Deconstructing The Herculoids (or - Why conquer Quasar?)

While I vaguely remember loving Jonny Quest, I have no trouble remembering the awesomeness that was The Herculoids. Such a cool family doing battle with crazy creatures and evildoers definitely held my attention. I also loved the cross overs with Space Ghost, when he would come to visit, and inevitably have to help out (or vice versa) with some enemy. Which led me to one question...

Why exactly did the Herculoids ever need help?

We dive deeper on the flip side...



I can fully understand why Space Ghost would call on the Herculoids for help. Traveling the galaxy (start system/universe/whatever) you're bound to run into beings that can't easily be defeated by power rays and invisibility. Having the ability to call on the Herculoids is a powerful thing.

But flip that coin, and it seems strange to me the Herculoids would need Space Ghost and those two kids that always seem to have their hands full with the monkey. Let's break down the roster of the Herculoids:

Zandar - the de facto leader of the gang. While he doesn't possess a specific superpower, he certainly makes up for it in bravado, courage and intelligence. Just keeping this ragtag group together and leading them as one cohesive unit is a feat.

Tarra - the sultry, sexy wife of Zandar. She too exudes intelligence and courage, all the while wearing tight outfits and letting her blond mane flow freely. Methinks Zandar is lucky there doesn't seem to be any kind of human population on Qusar, or he would do less time battling otherworldy forces, and more time battling off potential suitors trying to steal Tarra away.

Dorno - Walking in his father's footsteps, the amount of action he sees on a given day battling whatever is making him more than ready to step into Zandar's shoes when the time comes. He also seems to have an almost unhealthy relationship with Glee (see below) but I'll cut him some slack since there really doesn't seem to be too many people there he can go build forts with and stuff.

Zok - A flying dragon that is impervious to space and can shoot lasers out of not only his eyes but also his tail. I'm going to label him a weapon of mass destruction.

Igoo - A rock type creature in the same mold as Bigfoot, if Bigfoot were built out of rocks. Very tough to bring down.

Tundro - A rhinocerous type creature who can shoot exploding rocks out of his horn. Also, his legs can stretch. I guess it's a cool parlor trick.

Gloop and Gleep - The schmoo type creatures that at rest, look like white blobs of goo, but when called into action can pretty much take any shape needed to give their side an edge. They mostly seem to join the fracas in a support type role, though they could also replicate themselves and become a schmoo army if the crisis called for it.

Looking at this lineup, it's amazing they continued to get attacked. You'd think after the ninth or tenth attempt to take over Quasar, word would get out among the galaxy's super villains that the Herculoids were not something to be taken lightly.

Which leads me to my next question...what exactly did the planet Quasar boast that so many people wanted to take it over? On the surface it looked like an artist-on-acid's rendition of Siberia. It's possible that it boasted precious metals and other materials valuable on the galaxy's black market, but then wouldn't we see at least one mining facility? Or hear about it? Or get a very special episode where Zandar has to battle black lung?

Regardless, of these facts, the show was still awesome and I loved it. And you should too. So if you've never seen it, I suggest you seek it out.