The Raiders

The Raiders

October 28, 1967 TV Episode The Herculoids

Studio
Hanna-Barbera Studios
Animation studio
Hanna-Barbera Studios

Synopsis

Sta-Lak lands on Quasar and take Tara hostage so he can loot the planet of its riches. Gloop finds the other Herculoids and tell them what has happened. Sta-Lak attacks the Herculoids with his death ray robots. The Herculoids destroy them and Sta-Lak escapes in his ship. Sta-Lak's ship is destroyed by Zok's eye beams and a rock thrown by Igoo.

Characters

Zandor, Tara, Igoo, Dorno, Zok, Gloop, Gleep, Tundro, Sta-Lak

Credits

Directing

Director
William Hanna, Joseph Barbera
Animation Director
Charles Nichols (as Charles A. Nichols)

Producing

Producer
William Hanna, Joseph Barbera
Associate Producers
Art Scott

Voices

Voice
Mike Road (Zandor, Zok, Igoo), Virginia Gregg (Tara), Ted Eccles (Dorno), Don Messick (Gloop, Gleep)

Music

Music
Richard Olson, Bill Getty

Art Department

Character Design
Alex Toth
Backgrounds
Paul Julian, Gary Niblett, Cathleen Braver

Editing

Editor
Larry Cowan, David Horton, Geoffrey Griffin
Supervising Film Editor
Warner Leighton

Sound

Sound Direction
Richard Olson, Bill Getty

Music Department

Musical Director
Ted Nichols

Production Management

Production Supervisor
Howard Hanson
Assistant Production Supervisor
Victor O. Schipek

Crew

Story Direction
Bill Perez, Paul Sommer
Technical Supervisor
Frank Paiker

Companies and other credits

  • A HANNA-BARBERA PRODUCTION
  • Copyright © 1967 Hanna-Barbera Productions
  • Inc

Production notes

King Zandor and Queen Tara were constantly defending their planet, Amzot (Quasar in later versions), and all its tiers of society, from the attacks of alien invaders. For this formidable task, the King and Queen employed the help of five extraordinary "Herculoids," a group of odd creatures that showcased some of the most inventive animation ever found on a Hanna-Barbera series.

Tundro was a "tremendous," a ten-legged dinosaur with a cannon for a horn. Tundro's cannon shot out energy rocks, which had the power to explode on contact. Zok, the space dragon, had equally effective weaponry, with eyes and a tail that could fire out power rays. The indestructible Igoo had the appearance of an ape but was made of rock, while Gloop and Gleep were Shmoo-like blobs that could assume any shape. The morphing twosome could multiply, withstand power beams, and be used as giant slingshots- the possibilites were endless.

Zandor and Tara may have employed the help of the Herculoids, but they could hold their own in a fight if the need arose. Zandor, who wore green trunks and gold bracelets, was as skillful with energy rocks as Tundro was- though lacking a cannon on his head, he needed to use a slingshot. The King's shield not only acted as a boomerang, but worked as a parachute as well. Tara was no slouch of a marksperson herself, and even their son Dorno was adept at slinging those exploding rocks.

Each week, this impressive group of eight would fight off such villains as the Faceless People, the Beaked People, and the Mutoids.

Parts of the show appeared in repeats as a segment of Go-Go Globetrotters, and in 1981, the show was resurrected using all the original voices (except Ted Eccles) on Space Stars.