D&D General Poll: Did you watch the D&D cartoon when it was new?

[Micah Sweet]

Is this a subtle way to see how many old people are on this forum???

On the question...I actually really loved the show. Even as an adult I enjoy Cartoons, and though I wasn't as old as I am not, I still enjoyed it. (To be honest, I enjoy some cartoons as an adult, others I found rather boring. During that time period I remember I wasn't all that keen into some of the Japanese oriented cartoons that came out in the West such as G-Force, and I found the original He-man run extremely droll even though the idea appealed to me, so I suppose that can put it somewhat into perspective in that I still enjoyed the D&D cartoon despite other cartoons not exactly entertaining me).

Call me wierd, but I still enjoy a good cartoon today!

I enjoy cartoons too, but most of the stuff from that particular era doesn't do much for me anymore. I know it hurts my old person cred, but the cartoons I enjoyed the most started in the '90s and even early '00s or later. Batman: The Animated Series, Avatar: The Last Airbender and the Legend of Korra, Star Wars: the Clone Wars and Rebels, and Futurama top my list, along with even newer stuff like Arcane, Castlevania, and Star Trek: Lower Decks and Prodigy.

 

[R_J_K75]

I watched it a few times when I was a kid but I was never really into it. Even then, it didn’t seem like it was D&D.

It sucked. It was not D&D, but just a way for Gary to get into LA and the Grotto.

 

[Mind of tempest]

no I had not been born, I did not even see reruns

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

blah, blah, blah, blah...The cartoon show of Conan...blah, blah, blah

 

[Mistwell]

Yes, watched it live from episode 1 on first release in the U.S.. And I looked forward to it.

 

[jdrakeh]

In hindsight, Jeremy Irons and Marlon Wayans were the only people that knew they were filming junk, and hammed it up to the nth degree.

I recently opined to a friend that Marlon Wayans was the absolute best part of the movie, which should give you an idea of how bad it was.

 

[MGibster]

I get the nostalgia love for it from some, but I still think it is an incredibly dumb show by just about any standard. To this day, I can't abide any taint of it in my games.

It's been so long since I've seen an episode that I only have a few fragmentary memories. Other than Dungeon Master, Venger, Tiamat, and Uni, I can't think of the names of the main characters and had to look them up. I was nine when D&D ended production in 1985, and while I remember enjoying the show, that doesn't mean it's good. Most of the cartoons I watched when I was a kid aged terrible with only a few notable exceptions. I can certainly see how someone older would have been unhappy with the show.

Just a bit of reading up on it, I didn't realize a lot of people considered in a particularly violent cartoon, but then by the time I saw the cartoon I had already seen Poltergeist and several other movies I wouldn't let any hypothetical children of mine watch. Back then, a lot of cartoons were required to have some sort of educational or moral lesson, and I understand the character of Eric had a contrarian nature because the writer's were directed to send a message to kids that the group was always right. In hindsight that seems like a terrible message.

Palladium came out with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness in 1985 about two years before the debut of the cartoon series. The RPG was based on the rather gritty comic book and I know the folks at Palladium felt as though it pushed people away from their game. I was losing interest in cartoons by the time TMNT came out and never really got into the series.

 

[MGibster]

Rich kids got the big ones. Omega supreme, Metroplex.

The neighbor across the street from me had the USS Flag. It's interesting to note that I don't think I knew anyone who had any D&D toys. And now that I think about it, AD&D is kind of a weird game to tie into a toy line and cartoon for young kids. Unless there was a special episode where Hank and Eric ask Dungeon Master to watch over Bobby because he's too young for the Random Harlot Table.

 

[John Lloyd1]

Wow, went from about 2:1 yes:no shortly after launch to 4:1 now! That's a lot more than I expected.


FYI: for the purposes of this poll, if you watched it when it first aired in the UK, that would be a "yes".


For reference, here's when it first aired in various countries (near as I can determine from some quick research):

United States: 1983
United Kingdom: 1984
Australia: 1985
Brazil: 1985
Italy: 1985
Mexico: 1985
Spain: 1985
Taiwan: 1985
France: 1987
Netherlands: 1987
Germany: 1991
South Korea: 1993
Japan: 1996
Czech Republic: 1997
Hong Kong: 1998

I couldn't find the release date for New Zealand offhand, but per @Zardnaar it was sometime in the 1980s. It supposedly also aired in Argentina, Canada, Ecuador, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, and Sweden, but I can't find airdates there either.

Thanks for finding the Australian release dates. I couldn't find them and wasn't sure it had been released here. Didn't watch much commercial tv, so I'm not surprised I didn't know.

 

[Deset Gled]

I watched it. I had the board game (Quest for the Dungeonmaster) and a stuffed unicorn named Uni that I'm 85% sure was not an official product.

But I liked He-Man a lot more.