Defenders of the Earth
| Defenders of the Earth | |
|---|---|
| Genre |
Superhero Action/Adventure Science fantasy |
| Written by |
Lee Falk Alex Raymond Bryce Malek Dick Robbins Allan Cole Evelyn Gabai Alan Swayze |
| Directed by |
Will Meugniot John Gibbs Ray Lee |
| Starring |
William Callaway Adam Carl Ron Feinberg Buster Jones Loren Lester Sarah Partridge Diane Pershing Peter Renaday Lou Richards Peter Mark Richman Dion Williams |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 65 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Lee Gunther Margaret Loesch Bruce L. Paisner |
| Producer(s) | John Ahern Rick Hoberg Bill Hutten Glenn Johnson Tony Love Don Sheppard Lee Orgel George Singer Bill Hutton Tony Love |
| Running time | 30 mins |
| Production company(s) |
Marvel Productions (Marvel Animation) |
| Distributor |
King Features Entertainment (Hearst) |
| Release | |
| Original network | Syndication |
| Original release | September 8, 1986 – May 1, 1987 |
Defenders of the Earth is an American animated television series produced in 1985, featuring characters from three comic strips distributed by King Features Syndicate—Flash Gordon, The Phantom, Mandrake the Magician, and Mandrake's assistant Lothar—opposing Ming the Merciless in the year 2015. Supporting characters include their children Rick Gordon (son of Flash), Jedda Walker (daughter of the Phantom), Kshin (adopted son of Mandrake), and Lothar's son L.J. The show lasted for 65 episodes; there was also a short-lived comic book series published by Star Comics (an imprint of Marvel Comics). The closing credits credit Rob Walsh and Tony Pastor for the main title music, and Stan Lee for the lyrics. The series was later shown in reruns on the Sci Fi Channel as part of Sci Fi Cartoon Quest.
The plot begins with Flash Gordon and his son Rick escaping from Ming the Merciless, who has exhausted the natural resources of his home planet Mongo and desires to exploit Earth. Ming tries to brainwash Flash's wife Dale Arden, but she resists until death, whereafter her psyche is later included in the Defenders' supercomputer Dynak X. Later, Flash and Mandrake organize the Defenders against Ming.
Roughly two decades after production was completed, the series was released around the world on DVD, featuring various episodes and packaging depending on region. The US release includes interviews with story editor Bryce Malek, writer David Wise, and artist Michael Swanigan—each of whom reflect on various points of the creative process, including the origins of the characters, legal issues surrounding the properties, controversial content, and ways in which the production differed from others of its time.
NEW KSM FILM has released the series in Germany:
Force Entertainment has released the series in Australia:
The first episode appears on the BCI Eclipse DVD releases for:
BCI has also released two 5-Disc sets that cover the entire series:
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Wikipedia