Thunder... Thunder.... Thundercats Hoooooooo!

My poor wife has had to listen to me rave about the new Thundercats cartoon (Friday nights at 8:30pm Eastern) every day since the new show premiered (about 4 weeks now). So I've decided to share my ravings with all of you.

Just about every major cartoon property of the late 80's has resurfaced over the past few years. Masters of the Universe beat everyone out of the box from 2002-2004. Since then G.I. Joe (both Sigma Six and Renegades), Transformers (New Generation and Prime) and Voltron (the new wretched Voltron Force) have all relaunched. While some have been hits, others have simply missed (see my parens above on Voltron). All of which made me be skeptical of the new Thundercats.

I was a huge fan of the original series. I loved the opening of the show (the best animated opening of any 80's property) and thought the characters were great. Upon adult viewing, the episodes are more than a little hokey, but I still loved them. The action figures were even better (I still have my original Lion-O, Panthro, Tygra and Mumm-Ra). My love for the originals definitely made me wary of the relaunch... until it premiered.

The new Thundercats is far better (even after 4 episodes) than the original. The stories have been great. The animation is head and shoulders above any of the previously mentioned relaunches. The voice acting is amazing (Andrea Romana did a great job casting this series with former DC Universe voice actors). Everything on the show is top-notch. All of it makes for small-screen magic. To say the Thundercats is the best animated series on TV right now would be an understatement. It's one of the best series period. If you haven't yet given this show a shot, try and tune in. Better yet find "The Song of the Petalers" episode online, trust me, you won't be disappointed.