Syndication Files 08.12.09: G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero

Posted by Porfirio Diaz on 08.12.2009

Yo Joe! Didn’t like the movie? Loved the cartoon version instead? Well then you’re in luck as this week’s huge edition of the Syndication Files takes a look at the popular 1980s toy based cartoon, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. What are you waiting for maggot, click on the link already! This, I command!

First and foremost, I haven't watched the movie yet and I wasn't planning to. But imagine my surprise when I read the reviews, including this one, explaining that the movie is actually not horrible. I may have to reconsider my stance on this.

But enough about the movie, it's time for the real deal.


Syndication Files # 9

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero


Back in the days when announcers told the plot during the opening

"G.I. Joe is the codename for America's daring, highly trained special mission force. Its purpose: to defend human freedom against Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world."

In other words, buy our toys or the terrorists win!

Before we dive into the ruthless system of cartoon and toy advertisement, allow me to briefly talk about the history of G.I. Joe.

The Barbie doll was a commercial hit among young girls during the early 1960s. Hasbro (multinational toy company) wanted to bring that success over to young boys as well but feared that boys playing with dolls wouldn't catch on. The conventional wisdom of the time (and still ongoing today) is that boys didn't want anything associated with the term "doll". As they were solving that dilemma, Stan Weston (toy creator and licensing agent) presented the idea of Barbie-sized dolls with a military theme to Don Levine (creative director of Hasbro). Watson's idea was based off a 1963 television show called The Lieutenant and the idea would be used to market off to boys. Both men agreed to the idea and ran to the bank with it. Levine struggled to name his newly created doll, turning down names such as "Rocky the Marine", "Skip the Sailor", and "Ace the Pilot". Levine finally found the perfect name through inspiration by the 1945 film, The Story of G.I. Joe. Soon afterwards, G.I. Joe was born.

G.I. Joe (G.I. stands for Government Issue) launched on February 2, 1964 as "action figures". They were approximately the same physical size as the Barbie doll but instead of representing improbable ideas of toothpick-resembling body images to young girls, G.I. Joe represented patriotism and the fun of war! The development of the toy figure resulted in the term "G.I." to be the generic term used within military personnel. Hasbro also solved their quandary, as they coined the term "action figure" in 1964, allowing boys to play with dolls and not feel guilty about it.

Not enough action figure history for you or just looking for a little visualization? I've got you covered.


A short history lesson about G.I. Joe action figures

Fast forward to 1982.

That was the year Hasbro relaunched the G.I. Joe product with a new name: G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. Needless to say, the idea was money and Hasbro was sure to get more of it.

The success of Hasbro's G.I. Joe action figures made way for the introduction of the cartoon series. Animated cartoons were huge during the 1980s. It was the time where anyone could take anything (show, food, objects, etc.) and make a cartoon out of it. It didn't matter if the idea was mind-numbingly stupid, just as long as kids still had fingers and the ability to work a television knob.

Rubik the Amazing Cube, anyone? Gilligan's Planet? Turbo Teen?! Gah. There's so many more but perhaps that's for another time.

So there was no surprise when G.I. Joe was going to receive their own cartoon series and that's where this column really begins.


Fighting for our freedom and for apple pie

There were two cartoon versions of G.I. Joe produced during the 1980s. The first G.I. Joe cartoon series was produced by Sunbow Productions and Marvel Productions in 1985. However, G.I. Joe actually premiered as a five-part standalone mini-series on September 12, 1983 titled G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (The MASS Device). Think of it as a five-episode pilot (or a two-hour animated special pilot) for the forthcoming main series. It was mini-series that first introduced the heroes and villains of G.I. Joe, brought to life in animated form. It was also the first fully-animated program in over 20 years. Thanks to the success of the first mini-series, a second five part mini-series was aired entitled G.I. Joe: The Revenge of Cobra on September 10, 1984. After the conclusion of the second mini-series, the cartoon became a regular series that started on September 16, 1985.

The first season of G.I. Joe started with, you guessed it, a third five-part story titled G.I. Joe: The Pyramid of Darkness. Nevertheless, G.I. Joe fans geeked at the sight of their favorite action figure heroes come to life on a daily basic.

One big difference was that G.I. Joe was no longer an individual entity (G.I. Joe was previously known as a one-man adventure character). Hasbro changed their marketing campaign (i.e. make and sell boatload more toys) so that G.I. Joe was portrayed as a team of highly trained military fighters. It's still pretty confusing how the title of the cartoon and the introduction still labels "G.I. Joe" as an individual rather than as a group. How can "A Real American Hero" be labeled within a group of heroes? Did the producers know about it but were too busy counting the dollar digits in their heads to care? This is making my head hurt.


A Real American Hero(es)?

So the assembled team of G.I. Joe was led by Commander Clayton M. Abernathy (Codename: Hawk) whose mission in each episode was to stop the terrorist actions of Cobra Commander (still one of the best names for a cartoon villain), Destro, and the Cobra organization. One of the most unique characteristics of the show is that no character is ever shadowed in the background. Every episode focuses on one or more different G.I. Joe members, allowing everyone time to establish their personalities, attitudes, and skills. Not to mention their badass weaponry equipment and mode of transportation. Of course, it's done to sell more toys but that's still pretty cool that everyone is given a level field of screen time.

As for the rest of the characters…there's so many to count that I'll just lead you to this G.I. Joe roll call link for all of your G.I. Joe character summary needs.

Season 1 enjoyed a successful run that included 55 aired episodes, which also included the third mini-story series. Season 2 started off in similar fashion with the fourth and final five-part mini storyline titled G.I. Joe: Arise, Serpentor, Arise!. Season 2 even saw new characters joining the program. One of the new characters, Serpentor, takes over as leadership of Cobra and was apparently created from the DNA of the most ruthless military leaders in history, including Julius Caesar, Ivan the Terrible, and Hannibal. What, was Hitler busy?

As for the other new character, well I think you may all know him from a certain popular wrestling federation.


Don't mess with Sgt. Slaughter!

That's right, Sgt. effin Slaughter! This drill instructor is often described as the strongest of all the G.I. Joes. Just look at the man in that commercial. He handled those Cobras with ease and made them piss their pants all the way back to Cobra. I'm surprised he didn't get his own show. Anyway, Slaughter was named the most popular toy character out of the team, even if Slaughter's toy version made no references to his real-life wrestling personality.

Interesting note, once Slaughter turned Iraqi sympathizer during his WWF run in 1990, the decision was made to disassociate him from the franchise. Ouch. Talk about killing two careers with one stone.

I can't talk about the original G.I. Joe cartoon series without talking about the infamous "public safety announcements" (PSA). PSA's were featured at the end of each episode, where G.I. Joe characters would teach children about various safety tips such as how to stop a nose bleed, how you should never judge the handicap, or how you should never skate on thin ice!


Informative!

And knowing is half the battle!

Of course, leave it to the power of the Internet to take your beloved cartoon heroes and their informative life lessons, and turn it into…well this.


Destroying your childhood memories one video clip at a time

With the show having great success, a third season seemed like a lock. Then out of nowhere, Sunbow decided to cancel G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero on November 20, 1986, with the final episode airing the next day. No real explanation was given or at least none that I could find. Fans would be throwing hissy fits on the Internet if it had existed back then. If you thought fans were mad about the cancellation of Arrested Development (all 8 of them judging by the ratings), then imagine the above scenario. Wouldn't that be 10 times worse? So the series ended with 95 episodes and it wouldn't be until 3 years later when G.I. Joe would grace the television screen once more.


Meh, I prefer the other opening

After the Sunbow G.I. Joe series, Hasbro contacted DIC Entertainment to have them continue the series. DIC gladly accepted that deal. This version of the cartoon show aired on September 2, 1989, beginning with a five-part mini-series entitled Operation Dragonfire. DIC's version of G.I. Joe was produced with the idea that this would be a continuation of the Sunbow series.

However Hasbro went in with a limited budget this time around. The result was a program that was lower in animation and writing quality. In addition, this version chooses to focus mainly on new characters of G.I. Joe. At least familiar faces such as Hawk and Slaughter were still there but Hasbro's new marketing direction including putting more focus on new characters over established ones. This version also dealt with a lot more life and death situations for the G.I. Joe characters, involving deeper storylines about the dramatics of life for the heroes.

The analysis from fans was very mixed to say the least. Some thought that this was inferior to the Sunbow version and were frustrated at the thought that this was obviously done to rake in more cash from the toyline at a partial budget. Some didn't care and were just glad to see their favorite cartoon heroes return to the airwaves.

Many people also do not consider the DIC G.I. Joe version to be part of the cartoon canon in much the same way fans do not view Dragon Ball GT as canon to the Dragon Ball series. As much as DIC tried to stay true to the original, inconsistencies showed up often that bugged fans to no end.


Zing!

Again for whatever reason, DIC canceled the show in 1991 after 2 seasons, yielding 44 episodes. Sure it may have been inferior to the Sunbow version, but the show was still doing well in the financial side of things. Why ruin a good thing?

G.I. Joe became one of the first successful toy-based cartoons on television (He-Man would be the other one). Children and even adults flocked to their television screen to see G.I. Joe kicking the ever-loving crap of that evil daffodil Cobra in such a violent and explosive matter that made Michael Bay sleep peacefully at night. That's the one thing the program wasn't shy on and that was the violence. The program was the most violent toy based cartoon out there. Think of it as the prelude for the Mortal Kombat controversy that would eventually follow suit in a few years. Sure it seems very tame now but it was a big deal back then. That wouldn't stop the show from gaining more viewership and selling more toys.

If you grew up during the 1980s and bought the toys, then chances are you've experienced the advertisement vehicle that is G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. So if the newly released live action film disappointed you, just hop on to YouTube and take that trip down memory lane of watching G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero with your G.I. Joe action figures.*

* - G.I. Joe action figures from your childhood memories sold separately


Commercial Break


Action figures are fun to touch

Ah, youth. Never has war looked so fun and pricey!


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Ending Credits

NFL Preseason is upon us. I'll be going to the Cowboys/Raiders game on Thursday. I don't know why, I hate both teams and it's a meaningless game.

Oh right, its football.

On top of that, Madden 2010 is out this week. If you don't see me next week (or even a couple of weeks), you know why.

Last word: my favorite character in G.I. Joe...it's this guy.


Dr. Fumbles, natch.

Does that count? No? Too bad.

And with that, I'm out of time. Out like Madden 2010!