The Herculoids

Did You Know?

• The series was broadcast on CBS from September 9, 1967 through September 6, 1969, and later rebroadcast on NBC packaged with Harlem Globetrotters as Go Go Globetrotters.
• Award-winning video game designer David Crane stated that the character of Blobert from the A Boy and His Blob franchise was directly inspired by Gloop and Gleep.
• The cartoon was dubbed into Welsh and transmitted during Yr Awr Fawr on Sunday mornings on BBC2 Wales and BBC1 Wales in the late 1970s and 1980s.

Plot

On the planet Amzot, later called Quasar, a spacefaring barbarian family consisting of Zandor, Tara, and their son Dorno protects their world with the help of their giant animal companions. These creatures include Zok, a laser-firing dragon; Tundro, a space rhinoceros; Igoo, a rock ape; and Gloop and Gleep, a shape-shifting duo. The pets could understand human speech and showed a range of emotions. The Herculoids faced a variety of enemies, such as robots, mad scientists, mutants, the Faceless People, Destroyer Ants, Raider Apes, Mutoids, Arnoids, Zorbots, Mekkano mechanical men, and the Ogs, a vegetable life form. Around the time their own show began, they appeared in a Space Ghost episode called "The Molten Monsters of Moltar."

Characters

There are eight regular characters who make up the Herculoids. The three humans were the only ones who could speak English. Zandor (voiced by Mike Road) is the protector of Amzot/Quasar and leader of The Herculoids. Tara (voiced by Virginia Gregg) is Zandor's wife. Dorno (voiced by Ted Eccles in the original series, Sparky Marcus in 1981) is the son of Zandor and Tara; despite being their son, he still refers to them by their first names, rather than 'Mother' and 'Father', though this changed in the 1980s revival. The five creature characters are: Zok (voiced by Mike Road), a dragon with bat-like wings who can emit laser beams from his eyes and tail and produce a 'nega-beam' that neutralizes certain energy attacks, can survive in space unaided, is capable of interstellar travel, and can also breathe fire. Igoo (voiced by Mike Road) is an ape with dense, rock-like skin who is nearly invulnerable to harm, has a kind and gentle temperament except when his loved ones or home are threatened, and displays great fondness for Tara. Tundro (voiced by Mike Road) is a ten-legged, four-horned rhinoceros/Triceratops hybrid who is highly durable, can shoot explosive energy rocks from his horn, extend his legs to remarkable length, spin his head at blinding speed to drill through solid rock, and make magnificent leaps. Gloop and Gleep (both voiced by Don Messick) are two protoplasmic creatures able to absorb and deflect energy blasts and laser beams, often placing themselves between attackers and other Herculoids to act as shields; they can shape-shift into cushions, trampolines, parachutes, slingshots, or bind attackers' limbs, and can momentarily divide their body mass into separate portions. The Herculoids faced off against two opponents twice: the Pirate Captain (voiced by Vic Perrin) and Sta-Lak.

Production

After Space Ghost proved a hit, CBS daytime programming chief Fred Silverman asked Hanna-Barbera to create three more action-adventure shows for the 1967–68 season. Those were The Herculoids, Shazzan, and Moby Dick and Mighty Mightor. Silverman noted these were “second generation” shows, meaning they repeated Space Ghost’s formula and faced an uphill battle as derivatives. Joseph Barbera compared The Herculoids to a Tom and Jerry cartoon: a quick setup, usually a stranger in need or an outside threat, followed by a series of attacks and counterattacks similar to visual gags. Early title ideas included Zartan and Zandor before the final name was chosen. Barbera reported that The Herculoids earned a then-unheard-of 60 share in the ratings, topping Space Ghost’s 55 share from the prior season. This success led Silverman to cancel further Space Ghost episodes and put his full support behind The Herculoids.

In other media

Several episodes of Space Ghost Coast to Coast mention or show the Herculoids. In 'Lawsuit', Space Ghost mentions the Herculoids' planet; in 'Sequel', he goes to their planet and refers to it as a 'rotten hippie monster commune'. Gloop is featured prominently in the Sealab 2021 episode 'Hail, Squishface'. Gloop and Gleep make several guest appearances on Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, including cameos in 'Mindless' and 'Juror in Court'; Zok appears in 'Peanut Puberty'; Tundro appears in 'Beyond the Valley of the Dinosaurs'; and Tara appears on an evolution chart in 'Evolutionary War'. Tundro and Gloop appear in the Family Guy episode '8 Simple Rules for Buying My Teenage Daughter'. Igoo, Gloop, and Gleep make minor appearances in Jellystone!; the Herculoids appear in the third season finale 'Marinara Madness' with Zandor voiced by Maxwell Atoms, Tara by Niccole Thurman, Domo by C.H. Greenblatt, Igoo and Gleep by Fajer Al-Kaisi, Tundro by Jeff Bergman, and Gloop by Ulka Simone Mohanty, portrayed as hillbillies running a tomatoroid farm. Igoo, Gloop and Gleep make cameo appearances in Space Jam: A New Legacy. The Herculoids have appeared in various comic books: Gold Key Comics' Hanna-Barbera Super TV Heroes (1968–69), Marvel Comics' TV Stars (1978), DC Comics' Cartoon Network Presents (1997–1999), and a major role in DC's 2016 series Future Quest, also appearing in Future Quest Presents issues #9–11.