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DavidCMatthews — Tara vs. the Pod Creatures
Published: 2010-07-28 02:03:21 +0000 UTC; Views: 19359; Favourites: 184; Downloads: 672
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I was putting together an episode review for my Herculoids blog , and decided it needed an illustration of a scene that doesn't actually occur in the episode.It's the third episode, "The Pod Creatures" , and as you can probably already guess from the drawing above, it's the one in which a mysterious spaceship drops a whole s**tload of pods on the Herculoids' planet Amzot, and the creatures that come out of those pods start wrapping their tentacles around everything that moves, including most of the Herculoids.
Except for Tara, because she's been left behind with a ring of Gloops for protection (something that occurs with annoying frequency in the series) while the rest of the crew, which includes a boy of maybe thirteen, if that old, go off to face down the latest threat to their existence. So the dirty old man in me wanted a scene in which Tara wasn't left at home...
...or maybe while Zandor and the others are fighting pod things over there, more pod creatures come here and keep the Gloops busy fighting off their own opponents while Tara...
The Herculoids © Hanna-Barbera
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Comments: 44
This would definitely have been a great scene in the original show.
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Great strategy... keep the Herculoids busy then go after Tara! When I watched the pod creatures as a kid I didn't realize they were so obscene looking - wonder if they have some smaller ones for Tara... and do they vibrate?
Nice blog, brings back memories!
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hmmmm intiguing scenario, dear. Certainly leaves the field wide open 4 a big WHAT IF. mmm speaking of wide open fields, with that other strand wrapped around Tara's left leg.....
Amazing artwork, Mr Matthews, hugs! Susan xoxox
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You are very welcome, hon. I just couldn't view your art without commenting on it & I found it amazing, bringing me back to yesteryear with my brother. ahh if only time travel were all that easy as to take a lil trip of 5 decades (well, 4+ but you know what I mean.) Thank you, sir, 4 the memory jog. hugs! Susan xox
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Could you just imagine an entire episode, or even a feature length movie with all the cels drawn this beautifully? That would be something.
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I know some people on here who actually wished something like this actually happened..or at least happen more often that it had.
Not bad..
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As I was thinking about the Herculoids, I remembered a couple of episodes where greater muscles on Tara would've made them more interesting.
One was where an alien mad scientist, who previously shrank the Herculoids to microscopic size, returned and captured Tara to lure the heroes into an enlarged "micro"- world. With that accomplished, the villian intended to shoot Tara. Tara grabbed a beaker and - while the villian just nicely stood there - knocked the gun out of his hand and ran. A buff Tara would sweep the laboratory with him.
In another episode, some aquatic race decided they needed a queen to be successful - so they kidnap Tara and brainwash her to give orders. Not as silly as you might think, since you never see any women among these alien people. Anyway, a buff Tara would make sure this kidnapping would not be an easy one.
Just some thoughts.
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"Ruler of the Reptons" was the second episode you mentioned; it was actually a subterranean race rather than aquatic, but you got the other details right. We never see the actual capture of Tara, though, so this is one of the stories that is handicapped by the producers' decision to make two nine-or-so-minute stories per half-hour show. This is one of the stories that would've made a great half-hour (minus commercials of course) episode. (This is the kind of stuff I talk about on my Herculoids blog .)
As for that first scene you described... I think I feel a drawing coming on...
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Yes, Tara definitly should have a more active role, especially, since she lived in the jungle, she wouldn't have been a dainty thing that needed protection.
By the way, I read your criticism of two Herculoids episode on your Herculoids blog. While I agree with all of them, I still think you're being a little hard. This was the mid-sixties, when things were supposed to be simplistic. Marvel Comics idea that there were reasons villans were evil was still relatively new. The Herculoids and other cartoons of its kind were like the Roadrunner cartoons - mindless action that didn't make any sense, because they were just meant to enjoy. At least kept coming up with fresh ideas.
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Yeah, maybe I am a little hard. Sometimes I do forget what the audience and the purpose of the show was.
But hey, I'm very happy you're reading the blog, and I hope you'll continue. And I'll try to lighten up...
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Y'know, it's one series I always wondered about and even asked my father ... who was the unlucky family member to come out during Saturday Morning and check up on me ... "Why are people so stupid?" though meaning so much more. Pop copped out by saying, "It's just a cartoon."
Later, I asked this same question during something he was watching and enjoying ... I think it was "Battlestar Galatica", perhaps when Muffy started to run off barking at Cylons or something. He said, "It's drama."
Now ... my question is why do people do that? Because the medium is different means that certain rules of writing the story or telling it change? I know the answer to this now ... back then, I was confused.
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Well, there are a lot of people out there who do believe precisely that: that the rules of storytelling change from medium to medium, and genre to genre.
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Then they need to go and study the classics. I mean go back to studying Greek theater and then move forward to Shakespearean theater and go from there ... which you could do more reading as well or see how the older movies were done in Hollywood. My point is while storytelling had changed a lot since ancient times as far as presentation, there are some elements that are still prevalent.
I guess in this I ought to be very grateful that not to have only had such a strong background in the arts, but a Mom who really impressed upon me about writing and reading a lot.
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Ahh... Herculoids....
That brings back memories, indeed.
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Very nice look on the Cartoon. You got the style down pat on this one.
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Don't color this any more then you already have. It has a perfect Cartoon Cell look about it, like it came directly from Hanna-Barbera.
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Cool! Herculoids for me is an absolute classic. Very good design, mr. Matt.
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Brilliant job imitating the look of an animation cel...I thought it really was a Hanna-Barbera still for a second.
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Until you saw that Tara was a little more buff than usual, right?
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In your hands, Tara would NOT be a "stay at home" wife. She'd be kicking plenty of ass and taking some names. 
Fantastic job on this sketch, DCM. Also, I highly recommend visiting his Herculoid blog. Despite being less than a month old, it has a good amount of info on the show and some fanart found online. Wish I could find more of Alex Toth's pre-lim work on the Herculoids.
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And don't forget she's as deadly with a slingshot as Zandor himself is.
Thanks for the kind words and the plug for my blog [link]
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The Herculoids was truly the most surreal toon of the Hanna-Barbera Sixties. But Sid and Marty Kroftt RULED the Seventies!
BTX
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Oh yes, I remember this episode from my Saturday Mornings in the 70s. 
Nice work on the definition of Tara's muscles. I wouldn't have minded seeing THIS as bonus content!
And yes, the son Dorno was 13 or so.
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Nice.... always love the Herculoids. Zok was my favorite maybe subconsciously because Tara rode on his back all the time.
Z
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You're right, she seldom flighted; unless she rided on Zok, then she flinged her < 👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Anyway, this scene is great!!!
Yeah, they were just known as "energy rocks".
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Yeah! That's the literal translation to spanish
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This brings back memories and fantasies too. I only wish she was as well built as this Tara.
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Attacked by the Dil-droids! I imagine they communicate with a 'buzzing' sort of speech.
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With those biceps, she shouldn't have no problem handling those pods...if only Zandor could see his wife right about now.
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