The Terrible Thunderlizards

Last updated
The Terrible Thunderlizards
Title card for The Terrible Thunderlizards.jpg
The Terrible Thunderlizards title card
Genre Animated segment
Created by
Written by
  • Savage Steve Holland
  • Bill Kopp
  • Kati Rocky
Directed by
  • John Halfpenny (1993–95)
  • Jamie Whitney (1995–97)
Starring
Theme music composer Dee Snider
Composer Nathan Wang
Country of origin
  • United States
  • Canada
No. of episodes36 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerSavage Steve Holland
Producers
Running time11 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network
ReleaseNovember 20, 1993 (1993-11-20) –
July 28, 1997 (1997-07-28)

The Terrible Thunderlizards is a segment that aired in the United States as part of Eek! Stravaganza on the Fox Kids programming block, and in Canada on YTV. [1] It aired from November 20, 1993, to July 28, 1997. The series was originally intended as a spin off from Eek! The Cat . The segment was supposed to air at the start of Eek's second season in September 1993, but due to production delays, it began in November. Like Eek!, the segment was also a co-production of Nelvana and Fox Kids in association with Savage Studios Ltd. Dee Snider, from the band Twisted Sister composed the show's theme song.

Contents

Ownership of the series passed to Disney in 2001 when Disney acquired Fox Kids Worldwide. [2] [3] [4]

Plot

The series chronicles the misadventures of a trio of dinosaur mercenaries released from incarceration after they were falsely accused of helping an enemy Thuggosaur in a time of war when they actually found it injured. They are charged by General Galapagos with the task of eliminating two primitive human beings after scientists realize that, if humanity is allowed to multiply, it will mean the end of dinosaur supremacy. Despite their superior size and firepower and the obliviousness of their targets, the mercenaries always fail to kill the humans with comic results. Their usual preferred method of attacking the humans is throwing bombs full of bees, which upon impact would usually then go after the dinosaurs, forcing them to run to water to get away from the bees. Although the mercenaries fail to eliminate the humans, they have better luck in defending Jurassic City from enemies, and are successful in dangerous missions such as rescuing the kidnapped daughter of the president, which might explain why the team is allowed to continue working and not return to prison. [5]

Characters

Doc Tari

Doc Tari or "Doc" (voiced by Savage Steve Holland) is the leader of the Thunderlizards team. He is a Parasaurolophus only with a hole in the center of his crest that contains many gadgets such as a buzz-saw and a grappling hook. More often than not, he is the team's most focused member, but is every bit as unfocused as Kutter and Squatt when not chasing the humans or performing missions. Doc, both in voice and mannerisms is a parody of various Arnold Schwarzenegger film characters such as John Matrix from Commando , Dutch from Predator , and with a bit of the Terminator. His catch phrase is "We move!".

Day Z. Kutter

Day Z. Kutter or "Kutter" (voiced by Bill Kopp) is the second-in-command of the team. He is a Styracosaurus , although he was mis-addressed as a Triceratops . As his name suggests, he is good with knives, being the master of the knife fight, and wears a skull T-shirt. Kutter is smarter than Squatt but less intelligent than Doc. He is often shown fooling around with Squatt and, at times, requires Doc's quick wit and strength to help him focus.

Bo Diddley Squatt

Bo Diddley Squatt or "Squatt" (voiced by Jason Priestley in 1994-1996, Corey Feldman in 1996-1997) is the third member of the team and their top sniper. He is an Allosaurus . He is the typical "dim-witted clumsy screw-up" character, although in some instances, he has been fairly competent. His voice and mannerisms appear to be similar to Private Hudson, Bill Paxton's character from the film Aliens . Squatt is often used as the volunteer to assess dangerous situations. His catchphrase involves asking if a particular event would qualify as a "bad thing", to which Kutter or occasionally Doc would respond, "Yes Squatt, that would fit nicely into the bad things category!".

General Galapagos

General Galapagos General Galapagos (The Terrible Thunderlizards).JPG
General Galapagos

General Galapagos (voiced by Kurtwood Smith) is the boss of the Thunderlizards. He is a green and bad-tempered Tyrannosaurus. He wears a Blue General military uniform with a gold starred blue cap. When humans were starting to become a threat, General Galapagos had Doc, Squatt, and Kutter's prison sentenced commuted so that they can deal with the humans. He oversees the missions of the Terrible Thunderlizards to hunt down the humans but is continually frustrated that they never accomplish their mission. He was the one who foresaw that, given the trio's overall performance, their race is doomed.

Dr. Steggy

Dr. Steggy is a Stegosaurus scientist (voiced by Charlie Adler) who works for the Jurassic City Military. He has a nephew called Huckleberry (voiced by Cam Clarke) who befriends the humans, Bill and Scooter.

Mr. T-Rex

Mr. T-Rex is Galapagos's best soldier. He is a Tyrannosaurus who is based on and voiced by Mr. T. Mr. T-Rex is a parody of Mr. T's characters Clubber Lang from Rocky III & B. A. Baracus from The A-Team , even using some of Mr. T's popular catch phrases. His anger frequently gets him into trouble resulting in the Thunderlizards having to save him.

Nate the Dragon

Nate the Dragon (voiced by Nathan Wang) is a Velociraptor who is a stealth and martial arts expert using uses a Bo staff.

El Gordo

El Gordo is an unusually small Ceratosaurus who is an expert in camouflage and can disappear by sticking a plant in his hat.

Bill & Scooter

Bill and Scooter are the two humans - Homo sapiens , called "mankinds" - that the Thunderlizards try to eliminate so they will never evolve into the humans of today. Both Bill and Scooter wear animal skins (blue for Bill and red for Scooter) somewhat like the ones worn by male characters in The Flintstones , but only covering their right shoulders, and walk in animal skin shoes. While both are aware that the Thunderlizards are trying to kill them, they have no idea why or know the anti-human prejudice from Dinosaur City. In a few episodes the pair befriend some dinosaurs such as Huckleberry.

Bill (voiced by Charles Adler) is tall and thin with red hair and is Scooter's ill-tempered partner. He is often used to test drive Scooter's devices often with chaotic, disastrous and painful consequences. Throughout the series, he uses the catch phrase "When does the hurting stop?", usually after one of Scooter's failed and painful experiments. Bill is continually depressed, sometimes almost to the point of psychosis. He has a love/hate relationship with Scooter; while he has been civil towards him at times and even occasionally protects him, he often gets driven to attempt to kill him after suffering some painful mishap from one of his inventions. While most of the time the pain Bill goes through is the cause of Scooter, more often than not Bill's misfortune comes from his own stupidity and stubbornness and refusal to listen to him. Bill is the target of choice for a particular species of jungle slug that regularly tries to eat him, though it has targeted Scooter on one occasion, as well.

Scooter (voiced by Curtis Armstrong) is short, fat and bald with a yellow beard. He is a jolly, overly enthusiastic caveman and inventor and is blissfully unaware of Bill's irritable attitude toward him. He is an eternal optimist seeking world peace and harmony and rarely panics unless being pursued by the Thunderlizards or when Bill attempts to hurt him. His inventions often fail and result in disastrous consequences where Bill is usually the victim, but sometimes his inventions save him and Bill from being hurt by the Thunderlizards or other dangers in the jungle. Unlike Bill, Scooter is willing to find new ways to live and survive in the X-Zone and invent new things, and has developed somewhat of a bond with Babs over their love of inventing, most clearly shown in "The Yawn of Man".

Their relationship is similar to SpongeBob and Squidward from SpongeBob SquarePants .

Babs

Babs is the first female human and was created by dinosaur scientists using recovered genetic material from Bill and Scooter spliced together, then doubling the X-chromosome to create a female. Her name comes from the acronym for Bio-engineered Animated Biped Specimen (BABS) and she believes strongly in "womankind". The Thunderlizards' goal was to use Babs to entrap the two men for the dinosaurs. But she was more intelligent than them and abandoned her original mission to live alone in the jungle. Babs is aloof and manipulative and was initially repulsed by Scooter and preferred the company of Bill, who was easier to manipulate. She makes occasional future appearances where she comes up with ideas on how to use Bill and Scooter to further her aspirations.

The Thuggosaurs

The Thuggosaurs are a race of black-hooded skeletal undead dinosaurs that live in the X-Zone on the outskirts of Jurassic City, which is a frequent target of the Thuggosaurs, who are recurring antagonists in the program. The Thuggosaurs are a parody of the hooded and mutated survivors living in the Forbidden Zone from the films Beneath the Planet of the Apes and Battle for the Planet of the Apes in their targeting of Ape City. Thuggo (voiced by Brad Garrett in most appearances, understudied by Kurtwood Smith in four episodes) is the diabolical leader of a group of Thuggosaurs. He is a Megalosaurus. His vanity insists he always look good. So Thuggo often spends more time trying to improve his appearance than accomplishing his evil plans, which would mean the end of the Living Dinosaurs once carried out. The Thuggosaurs sometimes have conspiracies that initially appear effective against the dinosaurs, such as kidnapping the president's daughter. Biff is Thuggo's wimpy, flower-loving, second-in-command and is inappropriate to be part of a villainous organization like The Thuggosaurs. Thuggo has an roundish skull-shape with sharp teeth-like bones while Biff has a long snout with bucky teeth and wears a pair of goggles. All other Thuggosaurs share similar features.

The Primates

The primates are a group of simians who co-exist in the X-Zone like Bill and Scooter, whom they regard as backward and primitive. They are more advanced than the humans, living in condominiums and with an advanced social structure.

Episodes

Cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr. Burns</span> Fictional character from The Simpsons franchise

Charles Montgomery Plantagenet Schicklgruber "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns or C. Montgomery Burns, is a recurring character and antagonist in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced initially by Christopher Collins and since by Harry Shearer. He is the mostly evil, devious, greedy, and wealthy owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and, by extension, Homer Simpson's boss. He is assisted at almost all times by Waylon Smithers, his loyal and sycophantic aide, adviser, confidant, and secret admirer. He is between 81 and 120 years old, though sometimes it is implied he is much older.

<i>That 70s Show</i> American television sitcom

That '70s Show is an American television teen sitcom that aired on Fox from August 23, 1998 to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin from 1976 to 1979. The ensemble cast features Topher Grace, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Danny Masterson, Laura Prepon, Wilmer Valderrama, Lisa Robin Kelly, Debra Jo Rupp, Kurtwood Smith, Don Stark, Tommy Chong, and Tanya Roberts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurtwood Smith</span> American actor (born 1943)

Kurtwood Larson Smith is an American actor. He is known for playing Clarence Boddicker in RoboCop (1987), Robert Griggs in Rambo III (1988), and Red Forman in That '70s Show (1998–2006) and That '90s Show (2023–2024), as well as for his many appearances in science fiction films and television programs. He also starred in the seventh season of 24. He voiced Gene on Regular Show (2012–2017), portrayed Leslie Claret on Patriot (2015–2018), and Old Man Peterson on The Ranch (2017–2020).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daws Butler</span> American voice actor (1916–1988)

Charles Dawson Butler, professionally known as Daws Butler, was an American voice actor. He worked mostly for the Hanna-Barbera animation production company and the Walter Lantz cartoon studio. He originated the voices of many familiar Hanna-Barbera characters, including: Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Snagglepuss, Quick Draw McGraw and Baba Looey, Augie Doggie, Loopy De Loop, Wally Gator, Snooper and Blabber, Dixie and Mr. Jinks, Hokey Wolf, Lippy the Lion, Elroy Jetson, Lambsy, Peter Potamus, The Funky Phantom and Hair Bear. While at Walter Lantz, he did the voices of: Chilly Willy, Smedley, Maxie the Polar Bear, Gooney and Sam in the Maggie and Sam series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Adler</span> American voice actor and director

Charles Michael Adler is an American voice actor and voice director. He is known for his roles as Buster Bunny on Tiny Toon Adventures, the Bigheads on Rocko's Modern Life, Ickis on Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Doctor Doom, Wrecker, Sabertooth and others in The Super Hero Squad Show, MODOK in various Marvel media, Cobra Commander in GI Joe: Resolute and Renegades, Starscream in the Transformers films, Mr. Whiskers in Brandy & Mr. Whiskers, Cow, Chicken and the Red Guy in Cow and Chicken, Professor Monkey-for-a-Head in Earthworm Jim, I.R. Baboon in I Am Weasel, T-Bone in SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron and Tex Hex in Bravestarr.

<i>Eek! The Cat</i> 1992 American-Canadian animated TV series

Eek! The Cat is an animated series, created by Savage Steve Holland and Bill Kopp, produced by Fox Kids, Savage Studios and Nelvana, it is outsourced by Wang Film Productions. Broadcast from 1992 to 1997 on Fox's former Saturday morning children's block Fox Kids, it aired in Canada on YTV from 1992 to 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savage Steve Holland</span> American filmmaker

Savage Steve Holland is an American film and television director, writer, producer, animator and voice actor most known for directing Better Off Dead (1985) and One Crazy Summer (1986), starring John Cusack. He also directed the film How I Got into College (1989), and animated the "Whammy" on the game show Press Your Luck. He later went on to create and produce Eek! the Cat and The Terrible Thunderlizards for Fox Kids.

<i>Dinosaucers</i> Television series

Dinosaucers is a 1987 animated television series co-produced in the United States and Canada; developed and produced by DIC Animation City in association with Lightyear Entertainment and Coca-Cola Telecommunications. The show was created by producer Michael E. Uslan, who considered it a "harebrained idea". Despite only running for one season, it did run for a total of 65 episodes as ordered to be a 13-week-long series, when it aired on first-run syndication.

<i>The PJs</i> American adult animated stop motion black sitcom

The PJs is an American adult stop motion-animated black sitcom created by Eddie Murphy, Larry Wilmore, and Steve Tompkins for Fox. It portrays life in an urban public housing project. The series starred Eddie Murphy, and it was produced by Imagine Television by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, The Murphy Company and Will Vinton Studios in association with Touchstone Television, marking the show as Disney's first adult animated series; and Warner Bros. Television. The original run of the series debuted on Fox on January 10, 1999. Two days later, the second episode aired in its regular Tuesday night time slot, following King of the Hill. The series was moved to The WB for its third season and the series ended on May 20, 2001. The title is an abbreviation for "the projects", referring to the show's public housing highrise.

<i>Tyrannosaurus</i> in popular culture

Tyrannosaurus rex is unique among dinosaurs in its place in modern culture; paleontologist Robert Bakker has called it "the most popular dinosaur among people of all ages, all cultures, and all nationalities". Paleontologists Mark Norell and Lowell Dingus have likewise called it "the most famous dinosaur of all times." Paleoartist Gregory S. Paul has called it "the theropod. [...] This is the public's favorite dinosaur [...] Even the formations it is found in have fantastic names like Hell Creek and Lance." Other paleontologists agree with that and note that whenever a museum erects a new skeleton or bring in an animatronic model, visitor numbers go up. "Jurassic Park and King Kong would not have been the same without it." In the public mind, T. rex sets the standard of what a dinosaur should be. Science writer Riley Black similarly states, "In all of prehistory, there is no animal that commands our attention quite like Tyrannosaurus rex, the king of the tyrant lizards. Since the time this dinosaur was officially named in 1905, the enormous carnivore has stood as the ultimate dinosaur."

<i>Neds Newt</i> 1997 multi-national TV series or program

Ned's Newt is an animated television series created by Andy Knight and Mike Burgess and is co-produced by Nelvana and German company TMO Film GmbH in conjunction with Studio B Productions. It aired on Teletoon in Canada from October 17, 1997, to December 31, 1999. In the United States, the series aired on Fox Kids starting on February 7, 1998, on Saturday mornings, but later changed to weekday mornings on October 5, 1998, to January 1, 1999. However, only the first season aired on Fox Kids in the U.S. while the series was never rebroadcast for many years. The show features celebrity Harland Williams as the voice of Newton.

<i>Cadillacs and Dinosaurs</i> (TV series) 1993 Canadian animated television series based on comic books

Cadillacs and Dinosaurs is an animated television series produced by De Souza Productions, Galaxy Films and Nelvana, which aired on CBS as part of its Saturday morning children's lineup in the United States from 1993 to 1994, lasting for one season of 13 episodes. Based on Xenozoic Tales by Mark Schultz, the show was created by screenwriter Steven E. de Souza, who acquired the TV rights after producing the video game Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, which was also based on Schultz's comic. The show dealt with many strong ecological and political issues that were central to the plot development.

William Kopp is an American animator, writer and voice actor.

<i>Klutter!</i> 1995 American TV series or program

Klutter is an animated segment that ran on Eek! Stravaganza's fourth season from 1995 to 1996 on the Fox Kids block. It was created by David Silverman and Savage Steve Holland. The segment was animated by the same people who used to work for Fox's The Critic, which was canceled that year. The executive producers were David Silverman, Savage Steve Holland, and Phil Roman. Unlike the Eek and Thunderlizard segments, this was a Fox Children's Productions and Savage Studios co-production in association with Film Roman for animation. Eight episodes were produced.

"Eek, a Penis!" is the fifth episode in the twelfth season of the American animated sitcom South Park. The 172nd episode of the series overall, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 9, 2008. In the episode, Mrs. Garrison seeks to become a man again through the help of a new medical procedure. The subplot focuses on Cartman's attempt to teach struggling inner-city school children how to succeed by cheating. This plot is a parody of the 1988 film Stand and Deliver, with Eric Cartman playing a role similar to that of Jaime Escalante. The episode was rated TV-MA L for strong language in the United States.

<i>Neighbors from Hell</i> 2010 American TV series or program

Neighbors from Hell is an American adult animated sitcom created by Pam Brady for the cable channel TBS, that ran from June 7 to July 26, 2010. The series consisted of ten episodes.

<i>Dan Vs.</i> American animated sitcom

Dan Vs. is an American animated television series created by Dan Mandel and Chris Pearson for the cable channel The Hub. The series stars Curtis Armstrong, Dave Foley and Paget Brewster.

<i>Pinky Malinky</i> American animated television series

Pinky Malinky is an animated television series created and produced by Netflix. It is based on Chris Garbutt's animated short of the same name produced by Cartoon Network Studios Europe, which was released in 2009. It marks the first collaboration between Nickelodeon and Netflix as well as the first Nicktoon to be produced exclusively for Netflix. The series chronicles the adventures of Pinky Malinky, a 12-year-old middle school student who also happens to be an anthropomorphic hot dog and his efforts to climb up the social ladder with his two human friends Babs Byuteman and JJ Jameson.

References

  1. ↑ Reboy, Joseph A. (Fall–Winter 1993). "What Happened to The Terrible Thunderlizards?". Animato! #27. p. 25. Archived from the original on June 29, 2006. Retrieved 1 May 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ↑ "U.S. Copyright Public Records System".
  3. ↑ "Disney+ and Missing Saban Entertainment & Fox Kids-Jetix Worldwide Library - StreamClues". 14 September 2022. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  4. ↑ "Liste - BVS Entertainment | Séries".
  5. ↑ "The Terrible Thunderlizards". TV Acres. Archived from the original on 2013-02-04. Retrieved 2007-04-01.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.