Hasbro ’s concourse of celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons admit well out the fan - favorite 1980s D&D cartoon on the 24/7Dungeons & Dragons : escapade profligate channel . The animated series , despite a relatively unretentive streamlet of three season and 27 episode , has become a fantasy genre classic . The engaging storytelling and dark idea greatly shape future media — and the characters were so memorable , 40 years later they caused a social medium craze when their live - natural process counterparts made an unexpected cameo inDungeons & dragon : Honor Among thief .
For the uninitiated , back in 1983 Dungeons & Dragons designer and co - creator Gary Gygax had the smart estimation to subjugate theSatanic Panicbrewing around his game with the cunning use of … a Saturday first light kids ’ tv set show . In doing so he also accidentally assist make one of the most unsanitized children ’s programs in story — tackle fledged topics like trauma , the futility of revenge , and what to do when your 11 - year - old - comrade contemplates slaughtering the demon - man that haunts your every waking moment ?
In collaboration with Marvel Productions , TSR , and the Nipponese company Toei , developer and writer Mark Evaniar and his squad ( include Hank Saroyan and later Michael Reaves ) were task with diluting complicated D&D mythology and gameplay into 30 - mo episodic TV for preteens . This wizardry selling gambit to make RPGs more relatable also produced a firm and slightly mad multi - generational fanbase — one that fueled a decades - long hearsay about the last episode they consider they had visualise : “ Requiem . ”
Image: James Eatock/Marvel Productions Ltd.
Nostalgia tends to make it increasingly difficult to carve up reality from rumor , and a false collective memory began about what happened “ to ” and “ in ” that final episode . In an audience with io9 , Mark Evanier articulate he wishes to dispel the urban legend once and for all : “ There was NO ‘ final episode ’ of Dungeons & Dragons . ”
Confused yet ? You soon will be .
First and foremost , have ’s set up what is remembered right : how the show began . Evanier was clever enough to devise a photographic camera - friendly cast of characters to march thespian manoeuvre ( now a gaming criterion ) with five all - American kids , aged 9 to 15 : Hank the Ranger , Eric the Cavalier , Sheila the Thief , Presto the Magician , Bobby the Barbarian child , and Diana the Acrobat ( their one Black friend ) .
Image: James Eatock/Marvel Productions Ltd.
Voiced by a then star - stud form of ‘ 80 sitcom player — including Don Most , Adam Rich , and Willie Aames — the serial kick off in outstanding style with a funfair roller - coaster ride sound rogue . The cowcatcher begins with the kids finding themselves sucked through a cosmic portal into a wizard realm , where they encounter a little Isle of Man with a kinky moniker , “ The Dungeon Master . ” Each straightaway gains a particular acquisition and secret plan - like weaponry to confront challenge ( sound intimate yet ? ) , explained in plot exposition that fits neatly intothe opening title sequence . There was also Uni , a mute infant unicorn , worthy for nestling eld 8 and up .
Evanier intended to play fanservice throughout the show by include some of the game ’s villains : Tiamat the cherry - Snake Draco , and the Spider Queen , Lolth . However , the true scene - stealer was new : Venger(voiced by Optimus Prime himself , Peter Cullen ) , a demon of pure nightmare fuel sporting a spectacular floor - length cloak of the fine haberdashery . What we did n’t know at the time is that he also had an origin narrative for the ages ( pillager alerting ) ; it eventually revealed the angry dragon was his sister , and the wise old salvia , the Dungeon Master , their daddy .
Another user , Capnjimbo the BBS Captain , disagree , assert “ It ended on a cliffhanger . ”On Reddit , OGBranFlakes lamented “ They never got home … Does this think we can get a D&D film with Venger?”On Facebook , MrSchee lovingly called this “ My first brush with the Mandela Effect , ” and recalled how he was so sure he “ saw an episode that revealed they were in reality all stagnant ( and in hell ) . ”
Image: James Eatock/Marvel Productions Ltd.
As it turns out , the intellect for the Mandela Effect — the name for a put on memory that is nonetheless shared by a big group of people — in this causa was comparatively simple : there were two last instalment . The last one to actually atmosphere was “ The fart of Darkness , ” a story with the usual fare : a terrifying creature called the Darkling must be defeated , and there was also fog . It end with Dungeon Master gaslighting the youngster once more , with tales of yet another way home .
On the other mitt , “ Requiem”—a never - produced script written by Reaves that was intended as a possible serial stopping point — disclose Venger ’s identity as the Dungeon Master reopens the portal ( wait , he could ’ve done that the whole sentence ? ! ) for the gang to choose whether to abide or go before fleet to black . We never see their conclusion . Before his passage in 2020 , Reaves posted the PDF on his now - defunct web log , leading toa fan - made version of the episodecreated from edit together live footage . Now , that ’s intense dedication : being so invested in the animated cartoon ’s result , devotee first created a shared retentivity , then they created their own finale . Evanier believes the “ missing finale ” add together nicely to the traditional knowledge , test the magnate of the show ’s legacy . In the current clime of malicious fanboys boycott any new or updated IP , it ’s heartwarming to see eccentric person civilisation using its power for good , albeit obsessively .
Over email , George Krstic , VP of the D&D franchise squad for necromancer of the Coast , secern io9 that the “ unaired final episode is n’t really part of the prescribed D&D cartoon canon . ” But , he added , “ We are all fans of it ( the animated cartoon ) here , ” and “ the entire series means a set to many player ( and myself as well ) . It continues to be popular on the D&D : Adventures FAST [ line ] , so we roll in the hay that there is hungriness for more . ” As for corroborate the newest on-line hearsay : Venger still might seem inthe live - action Paramount+ seriesor get his own standalone toon . “ We want to be undefended to those paths , ” Krstic wrote .
Another planetary house that the D&D cartoon characters continue to be pop came when they popped up ( in lively - action ! ) in the TTRPG ’s late great - screen pleasure trip . In an interview with Polygon , Honor Among Thieves co - writer and co - director John Francis Daley say the filmmaking team easily acquired the rights to use the quicken quality ’ likenesses , since they were already part of the TSR property pick up by Wizards of the Coast . “ The right are kind of bake into the movie , just because it ’s D&D , ” he explained .
At a late San Diego Comic - Con , Evanier watched the now - far-famed cameo for the first time as young ranger and thief cosplayers sat in the consultation . “ It was so bang-up seeing those kids again , ” he mused . As far as what he thinks go on after the portal reopened : “ Oh , the kids are still trapped in that world along with Venger , Tiamat , and all my royal family ! ”
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