LucasArts Big Fail: The Defenders of Dynatron City - Doomed By A Bad Game?

[@MakotoKamui]

I worked at Lucas, and never even heard of this title - and part of my job for a while was going back over older titles with some of the designers to see what we might bring forward... they seriously buried this thing.

[@jonathanwright8025]

It would be interesting to go into the Lucas archives and see what kinda licencing agreements and distribution deals are in there.

[@JazGalaxy]

It’s weird that so many people are saying that. It wasn’t exactly hidden. In fact, it kind of had a bit marketing push. It was in Nintendo Power quite a bit. I recall it having a lot of “buzz” and then turning out to be bad. It definitely was always there in local video rental stores among the games. The cartoon was definitely more of a rarity.

[@jeffnicholas6342]

@@jonathanwright8025 their origin story is pretty cool. In the right hands, this under-developed IP may be a Guardians/Suicide Squad/The Boys hanging fruit

[@spoonimefan]

@@JazGalaxy : I only knew about it b/c of Nintendo Power, and I rented the game after it came out. I sucked at it, though, so I don't think I rented it more than once.

[@voltinator]

Yea I can tell why it failed. The designs for the characters were childish and the main villain wasn't threatening at all. Also saving the world from soda pop sounds like a joke. Kids want to conquer evil, not dietary habits. You want to sell toys, pit the heroes up against Krang from Dimension X.

[@Mr_Welch]

This is why we don't pay designers in cocaine anymore

[@herbaldragonX]

Or why we should

[@leowatley]

THEY DON'T?!?!?!

[@leowatley]

@@i-never-look-at-replies-lol now there'sthe right attitude! COCAINE FOR DEVS NOW!!! i'll tell ya, back when i was in games, it would've made crunch MUCH more enjoyable :)

[@mematron]

Wait - what?

[@tawdryhepburn4686]

Read this as, “This is why we don’t fill dungeons with cocaine anymore. I

[@baltmatrix]

Oh my god. I remember this show! I swore there was more than one episode but I think my local Fox station just aired the same ep over and over again.

[@MrRobot1984]

I think they aired it 3 times

[@DarthBoardBVE]

I remember it too. I am also surprised it was only a pilot.

[@archonfett]

same here, was bummed when it vanished

[@dy120481]

Remember seeing it twice and wondering how I randomly happened to catch the same episode both times 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@Unquestionable]

Yeah I recall seeing that episode and being at least moderately interested only for nothing to ever air again. Also the Nintendo Power gaming preview had me curious.

[@jamesstennis9599]

I'll never forget watching this as a kid and being so disappointed that they never made it into a full series. Took me almost 20 years to remember what the name was.

[@whosaidthat84]

Every few years I would remind my brother "remember Defenders of Dynatron City?" We always thought it would come back one day..... 😞

[@ta0paipai]

I taped the pilot and watched it a bunch of times. It'd be nice if someone picked it up and made a miniseries.

[@clab9041]

I’ve been trying to remember the name too for the longest time and when this video showed up in my notifications it felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders! LOL

[@sonicmario64]

Same here, and I still remember being able to watch the cartoon pilot when I was a kid. :D

[@jeffnicholas6342]

This felt like one of those Mandela Effect shows for me! I’d say, “There was a red guy who could shoot his head off and a girl with a buzz saw for legs...and there was also a monkey and hammerhead guy.” And no one knew what I was talking about

[@orinanime]

When the video started, I thought "Look at Dan in his blazer. Rockin' the Jonathan Frakes look." ... And now I see why.

[@comicbookfanboy2614]

This just made me miss watching Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction during the summers in the 90s on Fox.

[@freddyvidz]

I was the first person in my neighborhood to rent this game and I am still sorry 30 years later.

[@Wis_Dom]

Replacing the voice of Christopher Walken is an instant red flag for failure.

[@mightyfilm]

And oddly before everyone in every cartoon started doing Christopher Walken impersonations. Though, I'm sure had they kept the voice in, when the show went to series, they'd have gotten a sound-a-like anyway, probably Jeff Glenn Bennet. I also don't quite see Whoopi staying for the series, either. Big celebrity VA's sound like the first thing they'd ditch to lower the budget.

[@Cobralalalala]

I love Charlie Adler, but agreed.

[@Lastjustice]

That's when you get your Walken papers...

[@spoonimefan]

I guess Toolbox just didn't have enough cowbell.

[@MrlspPrt]

And trying to imitate his voice is an instant red flag for wasted potential (Dave the Barbarian, the crazy flying horse).

[@JazGalaxy]

Artists tend to revisit the optimism of their childhood society with an adult’s critical eye. As such, growing up in the 80s and 90s, all the cartoons were visions of distortions of the 50s and 60s. (Led by Tim Burton and others). I miss that. You can see it here in Dynatron City.

[@Getwright-]

‘TheTick” and “The mask” also had that same energy. Some kind of jumble between 1920s art deco and that mid century modern atomic age optimism

[@JazGalaxy]

Oh yeah, definitely. Rocko’s Modern Life, Ren and Stimpy, Beatlejuice, The Adventures Of Pete and Pete... the list goes on and on. It’s all a sort of hazy visage of aging 50s era suburban optimism.

[@JLE8811]

The Johnathan Frakes abuse his heavy.

[@archonfett]

so little exists on this show they had to pad out this episode with JF and over extended stalls.

[@jeremygreen2883]

This is the most 90s thing I've seen in a while. They just need more pouches.

[@Dargonhuman]

*Rob Liefeld has entered the chat*

[@rayv3r]

Dan: "Defenders of... Me: -THE EARTH? Dan: ..Dynatron City" Aww ...

[@peterdanior4538]

I remember the pilot episode & the joke that the bad guy even chained up her toolbox. I first heard of them in a Nintendo Power magazine

[@NevsTechBits]

I remember seeing that ONE comic book add. Never seen it anywhere else. So strange. I thought you were talking about Defenders of the earth when I clicked lol

[@Notathug]

I didn't even realize that was Whoppi Goldberg in this show. I think I use to the pilot have it VHS. I totally remember this and I had the first issue of the comic but I never remember saying another at my local comic shop. I loved the pilot episode as a kid and always wondered why it never continued.

[@BagOfMagicFood]

It sounds like they applied some odd flanging to her voice? I'm not sure if they were trying to give the character a lighter vocal pitch in post or if that was supposed to represent her transformation into Ms. Megawatt but mistakenly added pre-transformation.

[@corygraves4351]

Hell of a line, Dan. "...could have been a hit if missing wasn't so easy."

[@kingcheerio8558]

I want a Beyond Belief Jonathan Frakes Marvel Legends style action figure.

[@serveaux]

Another fever dream that turns out to actually exist. Kudos Dan, you've done it again!

[@arielpiercecottrell2532]

I literally said the same thing…..thought it was a fever dream….

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

That's the thing your mind gets clouded by your childhood nostalgia and you think did this really happen did I experience this did I wake up one morning and actually watch this. And as it so often turns out yes yes this did happen. Crazy as it all is it turns out to be true more times than not.

[@BertRamDam]

HOLY COW!!! OMG! You don’t know how long I’ve been racking my brain trying to remember what this cartoon was. I had a memory of that buzz saw girl but could never find on the internet who she was. I was starting to think I dreamt up the whole thing. Thank you for making this video. Thank you! Thank you!! Thank You!!!

[@ThomasMHead]

I remember this existed! I saw ads for it, at least. Maybe I watched the pilot? Man, you guys cover everything!

[@Berengier817]

My school was doing a 5k the day this premiered with kids prizes. I skipped it to watch this one episode lol

[@Cre8Lounge]

😦

[@jeffnicholas6342]

Why waste your energy running when Dynatron City needed defending..?!!

[@casualnerdjason6678]

Dan looks so dressed up with his jacket that I thought this was a “bad news” video. Phew!

[@Getwright-]

I remember thinking as a kid that this and “The Tick” were somehow related. Similar energy. And I remember liking the theme song.

[@JonTripp115]

These heroes have Civic Minded Five written all over them.

[@toddtaylor6506]

SPOON !!!!!

[@Dilemina]

Tick's theme song was the best.

[@timothylewis2527]

I remember Beavis mentioning this "franchise" on and episode of Beavis and Butthead.

[@taochi100]

No way!

[@favoritemustard3542]

They did that a lot... Introduced things to ppl for the 1st time, like Ween & Revolting Cocks.

[@jasonelliott7977]

They were talking about this when they were in the guidance counselor’s office.

[@whosaidthat84]

Man, my brother and I were hyped for WEEKS just waiting for the premiere. For years we kept wondering "when is this show coming back?!" Almost 30 years later, I ask "when is this show coming back?!?"

[@newyorkssixthranger9410]

Holy shit thank you! I been looking for this for decades. I remember as a kid seeing the ads for this for days leading up to it. N all my friends came over to my place to watch it. I had gaslit myself into thinking i imagined the whole thing. You've given me much needed closure. I could cry

[@rubysuncle]

Thanks for picking this one up Dan, despite it clearly being one of the shortest videos you’ve ever made since there wasn’t much to talk about. I never bothered to play the video game, but I loved that first piece of promo art, had the comic books, and watched the one episode. I have a love for inherently weird and comedic, off kilter superhero concepts like The Tick or Flaming Carrot, so this all fell right into my wheelhouse despite it’s short life.

[@daschwah]

Oh, man. I was on this hype train like a maniac when it originally came out… and one of the first times I remember burning an absolutely priceless birthday gift on a game that turned out to be a stone-cold turd. That Steve Purcell poster/box art is still absolutely stunning, though.

[@WatrDragn]

"Like Looney Tunes meets the Justice League." You mean Loonatics Unleashed?

[@bleach828]

I remember seeing the promos for the cartoon and waiting for it to premiere...I even recorded it on VHS, still have the tape in my closet....your channel is too awesome, always reminds me of great childhood memories

[@robk.6591]

The pregnant pauses @5:21 & 5:45 added the perfect dramatic flair. LOL

[@tzgaming207]

Monkey Kid looks like Gleek from Superfriends was trying to jumpstart a flagging acting career 😂

[@josephkolar3443]

I remember watching this when it just came on one Saturday morning, never to be seen again. But I wouldn’t have been able to recall the name of it in a million years.

[@MrRobot1984]

Yay! I’m not the only one who remembered this show!

[@Mepholar]

Loved this show as a kid. Up there with Bucky O’Hare

[@Drewbe821]

Ikr? I thought the cartoon was a fever dream that I imagined. Glad I'm not the only one who wondered what happened to this show.

[@heisenbat]

Yes.

[@whosaidthat84]

I remember Fox marketing this premiere for weeks up to the release. I was just as hyped for this as i was X-Men 😂

[@yellowgut]

I remember it too!! That’s a fabrication, it didn’t happen.

[@StarshipEternity]

Fascinating learning about these shows, comics and toy lines that went completely under the radar growing up yet learning about them now it's sometimes easy to see why they're fondly remembered.

[@SaturdayMorningAction]

This brought back a memory I forgot I had.

[@DRCEQ]

Every episode I watch of this show, I go in wondering what new forms of comedic timing, humor, and running gags will be attempted. Keep it up!

[@billeickman]

I remember watching this on a thanksgiving in the early 90s along with a few other one off kids show, a few seemed to have a troll vibe to them.

[@freddyvidz]

We got this one year and Battletoads over another Thanksgiving.

[@bootblacking]

I remember a lot of advertising for this and seeing the game for sale/rental... and then it just disappeared.

[@frankclark2208]

I found out recently that Steve Purcell also worked on the Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade video game. There's even a Sam & Max totem pole in Indy's office

[@1000bip]

I watched the first episode and I still have the first issue of the comic book in my basement. I never knew about the video game. I thought the idea was better than the execution.

[@bdrive5663]

thank you for doing a video on this. I've been trying to remember it for years. I remember watching the pilot on FOX KIDS and even back then most of my friends thought I was making it up. Years later when I would bring it up trying to find it most of the time I just got the "What the heck are you talking about?" response.

[@SketchCartoonGuy]

I went so many years not knowing what this series was called but had these vague memories of the scene when they transform. I figured it out like 5 or so years ago at this point but hadn't seen any videos covering it. It's even more bizarre than I remembered. Thanks for unearthing this weirdness.

[@liamhislop4356]

Awesome! I had recorded this show on VHS and had the comic book series back in the day. I always wondered if they would make more episodes, but I guess not. Glad to know this wasn't a fever dream I had back in the day!

[@MikeKaess]

All the best Lucasarts games were point and click adventures. Give me Full Throttle, or give me.. uh.. i mean they made a bunch of them. I'm not picky.

[@mistermaestersirthomas9164]

"Ironic the way he died"

[@jaebee81]

Please keep the nostalgia gems coming. I request Bots Master and the other Ghostbusters with Tracy the gorilla, if you haven't already. Love this stream.

[@freddyvidz]

Bots Master, yes. Tracy the Gorilla, I'm not sure if he has done the episode yet.

[@SecretGalaxyTV]

We did Bots Master: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bGnbq4xnr85moZo

[@jaebee81]

@@SecretGalaxyTV I'll be commenting soon! Lol nice

[@jaebee81]

@@SecretGalaxyTV oh Ripping Friends? Lol remember that?

[@SpicyCurryNinja]

ToyGalaxy made a good episode. Excellent use of Johnathan Frakes. - Honest Reviewer 2021

[@orinanime]

I see what you did there.... but... Toy Galaxy always makes good episodes 😉😉😉

[@Yeti_Ben]

I literally searched for this topic around 1 today to see if toy galaxy had covered it

[@KiyokaMakibi]

Dan staring into my soul as I eat noodles... Awkward. @.@ I get the feeling you wore that smart jacket as a nod to the Johnathan Frakes segments ;P

[@SecretGalaxyTV]

You are correct.

[@grimlockprime1972]

I've been trying to figure out what show this was since I was a kid. I only ever saw it once on some kind of showcase of pilot previews for upcoming cartoons, but I guess none of them caught on because I never saw any them again. Dynatron City was the only show that stuck in my mind. I could only remember a few basics about it, mainly that it took place in a futuristic city where a popular soda gave people superpowers. I had nothing else to go on, not even a title, and this being before the internet went mainstream it was hard to look into. You guys are good. One more childhood mystery show rediscovered!

[@marvint.7811]

Holy crap! I remember that hammer headed super hero from a brief clip I saw in the 90s and some ads in comic books. I tried searching for it but with no name and title, I never found it. Thanks guys for finally letting me know!

[@Agent_Funk]

I don't think I knew there was a cartoon, but I remember having a magazine with an ad for the video game. That image in the thumbnail totally set off alarms in my brain. I don't think I ever saw anything else other than that image.

[@DocLantern85]

Of course I remember this. My parents bought it for me in the $2.00 VHS bin as a kid. It only had two episodes. I never seen anything of it after that.

[@SyntheticMason]

I remember watching the pilot episode and have been looking for it even since thinking I had imagined it, thank you!

[@kaihedgie1747]

Now I just wanna watch Gargoyles

[@planguy9575]

I remember seeing this in, I think, a copy of Nintendo Power. I thought the designs looked really cool.

[@TimFromWinfield]

I remember this one vaguely. Had no idea about it, until I saw the animation, and like a radioactive flash, it all came back to me.

[@derekmanzella8418]

I certainly heard of The Defenders of Dynatron City, I remember watching the pilot on Saturday morning and was so sad when it was not picked up as a kid, but back then I had no idea what that meant. I found 1 issue of their comic and just loved that I could read and see more of the Defenders again. I loved the mix of 50s ascetic, superheroes, and strange characters designs that worked.

[@caffeinatedben]

I can't believe it! I saw the first episode at my grandparents house and never saw or heard anything about it again. I started thinking I dreamt it, but it was real! Thank you

[@tkskagen]

Darn, I feel like a 14yo kid everytime one of Video's come out! Those where the days...

[@tkskagen]

Technically, I was 18 at the time of Dynatron City...

[@susanfit47]

Defenders of Dynatron City is an awesome atomic adventure. The pilot was first aired on Fox Kids in Feb 23, 1992 on Saturday Mornings, it was re-aired 3 months later on May 15, 1992 after that. It failed to be picked as a show. The same year, it was later syndicated on any of the independent channels as part of Bohbot Entertainment's Kid's Day Off package for Thanksgiving during that year, along with the BattleToads pilot.

[@Ryan-ly3ix]

I watched the pilot on first broadcast in '92 and eagerly awaited a series that never came. The pilot was rebroadcast a few times in the 90s as well. I saw the comic on newstands but never read them until a few years ago. I knew about the game too, but honestly did not know the pilot was promoting it. I thought it was the other way around.

[@MangetsuSAMURAI]

Nice to see my TV dad coming in for those sweet clip inserts.

[@geardog24]

Ah yes, I remember the discount X-Men.

[@johnsonnavinr2522]

Wildkats?

[@blazr1976]

Nice deep dive on a property that I had completely forgotten about. I am also very impressed that Toy Galaxy has become such a powerhouse that you got THE Jonathan Frakes to guest star!

[@FlinxWeasel]

I remember the pilot, I remember the comic, I do not remember a video game, but that could be because I didn't own a console system until the N64

[@domoonogotno71]

I have been trying for YEARS to remember this one. I was starting to think I imagined it! Thank you so much!!!

[@NA-bk6gb]

Wow…I have memories of this show. But always believed my recollections were an amalgamation of other shows. Back then it was the Wild West of Saturday morning. Shows would pop in and out of rotation by the week is seemed. And then just disappear.

[@megagrey]

Wow even as a kid I would've found the description for this too out there. Always thought it was just an NES game. Loved the Frakes clips, for reals.

[@l.o.l7049]

Honestly.... if I was hanging off a ledge and saw one of these guys come to help... I'd probably just let go.

[@vaderfett3229]

Another great video! I recall seeing some images from this IP back in the day but that was about it. This is why I LOVE Toy Galaxy! You guys are like pop culture archaeologists!

[@dendralen]

I remember being fond of this show when I was young. I think I even may have made figures out of my lego bricks to play with maybe, or I just stole the shooting head gimmick to play with. Thanks again for yet another retrospective on my childhood!

[@KeoTower]

I never saw the show or had any of the toys but I do remember seeing ads for this show in the Superman comic books that I used to buy at that time.

[@Loremastrful]

I remember Dynatron City. The textbook case of blink and you'll miss it. It was in the theater of the absurd category like Toxic Defenders. By 92, kids' programming was pretty crowded so I'm not surprised Fox Kids didn't pick it. Between Peter Pan and the Pirates, Taz-Mania, Tiny Toons and the PJs, Fox was crammed with shows. Question: Would American Gladiators qualify for Toy Galaxy? They were a sponsored program, but sold Ninetendo Gameboys not specifically branded American Gladiator merchandise.

[@SuperCosmicMutantSquid]

I just found the animated pilot on this and it led me here. I feel like I missed out an entire part of the 90s now. And to be honest, had they leaned more into the absurdity I think it may have caught on a bit more. The whole idea of an evil Doctor becoming LOVED due his invention and hating it would have been done a lot better tongue-in-cheek.

[@MistaJonz]

YES!!! I still have the VHS!

[@josephcompton5602]

God, I remember watching the pilot as a kid, and later thought it was a fever dream I had, like the dude with the rocket head is what stuck with me years later.

[@Brainwav]

This takes me back. I had this comic series and watched the show. Always wish we'd get more. Never could remember the name

[@cliffjumper1984]

Ouch. This was so bad. I like how you have been digging deep lately tho. And I'll still watch

[@timvanboening9432]

I never read the comic, but I do remember seeing the ad for it. The noir-style art and the hammer head man stuck in my mind all these years.

[@Warp_Speed_Hippo]

Caught this when it aired and I LOVED it. Looked for it for years and years after and just found it again maybe 6 or 7 years back. Glad to see it get some love.

[@yoda908]

Mcgruff the crime dog says don't do drugs kids. This show is exactly why we had PSAs flooding our television sets.

[@Gappasaurus]

I knew this existed but have no idea how, as i never experienced any of the associated media, with the _possible_ exception of that promo commercial 🤔

[@jinxmetwice420]

I saw the pilot when it aired on fox years ago, strange show but I loved the premise as child

[@xChris_Kentx]

Wow how time flies! My brother and I used to rent this from the video store.

[@barbedwings]

I vaguely recall there being a TON of advertising for this in Marvel comic books.

[@RobertHarrisonBlake]

Wow. When I was a kid, I'd mix all the sodas at the self-serve soda fountain together and call it "Proto Cola." Today I learned exactly where that name came from. Also, Dynatron City has the same retro-futuristic vibe as the revamped Tomorrowland at Disneyworld.

[@jasonm2081]

This is one of those ones I kinda remember the game. I don't recall seeing the cartoon or comics.

[@fortheSavior]

I remember winning this NES game from our local TV station before the premier. And then I remember crying for a week at how difficult the third level was.

[@JeffJohnson]

I still have the first issue of the comic. I thought they had a toy line??? Guess I was wrong

[@MalBeats]

I have been looking for this show for years. Never knew the name but remember the hammer guy and the guy that can launch his head.

[@worldofthought8352]

Very Vaguely remember this, I think it was shown early morning on channel 4 in UK, thinking about it there were a few shows I recall seeing once and never seeing again, can recall looking at the Radio Times for when a show didn't come back on to see if it will the week after.

[@heyjustj]

I was super into having games others didn’t and bought this game for NES when I was a kid based solely on the artwork. Played the first level several times and loved all the characters and powers they had but could never figure out what I was supposed to do or how to get to the next level. Tons of just walking around the streets with no clue what I was doing haha. About 10-15 years ago I sold all my retro games and systems and I kick myself today now seeing how many rare and obscure things I had and with 2020 totally boosting the collectors market.

[@victormoreno5386]

Yay the beard is back. Looking sharp sir 👍🏽

[@arashimiyazawa8165]

2:51 Tell us more about this butt-dangerous lifestyle!

[@Malekariel]

i remember Defenders of Dynatron city. Saw the pilot and had the first issue of the comic. my cousin had the game, it was trash as reported. Always thought toolbox was the most interesting character. he wasnt even sentient before and suddenly hes got hands and a face. seemed like a great idea to 9 year old me.

[@JoeBeaven]

I remember a lot of ads for this in Marvel Comics in the 90s, but knew nothing more about it.

[@darktoylord]

I have the first issue of Defenders of Dynatron City. Here's hoping this video drives up its value 🤣

[@admiralbees1690]

In Monkey Island 2 there was a reference to Buzzsaw Girl, in the carpenters place she's on a calendar. For years I wondered who the hell that was, I only found out about Defenders of Dynatron city relatively recently.

[@joeldeeter9798]

I remember when this cartoon was released on VHS