Peter Pan and the Pirates

Today's next show is a spin on the classic tale of Peter Pan by J.M Barrie, Peter Pan and the Pirates!

The television show focuses as much on the pirates as it does on Peter Pan. Captain Hook and Mr. Smee traditionally are the only pirates who receive any attention in the story, but here, the other crew members of the Jolly Roger (Robert Mullins, Alf Mason, Gentleman Ignatious Starkey, Billy Jukes, and Cookson) are given distinct personalities and character development. A real force to be reckoned with, Hook is a powerful, temperamental, cultured, intelligent, and charming pirate with an insatiable thirst for vengeance. Some attention was also given to the Native American characters (no longer called Redskins). They and their customs were often featured in the storyline.

Fun Fact - Tim Curry provided the voice for Captian Hook in the incarnation of the classic tale!

Gargoyles

Good morning everyone. It's the weekend again! Hoorays! Today I am bringing you one of my all time favourite cartoons, it's Disney's Gargoyles!

The series features a species of nocturnal creatures known as gargoyles that turn to stone during the day, focusing on a clan led by Goliath. In the year 994, the clan lives in a castle in medieval Scotland alongside humans, until many of them are killed by betrayal and the remainder are magically frozen in stone until the castle "rises above the clouds."
A millennium later, in 1994, billionaire David Xanatos purchases the gargoyles' castle and has it reconstructed atop his New York City skyscraper, awakening the six remaining gargoyles. In trying to adjust to their new world, they are aided by a sympathetic NYPD detective, Elisa Maza, and quickly come into conflict with the plotting Xanatos. In addition to dealing with the gargoyles' attempts to adjust to modern New York, the series also incorporated various supernatural threats to their safety and to the world at large.

Gargoyles is noted for its relatively dark tone, complex story arcs, and melodrama; character arcs were heavily employed throughout the series, as were Shakespearean themes.

Fun Fact -  The voice cast featured several actors who are alumni of the Star Trek franchise including Marina Sirtis and Jonathan Frakes (respectively, Deanna Troi and William Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation), who were featured regularly as principal cast members. Other Star Trek actors such as Michael Dorn (Worf on TNG and DS9), Brent Spiner (Data on TNG), Colm Meaney (Miles O’Brien on TNG and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), LeVar Burton (Geordi La Forge on TNG), Nichelle Nichols (Uhura on Star Trek: The Original Series), Avery Brooks (Benjamin Sisko on DS9), Paul Winfield (Clark Terrell in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan), David Warner (various characters, most notably Gul Madred in "Chain of Command", a two-part episode of TNG) and Kate Mulgrew (Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager) were guest or recurring stars in the series.

ExoSquad

This is a new one to me, so thanks to a BCC fan for bringing it to my attention. Here's ExoSquad!

The series is set in the years 2119–2121 AD, several decades after humanity ("Terrans") has expanded its presence beyond Earth, terraforming and colonizing Venus and Mars. These three planets are "the Homeworlds", the core first of the Terran interplanetary state and later of Neosapien Commonwealth. Not all Terrans are affiliated with the Homeworlds, however: the Pirate Clans, descendants of Terran criminals exiled to the Outer Planets who live off looted Homeworlds' space freighters, are a major independent faction in the show. The first episode opens with the Earth Congress dispatching the entire Exofleet, humanity's space-based military, to counter the Pirate threat.
With war with the Pirate Clans looming, an uprising begins among the Neosapiens, an artificial humanoid race coexisting with Terrans. In the back-story, the Neosapiens were used primarily as slaves during the colonization of Mars and Venus and therefore have been engineered to be physically stronger and better adapted to hostile environments than humans. Their mistreatment by Terrans led to the First Neosapien Revolt fifty years before the series' begin, which was mercilessly crushed but had brought some positive changes into their lives. Still not content with his fate, the Neosapien Governor of Mars, Phaeton, sets a new insurrection, codenamed "Operation [Neosapien] Destiny", in motion as soon as the Exofleet leaves to chase after the Pirate Clans. The absence of the Exofleet is also a part of Phaeton's plan as it enables the Neosapiens' capture of the Homeworlds without much effort.

The Snorks

Under the sea, there lives a community of water dwelling little folk. The Snorks!

The Snorks are a race of small, colorful beings that live happily in the (saltwater) underwater world of Snorkland. They have snorkels on their heads, which are used to propel them swiftly through the water. As evidenced by the cartoon series, when a Snork becomes excited their tube makes a "snork" sound. They have much of the same technology as contemporary humans, adapted to their own aquatic environment. The Snorks use clams as currency ("clams" is also a slang term for money).
According to the Snork back-story, which was described in the show's first opening theme, a few ventured to the surface (which the Snorks believe is "outer space") in 1643, and watched a Royal Navyship of the Spanish Armada being attacked by pirates. The captain wound up in the water, and that was the first contact between the species when the Snorks saved his life, to which the captain then expressed his gratitude by writing a book about the Snorks, although very few humans believe in the existence of the Snorks. Since then, Snorks have adopted several human habits, such as wearing clothes.

The Dreamstone

Ever wondered where our dreams come from? Ever considered the possibility that it's because of The Dreamstone?

Somewhere in the universe is a planet only visible to those who believe in it. On the sunny side lives the Old Dreammaker, guardian of the most precious and powerful thing in the world - the Dreamstone. Every night he uses it to send out dreams to the world, assisted by Albert his watchhdog-fish, and two Noops, Rufus and Amberley. On the dark side of the planet dwells the huge and terrible Zordrak, Lord of Nightmares, hatching his evil plots to steal the Dreamstone so that nightmares may rule. Zordrak is protected by his army of Urpneys - led by Sergeant Blob - whose every thought is directed towards pleasing their master.

Rocko's Modern Life

Today's first show is about a little wallaby who has emigrated to the States from Australia, and his adventures while adjusting to his new world, it's Rocko's Modern Life!

Rocko is a wallaby who has emmigrated to America from Australia. He lives in O Town and tries to get through life but, of course, comes across a multitude of dilemmas and misadventures he must get through. Other characters include Rocko's best friend, Heffer, a steer who has been raised by wolves, Filbert, an easily upset turtle, and Ed Bighead who detests Rocko and hates having him for a next door neighbor. On this show, Rocko has such adventures as trying to adapt to a new vacuum cleaner, having Heffer move in temporarily after his parents kick him out, and going to a movie theater.

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventures

That's right, note the plural in the title. Bill and Ted had many more excellent adventures after passing their school history exam, and here is one of them!

An animated series inspired by the popular movie of the same name. High School slackers Bill and Ted, with the help of Rufus, use the time traveling telephone booth to visit different points in our history and future. They get into various adventures and scrapes along the way, but always manage to survive by means of their unusual talents.

Mummies Alive!

Today's first show is an action adventure, spanning thousands of years, from Ancient Egypt to modern day America! It's Mummies Alive!

In ancient Egypt, an evil sorcerer named Scarab, kills the pharaoh's son, Prince Rapses, so he can become immortal. Entombed alive for his crime (Rapses' body was also never found), Scarab revives in the modern world and begins his search for Rapses' reincarnation, a San Francisco-dwelling boy named Presley Carnovan to retrieve the spirit of Rapses' so he can become immortal. Rapses' (Presley's) bodyguards, Ja-Kal, Rath, Armon, and Nefer-Tina, along with Rapses' cat, Kahti, awake from the dead to protect him from Scarab. They use the power of Ra to transform into powerful guardians.
Each of the mummies is aligned with the power of an Egyptian god. Ja-Kal uses the spirit of falcon, Rath uses the spirit of snake, Armon uses the spirit of ram, and Nefer-Tina uses the spirit of cat. They are able to call upon it for magical armor and powers to fight superhuman evildoers. Although, once their strength is exhausted, they must rest in their sarcophagi to regain the ability. In order to access these powers, the mummies call out the phrase "With the Strength of Ra!", which triggers their transformation. The mummies also have the power to make a horrifying face, usually used to scare away nosy bystanders.

Grape Ape, Grape Ape!

I've had another special request today, this time for The Great Grape Ape Show!

The title character is a 40-foot-tall purple gorilla with the mind of a child. His catch phrase is saying his name twice ("Grape Ape, Grape Ape") after anything anyone says, usually as a form of agreement or acknowledgement of what was said. He travels the countryside with his canine pal Beegle Beagle, whom he calls "Beegly Beagly". Grape Ape's immense size tends to initially shock and frighten those unfamiliar with him, and his presence alone has often terrified people and animals, causing them to run off screaming invariably: "YEOW! It's a gorill-ill-ill-ill-la!". In one instance, a signpost reacted similarly, flipping out multiple segments of wood as the protaganists read the above reaction from it, after which it folded itself up and left in great haste.
Grape Ape and his friend Beegle Beagle usually move in a small yellow van driven by Beegle Beagle with Grape Ape sitting on the roof which can support his weight. A recurring bit of business would be for him to 'rev up' the tiny vehicle like a child with a friction toy, then hop aboard as the van would start on its way. Also, Grape Ape's steps would often bounce Beegle into the air, where his legs would keep walking without breaking stride.
Given his size, Grape Ape's sneezes were equivalent to a hurricane; and when he cried, which was sometimes when he was homesick for his family, his tears could cause flooding in areas.

Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs

Today's next show is a space western, very much in the same vein as Galaxy Rangers and Bravestarr; it's Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs!

The series is set in the distant future. Humans have spread beyond Earth and colonized planets across the universe, creating a New Frontier of man. In order to protect these new settlers and maintain laws and regulations in the New Frontier, Earth's Cavalry Command was created. Cavalry Command is a military organization, maintaining an army and fleet of ships to protect the New Frontier. Within Cavalry Command is a unit of special operatives known as Star Sheriffs that function as field agents, investigating crimes and plots against the security of the New Frontier.
 The main foe of Cavalry Command and the Star Sheriffs is a race of non-human creatures known as Vapor Beings (also sometimes called Outriders) that jumped into our dimension in order to conquer it. They attack the settlers, destroy settlements, and kidnap humans, in order to mine various metals or crystals from the soil. Outriders are superior to humans in battle technology.
They control a legion of gigantic robots with weapons greatly superior to the weapons and defenses of the space-going fleets of Cavalry Command. In response to the threat, Cavalry Command developed a prototype ship known as the "Ramrod Equalizer Unit" (or just Ramrod) that has the ability to turn from a spaceship into a powerful robot that can fight the Outriders on equal terms.

Blackstar

First today, we have a request from a BCC fan, It's Blackstar!

John Blackstar was an astronaut from a future version of Earth who had been swept through a black hole and stranded on the planet Sagar, where magic and sword and sorcery still ruled the day. Together with his allies, the Trobbits, Klone (a shape-shifting elfin companion), the dragon Warlock, and Mara the Enchantress, Blackstar battled the cruel Overlord, a Ming-like oppressor, who ruled by the might of the Powersword, one half of the Powerstar, an immensely powerful weapon. Fortunately, Blackstar possessed its other half, the Starsword, which kept the Overlord and his dark minions in check.