A journey into the Realm of Dungons and Dragons

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A journey into the Realm of Dungons and Dragons

A little over twenty years ago, an idea was born. That idea was to take the premises and principles of the bestselling TSR board game Dungeons and Dragons and turn it into a kids’ cartoon. But the mere label of cartoon does not do justice to the creativity and controversy that the show inspired. From Christian concerns to critical gamers, the show was guaranteed to evoke a multitude of emotional reactions. And that doesn’t even take into account the feelings of the fans!

The role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons had many followers. Created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson it had its genesis in the 1970’s and was proving increasingly popular by the end of that decade. It was reasonable to imagine that any TV show based on the game was likely to get a good reception from the players. Opinion, even to this day, is sharply divided. Some gamers loved it; some hated it. But one thing was certain; Dungeons and Dragons, the cartoon inspired a whole generation of children to use their imaginations to wish themselves away to the Realm.

The show’s premise was simple; take six kids, a rollercoaster ride and a new, and frightening world. Add into the mix a villain named Venger and an enigmatic guide called Dungeonmaster along with a mascot named Uni and there you had it. On paper, surely, a recipe for success.  Each child had a designated role, loosely based on the classes that D&D gamers could assign their characters. These were: Ranger, Acrobat, Magician, Thief, Cavalier and Barbarian. It is left to the gamers to decide how closely the classes given to each character linked into the gaming mythos, but there were some traits at least, that they shared (even if, in the Ranger’s case, it was merely ‘leather studded armour!’).

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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 ...

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