Captain Planet
CAPTAIN PLANET
Made by: TBS
Shown on: ITV
Years shown: 1990-96
Theme tune: “Earth! Fire! Wind! Water! Heart! Go Planet!/ By you powers combined, I am Captain Planet!….
“Captain Planet, he’s our hero/Gonna take pollution down to zero/He’s our powers magnified/And he’s fighting on the planet’s side!”
This Saturday morning cartoon went in for strong environmental moralising, which most kids probably ignored in favour of the outlandish bad guys. The concept was a bit complex and maudlin. Gaia was the beautiful spirit of the earth, whose health was adversely affected by human beings’ wanton destruction of the earth’s natural resources. She summoned five young people from around the world to her home on Hope Island, to help her in her struggle. She gave them each a ring with their individual symbol, and when the kids combined their special powers they created Captain Planet, a flying superhero with blue skin, and a green, flat-top mullet. The Planeteers lined up like this:
Kwame - Voiced by Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Levar Burton, African Kwame was a conservationist and the team’s leader. He could grow absolutely anything (why he didn’t solve the famines on his continent, I’m not sure), and his ‘element’ was Earth - using his special ring, he could cause small earthquakes, move rocks, and turn mud to solid ground.
Wheeler - The obligatory all-American of the troupe, ginger Wheeler liked fast cars and was a new-comer to environmental issues (surely Gaia could have done better than this in her choice?) Instead, he preferred to pursue ice-queen Linka. Matching his hair, his power was Fire, which he could ignite, along with the creation of lightning bolts.
Linka – Blonde, East European beauty Linka was the scientist of the crew, analytical and into computers. Despite giving Wheeler the cold-shoulder, she had a hot temper. She was ‘in charge’ of Wind, which, you’ve guessed it, allowed her to create anything from a mild gust to a major tornado.
Gi - Cutesy, gutsy Gi was an Asian marine biology student, who was into surfing and rock ‘n’ roll. With the power of Water at her fingertips, she masterminded spouts and tidal-waves.
Ma-Ti - The youngest member, Ma-Ti was raised by a Kayapo Indian shaman in South America. This meant he had hidden knowledge of the healing powers of nature, or some such humbug. A junior Dr Dolittle, he could communicate with the animals, including his irritating monkey, Suchi. His contribution was Heart, which meant he could talk to the others, and Gaia, telepathically - which could, feasibly, be a nuisance after a while.
Kwame - Voiced by Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Levar Burton, African Kwame was a conservationist and the team’s leader. He could grow absolutely anything (why he didn’t solve the famines on his continent, I’m not sure), and his ‘element’ was Earth - using his special ring, he could cause small earthquakes, move rocks, and turn mud to solid ground.
Wheeler - The obligatory all-American of the troupe, ginger Wheeler liked fast cars and was a new-comer to environmental issues (surely Gaia could have done better than this in her choice?) Instead, he preferred to pursue ice-queen Linka. Matching his hair, his power was Fire, which he could ignite, along with the creation of lightning bolts.
Linka – Blonde, East European beauty Linka was the scientist of the crew, analytical and into computers. Despite giving Wheeler the cold-shoulder, she had a hot temper. She was ‘in charge’ of Wind, which, you’ve guessed it, allowed her to create anything from a mild gust to a major tornado.
Gi - Cutesy, gutsy Gi was an Asian marine biology student, who was into surfing and rock ‘n’ roll. With the power of Water at her fingertips, she masterminded spouts and tidal-waves.
Ma-Ti - The youngest member, Ma-Ti was raised by a Kayapo Indian shaman in South America. This meant he had hidden knowledge of the healing powers of nature, or some such humbug. A junior Dr Dolittle, he could communicate with the animals, including his irritating monkey, Suchi. His contribution was Heart, which meant he could talk to the others, and Gaia, telepathically - which could, feasibly, be a nuisance after a while.
Of course, there were those who were not so dedicated to preserving Mother Nature, the self-explanatory ‘baddies’ Dr Blight, Hoggish Greedly, Duke Nukem (moonlighting from computer games, it seems), Looten Plunder, Verminars Skumm, Sly Sludge, and Zumm.
SQUARE EYES RATING: 6/10
(Thanks to www.classickidstv.co.uk)
posted by Holly @ 11:24 AM
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