Re: D&D cartoon & nostalgia
Hikaru said:
Any hope to ever see a sequel to the ol' D&D cartoon?
Too late! You've pulled the wrong lever, and the pit of another sad tale yawns beneath your feet...
I got forced out to California to run what was then TSR Entertainment. That name I changed to "Dundeons & Dragons Entertaiment Corporation" because having dealt with the boys back in LAke Geneva, the name "TSR" conjured a most unfortunate image in the monds of those out on the West Coast who ran things in TV and movies.
So it was an expensive proposition, maintaining offices out there, for it takes at least a year for an outsider to be considered potentially suitable for insider status, even with a cartoon show running on TV, a major net then, CBS. So I fought the good fight, was finally getting somewhere when "doping lunch" and "taking a meeting" out in LA.
Although the third season of the D&D Cartoon Show saw only five new episodes, we were working on a major motion picture project that was making great progress towards getting into pre-production stage, in serious discussion for a game showm and best of all we had cut a verbal deal for a cartoon show spin-off.
Gail saw to it that Judy Price from CBS and Margaret Loesch and Hank Sayoran from Marvel Entertainment had a comfortable meeting at our location, with white wine and cold shrimp for the evening break. Meantime I pitched my concept of a more adult-oriented spin-off of the show, sans Bobby the Barbarian and Uni--those two remaining back onearth when the Call to Adventure sounded again for the other Heroes. After a meeting that lasted about six hours, we took the lot down to Beverly Hills to a good italian restautant for a late supper--it was about 10 PM by then. None of the three had ever dined in BH before, even though they lived over in the Valley. The supper went as well as the meeting. and we [parted after midnight.
In a couple of days time we got word that it was a go, CBS was eager to move forward. Soon thereafter Marvel sent me the first script for the new series, and told me two more had been assigned to writers. The opening show was great, the "kids" were no longer reliant on hoaky magic items, had skills and their own abilities in the main.
Of course the TSR financial crisis of 1984 then occurred, so I had to hasten back to Lake Geneva. That put all projects on hold. Then I lost the stock fight. When it was learned that I was no longer involved, that ended the new cartoon series, and the other projects too. What a wretched result
Gary