Star Blazers

We all remember as kids there was likely a cartoon or other kid show that drew us in regualrly.

Some loved The Flintstones or Jetsons. 

Many moved toward Scooby Doo.

Then there was the Warner world of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies with Bugs, Daffy, Elmer, Porky, and the rest of the crew.

There was also He Man, G.I. Joe, and later Ren & Stimpy, Rugrats, The Tick, Johnny Bravo, and of course Beavis and Butthead.

I wasn't much on the G.I. Joe or Rugrats, but the rest were fun to watch.

But there was one more. It was not widely run in America so many never heard of it. Luckily, Channel 29 in Philadelphia carried it for a few years. I think 1983 was its last hurrah. 

I discovered Star Blazers when over at my friend Jeremy's house one day in 1981. It was quite different in tone...of course later on I figured out it was Japanese in origin. The characters looked like a few of those on Speed Racer and Marine Boy, in fact, and of course Pokemon!

So what was different about Star Blazers from the other shows?

The biggest difference was serialized storytelling, with a sense of urgency. They made you want to tune in for the next episode tomorrow.

Here's the premise. In the year 2199, Earth was being ravaged by radioactive bombs sent from the distant planet of Gamilon. Earth had a strong defense space fleet, but the Gamilon fleet was too powerful and advanced. One day while on patrol, cadets Derek Wildstar and Mark Venture happen upon a crashed ship. Nearby lies the beautiful dead body of a woman with a message capsule form her sister Starsha of Iscandar. Starsha has the antidote called Cosmo DNA that will kill the radiation and restore Earth to its former life-sustaining self. She also includes plans for a special wave motion engine that will get a crew in a ship to Iscandar to get this Cosmo DNA and back to Earth in a year (when Earth is going to be completely void of life).

An old World War 2 Japanese vessel called the Yamato is discovered buried in a dried up ocean. Yamato is refurbished with all the bells and whistles, including the aforementioned engine. It also has a wave motion gun to be used when the other weapons are not effective enough. It can also do space warps. Dubbed The Argo, this ship becomes the symbol for heroism and develops a spirit of its own at times.

Earth Defense Fleet Captain Avatar (looking almost like a disgruntled mall Santa Claus if it weren't for his uniform) recruits Derek and Mark and a whole crew of characters called the Star Force to undergo the year's journey. 

Now, here is a little resemblance to Star Trek: we don't meet all the crew, much like we never meet a lot of the red shirts who die in the Federation world. However, there are notable characters aboard.

Nova-a pretty and able nurse who becomes Derek's sweetheart

Sandor- a cyborg who is a scientific genius and always a level head when needed (their Spock)

Eager- a Southern-accented radar man

Homer-communications (their Uhura)

IQ-9- a wisecracking robot who proves useful at times of crisis

Dr. Sane- a bald doctor who loves his "spring water" (in the Japanese version, he loves his sake) but also is sage and cheerful. (their Bones)

Conroy-pilot and leader of the Black Tiger fighter squadron

Orion- chief engineer (their Scotty)

Derek himself is bitter at the captain at first over the death of his brother Alex, but as the series goes, it seems Alex is not so dead. Derek matures and is chosen to be Avatar's deputy captain when Avatar himself is crippled by radiation sickness. Mark Venture is cool and level-headed and seems to be in doubt of his abilities at times but he, too, matures.

What also sets this series apart is a great instrumental soundtrack with definitive Japanese themes.

There are 2 "seasons" of the show. The first is the Iscandar mission. The original series was produced in 1974 and was quite more extreme in terms of violence and death. American producers diluted it quite a bit to be palatable for American kids.

The Japanese creators dediced to make a Yamato movie (never the Argo in Japan). In this story, a superior alien force led by Emperor Zwordar in the mega ship/fortress White Comet head toward Earth for conquest. The Yamato and its crew try to defeat it but Zwordar and his forces and technology are too much. Even when the White Comet is miraculously destroyed, another ship emerges from it and kills most of whatever life was left on Yamato except for Kodai (Derek Wildstar) who rams the new ship with help from a galactic spirit named Teresa, leaving everyone dead.

Not good for an American audience you say? Well, the producers agreed and they adapted the new 26 episode show that was adapted from the movie into a cleaner version. What was funny was that they pretended none of the Argo crew died with throwaway lines like, "Knox made it out behind you!" even though we don't see him in the final episode.

Personal favorite episode? When Desslok intercepts the Argo before they reach Earth to fighter Zordar (Zworder) and almost finishes them off, Derek warps the ship into Desslok's and he and the crew board it, making for a climactic showdown between him and Desslok. 

I recently found much of the original music and made a few tracks for my playlist. My family already knows I'm a nerd and accept it, jsut as long as I'm alone in the car when playing it.

There was a 3rd season that saw very little American airtime. I saw maybe one or two episodes but never had the time to delve into it. Also, the original American dub voice actors were not in that third series.

All that said, I can watch the original 52 episodes of the first 2 seasons over again. It is just great storytelling and character development.