1982 11:00 on CBS: PANDAMONIUM

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

In 1982, CBS gave the Saturday Morning 11:00 time slot to a show called "Pandamonium", which was the new Marvel Productions team's first attempt at an original Hanna-Barbera-style Saturday Morning Cartoon.

The show had a pretty complicated set-up, but easy-to-follow episodes. When an evil alien named Mondraggor tried to steal The Pyramid of Power (an ancient artifact thingee with untold power and whatnot), the pyramid shattered into many pieces, which scattered around the world. Each week, Mondraggor would race against the brother/sister team of Peter and Peggy Darrow, and three talking pandas named Chesty, Timothy, and Algernon, who were irradiated by the Pyramid's magic. The three of them could come together Voltron-style to form Poppapanda, a being with supernatural power.

Over the course of their 13 episodes, the team of good guys found most (but not all) of the pieces of the pyramid and the show was cancelled before there could be any kind of resolution :(

(Also aired at 8:30 starting in the Spring of 1983)

Comments

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

I never saw or heard of this until the internet, many years later.

It... looks like a trainwreck. O.o Why is one of the ice cream ghosts from Scooby Doo named Mondraggor? Why the heck is the North Pole being called Tibet and what kind of clutzy villain just drops the Sealed Evil In a Can?

The mind reels.

-TG

[mspette.livejournal.com]

Now THIS one I watched! But I think I was quite little as I don't remember a single story line/episode.

[artytoons.livejournal.com]

CBS Sports coverage pre-empted this show often on the West Coast ao I never saw the complete run. The first episode was released on home video. Familiar actor Jesse White (The lonely Maytag repairman in the commercials) played the voice of Timothy the cranky panda leader.

Produced by Marvel Productions and Intermedia Productions headed by former CBS/NBC/ABC programming chief Fred Silverman. Both companies also produced the "Meatballs and Spaghetti" cartoon show in the same season on CBS.

[demonicgerbil.livejournal.com]

Canceled before there could be any resolution makes me think of Pirates of Dark Water immediately, which while out of scope for this LJ makes me q.q

[deepseasiren.livejournal.com]

I remember this show well and was really disappointed when they cancelled it. I hate that when there's no 'ending'. On the other hand I tried to conjure up something in my own mind as to make a satisfactory ending of some kind.

If I remember also, I think Dungeons and Dragons ( I could be mistaken on this one) also had no 'ending'. At least not that I remember.

[mspette.livejournal.com]

I thought of D&D as well. I think there are some attempts online at animating the script of what was meant to be the final episode.