Blackstar: Difference between revisions

'''''Blackstar''''' is a 1981 fantasy-adventure cartoon from [[Filmation]]. A precursor to the far more successful ''[[He -Man and Thethe Masters of Thethe Universe|He-Man]] ''(only 12 episodes were produced), ''Blackstar'' followed the adventures of an [[Fish Out of Water|Earthly astronaut]], the eponymous John Blackstar, and his "allies": Klone, the [[Our Elves Are Different|elf-like]] [[Voluntary Shapeshifting|ShapeShifter]]; Mara, the [[Green-Skinned Space Babe|lavender-skinned]] [[Magical Girl]]; Warlock, his [[Our Dragons Are Different|dragon-like]] [[Cool Horse|Cool Steed]]; and the [[Captain Ersatz|Trobbits]], seven magenta-skinned little men who tended the Sagar tree on which the planet's environment depended -- Balkar, their magical leader; the [[The Voiceless|speechless]] Poulo; Carpo; Gossamer, [[Ear Wings|who flew by means of his huge ears]]; Burbil; Rif, who talked like Walter Brennan and whose hat was permanently afire; and Terra. All these were in rebellion against the [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|Overlord]] and his allies, such as the sorcerous [[Evil Chancellor|Vizier]], a horde of dinosaur-shaped stone robots, the [[Mecha -Mooks|Lavaloks]], and a series of one-shot villains such as Kadray, the "Time-Lord" (no, not [[Doctor Who|that one]]).

Interestingly, the eponymous hero was designed as an African-American (this was in keeping with Filmation's predilection for [[And Knowing Is Half the Battle|socially positive messages]] in its shows), but was subsequently changed to a deeply tanned Caucasian. It has been asserted that this was done [[Executive Meddling|at the behest of the network]], but Filmation producer Lou Scheimer has disclaimed all memory of any such directive. Many fans assume that Blackstar is a Native American, but there is no mention of this in the original series, and he differs somewhat in appearance from Filmation's later Native American hero, [[Bravestarr (Animation)|Bravestarr]].

* [[Captain Ersatz]]: The "Trobbits" were at one and the same time expies of Peyo's [[The Smurfs|Smurfs]], [[JRRJ. TolkienR. (Creator)R. Tolkien|JRR Tolkien]]'s hobbits, and [[Disney]]'s [[Snow White (Disney film)|Seven Dwarfs]].

* [[Evil Knockoff]]: In the episode "Tree of Evil", an [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|evil tree]] makes evil copies of the Trobbits, [[Stealth Pun|Klone]], and Blackstar himself.

** Another (probably) completely unintentional one: as he explains in his [[Opening Narration]], an astronaut named John is swept through a hole in space into a distant part of the universe filled with strange alien beings, some of whom become his allies. Almost from the moment he arrives, he's pursued by a cruel commander<ref>the first of several</ref> who wants him and/or his [[MacGuffin]]. [[Farscape (TV)|Sound familiar?]]

** Since this is Filmation, Blackstar's premise shows a lot of influence from their earlier adaptation of ''[[Flash Gordon (Animationanimation)|Flash Gordon]]''. It also presages their later ''[[He -Man and Thethe Masters of Thethe Universe]]'' in many ways.

* [[Mecha -Mooks]]: The Lavaloks

* [[Name's the Same]]: Gossamer is ''not'' a [[Looney Tunes|giant red-furred tooth in tennis shoes]]. And it's Balkar, not [[The Order of the Stick (Webcomic)|Belkar]].