Bravestarr

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BraveStarr

BraveStarr was an animated space western made for children. It was created by Donald Kushner and Peter Locke and the original episodes aired from September 1987 to February 1989. It was created simultaneously with a set of action figures, in a similar manner to the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon. It was the last cartoon series produced by Filmation and Group W Productions. BraveStarr was considered the most creative production Filmation had created since He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.

Like in He-Man, a moral lesson is told at the end of each episode. One notable episode was "The Price", in which a boy buys a drug called "Spin," becomes addicted to it and dies from an overdose. Sadly, BraveStarr wasn't as popular as Filmation's previous cartoons. Some blame Mattel for the cartoon's poor success, claiming that they rushed the toyline too early.

Like many cartoons at the time, BraveStarr premiered directly into syndication.

Characters

Heroes

Marshall Bravestarr: The title character is the marshal of the planet "New Texas". He is a Native American, who can call upon the power of "spirit animals". In addition, he carries a laser pistol. The spirit animal powers are:
- Eyes of the Hawk: Lets him see great distances
- Ears of the Wolf: Gives him super-hearing
- Strength of the Bear: Gives him super-strength
- Speed of the Puma: Gives him super-speed
Thirty/Thirty is Bravestarr's talking "techno horse", who can "transform" from a quadruped to a more anthropomorphic biped. He carries a giant energy rifle he refers to as "Sarah Jane". He is the last survivor of an ancient civilization. Almost as strong as Bravestarr's bear strength.
Handlebar: A hulking, green-skinned bartender and former space pirate, with a bright orange handlebar mustache. He mostly serves Bravestarr and Thirty/Thirty a drink called "sweetwater" in his bar, as they sit and discuss the moral lesson learned in that day's episode. He also weighed 14 tons. He had a good battle against Stampede and won. If faced with trouble in his bar he would uses the metal plates as throwing weapons, this was referenced in the toy.
Deputy Fuzz: A pudgy little prairie dog-like alien, who serves almost exclusively as comic relief. Basically Bravestarr's version of Orko.
Judge J.B.: The town's female judge and romantic interest for Bravestarr. Used a high-tech gavel as a weapon.
Shaman: A native American shaman who serves as an adviser to Bravestarr. On rare occasions demonstrated extremely powerful magic. During the Christmas special, a rendition of A Christmas Carol, he filled in for the three spirits.

The heroes' base of operations is a town called "Fort Kerium".

Villains

Tex Hex: The lavender-skinned leader of the Carrion Bunch. Was given magic powers by Stampede including energy bolts , the power to blow up mountains, transformation, and summoning creatures called 'fire-snakes'.
Outlaw Skuzz: Tex's cigar-smoking henchman and cousin of Deputy Fuzz.
Sandstorm: A red reptilian alien who can exhale giant clouds of sand, which the Carrion Bunch usually uses to escape.
Thunderstick: A robot who shoots electricity and stutters(In the 19th century, "thunderstick" was supposedly Native American slang for a rifle.).
Cactus Head: A strange looking robot.
"Two faced"Dingo Dan: One of Tex's anthropomorphic coyotes. Had the ability to take on a human appearance but would often forget to change his distinctive "fancy hat."
Vipra: A serpentine female villain.
Stampede: A demonic-looking bull skeleton who commands the Carrion Bunch. He is the éminence grise behind Tex Hex's schemes.

Plot

The story is set in the twenty-second century on a distant planet called New Texas, which has "a sky of three suns"; New Texas has a native population of "Prairie People," small humanoids who resemble prairie dogs (Both Fuzz and Scuzz are members of this species.), and has been colonized by a multi-planet government. A mineral called Kerium, a rare and powerful crystal of great importance in spacefaring societies, is discovered there, giving the planet a valuable natural resource. Most of the episodes revolve around the heroes preventing the villains from stealing Kerium.

The culture of the New Texas colony (inhabited predominantly by humans but also by various aliens and robots) bears a remarkable resemblance to the culture of the American West. In addition to Kerium mining, the planet is also the site of "solacow" ranching, "solacows" being large cattle-like creatures.

Action Figures

Based on the cartoon series, these figures were large for the time at nearly 8" in height. Each figure had a unique action feature. Marshall Bravestarr and Tex Hex were also packaged with a Laser Fire Backpack which shot infra-red beams and had sound effects. A second series of figures were designed but never produced including Dingo Dan, Judge JB, Long Arm John, Rampage and the Starr Hawk vehicle.

References

External links

Animated television series | Children's television series | Science fiction Westerns | Science fiction television series

Bravestarr | Bravestarr | BraveStarr