This week’s assignment for the League was pretty straightforward, the topic was “cowboys” and I’m pretty sure that I’ve taken a pretty circuitous route this time around.
As a child of the 1980s, I spent an inordinate amount of time watching these long from toy commercials that were often referred to as “cartoons”. One such program was SilverHawks a Rankin/Bass production that shared a lot of creative forces behind Thundercats and the criminally short-lived TigerSharks (I’m thinking there’s a pattern there).
- There was a lot about the SilverHawks that didn’t make much sense at all:
- Were they half human/half bird creatures or were they just cyborgs with wings?
- How is it they were able to exposed to the vacuum of space without any significant impairment?
- And why is there a bluegrass singing cowboy flying a spaceship?
Yes, Col. Bluegrass (voiced by Larry Kenney of Lion-O fame) didn’t have the abilities of his fellow SilverHawks, but he utilized his epic guitar skills to do … stuff. I’m not really sure what exactly this cowboy is doing in space, but it didn’t stop me from watching every single weekend.
Here’s a fun and embarrassing bit of trivia. When I was about 3 1/2 years old my dad took me to see Thundercats LIVE! at the Philadelphia Civic Center. It was some kind of ridiculous variety show that somehow had the Thundercats interacting with Gumby & Pokey, the SilverHawks, and a smattering of forgettable characters. It took some digging, but I actually found an archived article from the Philadelphia Inquirer dated September 25, 1987 in which a professional reporter was tasked to REVIEW a kid’s traveling variety show.
And From Elsewhere Around the League ….
- Branded in the 80s dusted off some Legends Of The Lone Ranger action figures
- I’m a sucker for cancelled toylines, and Cavalcade of Awesome shines a light on Kenner’s failed 1980 Western line.
- Fortune & Glory Days highlights spaghetti westerns and Red Dead Redemption.