’Dr. Dometone" is the twenty-first episode of ThunderCats (original series).
Premise[]
An undersea professor enlists the help of the ThunderCats to protect a machine that prevents the oceans of Third Earth from draining into its core.
Summary[]
While swimming in the ocean, Wilykit gets swallowed by a giant green robotic frog. The robot then starts pursuing the horrified Wilykat who was also swimming with her. Wilykat manages to outrun the metal behemoth by riding a Unicorn and runs back to the Cats Lair to fetch Lion-O. When the two arrive back at the scene they discover that Wilykit is safe and that the robot, called Hercules, is controlled by the friendly Dr. Dometone, who actually has come to ask the ThunderCats for help.
At Cats Lair, Dr. Dometone explains to the ThunderCats that he is the director and principal guardian of the Great Oceanic Plug, a device created to seal a giant fissure in the ocean floor and prevent all the water from draining into the earth's core. Recently, the plug had been under attack from the alien Scrape, who wants to drain the oceans to obtain a mineral found on the ocean floors. This resident of planet Blue Plunder pilots a giant electric eel shaped robot and has already succeeded in destroying Samson, one of the two giant robots guarding the plug. The ThunderCats agree to help and Lion-O and the Thunderkittens ride with Dr. Dometone in "Herky" to the plug while the rest of the Cats stay behind to work on an emergency rig.
Inside the Great Oceanic Plug, the crew are out of food and supplies and out of desperation one of them decides to go out for help in a small propulsion sub. However, Scrape's Giant Eel who was hidden nearby, lunges at the sub and devours it whole. Scrape then pilots the eel straight into the plug via the observation deck.
Herky arrives and its occupants see the Giant Eel sticking halfway out of the dome of the plug. Lion-O and Wilykat don Shark suits and swim out with a grounding cable which would neutralize the Giant Eel's electric charge. Scrape, meanwhile, notices Herky and drives his Giant Eel straight towards it. The eel wraps itself around Herky and is about to deliver its lethal charge when Lion-O swims up behind the eel and throws the grounding cable on it.
With the eel put out of commission, Scrape jumps into the propulsion sub that he had swallowed earlier and drives out of the eel. Wilykat tries to stop the sub but Scrape captures him. Seeing this, Lion-O calls the other ThunderCats. Meanwhile, Scrape has infiltrated the dome of the Great Ocean Plug and opens the plug. However, Panthro, who has arrived in the ThunderTank with Tygra and Cheetara, encloses the dome in a compressed air bubble to prevent Scrape from succeeding. Tygra then activates the vacuum suction and Scrape gets sucked out of the dome and into the ThunderTank.
Moral[]
Lion-O: "We don't just go blasting things for no good reason".
Characters[]
- Cheetara
- Dr. Dometone (1st appearance)
- Herky/Hercules (1st appearance)
- Lion-O
- Panthro
- Sampson (1st appearance)
- Scrape (1st appearance)
- Snarf
- Tygra
- Wilykat
- Wilykit
Species[]
Vehicles[]
Trivia[]
- This is the only episode in the entire series in which Wilykat is shown wearing his bathing suit.
- William Overgard, who introduced the character of Mandora in Mandora - The Evil Chaser, also wrote this episode and while Mandora did not appear in this episode, she was mentioned in the end along with the Gray Prison Planet.
- Both the giant robotic frogs, Hercules and Samson, are named after mythical characters who were renowned for their incredible strength.
Animation Mistakes and/or Technical Glitches[]
- In two scenes, Wilykat is missing his wrist bands. First is near the beginning of this episode when Dr. Dometone and the ThunderCats are sitting in the conference room and second time is near the end when the ThunderCats are sitting at the dinner table.
Inconsistencies/Continuity Errors and/or Goofs/Oddities[]
- Wilykat is wearing a bathing costume when he is swimming and when he is being chased by Hercules. However, mid-way through the pursuit, his garb changes to his regular outfit.
- Also when Wilykit is swimming and when she is swallowed by Hercules she is not wearing her boots but when she emerges from Hercules' mouth, she is shown wearing her boots.
Quotes[]
Lion-O: That giant's big, Wilykat, but not fifty feet.
Wilykat: Oh yeah? That's because it's sitting down.
Dr. Dometone: Will you help me, in the name of remaining humanity?
Scrape: There's only one thing to do with a pushy fish, and that's to catch it!
Panthro: We've enclosed the dome in a compressed air bubble! You're an engineer, you can understand that!
Tygra: What's happened to the food? I'm starved.
Wilykit: It may take a while. We're having... fish. (everyone groans in dismay)
References[]
Blue Plunder; Unicorn, Gray Prison Planet, Cats Lair
Gallery[]
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ThunderCats Season Guide | Next episode: "The Astral Prison" |