WILDFIRE
(1986)
(CBS,
September 13-December 13, 1986)
Hanna-Barbera Productions
MAIN
CAST:
John Vernon – Wildfire
Georgi Irene – Princess Sara
Robert Jayne (as Bobby Jacoby)
- Dorin
Susan Blu – Brutus
René Auberjonois - Alvinar
Jessica Walter – Lady Diabolyn
Billy Barty – Dweedle
Frank Welker - Mudlusk
Townsend Coleman – Goon
Rob Paulsen - Goon
David Ackroyd – John Cavanaugh/Prince Cavan
Lilly Moon – Ellen Crow
Sara (Georgi Irene) was just an average girl, growing up on a farm in Montana with her adoptive father, John Cavanugh (David Ackroyd). That is until she turned twelve and learned that she was actually the princess of a magical land called Dar-Shan. She was taken to Earth by the mystical talking horse Wildfire (John Vernon) to protect her from her evil step-aunt, Lady Diabolyn (Jessica Walter). Diabolyn studied dark magic and aligned herself with the evil beings known as the Spectres of Darkness. She put a curse on Sara’s family in a bid to conquer and rule Dar-Shan herself, which resulted in the death of her mother, Queen Sarana (Amanda McBroom). It would turn out that John was actually Sara’s real father, Prince Cavan, sent to Earth with his memory erased to protect him from the curse.
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| Promo art of Sara and Wildfire. |
Wildfire returned to Sara’s life to
recruit her in the battles against Diabolyn. They could contact each other
through the amulet Sara wore, which Wildfire assured her had powers she has yet
to discover, and travel between worlds via a portal. Sara would come to share
her time between Earth and Dar-Shan, trying to keep her birth world free from
Diabolyn’s rule. Along with Wildfire, she was aided by the sorcerer Alvinar
(René Auberjonois), his young apprentice Dorin (Bobby Jacoby) and Dorin’s cowardly
colt, Brutus (Susan Blu).
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| Diabolyn and her Goons. |
Diabolyn wasn’t without her own allies in the form of Goons: short, winged, troll-like creatures that used to be ordinary men until they were transformed by the urn that Diabolyn used to unleash the Spectres. The lead Goon was Dweedle (Billy Barty), and was the one who dealt with Diabolyn most directly. The other Goons were voiced by Frank Welker, Townsend Coleman and Rob Paulsen.
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| Dar-Shan. |
Wildfire debuted on CBS on September 13, 1986. It was Hanna-Barbera’s attempt at playing to the female demographic with the focus on the princess and the inclusion of colorful horses reminiscent of the budding My Little Pony franchise. The series was written by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, John Loy, Linda Woolverton, David Schwartz, Tony Marino, Jina Bacarr, Mark Edens, Eric Lewald, with Segal and Ward serving as story editors. The theme, which outlined the overall premise of the show, was composed by Jimmy Webb while Hoyt Curtin handled the rest of the show’s music. Animation was handled by Wang Film Productions and Hung Long Animation Company.
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| The lunchbox. |
Despite leading in to the
ratings-sensation Muppet
Babies, Wildfire was competing against The Care Bears and Gummi
Bears on the schedule. It was unsurprisingly cancelled after airing its
complete 13-episode season. Merchandising for the show never went beyond a lunchbox
by Aladdin, marking this as a mere
footnote in the Hanna-Barbera library. While another horse-based Wildfire would
hit the airwaves in 2005, it was in no way inspired by the Hanna-Barbera
effort. The only connection the programs had was that the later show starred
Auberjonois’ eventual Star
Trek: Deep Space Nine co-star, Nana Visitor.
EPISODE
GUIDE:
“Once
and Future Queen” (9/13/86) – Diabolyn captures butterflies and the Royal
Weaver to make a new dress for her coronation while Wildfire goes to Earth to
retrieve Sara.
“A
Visit to Wonderland” (9/20/86) – Dorin and Brutus discover some children had
acquired a wand and been using it to turn horses into carousels.
“The
Ogre’s Bride” (9/27/86) – Diabolyn prevents the joining of two villages by
turning the groom of the arranged marriage into an ogre.
“Secret
of Sinti Magic” (10/4/86) – When the Sintis, the source of all magic on
Dar-Shan, help Sara and her friends, Diabolyn learns of their existence and
plots their capture.
“A
Meeting in Time” (10/11/86) – When Sara falls of Wildfire in the portal, she
ends up in Dar-Shan’s past and encounters her parents before they got married.
“The
Highwayman” (10/18/86) – Sara and Wildfire have to stop a highwayman that’s
causing trouble.
“The
Pixie Painters” (10/25/86) – Pixies have come to Dar-Shan to paint the true
queen, and Diabolyn wants to be it.
“The
Name is the Game” (11/1/86) – Sara and Dorin have to discover a troll’s real
name in order to rescue Brutus.
“Strangers
in the Night” (11/8/86) – When Wildfire takes Sara to meet the Great Horse
Chieftains, she and Dorin accidentally free an ancient evil.
“Dragons
of Dar-Shan” (11/15/86) – Sara and Wildfire help Dorin and Brutus return a
dragon’s egg before Chimaera is destroyed by them.
“King
for a Day” (11/22/86) – Diabolyn’s wish to be queen turns a frog into a king
that she plans to use to that end.
“Where
the Dreams Come From” (12/6/86) – John and Wildfire have to rescue Sara from a
man claiming to be her real father.
“Wildfire:
King of the Horses” (12/13/86) – When the ailing chieftain of the Sanctuary of
Horses names Wildfire her successor, this puts him in conflict with his vow to
protect Sara.
