The Freedom Force (TV series)
The Freedom Force is a 1978 animated television series produced by Filmation and aired on CBS as a segment of Tarzan and the Super 7.[1] It showcased a superhero team gathered by the heroine Isis from around the world to help fight evil.[2] Isis had previously appeared in the live-action television series, The Secrets of Isis, although the actress who portrayed her, Joanna Cameron, did not reprise the role for the cartoon.
Only five episodes of the series were produced.
Team members
- Merlin
- Sinbad
- Super Samurai - alter ego of Toshi, a young Japanese boy.
- Isis
- Hercules - alumnus from the Space Sentinels
Voice cast
- Michael Bell - Merlin; Toshi / Super Samurai; Sinbad
- Diane Pershing - Isis
- Bob Denison - Hercules
Episodes
- The Dragon Riders - The Freedom Force must end a war between two tribes who dogfight in the air.
- The Scarlet Samurai - Toshi's new friend is jealous of his powers, and an evil wizard plans to exploit this for revenge against the boy's father, a wizard who defeated the evil wizard long ago.
- The Plant Soldiers - An evil wizard steals the Necklace of Osirus using it to controls the Nile and a magical army of walking plant soldiers.
- Pegasus' Odyssey - Pegasus is captured by an evil sorceress out to seek revenge on Hercules.
- The Robot - An inventor's mechanical giant is out to prove itself more powerful than the Freedom Force.
Home media
BCI Eclipse LLC (under its Ink & Paint classic animation entertainment brand) (under license from Entertainment Rights) released all 5 episodes of The Freedom Force on DVD in Region 1 on August 22, 2006, along with all 13 episodes of Space Sentinels, presented uncut, digitally remastered for optimum audio and video quality, and in story continuity order, an earlier series that featured several of the same characters. The digitally-remastered presentation features scripts and Spanish language tracks for all 5 episodes, a gallery featuring original images, early presentation images, trivia and interviews with creators Lou Scheimer, Buzz Dixon, Darrell McNeil, Michael Reaves, Robert Kline and David Wise, as well as numerous special features related to Space Sentinels and Filmation in general.
As of 2009, this release has been discontinued and is out of print as BCI Eclipse has ceased operations.[3]
In addition, a single episode, "The Plant Soldiers", was included as a bonus feature on the DVD release of the live-action The Secrets of Isis series.
References
- Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 825–827. ISBN 978-1476665993.
- Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part I: Animated Cartoon Series. Scarecrow Press. p. 284. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-05-31. Retrieved 2010-05-31.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)