The Young Sentinels

infobox television
show_name = Space Sentinels


(Copyright 1977 Filmation Associates)
format = Animated series
runtime = 22 minutes
presenter = Filmation
creator =
director = Hal Sutherland
producer = Don Christensen
executive_producer = Norm Prescott
Lou Scheimer
starring = George DiCenzo
Evan C. Kim
Dee Timberlake
Lou Scheimer
et al.
country = USA
network = NBC
first_aired = September 10, 1977
last_aired = September 9, 1978
num_episodes = 13
imdb_id = 0239192 |

"The Young Sentinels" (renamed "The Space Sentinels" midway through its only season), was a Saturday morning children's animated series produced by Filmation. It debuted on the NBC television network on September 10, 1977 and ran for thirteen episodes. Each episode's length was about twenty minutes excluding commercials.

In this series, the Roman mythology figures Hercules and Mercury were joined by Astrea, a character created specifically for the series. They were the members of a superhero team called the Young Sentinels, whose duty was to protect mankind.

The backstory of these three heroes, as explained in the opening narration, was that each was a young Earthling taken from their homelands centuries ago and transported to another planet where they were given their individual superhuman powers as well as immortality and the ability to fly. They were then returned to Earth. A being called Sentinel One, who appears as a disembodied head, is their master; a robot called Mo (for "Maintenance Operator") is his assistant and the one who has the most day-to-day interaction with the three protagonists. He was voiced by Filmation co-founder and executive producer Lou Scheimer.

The Sentinels' headquarters is located inside an unidentified inactive volcano.

The complete series was released on DVD in North America on August 22, 2006, along with the complete series of "The Freedom Force", which was originally aired as part of "Tarzan and the Super 7". [http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=5894]

Opening Narration

The Young Sentinels

Hercules: Hercules' power is superhuman strength. He is blonde-haired and blue-eyed and extremely muscular. George DiCenzo voiced him (as well as Sentinel One). He again voiced Hercules in the unsuccessful "Freedom Force" animated series.

Mercury: Mercury's power is the ability to run and fly at up to the speed of light. His appearance suggests he is of at least partial Asian ancestry. He was voiced by Asian American actor character actor Evan C. Kim, who is credited simply as "Evan Kim".

Astrea: Astrea can morph into nearly any living animal. She, along with the Super Friends' Black Vulcan, were one of the very few African American superheroes. She was voiced by African American character actress Dee Timberlake.

Antagonists

Morpheus (not to be confused with the character in the film, "The Matrix"), is the Young Sentinels' sworn enemy. He was also an Earthling who was given his powers in the manner Hercules, Mercury, and Astrea were given theirs, but far earlier. However, those who gave Morpheus his powers erred in giving him a variety of powers rather than one specific power, and he was able to rebel and turn to evil. A being called "Sorceress" was a secondary antagonist introduced later in the series. "Anubis", heavily modeled after the entity of Egyptian mythology, was another secondary antagonist.

List of Episodes

# "Morpheus: the Sinister Sentinel"
# "Space Giants"
# "The Time Traveler"
# "The Sorceress"
# "The Return of Anubis"
# "The Wizard of Od"
# "The Prime Sentinel"
# "Commander Nemo"
# "Voyage to the Inner World"
# "Loki"
# "Fauna"
# "The Jupiter Spore"
# "The World Ship"

Credits

*Executive Producers: Lou Scheimer, Norm Prescott
*Produced by: Don Christensen
*Associate Producers & Story Editors: Len Janson, Chuck Menville
*Supervising Director: Hal Sutherland
*Animation Directors: Don Towsley, Rudy Larriva, Lou Zukor, Marsh Lamore, Gwen Wetzler
*Production Manager: Joseph Simon
*Art Directors: Herb Hazleton, Jim Fletcher, Alberto De Mello
*Key Assistant: Mike Hazy
*Layout: Kurt Connor, Lonnie Lloyd, Frank Gonzales, Carol Lundenberg, George Goode, Greg Nocon, Clark Haas, John Perry, Dick Hall, Virgil Radgatz, Ed Haney, Joe Roman, Wes Herschensohn, Leo Swenson, Dave Hoover, Cliff Voorhees, Rich Hoover, David West, Les Kaluza, Jim Willoughby
*Storyboard Director: Bob Kline
*Storyboard: John Dorman, Paul Fennell, Gary Goldstein, Hal Mason, Mario Piluso
*Director of Color: Ervin Kaplan
*Background Artists: Tom O'Laughlin, Don Watson, Curtiss Perkins, Rolly Oliva, Don Schweikert, Barbara Benedetto, Don Peters, Pat Keppler, Sheila Brown, Douglas Stevenson, Gary Selvaggio
*Animators: Tom Baron, Bill Nunes, Carl Bell, Casey Onaitis, Becky Bristow, Jack Ozark, Jim Brummett, Tony Pabian, Emil Carle, Karen Peterson, Zion Davush, Bill Pratt, Otto Feuer, Bill Reed, Ed Friedman, Len Rogers, John Garling, Don Ruch, George Jorgensen, Don Schloat, Lou Kachivas, Ben Shenkman, Walt Kubiak, Larry Silverman, Lawrence Miller, Hank Smith, Joe Morrison, Bob Tyler, Fred Myers, Dardo Velez, Emory Myrick, George Waiss, Ron Westlund
*Assistant Animation Supervisor: Lew Irwin
*Checking Supervision: Marion Turk
*Xerography Supervision: John Remmel
*Paint Supervision: Betty Brooks
*Camera Supervision: R.W. Pope
*Camera: F.T. Ziegler, Dean Teves, Don Dinehart, David J. Link, John Aardal, Dan Larsen
*Color by: Technicolor
*Film Editing: Jim Blodgett
*Film Coordinator: June Gilham
*Background Music by: Yvette Blais, Jeff Michael
*Music Publisher: Shermley Music Co. A.S.C.A.P.
*Music and Sound Effects by: Horta-Mahana Corporation

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0239192/ IMDb]
* [http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/s/spacsent.htm "InternationalHero.co.uk"]
* [http://www.thechestnut.com/sentinels.htm "The Chestnut.com"]
* [http://80scartoons.co.uk/space.php "80scartoons.co.uk"]
* [http://www.whimsy.demon.co.uk/sentinels/ British fan page]