted sister Flora. Essentially, she was a plant that looked like a young human girl with telepathic powers of her own. Hold on, it get a bit weird just here. Flora accompanied Jayce throughout the series along with her giant, floating Goldfish-like creature called Brock.
Even more of a non-combatant in the group is Jayce's faithful side kick Oom. This diminutive, clown like robot knight formerly worked for Audric and was tasked with bringing one half of The Root to Jayce after Saw Boss was created. Oom acted as the comic relief for the series and would get up to all sorts of slightly crazy stuff that was often more irritating than funny.
If you haven't already spotted a massive influence from Star Wars in Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors then Herc Stormsailor is a massive give away. Herc is a mercenary captain who gets accidentally caught up with the Lightening League in the hunt for riches as the captain of The Pride. In a direct parallel of A New Hope, Herc helps our young hero and his friends escape from a planet seething with Monster Minds in the first episode and hence forms the Lightning League.
But the strong parallels with Star Wars don't end there. Jayce's Lightning Leagues most valuable asset comes in the form of their very own Obiwan Kenobe - a wizard called Gillian. Gillian was a friend of Audrics and created the Lightning Leagues attack vehicles to help them battle the Monster Minds. He also uses his considerable knowledge and magical powers to help in the struggle against Saw Boss.
Must admit I never liked this cartoon at all. Was so much cartoons on back then. Nowadays cartoons almost ever exist. Tends to be more teenage programs or things like teletubies, tweenies, zingzillas, etc
Feb 17, 2011 22:30:39 (
Feb 17, 2011 22:30
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