Three seasons, twenty-seven episodes, and a multitude of fans on both sides of the Atlantic attest to the success of the show. In the UK, it was first aired from 1985-6 on Children’s BBC in the popular 4.40-5.05 slot. This meant that the older age range of CBBC viewers saw it, as programmes specifically targeted at the younger end of the market were on during CBBC’s first hour. Back in the 80’s, the demographic for CBBC was a huge 5 to 15 years age group, and D&DC, with its blend of high adventure, well-developed, “human” characters and, for the most part, fleshed out storylines, had the widest potential appeal. The show got its second airing in 1987 on Saturday morning as part of the line up on “Going Live”. A sure-fire way to improve the ratings of the parent show was to split the episodes of D&DC in half; how many of us tolerated an hour of Gordon the Gopher and his sidekick Philip Schofield just to see the second half of our favourite show, I wonder? Much like our American friends, many D&DC fans can remember getting up early to watch the show, armed with our own bowls of breakfast cereal!
However, the show’s success was not enough to prevent its end. After three seasons, falling ratings and some controversy that initially started with the role-playing game being (unreasonably) blamed for some teen suicides across the Atlantic, the UK as well as the US waved goodbye to Hank, Sheila, Bobby, Eric, Diana and Presto. No more episodes were made, and, it would be reasonable to assume given the evidence, that the demographic that had so loved D&DC was growing older. There was no longer a space on prime time children’s television for a show with only twenty seven episodes, and the children who had grown up with D&D were switching allegiance to more sophisticated television shows, notably, Knightmare (why watch a cartoon when you can see real people facing the same challenges?). Did our heroes ever get home? Not in terms of broadcast episodes, no.
But all is not lost. In recent years, just as D&DC has reached and passed its twentieth anniversary, a script has come to light. The name of this script is Requiem, written by Michael Reaves. Reaves was, in the opinion of many, the best writer on the show. Many of the most popular episodes were his, including The Dragons’ Graveyard, Child of the Stargazer and The Dungeon at the Heart of Dawn, so it is reasonable to assume that the final episode of D&DC was in safe hands. It was. The script ties up the loose ends left by the show and finally answers the previously unanswered question-did they ever get home? And did they? Go and read it for yourself…it’s available online via Mr Reaves’ website.
And what of the fans? All grown up now and, for the most part, respectable pillars of the community, they do still exist. The wide variety of D&DC tribute websites, among them ‘The Realm’ and ‘Darkhaven’ are just two of the many high quality sites that keep the story of D&DC alive. If you happen to stumble upon ‘Helix Town Square’, feel free to leave a message and browse the posts of the people on both sides of the Atlantic who still hold D&DC close to their hearts.
In addition, The Requiem Project is a fan-based attempt to bring the final episode of D&DC to the screen. Fans from all over the world, and, rumour has it, one of the original voice actors, have shown an interest in making the final episode of D&DC a reality. For those of us who need the “closure” of a final episode, hopes are high that the project will be a success.
There can be no doubt that in the twenty years that D&DC has existed, it has meant a great deal to a great many people. While some die hard gamers might argue that it was a way to cash in on an already successful RPG, there are others who argue that it deserves to stand alone as a piece of television history. Whatever your personal perspective, it is plain that the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon has stood the test of time.
Fay Keenan (1022 words)
Some good D&DC websites:
The Realm:
Fanfiction.net’s D&D section:
Darkhaven fanfiction site:
Spooky’s D&DC dungeon:
Tomorrowland:
Cavern of Tiamat (one of the first D&DC sites)