The 1980s were a golden age for Saturday morning cartoons. Transformers, G.I. Joe, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Thundercats, She-Ra: Princess of Power, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ruled the airwaves. But they were not the only shows fighting for attention. A handful of underrated sci-fi cartoons stayed in the shadows, and many of them have never gotten a second chance.
Defenders of the Earth: The Ultimate Team-Up
Defenders of the Earth aired in 1986, with Stan Lee writing the lyrics to its theme song. Marvel Productions partnered with King Features Entertainment on the project. The show brought together three comic strip icons from long ago: Flash Gordon, The Phantom, and Mandrake the Magician. It also included Lothar, the Caribbean ninja who served as Mandrake’s loyal bodyguard.
From their volcano base, the four fought alongside their teenage children to shield a futuristic 2015 Earth from Flash’s arch-nemesis, Ming the Merciless. Their battles included alien invasions, dark magic, and high-tech world threats. The show brought together a team before the Avengers existed, with the family uniting against Ming the Merciless.
Modern streaming platforms are packed with content from Marvel Comics and DC, which means a show like Defenders of the Earth would fit right into today’s appetite for crossover content. A contemporary take on it could merge the classic pulp comic roots of the original with modern sci-fi storytelling, while also leaning into the multi-generational team dynamic that made Invincible such a hit.
Inhumanoids: The Nightmare Fuel
If you asked an ’80s kid which cartoons gave them nightmares, they might say Inhumanoids. This Hasbro-backed series ran for just 13 episodes and was set in the same universe as Transformers and G.I. Joe. It followed Earthcorps, a team of scientists clad in heavy environmental suits, as they battled giant, demonic elemental monsters dwelling deep within the Earth’s crust.
The creatures of the show were so unusual that they felt almost Lovecraftian for children: the lava-spewing Metlar, the plant-like Tendril, and the skin-rotting D’Compose all brought a kind of horror that was completely unheard of on weekday morning television.
A mature audience offering would be what a current release should target. A production in the style of Castlevania or Blood of Zeus would push the boundaries on gore and body horror. Horror-adjacent animated hits such as Love, Death, & Robots demonstrate there is an audience that desires Lovecraftian nightmare fuel. Inhumanoids stands ready as prime material for a sci-fi creature feature.
M.A.S.K.: The Car Show
The ’80s loved its inventive acronyms. M.A.S.K. stood for Mobile Armored Strike Kommand. It debuted in September 1985 and aired 75 action-packed episodes over two seasons before wrapping up in November 1986. The series felt like a cross between G.I. Joe and Transformers, with a dash of The Fast and the Furious.
The tale revolved around billionaire Matt Trakker and his hidden underground team as they fought against V.E.N.O.M., which stood for Vicious Evil Network Of Mayhem. Both sides wore helmets that gave them special powers, and they rode ordinary vehicles — sports cars, pickup trucks, and semi-rigs — that could change into other fighting forms, including high-tech fighter jets, helicopter-bikes, submarines, and armored assault weapons.
Since the show first came to life, auto engineering and technology have made great leaps forward, which means a modern reboot would hit today’s audience hard. The writers could take the secret-agent gadgets, the sleek vehicle designs, and put high-tech drones and artificial intelligence into the mix. A modern-day M.A.S.K. series could turn into an explosive, binge-worthy animated spectacle.
Sectaurs: The Insect Story
Sectaurs: Warriors of Symbion premiered in September 1985, and it did for insects what Thundercats did for felines. The series is set on Symbion, a far-off world whose ecosystem has been altered through genetic engineering. A failed experiment transformed the planet’s population into humanoids fused with insect traits, creating the Sectaurs. These creatures developed alongside massive insects native to their world, which they could bond with mentally through a process known as telebonding.
Two sides make up the world: the Shining Realm, guided by Prince Dargon, and the Dark Domain, ruled over by the villainous General Spydrax. Ruby-Spears put the original series together.
The show’s premise is genuinely inventive.
The Case for a Second Chance
The shows were not lazy toy commercials. Instead, they delivered imaginative science fiction stories full of terrifying creatures, advanced battle gear, and elaborate fictional worlds that pushed weekday afternoon television to its utmost limits. The issue was that there was simply too much competition around at the time.
Here is why each show deserves a second look:
- Defenders of the Earth: A team-up of classic superheroes with Stan Lee’s theme song
- Inhumanoids: Body horror and cosmic dread for mature audiences
- M.A.S.K.: Car transformations and secret-agent gadgetry
- Sectaurs: Insectoid warriors bonding with giant bugs
| Show | Premise | Modern Target |
|---|---|---|
| Defenders of the Earth | Classic superheroes protecting 2015 Earth | Crossover-obsessed audiences |
| Inhumanoids | Scientists vs. demonic elemental monsters | Mature horror-adjacent audiences |
| M.A.S.K. | Billionaire task force battling V.E.N.O.M. | Binge-worthy sci-fi action |
| Sectaurs | Insectoid warriors on a bio-engineered world | Mature horror-adjacent audiences |
Dozens of shows tried something different during the ’80s, and some of them were better than anyone remembers. The list serves as a reminder that the era was not just about the hits.
What remains is a straightforward verdict: these programs warrant another opportunity. The means are at hand. So too is the audience. What stands between them and realization is merely a choice to proceed.
Saturday morning cartoons enjoyed a golden age during the 1980s. The biggest hits received their reboots, but the lesser-known shows deserve similar revivals as well.
Source material: “'80s Sci-Fi Cartoons That Deserve A Modern Reboot,” TVLine.
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