Don’t worry, it’s almost Friday. Sometimes a Thursday just needs a little 1980’s cartoon action…
See, now didn’t that cheer you up a bit? There are very few things that Bravestarr can’t make feel a little better.
I think we all owe a debt of gratitude to an unsung hero of 1980’s science fiction and television. His is a face that we grew up with, but probably never thought much of. I’m talking about Judson Earney Scott. Who you ask? I’m not surprised. Until I sat down to type this, I didn’t know his name either. However, this photo should immediately help you remember this actor.
I have no doubt you recognize him. However, do you realize just how many times his face graced our entertainment screens? Especially in geek-related shows/movies? Below is a listing of many of his appearances. For a complete list, visit his IMDB page. Judson Earney Scott in the 1980s:
Then in the 1990’s, Judson Earney Scott:
Then in the 2000’s, Judson Earney Scott:
I’m sure you are remembering some of his appearances by now. I distinctly remember him in several of these shows. Typically he played the bad guy of the week. He always looked and carried himself like a total bad ass, even though you knew the good guys would eventually get the best of him. I find it interesting that he could always pull off the long hair, regardless of the situation. He was definitely cool.
What inspired me to write this post was something that happened the other night. As some of you know, recently I’ve been watching “V: The Series” on DVD. In an episode I watched the other night Judson Earney Scott made his first appearance on the show. I didn’t know it was coming and found myself thinking, “Oh yeah, the resistance is in for it now, Mr. Bad Ass has arrived.” That’s when I realized that I had grown up seeing this guys face, always thought he was a cool bad guy, but didn’t know his name.
With that said, I think we should all reflect back on our youth and remember Judson Earney Scott as one of the integral pieces of our geeky upbringing.
Here’s hoping that he appears in more geek related shows and movies in the future!
This post is inspired by some discussion on THE UNIQUE GEEK listserv as well as a post by my buddy SGhoul on his blog, Oozings from My Head.
A few years back, I made a CD of 1980’s cartoon theme songs. The more I searched for these, the more I realized how much fun cartoons in the 1980’s were. Perhaps I’m biased growing up in that era, but back then cartoons were so much more fun, family-friendly, and less … well, less stupid than many of the cartoons nowadays (I’m looking at you Ed, Edd, n Eddy). Now, there were certainly some duds in the 80’s, I just think overall cartoons were better back then. There are certainly a few excellent cartoons nowadays, but the majority of them are unwatchable to me. Again, it may just be that I’m old and over the hill.
Below I’m posting the song list from my 1980’s cartoon CD. Each has a link to a video of the opening credits (Yay for YouTube!). If you can think of any worthwhile cartoons I’ve missed, let me know!
ACTION/ADVENTURE
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
Thundarr the Barbarian
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
She-Ra: Princess of Power
BraveStarr - One of my favorites and under-appreciated
Dungeons & Dragons
M.A.S.K.
C.O.P.S.
Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors
Godzilla Power Hour - with Godzuki
Bionic Six
Turbo Teen
Danger Mouse
Count Duckula
Galaxy Rangers
Centurions
Blackstar
Flash Gordon, The New Adventures of - Probably the best storytelling intro of the 80’s
Tarzan: Lord of the Jungle
The New Adventures of Zorro
Ghostbusters (Filmation)
Inhumanoids
ThunderCats
Silverhawks
Tigersharks
BIG ‘BOTS
Voltron: Defender of the Universe
Tranzor Z
Mighty Orbots
Robotech
Robotix
GoBots, Challenge of the
Transformers - Season One
Transformers - Season Four
SUPERHERO
Superman: The Animated Series (1987)
Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures
Captain Planet
X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men
Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show (1984)
(Super Friends) Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians (1985)
Plastic Man
Defenders of the Earth
Spider-man & His Amazing Friends (1981)
Incredible Hulk (1982)
LIVE ACTION SPINOFF
Fonz and the Happy Days Gang
Laverne and Shirley in the Army
Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO
Ewoks
Muppet Babies
Dukes
Punky Brewster
Gilligan’s Planet
Gary Coleman Show - I’ve got the audio, but can’t find video
Mr. T
Real Ghostbusters
GAME SPINOFF
Donkey Kong
Pole Position - One of the best 1980’s cartoon musical themes! If Kenny Loggins had done cartoon themes, they would have sounded like this! Very catchy!
Q-Bert
Pac-Man
Rubik the Amazing Cube
HUMOR
Alvin & the Chipmunks (The Chipmunks)
Scooby-Doo, A Pup Named
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels
Galaxy High - Another of my favorites!
Alf Tales
Inspector Gadget
MUSICALLY ORIENTED
School House Rock
Jem
Kidd Video
CUTE CREATURES
Strawberry Shortcake
Rainbow Brite
Smurfs
Snorks
My Little Pony ‘n Friends
Get Along Gang
Shirt Tales
Paw-Paw Bears
Care Bears
The Littles
Gummi Bears, Disney’s Adventures of the - Another great theme song! Very catchy!
Here are some more that I didn’t plan to include, but stumbled across while drafting this post:
The Monchhichis
The Lone Ranger
Fraggle Rock
DuckTales
The Great Space Coaster
Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling
Lazer Tag Academy
Rambo: The Force of Freedom
The Scooby & Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour
Richie Rich
80’s goodness!
A place for all things geek... Primarily I focus on some of my favorite topics including comic books, Doctor Who, Star Wars (classic and legacy characters), role-playing, 80’s TV shows, and science fiction in general. However, any topic is really fair game. Feel free to comment and let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy!
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