I always liked the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon, even though I had no interest in the actual game itself. I had purchased one episode at Blockbuster, but as was the case in the mid-90s, there was no real way that I’d be able to get the rest of them. Then suddenly in 2000, I was flipping around on the television, and what did I find? The Dungeons and Dragons cartoon, circa 1983. I totally marked out, taping a few episodes here and there, before buying all of them on ebay a while ago. These tapes are still available on my tape trading section. HINT HINT. Anyway, I thought I’d review one of my favorite episodes.

Dungeons and Dragons - Prison Without Walls

We start out with the kids looking for DungeonMaster and getting lost. Eric (Cavalier) stumbles upon old DM, who says that they can find a portal to their world when the dragon’s heart is in the right place. And as usual, he disappears before they get anything more out of him. The kids discover a slave colony of Gnomes being run by Orcs. It seems that they are mining mystic gems for Venger. That’s enough for Bobby (Barbarian) to rush into action, followed by Hank (Ranger) and Diana (Acrobat). Sheila (Thief) and Presto (Magician) work to take out the Orcs with some success. It seems that the Gnomes cannot leave the valley and live, and only the spellbinder, Lukeyon. We get a convenient coincidence as it seems that Lukeyon holds the secret of the dragon’s heart, but was trapped by Venger.

Over in Venger’s Dungeon, Venger grills the Gnome that spoke with the kids, and finds out that they know about Lukeyon. He sends the Shadow Demon to monitor the kids’ progress.

In the Swamp of Sorrow, the kids run into DungeonMaster again, who informs them that Lukeyon is trapped in a prison without walls. As usual Eric gets the group trapped in some spores, and out of nowhere emerges a huge swamp thing! Wait that’s a copywritten name. Let’s call it a muck monster. That’ll do. Anyway the monster battles the spores, before turning his attention to the kids.

I knew it! Nothing that ugly and smelly could be on out side. - Eric

The Monster continues to approach and Hank fires a warning shot. The only problem is that the monster feeds off of the energy and grows even larger! Commercial Time!

The kids try their luck fighting the monster, before Presto pulls out Weed Killer from his hat and sprays it at him. The monster skulks off, and the quest for Lukeyon continues.

Later that evening, they continue their journey through the swamp, before being met by DungeonMaster again. He drops a few more clues, and states that they have until sunset tomorrow to find Lukeyon so he can send them home. Finally they find a creepy old shack, and Eric is pleased to find it has a bed. He lays down, but wait, there’s an arm coming from underneath! Zombies come from out from under the floorboards, and here comes the Muck Monster! This just isn’t their day. Anyway, just like last time, he assists the kids before turning around and looking menacing to them again. Make up your mind! Hank figures out DungeonMaster’s riddles and believes that the monster is indeed Lukeyon. He leads them to a tree which contains a book, potions and a large gem. Eric remains skeptical.

See, I told you. He probably ate Lukeyon and kept his stuff. - Eric

Anyway, the monster is indeed Lukeyon, and Presto helps to turn him back. He takes the gem, which is the heart of the dragon, and teleports them back to the valley.

Back at scenic Slave Velley, the Orcs continue to do the whipping, until the kids pop out of nowhere. Its showtime, folks! Lukeyon frees the gnomes and places the heart of the dragon into the valley’s dragon statue. The four suns shine into the gem, revealing a map of the entire universe in the sky. The kids are going home. But wait, through hell, fire and brimstone, here comes Venger! He animates the giant statues in the valley and starts firing at Lukeyon. The battle is on, and not only are the giants destroying the village, but they also snatched Uni as well. Venger frees the Orcs, and we’ve got a battle royal. The giants are destroyed, and Venger is left alone. He blasts Lukeyon, who blocks and the blast hits the side of the mountain. Lukeyon fires back and Venger is temporarily vaporized. The kids are happy and looking to go home, but it seems that the map that had the portal to Earth was destroyed when Venger’s shot was deflected into the side of the mountain. So close! Eric flips out, and the kids somberly walk away, wondering if they’ll ever get home, and getting encouragement from DungeonMaster.

Overall a pretty awesome episode, with the kids helping people and just missing their opportunity to get home. Pretty heavy stuff for a Saturday Morning show, but man was it awesome! Hmmm, better close with a joke. So a guy walks into a wall. Ouch!