If you were a child of the 80's then you grew up with a few staples. Saturday mornings consisted of you getting up around 8:00 AM grabbing a big bowl of Lucky Charms and parking your rump right in front of the TV. Yes, the 80's were the golden age of television for kids. Sure, I might be biased, but what else can you say about a decade that brought us Transformers, GI-Joe, He-Man, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Oh, and let us not forget Thundercats!

Every one of those shows that I just mentioned were essentially glorified commercials for the newest toy line being produced in China. The main focus was on pushing trinkets to children rather than crafting a powerful story. Because of that the quality has suffered throughout the years and the nostalgia that draws old fans back to them fades away to embarrassment. I can't tell you how many times I have gone back to watch an episode of GI-Joe or He-Man and just had to hang my head in shame. Sure there are good episodes and amusing bits in between but most shows from this time period prove to be far from timeless.

Don't get me wrong; I loved each of these shows and Thundercats in particular. I still know the theme songs by heart and could basically name the entire cast. I'm obviously not the only person in the world like this because just about every one of "classic" shows has been released on DVD. Thunder kitty fans in particular have finally received the last piece in their collections with the second volume of season two.

When Thundercats got started in 1985 it went on to run for 130 episodes. The cartoon featured Lion-O and other Thunderians on the center stage as they took viewers on a new adventure every week. After escaping their doomed planet the batch of survivors made their way to Third Earth where they took refuge and began to make a new home for themselves. This planet was occupied by some interesting critters but more importantly it was plagued by an ancient evil known as Mumm-Ra.

In each episode the two forces collided and the balance in power constantly shifted, though more often than not the good guys won. New characters came and went as the show made its way through its run. Now that the final DVD release has hit store shelves fans can finally go back and revisit the latter part of the series where things started to change. Thundercats took on a much more episodic pace and some of the extensive mulit-part storylines seemed to go to the wayside. The tone for the show also became darker with some riveting moments between the Thundercats and Mumm-Ra.

It's open for debate when it comes to the quality of 31 episodes included here. There are kind of two sections to this release when you look at the quality. The batch of episodes before the five part "Return to Thundera!" were probably the most disappointing in this set. "Exile Isle", "Locket of Lies", and "Jade Dragon" in particular did nothing for me. "The Last Day" did stand out though with a story about Mumm-Ra being banished by the Ancient Spirits of Evil. It's kind of a turning point for the show despite the fact that he comes back in the very next episode.

"Return to Thundera!" was easily the crown jewel in this collection. The plot revolved around the Thundercats making the move from Third Earth to New Thundera. Mumm-Ra comes back with a vengeance and is more powerful than ever. His destructive ways threaten to destroy the Thundercats' home once again and of course it's up to Lion-O to save everybody. Many of the episodes that followed this arc were considerably better than those that preceded it. Right up to the end of the show there are only a few missteps and it definitely helped to give the series a strong finish.

If you have been collecting the show and consider yourself a Thunderfan then picking this set up is a no-brainer. However, if you have felt yourself scorned by going back to visit He-Man and Transformers (like many of us have) then you'll probably want to rent the show first to see how much you can take. I always thought that Thundercats was a show that ended stronger than it began. The addition of New Thundera helped the series exponentially and of course it's always nice to see the good guys trump the bad. Sorry Mumm-Ra.

Thundercats is presented with a 1.33:1 full frame aspect ratio, which is what you'd expect from a cartoon that has hit the twenty year mark. Just like the prior sets the video quality in Season Two Volume Two is rather disappointing. The image contains a bunch of grain, faded colors, and bits of dirt in the print. It's really a shame that Warner Brothers didn't put forth the extra effort to spruce up the quality for this show but I suppose fans should take what they can get. It's a little better looking than what you'd get from a VHS tape but nowhere near the quality that DVD has become known for.

Thundercats' final episodes get the same sound quality as those that came before them. Expect an English mono track to blare from your television though for the content and how old the track is the sound is actually pretty clear. Just don't come expecting to put your 5.1 system to task and you won't be entirely disappointed. French is another language option on this set as are subtitles for Spanish. Overall the aesthetics for Thundercats roughly match what they were back in 1986 and don't really hold up by today's standards.

Once again fans have nothing to latch on to in terms of bonus content. There is a pitiful "Thundercats Ultimate Adventure Challenge" which is little more than weak game that doesn't entertain in the least. A show like this deserved the treatment that BCI has been giving to He-Man and She-Ra. Some documentaries or interviews with the original cast would have made a positive impression instead of a negative one.

As the Thundercats' adventure draws to a close it's safe to say that the quality of the episodes improved over time. The greater sense of drama definitely helped hammer home many of the plots in the last episodes and the addition of New Thundera breathed some life into the tired series. Even so there are still a few duds among the gold but the digging is something that fans will have fun doing. I still say that it's bad treatment that WB didn't step up the presentation of the show but when it comes to a cartoon from the 80's I suppose you take what you can get.

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