Back in 2000, FoxKids briefly added Dungeons and Dragons to their Saturday morning lineup. The following is a bit of information about those re-broadcasts, and some funny tidbits from the fan message boards during that time.
Original Opening Sequences
articles and quotes of interest
FoxKids site
The Fans respond!
Changes from the Original Format....
Second and Third Season Opening Sequence (storyboard here):
Same opening shot of the amusement park, kids getting into the coaster, coaster ride turning weird.
Diana: I don't LIKE this!
All: Woooaaahh!!!
The scene goes black after they vanish into the swirling vortex,
and Diana (in Realm garb) is suddenly shown standing on a bridge as a
large dragon rears up before her! She pole-vaults over a wall onto a
drawbridge, as a bunch of half-orcs begin to charge toward them.
Diana: Oh, no...
Eric is standing nearby, smirking.
Eric: No sweat....
He turns and comes nose-to-nose with a snarling half-orc. Eric loses the grin and the orc smiles evilly.
Eric: Heh-heh...
Orc: Grrooowwrrlll!
Eric: WWAAAHHHH!!!
Diana, already running down the drawbridge, is passed by Eric
screaming at the top of his lungs. As they run behind a boulder, Presto
jumps out from behind it, hat ready.
Presto: PRESTO!
Gold beads come flying from the hat, tripping up the orcs. Cut to a
shot of Sheila, who is reacting to another half-orc about to grab her.
She flips up the hood, and he grabs the air she was just in. The others
are now congregated at the end of the drawbridge, beginning to climb a
small mountain. Hank is shooting at the orcs.
Hank: Back off!
Uni: myeah!....yikes!!
The dragon, now huge, blooms out of the wreckage of the castle and rises menacingly, stepping onto the drawbridge.
Dungeonmaster: young pupils! This way!
They all look up to see DM pointing up to the top of the mountain.
Bobby is still looking at the dragon, and leaps off the mountain,
smacking his club onto the bridge.
Bobby: YYEAAAAAAHHHH!!!
The drawbridge shatters, dumping the dragon into the depths below.
The kids, meanwhile, have reached the peak of the mountain, and as the
scene widens we can see both that half-orcs are climbing up the
mountain to get them, and that the plains surrounding the mountain have
become cracked and glowing as if lit by lava.
Eric: D-Dungeonmaster! HELP!
A shadow arises from the lava beds, unmistakably the one-horned shadow of Venger, and looms over them menacingly.
Voice of Venger: There IS no escape...
The scene fades in swirling smoke to the title screen.
Venger: ...from the Realm of Dungeons and Dragons!
Hopefully someone will have boththe first and second season openers
available for download soon. It's worth the look- the music matches the
series much better than the new version, though after several viewings
I find the new version is growing on me...*grin*
From Joe R:
I found this on Eric Noah's Unofficial 3rd edition D&D site:
"Wizards doesn't own any of the rights to the old cartoon series. Your guesses as to why Fox decided to resurrect the old series are as good as ours. Once we get some more information, we'll let everyone know."
- Jim Butler, Wizards of the Coast
The FoxKids website...
...apparently didn't know about the D&D toon either, until two days AFTER the commercials started airing! It was slow to be updated and they didn't do much D&D itself compared to their other cartoons. As D&D is off the air again, it was likewise removed from the lineup. Still....this was the first EVER official D&D Cartoon Website!
The Fans Respond!! (posts from the message board and emails)
"D&D is BACK!!! *happy dance* FINALLY we can get the best of the best copies of the episodes! A whole new generation of D&D fanatics and websites! WOOHOO!!!" --Zak, the obsessed
"I accidentally woke up early this morning and was watching Fox Network. Anyway, I was tired, so I was kind of dozing in and out, then all of a sudden I hear Presto's voice. I almost flipped out. I jumped off the couch immediately and wrote a note and stuck it on the VCR so I wouldn't forget next week. Even though it's not likely that I will forget..." --Jesse (who was actually the first to notify me! thanks!)
"No joke. This is totally true. I got a call from a friend of mine this morning and he told me. I didn't really believe him so I turned on the tv and waited for the commercials, and they're running the ad during every commercial spot. Did our little group have a part to play in this? Perhaps we were noticed.:)" -- Spud, 80's cartoon video king
"Just as a classy move on our part, plus we may get a mention by FOX, plus it'll keep it on the air longer, each and every one of us should write a thank you note to FOX!" --Spud, man of good ideas
"FOX KIDS.COM
Online Entertainment Division
10960 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90013" --KCFlatlander,
man of foresight
"Congratulations ! after all that years, living with you copy of 1983/86 of D&D it must have been horrible :) you will have you copy same as our Brazilians (p.s. excuse my bad English) --Giovanni, from Brazil (who still get to see D&D in Brazil)
"There I was, at my parents' house for Easter. I'd been following the Elian disgrace all Saturday morning. The press conferences were over, and my blood pressure needed calming. I flipped around the channels and found that Fox and WB had cartoons running now....And then, just before Godzilla, I saw it.......At first, it didn't sink in. Why did it look so familiar? Was this a video? No? What was this new cartoon that looked so much like.... I screamed. Not an eek. Not a yell of joy. A scream of shock, pure as a baby's cry, that woke my little brother up from a sound sleep and made he and my mother run to see what was the matter. I could hardly speak to them. After such a morning...heck, after so many years! It was a bolt from the blue, and I still haven't taken it in." -- Maureen, who only regrets she has no tape of the promo
"Can you all believe the wonderful news that D&D is on next Saturday? Too too cool! I totally have that magic, anticipatory feeling surging through my veins... not to be mistaken for the caffine rush. Oh no! Not hardly! *g* And just think! Mint Copies and perhaps even the real order of when the eps came out! Oh! *happy sigh* I'd swoon but that Christmasy/D&D Saturday morning feeling is too buoyant a rush. I don't think I'm gonna get any real sleep until Saturday! How about anyone else?" - Kimmy, sleepless in MA
The appropriate sugary breakfast cereal to celebrate the occaision is discussed:
"Maybe I should get a box of lucky charms or count chocula, or maybe that toxic-flavoured BooBerry *G* to eat while I watch for old times sake!" -- SpudThe appropriate follow-up shows to accompany our long-awaited favorite also discussed:
"Nothing like a box of Quisp and a whole bunch of sugar-milk to start the day off right..... " --KCFLatlander
"Naw, you guys! Cinnamon Toast Crunch all the way! *G*..." - Kimmy
"But I love those "marshmellow" bits!" -Spud
"Are you kidding?! Honeycombs!! My D&D tapes are riddled with Honeycombs comercials...with Andre the Giant, remember?" --Zak
"Frosted Flakes and Cookie Crisp cereal together!!! That was my D & D breakfast of the 80's. It's so hard to believe that it's back on the air! It's like a dream come true! Though it's raining cats and dogs where I am, I'm definitely going out to Wal-Mart and pick up a pack of VCR tapes and as much Frosted Flakes and Cookie Crisp I can find." --Sterling C.
"No, no, no! You have to eat either Frosted Krispies or Marshmellow Krispies.....ARGH!!!!!! They don't make those anymore! (moan) Now what am I supposed to eat for breakfast?" --Garrett
"How about "Pole Position" and "CBS Storybreak" as a couple of D & D follow up shows? They were always my personal favorites." --Sterling, getting more nostalic by the minute"Whilst reading thru the recent posts, I realized that Fox Kids is really just the regular Fox network, and not Fox Family. This would be all well and good, except that we switched to Direct TV a couple months ago, and now I no longer get Fox or any networks. I never thought I would miss the insipid programming of network tv, but I'm eating my words now. I'll have to bribe somebody to tape it for me I guess. Sorry guys, I just had to whine for a minute! :)" --Spooky, from 'How My Satellite Dish Ruined My Life....'
"Ooooooo....I loved Pole Position! *grin* That and Dungeons and Dragons were my two favorites. " --Okiebabe
"Maybe they could put on Saturday Supercade before D&D and have the rest after it, just like ol' times! Hmm, maybe we should all try to get jobs at Fox's programming dept. *G*" -- Look- out-Fox, Here-We-Come Kimmy :)
The first episode is debated:
"If I remember correctly, and checking on other sites, the first episode aired in 83 was "The Night of No Tomorrow." So, place your bets...... will this be the first one aired? Will they go in order they came out originally, a la UPN Kids did with Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends? Will they be random? Step right up, step right up...don't be shy...place your bets." --KCFlatlander"I was a deprived child. I was born in 1982, and only recently have I really started getting into 80's Cartoons and D&D... Just as D&D got out of style with the rest of the nation! *pouts* I was surfing the net one day, looking for D&D stuff, when, much to my surprise and dismay, there was a D&D 80's CARTOON! I was miffed. I went back and checked all the 80's cartoons, and found that I loved them all, especially what I hear about Presto... So, as I was sulking on the couch one Saturday, making up for lost time by trying to watch silly 90's cartoons, I suddenenly see something that made my heart stop: D&D IS COMING TO FOX KIDS. I ran around the house like a chicken with his head cut off. I jumped for joy. I almost managed a cartwheel. Then I e-mailed all the people with the D&D sites that introduced me to this wonderfull world that I never had a chance to experience. I am so happy... I could cry... *sniffle* I just want to thank you all for letting me into your world so that I knew about it before it came back... :)" --GreyMurphy, child of the 90's
"Ten gold says they air 'em in order!! Oops....haven't got ten gold....*sigh* sucks bein' a graduate student sometimes..." - Zak The Infallible
"Twenty gold says they show the episodes in random order, with the first commercial plugging the latest Power Rangers episode!" --Sterling, The Smart One
"i believe someone owes you 20, Sterling!" -QueenZynn, The One Who Keeps Track For Us
"Gold, what gold....? Oh, yeah, right, I...um....stuck it in Presto's hat, yeah....*sidles off sneakily*" --Zak the not-so-infallible after all
"Mabey we should email fox and let them know this has National interest and hopefully they will play all the eps and not use it as a filler for the summer! ....Heck I stood up today and anounced it in the middle of work. Neat thing is, one other person was as thrilled as i was!" --Ironwolf16 The Enthusiastic
"My Dearest Hope...is that they make MORE and BETTER D&D toys to play with! Imagine a working set of action figures! Your own bullywog playset! Tickle-Me Venger! Woohoo!!! Um, ok, maybe not the last two...." --Zak the over-enthusiastic
"not directly related but i found a press release on the hasbro toys website which talks about the announcement from wizards of the coast that they are producing a third edition of the dungeons and dragons roleplaying game (first time in 10 years) and that the year 2000 will be a focus on reintroducing dungeons and dragons to a new generation. this may be further reasoning for bringing back the cartoon now and what better place to put it than on the same network as pokemon to familiarize the kids with the dungeons and dragons name. lends further credence/hope to the possibility of at least a marginal product line for the show. do you think they would ever make a campaign based on the cartoon to entice the kiddies into more advanced campaigns? heck, im hoping for more stickers at this point, i'll still be holding my breath this coming saturday until i see it with my own eyes!.... p.s. zak- i'd buy a tickle-me-venger! :)" --Tickle-Me QueenZynn
"Hey, I got to thinking about some of the permutations/consequences
of D&D's return, and well, here they are.....What will happen when
"Dragon's Graveyard" airs? Will it even air? Will the parents' groups freak?.......
Will Hasbro release toys if the show is a hit? If so, will the be like
the 80s Joe figures? *hopes so, so that he'll be able to, um, [uses a spell
so that no one realizes his fanfic plans]* ......The promo has just minor
hint of pride as it says "FoxKids Premeire". Call me nuts, but I think
someone DOES like the show..... If Fox is smart, they'll throw out the
"Today, on Dungeons & Dragons" thing and end a lot of the need
to edit the show (seeing as how they last AT LEAST a minute). I'll miss
the end credit music, though. Only thing as sad as the one scene
in "Dragon's Graveyard" just after everyone escapes from the glacier.......
One reason to bring back the show is the corps of writers.....I think Karl
Geurs is the only writer that I've never seen involved with other comics
and/or cartoons. Buzz Dixon, Steve Gerber, Paul Dini, and Michael Reaves
ALL have written for critically (and ratings) acclaimed shows of the 90s.
Most did the story editing, too...... And you can't forget the Margaret
Loesch connection. I'm amazed she didn't bring the show back herself (is
she still at Fox?) based on what I've heard her say about Fox's lineup.
Also, the new D&D movie (which I STILL want to bomb because of its
lack of connection to the show) serves as a convincing reason to bring
it back, if only for a while (oh, about 5,000,000,000,000,000 years.....
;).....I morbidly expect millions of children to have brain anyeurisms
as their brains suffer from the strain of being used while watching a cartoon.
....Odd how a show from the Stock Footage Era has better animation than
the most popular show on Saturday morning, isn't it?.....That sound
you hear is that of people already whining about the Cloud Bears, Bobby,
and Uni. Am I the only person who doesn't mind any of the more outrageous
characters?.... If D&D gets pulled from the air without the production
of "Requiem", don't be surprised if a generation of kids end up like us
because they wish that the kids got home..... If D&D becomes popular
again and you see a kid who likes the show, be sure to share some quality
time with them. That 5-year old who thinks the world of Sheila might end
up like you some day. Also, tell them about the other good shows from the
80s, like the Spider-Friends, G.I. Joe, and Transformers. Passing
along your appreciation is a sure way to turn these shows into the next
set of Warner or Disney-style success stories...... Above all, have fun
:) It's not often that we get to relive our childhoods again :)"
--Garrett, man of
wisdom
(Re the "morbid thought of kids with aneyeurisms due to overuse): "Man, you got that right! *grin* Not to mention their parents shock at seeing actual intelligent content in a cartoon. ;)" --Okiebabe, woman of morbid thoughts
"Seeing the "Requiem" air would be great! I never wished they got home, only that they found a way to get home when they want. Even the Requiem ends with only the portal open to go home & the decision left up to them. A decision to leave DM & the Realm permanently vs. going back home is a decision so tough the writers couldn't even make it. Could a choice to visit the Realm have been an option? I wonder how many of us would have chosen to go home vs. staying. (?)....And some mythology I found out about, the condensed version... it is said there was a great battle among gods and other deities, many which killed each other. The only 1 to survive (partly because he didn't fight in the great battle) was one called the "Nameless One" who afterwords built a world outside the borders of time. Could this be where The Realm begins?" --Pyrodrew the Wonderer
"it'll be interesting to see what kids think of the D&D toon. Especially since it's sandwiched between all these other action/fighting type shows. And even though the gang had to fight, they Never Ever actually struck a villain. They used their weapons along with ingenuity rather than just brute strength of power to get rid of the bad guys. I wonder if the kids today who are growing up more desensitized to violence (in cartoons) will realize this? Hmm..." - Kimmy The Pacifist
"This is the greatest news in forever!!! Just to clarify somethings that have been said, Pokemon and Batman/Superman air on KIDSWB, the Warner Bros. network. That's what I watch every Saturday. Digimon and the Avengers air on FOX. My problem is, I record Batman Beyond, Men in Black and Pokemon on WB. How am I going to get both Saturday Morning lineups on tape?!?!? The good news is that their are supposedly no new episodes on WB this weekend, which means I should probably be able to record this D and D event! (If it happens in my area, seeing is believing after all...) .... Here is my prediction. With Dungeons and Dragons experiencing a resurgence this year, (with the new edition of the game and the movie) we stand a VERY good chance of seeing a new Dungeons and Dragons cartoon made to air this fall or next spring. Wether it even resembles the old cartoon is up in the air, but I do believe any new D and D cartoon will be very popular. As for what is going to air this Saturday, there is a good chance it is only going to be filler for this summer. After all, I hear new series are going to air on FOX this fall. However, it can be assured that FOX will be watching it's ratings to see if D and D is viewed well. SO EVERYBODY GO AND WATCH! Yes, I believe we should write to FOX and show our appreciation and ask for more..." --Kevin W. the Wise
"okay, so i've been camping out on the foxkids website of late. i don't know why im so obsessed, i guess since i didn't see the commercials, im getting excited about every little change that pops up on the site. SOMETHING has to occupy me until Saturday! anywhoo, under the Saturday Schedule, instead of a blank red square next to the show synopsis, we know have a neato-keen head shot of Presto incased in one of those FoxKids metal orbs!! Wooohoooo!!!!! big deal, right? what can i say, im still a bit flustered about dnd coming back. i never thought i would see it happen!" --QueenZynn The Possibly-Even-More-Obsessed-Than-Zakiyah
"DON'T FORGET to email or write FoxKids and thank them for putting D&D back on! The more letters of appreciation, support, & interest they get for this the more likely they will continue strong with it....A short quick "D&D HURRAY!" is fine, just so they know." --Pyrodrew, man of few words
"Well, in my incessant ramblings today about how excited I was to see one of the greatest cartoons ever back on the air, one of my coworkers (a "grown-up," I guess) suddenly lit into me about how "evil" and "satanic" it was. I tried my best not to laugh in her face, really I did. After all, odds are, she has never even seen one episode. Some things never change....." --Kryschenn the Doomed
"Well, let's just hope the Twenty First Century is a little more tolerant." -- Thothalas, Also Doomed
"I just heard that it's being put back on the air, and I'm dying to see it again since I practicaly lived for that cartoon when it was on (and had coincidentally only recently started playing D&D shortly before that)....I'm glad to see there are others out there who remember some of the same things as fondly as I do." --Bones Dragon
Three months later...
We all got a bit of a scare when Foxkids preempted D&D in favor of
an all-day Digi-marathon of "Digimon: Digitial Monsters." Oh, the
horror!
"According to my TV guide, D&D is going to be pre-empted to make room for 7 back to back episodes of Digmon. Am I the only one who thinks this is a gross miscarriage of justice???" --RYAN the Just
"I would like to see Venger enslave those Digimon... he would kill any Pokemon. " --Pyrodrew, Defender of Justice
"Or Tiamat could just eat them. :)" --Hungry Spooky
"Digimon was Pokemon's predecessor, and actually has a *plot* and semi-decent characters (Taichi deserves to be smacked around a few times though...), albeit buried under tons of bad localization jobs :). Two entirely different anime with only the monsters and the annoying -mon tag between them." --Morgaine Maclair, Defender of Digimon
"...is anyone else here sick of Flint and Digimon yet? *lol* I gave 'em a fair chance, but I'm too Digi-darned annoyed at the Digi-destined for pre-digi-empting D&D that one day....though I did like that chick who worked for Piedmon who got digi-squashed a few episodes ago, what was her name again? S&M-Babe-in-Leathermon?" --Zakiyah the Impatient
"The name of that digimon was Lady Devimon...And don't get me started about Flint . . . ARRGHHHH! That show is pathetic . . . even worse than Pokemon!" --Shadowwolf the Knowlegable
"does anyone else have that song stuck in their head yet? "boom chaga bing chaga"!" --Queen Zynn
"Oh, Noooooooo!!!!I've had that theme song in my head for about three weeks now. Hoooom-Ba Hooooooom-Ba Hoom-Ba!! Catchy, ain't it...?" --Zakiyah
Then came an even worse scare....the preview for an absolutely horrid-looking cartoon, a cross between South Park and Mad Magazine with FAR too much emphasis on ketchup-- scheduled for D&D's time slot! Oh! The HORROR!
"During this mornings episode I saw a commercial for some thing called Anna Anaconda that Fox is going to premere on Saturday the 24th in D&D's timeslot. Is the show being cancelled or are they switching times?" --Greg Bishansky, the Observant
"I hope not, especially for that crap (which is currently being shown on Fox Family Channel). Of course, the nostalgia group (or part of it, at least) got warned to stay away by IGN's horrid reviews for it's "Great Cartoon Archive" (IGN is a videogame site, that has expanded into other areas, and the sci-fi section seems to be run by people who only like Japanese animation). That, and the overwhelming abundance of Pokemon-like crudola seems to have taken its toll. Does anyone know when people will buy a clue, and realize that shows like D&D, G.I. Joe, Muppet Babies, Transformers, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (among others) are quality shows that deserved to be shown UNEDITED, and on American airwaves?" --Garrett, at the end of his rope
"i don't think so. if they were to cancel the show so quickly, i don't think they'd be playing so many of the commercial break promos for it. i mean, they show ALOT of those. AND they're tying in DnD with Flint the Time Bandit, the whole time travel bit. I don't think they'd be pushing the show so much if they planned to stop showing it in just two weeks." --Queen Zynn, the Eternal Optimist
"I have to agree. With all they do to promote it and how they jazzed up the beginning and all, I'd like to think they were gonna keep D&D for more than just a filler. I mean why go through all that just to show a couple of eps? So I'm hoping for a time slot change only! I suppose it wouldn't hurt to send them out thoughts and comments too. I send them a happy comment once a week anyway. *G*" --Kimmy, letter-writer extraordinaire
"Has anyone else noticed a pattern here? The show premieres, we get about a month of episodes, and then they pull a week for a Digimon marathon. Now, we'll get about another month's worth of shows, before they pull it again for some other show. This is bait and switch! What will they do in July, pull D&D one week to run a pilot for some "brand new" show like Voltron or something? (You would not believe how many people think D&D is a "new" show.) I too am hoping for a simple time slot rearrangement. Later is preferable to earlier for those of us who never used to have a reason to get up on Saturday mornings..." --Kryschenn, "not a morning person"
"This particular phenomenon is much like what happened when "The Doors" came out. [Don't laugh, my Mom knew someone at the time who was managing a record store, and kept having people come in and ask "if there was any albums out yet by that new group The Doors". People actually asked this! LOL]" --Evil Overlord, Knitter of Destruction, Baker of Fearful Cookies.
"I'm not complaining. I'm just grateful to see it back on the air! I can live with the preemptions and excessive commercialism that comes with each episode, let's face it, it's a sign of the times. All I ask is that they don't take D & D off the air again. After waiting 15 years for the shows return, I really don't want to wait another 15 years for it to come back again--if ever." --Sterling Coleman, the Content Realist
The ultimate fate:
D&D was moved to five days a week, in the after-school slot. From there, its demise was quick, and it was pulled from the ranks a few weeks later. Good news: all 27 episodes were re-broadcast at some point. Bad news: they all the the FoxKids logo in the bottom corner. Ah, well.
\
