Eye of the Beholder
Producing ThunderCats. The conception of the show and the collaborative effort to bring both seasons from idea to reality.
500+ Pages
~250k Words
80+ Contributors
10 Chapters
What’s Inside
Ten chapters. Five hundred pages. Eighty contributors.
The Formula
The writers’ story. The moral duty the production team faced in creating responsible programming, and profiles of the series’ writers.
The Garden of Delights
The art of ThunderCats. Designers, animators and character artists tell the story of how the show was given its visual identity.
Swan Song
The music of ThunderCats. Composer Bernard Hoffer on building the score, plus the musicians and editors who brought his work to life.
Out of Sight
The voices behind the characters. How a small but talented voice cast secured their roles and shaped Lion-O, Mumm-Ra, Cheetara and the rest.
The Book of Omens
The complete story guide. Every one of the 130 episodes analysed and reviewed, each with a Writer’s Commentary box from the original scriptwriters.
Good & Ugly
An A-Z of the ThunderCats universe. Creatures and supporting cast profiled using extracts from production documentation, including never-before-seen early character ideas.
All That Glitters
The toy story. A comprehensive guide to one of the best-selling toy lines of its era, told by LJN designers, sculptors and managers.
Party Metal, Partly Real
SilverHawks. ThunderCats’ sister series finally gets its own moment, with the making of the 1986 show uncovered for the first time.
Return to Thundera
The ongoing saga. Why the series continues to live on, the comics line, ThunderCats Live!, and the impact of the show around the world.
The People Who Made the Show
A roll call of 80+ ThunderCats voices, on the record
David interviewed cast and crew while they were still around to tell the story. A non-exhaustive selection of who appears in the book:
- Arthur Rankin Jr · Rankin/Bass co-founder
- Lee Dannacher · Supervising Producer / Showrunner
- Leonard Starr · Head Writer
- Peter Lawrence · Script Editor / Showrunner
- Bernard Hoffer · Composer
- Larry Kenney · Voice of Lion-O
- Earle Hyman · Voice of Panthro
- Lynne Lipton · Voice of Cheetara
- Peter Newman · Voice of Tygra
- Doug Preis · Voice of Aluro and others
- Gerrianne Raphael · Voice of Pumyra
- Maggie Wheeler · Voice of Steelheart (SilverHawks)
- Bob Camp · Character Designer
- Jim Meskimen · Character Designer
- Pepe Moreno · Secondary Character Designer
- Dennis Woodyard · Writer and Character Designer
- Kevin Mowrer · LJN Toys Designer
- Steve Kiwus · LJN Sculptor
- Jose Longoria · LJN Line Manager
- Pete Cannarozzi · Music Recording
- Stephen Perry · Writer
- Bruce Smith · Writer
- Becky Hartman · Writer
- Beth and Doug Bornstein · Writers
Plus 55 more writers, animators, production staff, vocalists and family members of those who had passed. The full list runs to nearly four printed pages.
Coverage on This Site
It is the most in-depth guide to the ThunderCats phenomenon ever written.
“The full in-depth, behind-the-scenes story of the heroic felines can be told in this exciting new book. A labour of love on behalf of its author, sure to become a collector’s item for fans all over the world.”
“The most in-depth guide to the ThunderCats phenomenon ever written. It is easy to see why so many fans have been excitedly pouring over every page.”
“A special edition of ThunderCast featuring an exclusive interview with David Crichton. Nick gets his thoughts on many aspects of the series, as well as insightful behind-the-scenes info, and details on what content you can find in the book.”
Where to Buy
Telos keeps the book in print
The 2011 A5 first edition is out of print and only available on the secondary market. Telos reissued the book as a 6 by 9 paperback in October 2020, ISBN 978-1-84583-164-6, and currently offers a collector’s special edition alongside it. An e-book edition is available from selected online retailers.