Voltron: Defender of the Universe – Page 3 – Lions and Pilots and Bots… Dot Com!

Same But Different: The First Episodes of Beast King Golion and Voltron: Defender of the Universe

Posted on April 3, 2018 by Greg Tyler

As a longtime Voltron fan, and as co-host of Let’s Voltron: The Official Voltron Podcast, I am sometimes asked which episode of Voltron: Defender of the Universe is my favorite. My response has probably varied over the years, but the episode that I find myself watching most frequently is “Space Explorers Captured,” the first episode in original air date order, and the first episode to feature the Lion Force characters.

During my most recent re-watch of the episode, as well as “Escape from Slave Castle,” the Beast King Golion episode from which it was adapted, I realized why I’m so fascinated with “Space Explorers Captured”: unlike nearly every other episode of Voltron: Defender of the Universe, “Space Explorers Captured” isn’t a straight adaptation, with violent shots removed for an audience of largely American youths – the Voltron episode has its own distinct narrative, and it sets up a surprisingly different premise from that of Beast King Golion – and all of this is accomplished with clever editing and new writing.

Golion #1 Story	Voltron #1 Story
On the planet Galra, five earthlings are in a cell in Slave Castle. The earthlings had been captured shortly after returning from a space mission and their discovery that, in their absence, Earth had been devastated during World War III. The earthlings escape Galra in a Galra slave ship. Emperor Daibazaal orders Sadak to pursue. Sadak’s ship shoots down the escape ship as it approaches the planet Altea. The escape ship’s descent is watched from an ancient castle by a beautiful princess. Before the ship crashes, a strange beam of light emanates from a statue in front of an ancient castle. The ship’s descent slows, and the earthlings’ leader, Kogane, takes the controls and flies the ship past the castle.	Five Space Explorers from Earth’s Galaxy Garrison reach the planet Arus, which is under attack by the forces of King Zarkon. The Explorers’ ship is captured, and the Space Explorers are taken to the planet Doom. The Space Explorers escape Doom in a slave ship. Zarkon orders Commander Yurak to pursue. Yurak’s ship shoots down the escape ship as it approaches the planet Arus. The escape ship’s descent is slowed by a strange beam of light emanating from a statue in front of the legendary Castle of Lions. Keith, captain of the Space Explorers, tells his team the legend of Voltron. With hope that the Space Explorers can locate and bring back Voltron, Keith guides the escape ship past the Castle of Lions.

Golion #1 Story

Voltron #1 Story

On the planet Galra, five earthlings are in a cell in Slave Castle. The earthlings had been captured shortly after returning from a space mission and their discovery that, in their absence, Earth had been devastated during World War III.

The earthlings escape Galra in a Galra slave ship. Emperor Daibazaal orders Sadak to pursue. Sadak’s ship shoots down the escape ship as it approaches the planet Altea.

The escape ship’s descent is watched from an ancient castle by a beautiful princess. Before the ship crashes, a strange beam of light emanates from a statue in front of an ancient castle. The ship’s descent slows, and the earthlings’ leader, Kogane, takes the controls and flies the ship past the castle.

Five Space Explorers from Earth’s Galaxy Garrison reach the planet Arus, which is under attack by the forces of King Zarkon. The Explorers’ ship is captured, and the Space Explorers are taken to the planet Doom.

The Space Explorers escape Doom in a slave ship. Zarkon orders Commander Yurak to pursue. Yurak’s ship shoots down the escape ship as it approaches the planet Arus.

The escape ship’s descent is slowed by a strange beam of light emanating from a statue in front of the legendary Castle of Lions. Keith, captain of the Space Explorers, tells his team the legend of Voltron. With hope that the Space Explorers can locate and bring back Voltron, Keith guides the escape ship past the Castle of Lions.

Golion #1 Premise	Voltron #1 Premise
Several thousand years ago, the mysetrious robot Golion arrogantly challenged the Goddess of the Universe to a fight. The goddess punished Golion for its arrogance by splitting it into five parts, each a robot Lion. In 1999, five earthling space explorers from the war-ravaged planet Earth rediscover the robot Lions and form Golion, to protect the planet Altea and its allies from Emperor Daibazaal and the Galra Empire.	Some years ago, King Zarkon’s witch Haggar placed a curse on the mighty robot Voltron, splitting it into five parts, each a robot Lion. Now (the future – in an unspecified year), five Space Explorers from the Galaxy Garrison rediscover teh robot Lions and form Voltron, to protecdt the universe from Zarkon and the forces of Doom.

Golion #1 Premise

Voltron #1 Premise

Several thousand years ago, the mysetrious robot Golion arrogantly challenged the Goddess of the Universe to a fight. The goddess punished Golion for its arrogance by splitting it into five parts, each a robot Lion.

In 1999, five earthling space explorers from the war-ravaged planet Earth rediscover the robot Lions and form Golion, to protect the planet Altea and its allies from Emperor Daibazaal and the Galra Empire.

Some years ago, King Zarkon’s witch Haggar placed a curse on the mighty robot Voltron, splitting it into five parts, each a robot Lion.

Now (the future – in an unspecified year), five Space Explorers from the Galaxy Garrison rediscover teh robot Lions and form Voltron, to protecdt the universe from Zarkon and the forces of Doom.

I also studied the Voltron premiere episode, and I discovered that — Ignoring the opening, closing, teaser for the next episode, and minor edits such as trimming violent Golion content, the first Voltron episode is comprised of:

Eight segments from the first Beast King Golion episode. (The overwhelming majority of the content is from this episode.) In the Voltron episode, these segments are re-sequenced and given a different context.
Three short segments from the third Beast King Golion episode. These segments support Voltron’s altered premise.
Two short segments and one longer segment from the first episode of Armored Fleet Dairugger XV, the anime program from which the Vehicle Team episodes of Voltron: Defender of the Universe were adapted. These segments also support Voltron’s altered premise.

Here is a breakdown of the segments in Voltron‘s first episode:

Voltron #1 Seg #	Duration (mm:ss)	Voltron Context	Source	Golion #1 Seg #	Source Context

1	00:19	Keith reports no problems approaching Arus, but Space Explorers notice problems as they reach planet	Golion #1	N/A	Part of Golion main title sequence

2	00:01	Keith reaction shot	Dairugger #1	N/A	Manabu Aki reaction shot

3	00:01	Hunk reaction shot	Dairugger #1	N/A	Shinobu Kai reaction shot

4	00:09	Forces of Doom attack Arus	Golion #3	N/A	Sadak’s forces attack Altea

5	00:16	Forces of Doom attack Arus	Golion #3	N/A	Sadak’s forces attack Altea

6	00:05	Forces of Doom attack Arus	Golion #3	N/A	Sadak’s forces attack Altea

7	01:51	Arus fights back against Forces of Doom, but Arus is devastated; Yurak captures the Space Explorers	Golion #1	5	Earth is devastated during World War III (Kogane imagines these events, which took place while he and his fellow space explorers were on space mission); Sadak captures five earthling space explorers who just returned to Earth from space mission (flashback)

8	01:48	Keith contacts Galaxy Garrison; Galaxy Garrison high command discuss Keith’s message	Dairugger #1	N/A	Galaxy Garrison meeting

9	05:16	Yurak brings slaves including Space Explorers to Doom; Zarkon believes he will be unopposed now that Space Explorers are captives; slaves sent to arena against Blue Robeast; Space Explorers talk of escaping before they can be sent to arena	Golion #1	4	Sadak brings slaves to Galra; Daibazaal seeks amusement; five earthlings are already captives on Galra; lively new slaves are slaughtered by Deathblack Beastman in arena to amuse Daibazaal; earthlings discuss having nearly died when they fought a Deathblack Beastman

10	10:45	Space Explorers escape cell, steal slave ship, escape Doom and approach Arus; Yurak shoots down escape ship; escape ship’s descent to Arus is slowed by Castle of Lions (Note: Princess Allura and Coran are not shown here, delaying their introduction until the next episode)	Golion #1	7	Earthlings escape cell, steal slaves ship, escape Galra and approach Altea; Sadak shoots down escape ship; escape ship’s descent to Altea is slowed by Castle Altea (Note: Princess Fala and Raible are shown watching escape ship from castle)

11	00:11	Reactions of Lance, Sven, Hunk, Pidge	Golion #1	9	Reactions of Kurogane, Shirogane, Seidou, Suzuishi

12	02:09	Keith tells legend of Voltron	Golion #1	2	Narrator tells legend of Golion

13	00:49	Keith talks of somehow finding and combining Lions to bring back Voltron to help Arus	Golion #1	N/A	Part of main title sequence

14	00:20	Keith takes controls and guides descending ship safely past Castle of Lions	Golion #1	10	Kogane takes controls and guides descending ship safely past Castle Altea

To contrast the first episode of Voltron: Defender of the Universe with that of Beast King Golion, here are the segments of the Golion premiere:

Golion #1 Seg #	Golion Context	Voltron #1 Seg #

1	Narrator tells legend of Golion	N/A

2	Narrator tells legend of Golion	12

3	Episode title card	N/A

4	Sadak brings slaves to Galra; Daibazaal seeks amusement; five earthlings are already captives on Galra; lively new slaves are slaughtered by Deathblack Beastman in arena to amuse Daibazaal; earthlings discuss having nearly died when they fought a Deathblack Beastman	9

5	Earth is devastated during World War III (Kogane imagines these events, which took place while he and his fellow space explorers were on space mission); Sadak captures five earthling space explorers who just returned to Earth from space mission (flashback)	7

6	Kogane reaction shot	N/A

7	Earthlings escape cell, steal slaves ship, escape Galra and approach Altea; Sadak shoots down escape ship; escape ship’s descent to Altea is slowed by Castle Altea (Note: Princess Fala and Raible are shown watching escape ship from castle)	10

8	Medium and close-up shots of Princess Fala watching ship descend	N/A

9	Reactions of Kurogane, Shirogane, Seidou, Suzuishi	11

10	Kogane takes controls and guides descending ship safely past Castle Altea	14

“Space Explorers Captured,” the first Lion Force episode of Voltron: Defender of the Universe, is surprisingly different than its Beast King Golion counterpart, “Escape from Slave Castle.” The episodes are a testament to how important editing can be in telling a story — or two. IF you’ve not watched these in a while, or ever, then check them out.

Matchbox 1985 and 1986 Toy Fair Catalogs

Posted on February 25, 2018 by Greg Tyler

In the 1980s, and still today, toy makers try to entice retailers to purchase current and possible future toy offerings at an annual trade show called New York Toy Fair. In the pre-Internet era of the 1980s, a toy maker would give printed catalogs to retailers, so that they would be aware of the toys that the company made, how to order them, and other information.

In the mid-1980s, Voltron: Defender of the Universe was a hot toy property, and Matchbox was Voltron’s first licensed toy maker. All of Matchbox’s Voltron toy offerings were modified re-releases of toys that had originally been produced by Popy, later Bandai, for the anime programs that were adapted to make Voltron.

Here are some photos of Matchbox’s 1985 and 1986 Toy Fair catalogs!

1985

Front Cover

What’s that on the cover? Is that Voltron? Yes — it’s Voltron I! There’s not a lion to be found… yet. Given Matchbox’s history with small toy cars, this Voltron does seem to be the most appropriate robot to feature on the cover of the catalog.

Pages 48-49

It’s Voltron I! This mighty robot had five toy offerings:

700211 Voltron I Air Warrior Set
700212 Voltron I Space Warrior Set
700213 Voltron I Land Warrior Set
700002 Voltron I Miniature Space Warrior Robot
700210 Voltron I The Deluxe Warrior Set.

If I were a nitpicker, I would point out that the forearm vehicles are swapped in the photo of The Deluxe Warrior Set — and in the photo of the Land Warrior Set. I’d also point out that the Air Warrior Set, Space Warrior Set, and Land Warrior Set did not have die-cast parts. It’s good that I’m not a nitpicker.

Note the “NEW! TV” markings on each page. Having a television program as a promotional outlet for toys was and still is hugely important to a retailer.

Pages 50-51

It’s Voltron II! This mighty robot had four toy offerings:

700100 Voltron II Miniature Red Gladiator Robot
700110 Voltron II Miniature Blue Gladiator Robot
700120 Voltron II Miniature Black Gladiator Robot
700220 Voltron II The Deluxe Gladiator Set.

These toys are also “NEW! TV” — but Voltron II never appeared on TV, at least not in the Voltron: Defender of the Universe program. To my knowledge, Matchbox never even televised ads for this poor guy, who incidentally is horribly mis-transformed on page 51. As shown in the catalog, the Blue Gladiator Robot’s head seems to be stuck in the ro-butt of the Black Gladiator Robot, whose head seems to be stuck in the ro-butt of the Red Gladiator Robot. It’s a good thing that robots don’t feel pain.

Pages 52-53

It’s Voltron III — or what most people today simply call Voltron. This mighty robot had five toy offerings:

700201 Voltron III Giant Black Lion Robot
700202 Voltron III Yellow and Green Mighty Lion Robots Set
700203 Voltron III Blue and Red Mighty Lion Robots Set
700001 Voltron III Miniature Lion Space Robot
700200 Voltron III The Deluxe Lion Set

Again, it’s good that I’m not a nitpicker, because if I were, I’d point out that, in the photo of The Deluxe Lion Set:

The rear feet of Blue and Yellow Lions are pointed incorrectly.
The front legs of Blue and Yellow Lions are posed incorrectly.
Black Lion’s rear legs (Voltron’s thighs) are posed very strangely.
Black Lion’s shoulders (Voltron’s shoulders) are oriented incorrectly.
Black Lion has a yellow button on its left shoulder. This play feature was never present in the released Voltron toy.

Voltron III’s “NEW! TV” markings are the most apropos of the three robots, because after the first run of Voltron: Defender of the Universe, “Voltron I” all but disappeared from television, and as I already mentioned, “Voltron II” never made it to TV.

1986

Front Cover

What the heck are those toys? They aren’t Voltron toys, and more strangely, they aren’t the tiny, die-cast toy cars for which Matchbox was best known. Read on, fearless reader!

Voltron scored two fewer pages in 1986 than it enjoyed in 1985. Then… there’s this thing called Robotech, which spanned 36 pages — whereas Matchbox’s traditional die-cast cars had only 22 pages. What gives?

Pages 30-31

If you’re thinking that these toys look like 1985’s “Voltron I” toys, then you’re thinking correctly. At some point, Matchbox must have gotten a memo from World Events Productions that the Roman numerals became passe sometime between when the TV program’s pilot episodes were made and when the “real” episodes were made. The renamed offerings were:

700211 Strato-Fighter
700212 Aqua-Fighter
700213 Turbo-Terrain-Fighter
700002 Miniature Vehicle Team Voltron
700210 Vehicle Team Voltron

Why was the “Aqua-Fighter” previously called the “Space Warrior?” I have no idea.

Pages 32-33

By 1986, poor “Voltron II” had disappeared even from Matchbox’s toy offerings. Fortunately “Voltron III” was still around, albeit renamed. The 1986 offerings for this Voltron robot were:

700201 Giant Black Lion
700202 Yellow and Green Lions
700203 Blue and Red Lions
700001 Miniature Lion Force Voltron
700200 Lion Force Voltron
700401 Blazing Sword Set
700402 Miniature Blazing Sword Set

The new-to-1986 items, 700401 and 700402, probably came along because someone at Matchbox realized that Voltron had become kind of well known for using a sword.

The Lion Force Voltron toy is once again mis-transformed:

The rear feet of Blue and Yellow Lions are pointed incorrectly.
The front legs of Blue Lion seem to be posed incorrectly.
Black Lion’s shoulders (Voltron’s shoulders) are oriented correctly; however, Black Lion’s lower front legs are sticking out as if whoever set up the toy didn’t know that the lower front legs could be folded inside the shoulders.

Pages 34-35

These pages have nothing to do with Voltron, but they have everything to do with the catalog’s cover, as well as the most prominently featured licensed property in the catalog: Robotech, another animated program made by adapting multiple anime programs. Matchbox put a huge investment into Robotech. The company launched an enormous product line targeted at boys and girls, and it was co-financing the production of a 65-episode sequel to Robotech, called Robotech II: The Sentinels. Unfortunately retailer interest at 1986 New York Toy Fair was well below expectations. This and other factors led to Matchbox abandoning Robotech II: The Sentinels mid-production. But that’s a story for a different website.

And there you have it — Voltron as it appeared in Matchbox’s 1985 and 1986 Toy Fair retailer catalogs.

Ship Shapes: Romantic Relationships in Voltron Fan Art and Fan Fiction

Posted on December 3, 2017 by Greg Tyler

Updated December 6, 2017, with information from a recent New York Times article about shipping.

Since Voltron: Defender of the Universe premiered in 1984, there has been Voltron fan art and fan fiction. Perhaps surprisingly to a casual Voltron fan, much of Voltron fan art and fan fiction concerns romantic relationships.

Fans of Voltron: Defender of the Universe have created relationship-based fan art and fan fiction for a small number of pairings, the most popular of which seems to be between Keith and Princess Allura. Such stories commonly were, and to a lesser extent still are, called “K/A” for “Keith/Allura.” In the TV program, a Keith/Allura romance was only subtly implied, most notably in the final episode, “Fleet of Doom.” In that story, Haggar releases Keith and Allura from an alternate dimension. She tells them to let their love guide them home. When they return to the real world, Keith holds Allura’s hands, and they smile at each other. Voltron: Defender of the Universe fan art and fan fiction also explore other romantic pairings, including but not limited to Sven and Romelle — the couple that was most overtly suggested in the TV program — as well as Lotor and Allura, and Lance and Allura.

Voltron: The Third Dimension does not seem to have inspired much in the way of fan art or fan fiction.

Voltron Force inspired relationship-based fan art and fan fiction, much of which explores a Keith/Allura relationship. Voltron Force was subtle but direct in suggesting a Keith/Allura romance. In “Gary,” Keith says, “if it’s what Allura wants, then it’s what I want.” Afterward, Allura smiles, eyebrows raised. In “Crossed Signals,” the pair hold hands, and in front of the other members and cadets of the Voltron Force, Allura puts her hands on Keith’s right shoulder and gives him a loving look. In “Deceive and Conquer,” the recently crowned Queen Allura suggests, in front of the rest of the Voltron Force, that Keith, who in this show is of Arusian heritage, become king. It’s clear to the rest of the Force that Keith and Allura are a couple. Later Keith smiles and has an arm around Allura. In the final episode, “Black,” when Allura first sees Keith, it’s clear from the look on her face that she is in love with him.

Voltron Legendary Defender has inspired a new wave of fan art and fan fiction. The scale of this wave of fan creativity is unprecedented in Voltron fandom. A sizable amount of this program’s fan art and fan fiction concerns romantic and/or physical relationships — commonly abbreviated as ships. Fans who support ships are commonly called shippers. Many shippers name ships after the people are in the ship. Ships explored in Voltron Legendary Defender fan art and fan fiction include, but are by no means limited to, the ones listed below. More comprehensive ship lists are available online.

Characters	Ship Name
Shiro, Keith	Sheith
Shiro, Lance	Shance
Shiro, Keith, Lance	Shklance
Keith, Lance	Klance
Keith, Allura	Kallura
Hunk, Lance	Hance
Lance, Lotor	Lancelot

As reported in December 4, 2017, article in the New York Times (Link), the most popular ship in all of Tumblr in 2017 was “Klance” (Keith/Lance). According to Tumblr (Link), “Sheith” was a still impressive #12.

Voltron Legendary Defender ships have been a source of strife among some shippers. A small subset of shippers have demanded that the creators of Voltron Legendary Defender make their favorite ships “canon” — that is, overtly depict the ship in the television program. A tiny number of shippers have even attacked or threatened other shippers who prefer different ships, or the show’s creators if their favorite ships are not made canon. As a very small but very vocal subset of shippers actively attack other people, as of this writing (December 2017, between the releases of the fourth and fifth seasons), the Voltron Legendary Defender TV program has not depicted a romance among any of the show’s prominent characters. In essence, a militant shipper lashes out at others for not imagining what he or she is imagining. Even if one or more ships were to become “canon” in the show, it wouldn’t make anyone’s imagination any less valid than anyone else’s imagination.

Relationship-based Voltron fan art and fan fiction have existed since the 1980s, and today they are more prominent than ever. As long as their creators and consumers treat others with kindness, fan art and fan fiction are fun ways to celebrate and share enthusiasm for Voltron.

This author supports fellow fans’ enthusiasm and creativity. It is the opinion of this author that all fan-imagined romantic and physical relationships are equally valid, as long as they are consensual and lawful.

Images of Playmates Toys Voltron 84 Legendary Lions Toys

Posted on December 2, 2017 by Greg Tyler

ToyWiz.com has released official product photography of the upcoming Voltron 84 Classic Legendary Lions. ToyWiz has opened pre-orders for the toys, which have estimated shipping dates of January 2018.

The toys look amazing. I will be all over these when they are released!

Classic Legendary Black Lion

Classic Legendary Red Lion

Classic Legendary Green Lion

Classic Legendary Blue Lion

Classic Legendary Yellow Lion

All Classic Legendary Lions in Packages

Product photography of the assembled Voltron robot has not yet been seen online.

These toys will be mine. Oh yes. They will be mine.

Out of Order: Voltron vs. Golion and Dairugger

Posted on September 9, 2017 by Greg Tyler

When I first watched Voltron: Defender of the Universe in weekday syndication between 1984 and 1986, I had no idea that the show had been adapted from the anime programs Beast King Golion and Armored Fleet Dairugger XV. I first learned this in the late 1980s, in an issue of Starlog magazine, in an article about what was then called “Japanimation.”

When Media Blasters released the Voltron: Defender of the Universe DVD box sets, I noticed something as I thumbed through the episode synopses that had been packaged in the box sets: the episode numbers and the original air dates often seemed… off. For example, Lion Force episode eight, “The Stolen Lion,” originally aired eight days after episode seven, “The Lion Has New Claws.” This seemed odd, since the program ran in weekday syndication. Barring reruns, I would expect two consecutive episodes to air no more than three days apart — the earlier episode airing on a Friday, and the later episode airing on the following Monday.

But things got even weirder. Lion Force episode 14, “Yurak Gets His Pink Slip,” originally aired ten days before episode 13, “The Witch Gets a Facelift.”

As a Star Trek fan, I knew that many episodes of the 1960s television series had originally aired out of production sequence. The first episode to air, “The Man Trap,” was the eighth episode to have been produced. Still, with Voltron: Defender of the Universe having been adapted from two already produced programs, it seemed strange that its episodes would have been adapted out of sequence.

It turns out that the episode numbers in the Voltron DVD box sets correspond to the original air date sequences of the original anime programs. Episodes 1-52 correspond to episodes 1-52, respectively, of Beast King Golion. Episodes 73-124 correspond to episodes 1-52, respectively, of Armored Fleet Dairugger XV. (Episodes 53-72 are the 20 Lion Force episodes that had been animated specifically for Voltron. The “Fleet of Doom” feature episode was sold as a separate DVD.)

For this article, I decided to see just how out of order Voltron: Defender of the Universe is with respect to Beast King Golion and Armored Fleet Dairugger XV.

Here is a comparison of the original air date sequence of all 52 Golion episodes with the original air date sequence of the first 52 Lion Force Voltron episodes.

As you can see…

The first eleven Lion Force Voltron episodes originally aired in the same order as the corresponding Golion episodes.
The last three Lion Force Voltron episodes originally aired in the same order as the corresponding Golion episodes.
The episodes between the first eleven and the last three are a jumbled mess!

Here is a comparison of the original air date sequence of all 52 Dairugger episodes with the original air date sequence of all 52 Vehicle Team Voltron episodes.

From this graph, we can see that…

Even the first several Vehicle Team Voltron episodes are out of sequence with respect to Dairugger.
The only long stretch of Dairugger-sequenced Vehicle Team Voltron episodes are episodes 42-51, which correspond to Dairugger episodes 43-52, respectively.
The final Vehicle Team Voltron episode was the 15th episode of Dairugger!

Even this isn’t the whole story of how out of order Voltron was compared to the original anime programs. Let’s put all of the data together, but first, let’s keep in mind that:

The first 52 Lion Force episodes of Voltron: Defender of the Universe are considered the program’s “first season.”
The 52 Vehicle Team episodes are considered the “second season.”
The “extra 20” Lion Force episodes — that is, the episodes that were animated specifically for Voltron — are considered the “third season.”
“Fleet of Doom,” the feature-length, animated-for-Voltron episode that often aired in two parts, is generally considered an “extra” episode. (It is not shown in the chart below.)

The first several Vehicle Team episodes originally aired scattered throughout the first 52 Lion Force episodes! It’s likely that these Vehicle Team episodes were repeated again at the beginning of the long stretch of Vehicle Team episodes. There’s a large enough time gap after the first 52 Lion Force episodes for this to have occurred. Still, this is kind of strange.

So what happened? Here is my guess:

The first several Voltron episodes to be produced were Vehicle Team episodes. This is only speculation, but the pilot episode screened at the NAB conference in February 1984 featured Vehicle Team Voltron (then called Voltron I), and much of the early Voltron marketing materials featured only Vehicle Team Voltron.
Sometime before Voltron debuted on television in September 1984, someone at World Events Productions decided that the Lion Force episodes adapted from Golion were better than the Vehicle Team episodes. A decision was made to air the Lion Force episodes first.
After several Vehicle Team episodes of Voltron had been produced, the show makers transitioned into producing all 52 Lion Force episodes adapted from Golion.
When Voltron premiered in September 1984, Lion Force episodes were broadcast.
Unable to produce Lion Force episodes quickly enough to keep up with weekday airings, occasional, already completed Vehicle Team episodes were broadcast from time to time.
After production of all 52 Lion Force episodes adapted from Golion had been completed, the remaining Vehicle Team episodes were produced.
The Vehicle Team “batch” of episodes aired first with reruns of the already aired Vehicle Team episodes, followed by the ones that had not yet aired.
After production of all 52 Vehicle Team episodes had been completed, 20 all-new Lion Force episodes, plus the “Fleet of Doom” special, were produced.
After all of the Vehicle Team episodes had aired, the all-new Lion Force episodes, plus “Fleet of Doom,” were broadcast.

As for why the Voltron episodes aired out of sequence relative to Golion and Dairugger, I suspect the writers did not recognize the serialized nature of the anime programs. This is understandable, given the frantic pace of production, coupled with the anime episodes being in Japanese and lacking English subtitles. In addition, the Voltron episodes might not have been aired in the order in which they had been written or completed. Since the show’s original head writer, Jameson Brewer, died in 2003, we will likely never know for certain.

What are the take-aways from all this? First, it takes a lot of time to produce an animated television series — even one for which the animation was pre-produced. Second, creative and logistical decisions are made at all points in the production process. Third, the popularity of Voltron in the 1980s, and even today, is a testament to the dedication and ability of everyone who worked on Voltron, Golion, and Dairugger. Finally, it took a bit of work to be a Voltron fan in the 1980s, but I already wrote about that, didn’t I?

Playmates Toys Making Classic Voltron Lions?

Posted on August 30, 2017 by Greg Tyler

Today collectors across the universe were surprised to discover that Big Bad Toy Store (Website: http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/) is accepting pre-orders for all-new 1980s-style Voltron Lion toys from Playmates Toys.

“Voltron Classic Black Lion” is available for $39.99, which is the same as the site’s price for the Legendary Black Lion from Voltron Legendary Defender. (Link: http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/60188)

“Voltron Classic Lions Set of 4” — including Red Lion, Green Lion, Blue Lion, and Yellow Lion — are available in a set for $89.99, which is $5 higher than the site’s price for a set of Legendary Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow Lions from Voltron Legendary Defender. (Link: http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/60185)

No details about these lions have been released yet, but given the similar price points with the Legendary Lions, plus connector ports on Black Lion’s shoulders and lower rear legs that resemble those of Legendary Black Lion, it seems possible that these lions will be able to combine into a Voltron that might be comparable in size to the Voltron Legendary Defender Voltron that can be assembled from the five Legendary Lions. It also seems that the classic Black Lion might incorporate electronic features similar to the Legendary Black Lion.

Lendy Tayag’s LEGO Ideas Voltron Is Go!

Posted on August 3, 2017 by Greg Tyler

Congratulations to Lendy Tayag, whose amazing LEGO Ideas Voltron is on its way to becoming a licensed LEGO product!

Official Announcement

Get the Lead Out: Voltron Toy Recall of 1986 (NOT Modern Toys)

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Greg Tyler

In the mid-1980s, Voltron: Defender of the Universe was a big thing. The TV series was popular, and so were the toys. The first Voltron toys to hit retail shelves were sold by Matchbox Toys.

It seemed that nothing could stop Voltron — either the robot in the television episodes, or the toys on toy store shelves. Unfortunately, the luster of some 1980s Voltron toys would face a foe that would prove to be more formidable than a Robeast: lead paint. On November 12, 1986, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning that some of the Matchbox Voltron toys made in 1985 and 1986 had paint which contained levels of lead that exceeded what was allowed by law.

Here is a link to the actual 1986 warning from the Consumer Product Safety Commission: 1986 Voltron Toy Recall Warning

This warning, issued in 1986, pertained only to some toys manufactured in 1985 and 1986. All other Voltron toys are fine… and fun!

The Consumer Product and Safety Commission used these images to describe which Voltron toys from 1985 and 1986 were included in the recall.

I’ll say it again: This warning, issued in 1986, pertained only to some toys manufactured in 1985 and 1986. All other Voltron toys are fine… and fun!

1980s Voltron Product Line Art Images by Kwikee

Posted on May 7, 2017 by Greg Tyler

As described on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Page_layout), in the days before page layout software such as Adobe InDesign and QuarkXPress, newspaper page layouts were created… by hand. In the 1980s, a page layout was created by physically pasting images and blocks of text onto a rigid sheet of paper. This “camera-ready” page was then shot on film, and through a process called offset lithography, the film would control ink placement on the printing press.

Newspaper ads often incorporated hand-drawn, black-on-white line art renditions of product photographs. Line art was often preferred over photographs because the images were often small on the black-and-white printed page, so high-contrast line art often represented products more effectively than grayscale photographs did.

Line art for newspaper ads was often created by specialized companies. One such company was Kwikee, then a division of Multi-Ad Services, Inc. Kwikee still exists today, and it still provides product images — although now mostly digital in nature.

What’s the Voltron connection? In the 1980s, there were Voltron toys — lots of Voltron toys. These toys were often advertised in newspapers, so line art was made of these toys, by companies such as Kwikee.

A few years ago, I purchased from a vintage toy seller a small collection of 1980s product image pages made by Kwikee. The pages in the collection included images of toys from several 1980s toy lines: MASK (by Kenner), Photon (by LJN), Thundercats (by LJN), Wrinkles (by LJN), Robotech (by Matchbox) — and Voltron, by Matchbox.

Below are the four Voltron Kwikee product image pages from my collection. No copyright infringement is intended in their display on this website. The pages are shared here to show to fellow Voltron fans these amazing newspaper advertising artifacts from days of long ago. Enjoy!

The first page, apparently page 118 of a 1985 Kwikee catalog of product images, depicts Matchbox’s Voltron I toys. As I mentioned in “It’s as “Easy” as I, II, III: Being a Voltron Fan in the 1980s,” Voltron I was the inital name of the super robot that would eventually become known as Vehicle Team Voltron. Note that each image is represented in three sizes, which offered newspaper layout artists more leeway in how they composed the ad, physically pasting an image of the desired size on what would become a camera-ready page layout sheet.

The second page, page 119 of the same catalog, depicts Matchbox’s Voltron II toys. This super robot was ultimately never featured in the Voltron: Defender of the Universe television program.

The third page, page 120, depicts Matchbox’s Voltron III toys. Voltron III would become known as Lion Force Voltron, the overwhelmingly most popular of the 1980s Voltron super robots.

The fourth and final Voltron page in my collection, page 100 of a 1986 Kwikee catalog of product images, depicts Matchbox’s Vehicle Team Voltron and Lion Force Voltron toys. The company’s Voltron I and Voltron III toys from 1985 were, for 1986, repackaged and renamed to Vehicle Team Voltron and Lion Force Voltron, respectively. Interestingly, each image on this page is rendered in a single size, rather than three sizes as in the 1985 catalog. Perhaps subsequent pages in the catalog, not in my collection, provide alternately sized images.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this blast from the newspaper advertising past!

Voltron 101

Posted on April 16, 2017 by Greg Tyler

(This article is based on material that I wrote for the “Voltron 101” episode of Let’s Voltron: The Official Voltron Podcast.)

Introduction

This article is a primer for all things Voltron. If you’re a new fan who was introduced to Voltron through the all-new series, Voltron: Legendary Defender, and you’re curious about what came before, then this article is for you. If you’re a fan from days of long ago – 1984 – and you’re curious about what came after, then this article is for you. If you’re the friend or loved one of a Voltron fan, or if you can’t tell Voltron from Optimus Prime, then this article is for you.

This article focuses only on the various Voltron television programs. It skips details about the making of these shows, and it skips some of the more arcane facts about the shows. That’s because the goal is to welcome as many readers as possible to the entirety of the Voltron universe, without overwhelming you with too much information.

Premise

Voltron is about a group of young heroes who protect all that is good from all that is evil, with the help of their incredible machines that can easily hold their own in battle. In times of great danger, these heroes can combine their machines into a super robot called Voltron. Just as the super robot Voltron is more powerful than its individual components, Voltron’s pilots, when working together, comprise a whole that is far greater than the sum of its parts. In short, Voltron is fantastic sci-fi action that focuses on a very down-to-earth concept: overcoming incredible obstacles through the power of friendship and teamwork.

Voltron: Defender of the Universe (1984-1986)

On Monday, September 10, 1984, kids of all ages were captivated with amazing sights and sounds as a new animated television series first hit air waves. The series was called Voltron: Defender of the Universe.

Lion Force

The series’ earliest episodes focus on the Voltron Lion Force – a team of five, brave space explorers who operate five distinctly colored robot lions. Team leader Keith controls the Black Lion. The sarcastic Lance operates the Red Lion. The short, spectacled and smart Pidge flies the Green Lion. The brawny, tough, yet soft-hearted Hunk pilots the Yellow Lion, and the pensive, noble Sven controls the Blue Lion. The space explorers discover the Lions on a planet called Arus – a planet that had been devastated, and its population decimated, by prolonged conflict with the forces of the evil King Zarkon of Planet Doom. Among the casualties of this conflict was Planet Arus’ king, Alfor, leaving his daughter, Princess Allura, the only surviving member of the royal family. As the forces of Planet Doom – Zarkon, witch Haggar, and eventually Zarkon’s son, Prince Lotor – continue their attacks on Arus and other planets in the Far Universe, the Voltron Force defend the innocent using their mighty Lions. Often Zarkon would send a Robeast – an enormous, magic-enhanced, mechanical monster – and to defeat it, the Voltron Force would combine their Lions into Voltron.

Soon after the series begins, Blue Lion pilot Sven is seriously injured during a skirmish with Haggar. Sven is taken to the planet Ebb in order to heal, and Princess Allura succeeds him as pilot of the Blue Lion. As the Lion Force story progresses, Zarkon becomes an even more dangerous threat, Prince Lotor becomes increasingly obsessed with marrying the unwilling Princess Allura, and the Voltron Force continues to fight on behalf of the good people whom Zarkon seeks to conquer.

Vehicle Team

As the Voltron Lion Force defends the Far Universe, the Near Universe is protected by another group of space explorers – the Voltron Vehicle Team.

The Voltron Vehicle Team is assigned to the Stellar Ship Explorer, which explores the universe in search of knowledge, new allies, and habitable planets on which people of the overcrowded planets of the benevolent Galaxy Alliance can settle and establish new homes. The Voltron Vehicle Team’s 15 members are divided equally into three sub-teams – the Air Team, led by hot-headed Voltron Force captain Jeff; the Sea Team, led by the insightful alien Krik; and the Land Team, led by the level-headed geologist Cliff. Each team member operates an advanced, combat-ready exploration vehicle.

An additional function of this Voltron Force is defense against the attacks of the Drule Empire, a militaristic force that seeks to dominate the universe. Like Zarkon, the Drules often use their own Robeasts in their offensives against the Explorer and its allies. To protect the Explorer and the Galaxy Alliance, the Voltron Vehicle Team can combine the 15 vehicles into an entirely different Voltron.

As the Vehicle Team story progresses, the Drules discover that their obsession with war is destroying their own home planet. While Drule leaders stubbornly and relentlessly escalate their campaign against the Galaxy Alliance, Commander Hazar eventually goes rogue and pursues peace with the Galaxy Alliance, in order to save his people from the imminent destruction of his home world. Unfortunately, the peace-seeking efforts of Hazar and the Voltron Force are repeatedly thwarted by ongoing battles between the Drule military and the Galaxy Alliance.

Episodes

Voltron: Defender of the Universe consists of 125 episodes. 72 episodes feature the Voltron Lion Force, 52 episodes feature the Voltron Vehicle Team, and the final adventure, “Fleet of Doom,” features the Lion Force and Vehicle Team fighting side by side against the combined forces of King Zarkon and the Drule Empire.

Among television viewers, the Lion Force characters and robot proved to be much more popular than their Vehicle Team counterparts, to the point that the Vehicle Team has not yet been featured in any subsequently produced Voltron television program.

Anime Roots

Although most fans of Voltron: Defender of the Universe didn’t know it at the time, Voltron was produced using animation from two unrelated anime programs. Voltron’s Vehicle Team episodes were based on Armored Fleet Dairugger XV, and the first 52 Lion Force episodes of Voltron were based on Beast King Golion. The remaining episodes were animated specifically for Voltron. The Golion and Dairugger programs included violent content that Voltron’s producers thought to be inappropriate for children’s animation, so the material had to be heavily edited for Voltron.

Perhaps the most notable plot difference between Voltron and the original anime programs is the fate of original Blue Lion pilot Sven. In Voltron, Sven survives his battle with Haggar and eventually falls in love. In Beast King Golion, Sven is called Takashi Shirogane, and he dies as the result of his wounds from his battle with the witch, called Honerva.

Some other differences between Voltron and the original anime are in names of planets. For example, in Voltron, Allura rules Planet Arus, and King Zarkon controls Planet Doom. In Beast King Golion, the princess, named Fala, rules Planet Altea, and the emperor, named Daibazaal, controls Planet Galra.

The final episode of Voltron: Defender of the Universe first aired in 1986, but in 1997, some of the episodes – the 20 Lion Force episodes not adapted from Beast King Golion – were re-packaged as an entirely different series called The New Adventures of Voltron. This series has a flashy, computer-animated opening that gave its viewers a glimpse at what the next Voltron television series would be like.

Voltron: The Third Dimension (1998-2000)

On Saturday, September 12, 1998, Voltron: The Third Dimension premiered. This series is a “quasi-sequel” to the original Voltron program. Many of the recurring characters from the Lion Force episodes of Voltron: Defender of the Universe are featured in this series, and four of the original show’s voice cast members reprise many of their key roles in this series. The story begins about five years after a pivotal battle between the Voltron Force and Prince Lotor. Lotor had been severely injured during that battle, and his scarred body had to be augmented with cybernetic components in order to survive. The Voltron Force had disbanded and moved on with their lives. Zarkon had reformed and become minister of peace of the Galaxy Alliance, Haggar had disappeared, and the Galaxy Alliance’s 900 member worlds had entrusted governing duties to a robot called Amalgamus.

Voltron: The Third Dimension looks much different than its predecessor. Instead of traditional cel-based animation, The Third Dimension incorporates 3D-based computer generated imagery, or CGI. The animation was cutting-edge for its time, but it looks dated today.

In the first episode, Lotor escapes from a high-security prison, reconnecting with Haggar and resuming his attacks against the Galaxy Alliance. The Voltron Force reunites in order to stop him. As the story progresses, the Voltron Force often finds its hands tied due to Amalgamus’ reluctance to use the Lions, thinking it will cause unrest within the Alliance. Princess Allura learns more about the origins of the Voltron Lions. Eventually the Voltron Force has to save the entire Galaxy Alliance from Lotor, Haggar… and an ally who turns out to be less than trustworthy.

Although Voltron: The Third Dimension seems to be the least popular Voltron program among fans, it is entertaining, and it deserves more consideration than it often receives.

The 26th and final episode of Voltron: The Third Dimension aired in February 2000. Eleven years later, Voltron was needed once more.

Voltron Force (2011-2012)

On Thursday, June 16, 2011, Voltron Force premiered. Like Voltron: The Third Dimension, but unrelated to that show, Voltron Force is another “quasi-sequel” to the original Voltron program. Many of the recurring characters from the Lion Force episodes of Voltron: Defender of the Universe are featured in this series, although they are performed by different voice actors. The story begins several years after a pivotal battle between the Voltron Force and Lotor, now King of Planet Doom. Lotor was killed during the battle, and Haggar had disappeared. During a victory celebration on Earth, the Voltron Lions, minus their pilots, had inexplicably attacked a city, forcing Sky Marshall Wade of the Galaxy Alliance to lock up the Lions. The Voltron Force then disbanded and moved on with their lives.

In the first, feature-length episode, Lotor is brought back to life by a mysterious occult scientist called Maahox. Now infused with a dark energy called Haggarium, Lotor poses an even greater threat to the Galaxy Alliance than before, forcing the Voltron Force to disobey Sky Marshall Wade and reactivate the Voltron Lions. The Voltron pilots also take on three cadets: the impulsive Daniel, who dreams of piloting Black Lion and leading the Voltron Force; Vince, an intellectual but reluctant hero; and Princess Larmina, niece of Allura, who is highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat. Each Voltron Force pilot and cadet has a Voltcom – a gauntlet that can generate weapons catered to its wearer, as well as unlock long-hidden capabilities of Voltron, such as the ability of any of the five Lions to form Voltron’s torso and head, giving Voltron powers that are specific to the center Lion.

As the Voltron Force story progresses, Lotor and Maahox escalate their attacks, Sky Marshall Wade is revealed to be obsessed with power, Maahox is found to have his own evil motives, and the three Voltron Force cadets learn what it takes to be Voltron pilots.

The final episode of Voltron Force aired in April 2012. The series ended with a cliffhanger that has not been fully resolved, although a brief continuation of the plot is depicted in comic book form as the epilogue of a book called Voltron: From Days of Long Ago: A Thirtieth Anniversary Celebration. Let’s Voltron podcast host Marc Morrell was a co-author of this book. Check it out!

(Depending on one’s perspective, Voltron Force‘s episode count is either 26 or 24. As released on DVD in Region 4, Voltron Force consists of 26 half-hour episodes; however, when the series first aired on NickToons, the first three episodes were presented as a single, feature-length episode. The series is usually described as having 26 episodes.)

With twelve years between the end of Voltron: Defender of the Universe and the start of Voltron: The Third Dimension, and eleven years between the end of Voltron: The Third Dimension and the start of Voltron Force, one might have surmised that another Voltron television series wouldn’t debut until the mid-2020s. Fortunately, this time, Voltron was needed much sooner.

Voltron: Legendary Defender (2016-Present)

On Friday, June 10, 2016, Voltron: Legendary Defender premiered, with the entire eleven-episode first season being made available exclusively on Netflix. This series is an overt reboot of the Lion Force Voltron concept from Voltron: Defender of the Universe. The series’ showrunners have strived to make this new series as fun and entertaining as what long-time fans remember having watched over 30 years before. The characters were redesigned, but they were made to look similar enough to the original designs that they’d pass a “squint test.”

At a glance, the story begins much as Voltron: Defender of the Universe does: a team of five, brave space explorers find themselves becoming pilots of five distinctly colored robot lions. Some of the Lion/pilot assignments different in this series: although as before, Pidge flies the Green Lion, and Hunk pilots the Yellow Lion, Keith now controls the Red Lion, and Lance operates the Blue Lion. The Black Lion is now piloted by Shiro, the team leader, who is named after Takashi Shirogane from Beast King Golion – called Sven in Voltron: Defender of the Universe. As in previous Voltron programs, the Lion pilots – called Paladins in this series – can combine the Lions to form Voltron. The paladins are assisted by Princess Allura and her advisor, Coran. Their opponents are Emperor Zarkon, witch Haggar, and the Galra Empire.

Beyond the obvious similarities between Voltron: Legendary Defender and Voltron: Defender of the Universe, the two series are quite different. Most of the characters in the new series have compelling back stories and/or specific motivations that add depth and interest. One year before the events of the first episode, Shiro, and Pidge’s father and brother, had been exploring a moon of Pluto when they were abducted by the Galra. In the first episode, Shiro mysteriously returns to Earth with no memory of how he escaped the Galra – but Pidge’s family remains missing. When the future Voltron paladins discover Princess Allura and Coran, the pair had been in suspended animation for 10,000 years, during which time Zarkon had destroyed Altea and expanded his empire. Keith and Lance have a standing rivalry, and Pidge has a secret identity of sorts. Zarkon seeks not to destroy Voltron, but instead to capture it.

Voltron: Legendary Defender is a return to the original Voltron concept, with modern storytelling sensibilities, rich characterizations, high action, and top-notch writing and production values.

As of this writing, in April 2017, two seasons of Voltron: Legendary Defender have been released on Netflix, and a third season was officially announced at WonderCon 2017.

How to Watch

Here’s how can you watch Voltron.

Voltron: Defender of the Universe

Select episodes can be watched on the official Voltron YouTube channel (youtube.com/user/WEP).
All episodes are viewable on Amazon Video and iTunes.
In March 2017, twelve episodes were released on Netflix as part of a “series” called Voltron 84. Each episode is introduced by a cast or crew member from Voltron: Legendary Defender.

Voltron: The Third Dimension

Select episodes can be watched on the official Voltron YouTube channel (youtube.com/user/WEP).
All episodes are viewable on Amazon Video and iTunes.

Voltron Force

Select episodes can be watched on the official Voltron YouTube channel (youtube.com/user/WEP).
Voltron Force is occasionally available on Netflix, although it’s not available as of this writing.
All episodes were also released on now out-of-print DVDs.

Voltron: Legendary Defender

All episodes of Voltron: Legendary Defender are available exclusively on Netflix.

Beast King Golion

Select episodes can be watched on the official Voltron YouTube channel (youtube.com/user/WEP).

Armored Fleet Dairugger XV

As of this writing, the only way to watch Armored Fleet Dairugger XV is through now out-of-print DVDs.

Category: Voltron: Defender of the Universe

Same But Different: The First Episodes of Beast King Golion and Voltron: Defender of the Universe

Matchbox 1985 and 1986 Toy Fair Catalogs

1985

Front Cover

Pages 48-49

Pages 50-51

Pages 52-53

1986

Front Cover

Table of Contents

Pages 30-31

Pages 32-33

Pages 34-35

Ship Shapes: Romantic Relationships in Voltron Fan Art and Fan Fiction

Images of Playmates Toys Voltron 84 Legendary Lions Toys

Out of Order: Voltron vs. Golion and Dairugger

Playmates Toys Making Classic Voltron Lions?

Lendy Tayag’s LEGO Ideas Voltron Is Go!

Get the Lead Out: Voltron Toy Recall of 1986 (NOT Modern Toys)

1980s Voltron Product Line Art Images by Kwikee

Voltron 101

Introduction

Premise

Voltron: Defender of the Universe (1984-1986)

Lion Force

Vehicle Team

Episodes

Anime Roots

Voltron: The Third Dimension (1998-2000)

Voltron Force (2011-2012)

Voltron: Legendary Defender (2016-Present)

How to Watch