Forgotten Toons: The Pirates of Dark Water

Avast ye mateys!  I want to tell you the tale of an ambitious, adventure show made by the Hanna-Barbera company.  It speaks of a scourge called Dark Water that has begun to overrun the seas.  The only way to stop this evil, mystic infection is with a collection of gems.  Before I say anymore, let's meet the cast of...

Our heroes are a brave group of adventurers from all across the land, brought together under one common goal: save the world.  A straight-laced adventurer must team up with a conniving- but charming- thief, a gypsy woman and...a talking monkey-bird.  Well, it is a Hanna-Barbera show, people!  They kept the 'kid stuff' in check pretty well though, making it a good show for teens or people who remain young at heart.  The group is beset upon by an evil pirate named Bloth, who rides in a giant ship that appears to be made out of Titan bones.  He has a crew of other evil pirates- plus a comic relief character or two- at his disposal, making this a tough fight.

Unfortunately, this show was apparently expensive to produce, leading it to be cancelled after Season Two.  This left the producers in a bind because, unlike today's shows, they didn't know in advance.  As such, the series ended with 8 of the 13 treasures being found and the story unfinished.  It's run ended just over 17 years ago and nothing has been done to wrap the story up.  It's kind of like watching Jet Li's Evil Cult and knowing what could have been.  Early in Adult Swim history, they actually used one of their 'bumps' to mock lovers of the show.  They promised to show the 'lost' episode...only to play stock footage of a cat licking up milk.  'Oops,' they said, 'We must have taped over it.'  Oh well, the series' legacy still lives on...in cos-players...

Next up, a cartoon takes power to the extreme.  Suit up, ladies and gentlemen!  Stay tuned...