Space Stars

Space Stars
Genre Animation
Adventure
Fantasy
Science fiction
Directed by Ray Patterson
George Gordon
Rudy Zamora
Voices of Michael Bell
Virginia Gregg
Darryl Hickman
Allan Lurie
Sparky Marcus
Don Messick
Gary Owens
David Hubbard
Mike Road
Steve J. Spears
Alexandra Stoddart
B.J. Ward
Lennie Weinrib
Frank Welker
Michael Winslow
Narrated by Keene Curtis
Theme music composer Hoyt Curtin
Composer(s) Hoyt Curtin
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of episodes 11 (66 segments)
Production
Executive producer(s) William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Producer(s) Oscar Dufau
Gerald Baldwin
Running time 60 minutes
Production company(s) Hanna-Barbera Productions
Distributor Warner Bros. Television
Release
Original network NBC
Original release September 12, 1981 – September 11, 1982

Space Stars is a 60-minute Saturday morning animated program block produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on NBC from September 12, 1981 to September 11, 1982.

Format

Space Stars was narrated by Keene Curtis and featured five cartoon segments each week:

The cartoons would occasionally crossover into one another. Space Ghost and The Herculoids both had their own respective series in the 1960s. Teen Force and Astro and the Space Mutts are both new segments, although the Astro character was the family dog from The Jetsons.[1]

Opening title narration

The opening title narration was provided by Michael Rye and consisted of the following:

Space Stars! A galaxy of heroes teamed together in an interstellar battle against evil! Blast off on adventures as big as the cosmos itself! Race, poised on the edge of time, with Space Ghost and his young friends! Streak through the universe with Space Ace, Astro and the Space Mutts as they spring into action! And somewhere deep in space, super-danger threatens the Teen Force! Join the famed Herculoids in their new battles to preserve peace on the planet Quasar! Now...get set for 60 laser-blasting minutes of action, adventure, fun...on Space Stars!

Segments

Space Ghost

Main article: Space Ghost

A total of 22 episodes were produced for Space Ghost (two segments aired each week), featuring a new assortment of villains including an evil version of Space Ghost called Space Spectre (who came from an alternate universe). The Phantom Cruiser and its Scout Ship were also given sleeker and more modernized looks. Space Ghost often came to the aid of the Herculoids and vice versa (as in the original Space Ghost series' "Council of Doom" storyline, where they met once). They also frequently crossed paths with the Teen Force, and it appeared that Jan and Teen Force member Kid Comet were dating as well. Elektra made several appearances as well. Gary Owens reprised his role as Space Ghost, but Tim Matheson was replaced by Steve Spears as the voice of Jace, Ginny Tyler was replaced by Alexandra Stoddart as the voice of Jan, and Don Messick was replaced by Frank Welker as the vocal effects for Blip.

Episodes

# Title Original air date Summary
1 "Attack of the Space Sharks" September 12, 1981 A pair of sharklike warships are attacking spaceships. As Space Ghost battles them, Jan, Jace and Blip are captured by the Space Sharks and discover that the shark-like Remora and his soldiers from the water planet Liquo have been capturing ships and its passengers for his souvenirs.
2 "The Haunted Space Station" September 12, 1981 Upon receiving a distress signal from the Outworld Station, Space Ghost, Jan, Jace, and Blip investigate. They soon discover that Forvalokka the Soul Vampire has turned its crew into zombies that obey his every command.
3 "The Sorceress" September 19, 1981 The Sorceress plans to use her magic to take control of Space Ghost and marry him. It's up to Jan, Jace, and Blip to save Space Ghost.
4 "Planet of the Space Monkeys" September 19, 1981 Upon being neglected by Space Ghost, Jan, and Jace, Blip runs away and lands on a planet filled with monkeys.
5 "The Anti-Matter Man" September 26, 1981 An accident with an anti-matter experiment transforms scientist Dr. Conta into the Anti-Matter Man. Now Space Ghost, Jan, Jace, and Blip must make a perilous journey through the Galactic Core to return Dr. Conta to normal.
6 "The Space Dragons" September 26, 1981 A fleet of Space Dragon Ships have been attacking mining operations and stealing Caburite, an extremely powerful element that can be refined into fuel. Space Ghost discovers that the Space Dragon Ships were created by Repto who plans to use the Caburites in a plot to turn the refined Caburites into fuel for his Space Dragon Ships in a plot to take over the galaxy.
7 "Starfly" October 3, 1981 Jan, Jace, and Blip find a Starfly on Ghost Planet. What they do not know is that Starflies evolve into Starbeasts as one is attacking the Space Transport Ship Ulysses.
8 "The Big Freeze" October 3, 1981 Feron is freezing the planet Vanderfor with his freeze ray and plans to do the same to all planets in the galaxy in order to colonize them for his people.
9 "The Toymaker" October 10, 1981 While on vacation on a distant planet, Jan, Jace, and Blip are captured by mechanical knights and are taken to a spaceship run by the Toymaker. It is up to Space Ghost to save them.
10 "Microworld" October 10, 1981 Toymaker has shrunk the planet of Cetia 3 where Jan, Jace and Blip are vacationing and threatens to remove its atmosphere if Space Ghost doesn't surrender his Power Bands.
11 "Space Spectre" October 17, 1981 Space Spectre, an alternate dimension version of Space Ghost, arrives through a black hole in Space Ghost's dimension. Now Space Ghost must defeat Space Spectre and send him back to his own dimension.
12 "Web of the Wizard" October 17, 1981 The Wizard uses a device to make Space Ghost, Jan, Jace, and Blip see illusions. He plans to have the Phantom Cruiser crash into a planet when it's chasing an illusion.
13 "Time Chase" October 24, 1981 Jan and Kid Comet land on Coros IV when it's in its prehistoric state when Kid Comet uses his powers to travel faster than time. At the same time, Space Ghost, Jace, and Blip pursue a space pirate named Barbos to Coros IV and end up going through a Time Arch to Coros IV's prehistoric state.
14 "The Deadly Comet" October 24, 1981 The Commander is using remote-controlled comets to attack ships. Space Ghost calls upon Kid Comet to help stop the Commander before he sends a comet towards the Galactic Council.
15 "The Shadow People" October 31, 1981 Space Ghost, Jan, Jace, Blip, and Elektra investigate Rombula Station (a floating space refinery) when its people have taken flight from it. They soon discover that the refinery has been invaded by the Shadow People.
16 "Time of the Giants" October 31, 1981 After capturing the space pirate Krugar, Space Ghost, Jan, Jace, and Blip fly the Phantom Cruiser through a space cloud that shrinks them. Krugar escapes from them when they are shrinking and it's up to a miniature Space Ghost to catch Krugar.
17 "City in Space" November 7, 1981 To stop for supplies, Space Ghost, Jan, Jace, and Blip stop at a floating city in space that's heading for the sun. When the city ends up getting closer to the sun, Space Ghost turns to Elektra to help get it away from the sun.
18 "Nomads" November 7, 1981 Lord Ibal and his people are attacked by a giant Space Snake and are saved by Space Ghost. Space Ghost later learns that they are really robots seeking to conquer the galaxy with their disguised warships.
19 "Eclipse Woman" November 14, 1981 Eclipse Woman is draining energy from the planet Halcion. With help from Kid Comet, Space Ghost, Jan, Jace, and Blip fight Eclipse Woman to keep her from draining Halcion of its power.
20 "Devilship" November 14, 1981 When Jace is investigating a shuttle during an investigation, he ends up under the evil control of the Wizard. Now it's up to Space Ghost to free Jace from the Wizard's control.
21 "The Time Master" November 21, 1981 A Time Satellite fires beams on the planet Glax-3 that turns back time on Glax-3. Space Ghost discovers that Tempus the Time Master is behind this in a plot to harvest Luxor in order to use it to build a Time Shredder.
22 "Spacecube of Doom" November 21, 1981 After helping the Herculoids free a mammoth from a tar pit, Space Ghost discovers that a space cube is stealing all the precious metals in the universe. When the Phantom Cruiser is also stolen, Space Ghost discover that the robot Cubus is wanting to save the logical universe with his super computer Ultima and brainwash the creatures of the universe to think logically.

The Herculoids

Main article: The Herculoids

As a departure from the original series, this incarnation of The Herculoids had its roots in science fiction and had story direction and content similar to Jonny Quest and Space Ghost. This series takes place on a far-away planet named Quasar in the land of Amzot (the planet was only named as such in this series, though Amzot was first mentioned in the "Time Creatures" episode of the original series). Eleven episodes were produced. Mike Road and Virginia Gregg reprised their roles as Zandor and Tara. Ted Eccles was replaced by Sparky Marcus as Dorno. Mike Road and Don Messick also reprised their roles as the voices of the Herculoids.

Episodes

# Title Original air date Summary
1 "The Ice Monster" September 12, 1981 Dorno is feeling depressed when Zandor treats him like a child because of his size and age. At the same time, an ancient robotic monster emerges from an ice block and it is indestructible.
2 "The Purple Menace" September 19, 1981 Glowing purple rocks have brought to life purple vines that cause havoc.
3 "The Firebird" September 26, 1981 A volcano erupts on Quasar revealing a firebird creature who has taken up residency in the volcano's crater and threatens the Herculoids.
4 "The Energy Creature" October 3, 1981 A meteorite containing an energy creature lands on Quasar. When it imprisons creatures in its coils, it takes on their form and properties also.
5 "The Snake Riders" October 10, 1981 Dorno and Gleep discover a plot by the Snake Riders to take over the planet. It's up to the Herculoids to stop their plans for planetary conquest.
6 "The Buccaneer" October 17, 1981 The Buccaneer and his band of pirates arrive on Quasar to look for buried treasure.
7 "The Thunderbolt" October 24, 1981 Saiju, a benevolent creature with a voracious appetite, comes upon some electrical-charged rocks and turns into a living electrical monster upon eating them. The Herculoids learn that the effects of those rocks are temporary and try to get Saiju back to normal.
8 "Return of the Ancients" October 31, 1981 The descendents/survivors of a highly developed race that was wiped out on Quasar return to the planet after a 1,000-year mission, and they're not happy to find out their civilization is gone.
9 "Space Trappers" November 7, 1981 The Space Trappers arrive on Quasar and capture the Herculoids for their intergalactic circus.
10 "The Invisibles" November 14, 1981 A chunk of Magnilite lands in the Lost Lake of Quasar. Before long, the Herculoids go up against enemies that they can't see. Zandor soon learns from the Zelos King Zel that his son Eezo and his followers might be the culprits--a theory proven correct when Space Ghost arrives to return the Magnilitle to space.
11 "Mindbender" November 21, 1981 While playing Dorno, Gloop, and Gleep discover and unearth a metal cylinder which contains a big-brained alien. When they release him, he reveals himself to be a member of race that ruled Quasar thousands of years ago. It's up to the Herculoids to reseal the Mindbender.

Teen Force

Teen Force focused on three superhumanly gifted young students who hail from an unknown alternate universe which is located beyond the confines of the mysterious Black Hole X, which serves as a gateway into the universe in which the other main characters from Space Stars exist.

The Teen Force consists of Kid Comet, who possesses tremendous levels of superhuman speed, enabling him move at speeds exceeding the speed of light, and can even move quickly enough to travel through time; Moleculad, who can control his molecular structure for various effects; and Elektra, who possesses the psionic disciplines of telepathy, telekenesis, and teleportation. Accompanying them are a pair of diminutive blue-skinned aliens named Plutem and Glax, also known as the Astromites. Their principal enemy in the series is Uglor, a mutant native and tyrannical ruler of the planet Uris (whose inhabitants are a race of evolved simians) in Galaxy Q-2. Uglor's mutancy granted him bird-like wings and the ability to generate destructive energy blasts from his bionic eyes, which allowed him to see through Space Ghost's Inviso Power and Elektra's telepathic illusions.

Episodes

# Title Original air date Summary
1 "The Death Ray" September 12, 1981 Uglor plots to destroy Black Hole X, the gateway into the Space Stars universe used by the Teen Force, in order to trap them in his dimension and subsequently destroy them.
2 "Nebulon" September 19, 1981 In his latest plan for galactic conquest, Uglor creates an energy creature called the Nebulon. When Nebulon becomes too powerful, Uglor ends up working together with the Teen Force to stop Nebulon.
3 "Decoy of Doom" September 26, 1981 Under the guise of a phony distress call, the Teen Force are seized by Uglor's magnetron gravity warp where he hopes to drain the heroes' powers and add their energy to his new weapon.
4 "Elektra's Twin" October 3, 1981 Using a false distress signal, Uglor manages to capture the Teen Force with the aid of a doppelganger of Elektra. With the Teen Force imprisoned, Uglor plots to destroy the Helios star from his space platform, Techno.
5 "Uglor's Power Play" October 10, 1981 Uglor manages to mimic the Teen Force's powers through the use of his energizer in order to conquer Centrex as well as the rest of the galaxy.
6 "The Ultimate Battle" October 17, 1981 Uglor challenges the Teen Force to a battle on the desolate and hostile continent of Evil Island. The Teen Force discover that its creatures consider humans evil after they were convinced of this by Uglor.
7 "Prison Planet" October 24, 1981 The Teen Force must travel to Maldor, Uglor's prison planet, in order to rescue the Solvanite president, Krisa.
8 "Trojan Teen Force" October 31, 1981 The Teen Force must rescue the Troy galaxy's royal family from Uglor's clutches and prevent him from marrying the Trojan princess, Keena.
9 "The Space Slime" November 7, 1981 The Teen Force battle Uglor's new bioweapon that threatens countless civilizations unless they surrender to his tyrannical rule.
10 "Pandora's Warp" November 14, 1981 Uglor plots to destroy Fredonia, a space station/power plant that provides vital energy to the rebel worlds that oppose his tyranny. To that end, he opens a rift to the Dimension of Magic and recruits Trentino, the Black Knight and his legion of demons to aid him.
11 "Wordstar" November 21, 1981 The Teen Force become embroiled in a race against time when Uglor learns of the existence of an ancient object of tremendous power called the Wordstar. He seeks to wrest control of it from its guardian, the cosmic entity known as Ananda.

Astro and the Space Mutts

Astro and the Space Mutts features Astro, the family dog from The Jetsons. He teams up with two other dogs named Cosmo and Dipper, led by their human leader Space Ace. Together, the trio act as galactic police officers and travel through outer space. Don Messick reprised his role as Astro.

Episodes

# Title Original air date Summary
1 "The Night of the Crab" September 12, 1981 The Crab crashes the Space Awards at the Space Palace and steals the awards. It's up to Space Ace and the Space Mutts to get the award back and defeat The Crab.
2 "Reverso" September 19, 1981 In his plan for universe domination, Reverso crashes the Spaceman's Ball at the Space Palace and demands that he is made ruler of the universe or else everything will end up in reverse.
3 "Menace of the Magnet Maniac" September 26, 1981 Mario Magnetti is on a metal-robbing spree.
4 "The Greatest Show Off Earth" October 3, 1981 The Spaceling Brothers Circus has been abducted by the Cosmic Clown. Space Ace and the Space Mutts follow him to Galaxy Q-2 to get it back and defeat Cosmic Clown.
5 "Rock Punk" October 10, 1981 When Rock Punk steals the recently created Mount Spacemore, Astro and the Space Mutts end up going after Rock Punk to keep him from completing his rock collection.
6 "Rampage of the Zodiac Man" October 17, 1981 Zodiac Man steals the Stardust Constellation Ring from the Moona Lisa Museum.
7 "Will the Real Mr. Galaxy Please Stand Up" October 24, 1981 Mr. Galaxy has stolen the First Galaxy Bank's vault. Space Ace and the Space Mutts track him to Muscle Beach Moon to get the vault back.
8 "Galactic Vac is Back" October 31, 1981 Galactic Vac is sucking up everything in the galaxy.
9 "The Education of Puglor" November 7, 1981 Uglor gives his nephew Puglor some of his powers for the next 12 hours in a plot to take over the resort world of Solar Springs.
10 "Jewlie Newstar" November 14, 1981 Renowned jewel thief Jewlie Newstar steals the Jupiter Jewel from the Interplanetary Museum. It's up to Space Ace and the Space Mutts to reclaim the Jupiter Jewel and defeat Jewlie Newstar.
11 "Wonder Dog" November 21, 1981 When the Lieutenant gives Space Ace a robot mutt named Brucie the Robot Wonder Dog for a trial run, this causes problems for the Space Mutts. Meanwhile, Scavenger steals the Aceship from Space Ace so that he can eliminate Space Ace for Lord Raider.

Space Stars Finale

Space Stars Finale was the last segment where Space Ghost, the Herculoids, Astro and the Space Mutts, and Teen Force team up to battle the scourges of the universe.

Episodes

# Title Original air date Summary
1 "Dimension of Doom" September 12, 1981 Space Ghost and the Teen Force must rescue the mutated Jan and Jace from Uglor and his dimension distorter weapon.
2 "Worlds in Collision" September 19, 1981 With help from Elektra, Space Ghost and the Herculoids learn that Uglor has set Ghost Planet on a collision course with Quasar in order to destroy both heroes.
3 "Polaris" September 26, 1981 Jace, Elektra and Moleculad pursue the malevolent Polaris while Jan, Kid Comet and the Astro Mites try to rescue Space Ghost and Blip from a space warp dimension created by Polaris.
4 "Endangered Spacies" October 3, 1981 Dorno and Zok must team up with Astro and the Space Mutts to help rescue Space Ace, Zandor and Tara who were kidnapped by the sinister Borox for his alien zoo.
5 "The Olympians" October 10, 1981 The Herculoids and Teen Force battle Uglor and his Olympian warriors to prevent him from stealing all of Quasar's energy rock deposits.
6 "Magnus" October 17, 1981 Space Ghost and the Herculoids must deal with the villain Magnus and a mysterious childlike alien whose toys are reaping havoc on Quasar.
7 "The Crystal Menace" October 24, 1981 In pursuit of the menacing Crystal Cyborg, Space Ghost and the Herculoids join forces against this enemy in order to prevent all life on Quasar from being crystallized.
8 "The Outworlder" October 31, 1981 Space Ghost and the Teen Force face double trouble when they tackle an energy vampire and a crazed freighter captain bent on saving his ship at all costs including the lives of everyone on board.
9 "Mindwitch" November 7, 1981 Space Ghost and the Herculoids battle a powerful evil witch who is accidentally revived by nomads and aims to conquer all of Quasar.
10 "Uglor Conquers the Universe" November 14, 1981 By absorbing the cosmic energies of a neutron galaxy, Uglor obtains omnipotent powers over the universe. The Teen Force along with the Herculoids must discover the only way to defeat him on the planet Quasar.
11 "The Cosmic Mousetrap" November 21, 1981 A hostile artificial intelligence, Megamind, captures Space Ghost, Jace, Blip, and Elektra in an attempt to gauge the heroes' weaknesses with a series of perilous tests. Jan and the rest of the Teen Force attempt to rescue them from their captor.

Syndication

In syndication as a 30-minute series, USA Network had one segment each of Space Ghost, Teen Force and The Herculoids, but Astro and the Space Mutts segments were never shown, while on Nickelodeon, Teen Force segments were substituted with Astro and the Space Mutts segments.

Space Ghost, The Herculoids and Astro and the Space Mutts segments have been seen on Cartoon Network and Boomerang, but not the Teen Force segments. Furthermore, the series has never been shown in its entirety on Cartoon Network or Boomerang. Currently, these shorts are only broadcast on occasion as an interstitial segment between shows on Boomerang.

Home Media releases

On October 8, 2013, Warner Archive released Space Stars: The Complete Series on DVD in region 1 as part of their Hanna–Barbera Classics Collection. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.[2]

Voice cast

Production credits

References

  1. ↑ TV Guide Guide to TV. Barnes and Noble. 2004. p. 590. ISBN 0-7607-5634-1.
  2. ↑ "Space Stars - 'The Complete Series' of this Hanna Barbera Show on DVD Soon".
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