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Subject: [Gizmodo] How the Finale of the Dungeons & Dragons '80s Cartoon Became a Pop-Culture Mystery
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Source: 
https://gizmodo.com/dungeons-dragons-80s-animated-series-finale-true-story-1851353843

How the Finale of the Dungeons & Dragons '80s Cartoon Became a 
Pop-Culture Mystery
As D&D marks its 50th anniversary, here's how the beloved '80s cartoon 
based on the TTRPG really ended--no matter what you remember.
By
Falene Nurse
PublishedMarch 21, 2024

Hasbro's multitude of celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons 
include streaming the fan-favorite 1980s D&D cartoon on the 24/7 Dungeons & Dragons: 
Adventures FAST channel. The animated series, despite a relatively short run of three 
seasons and 27 episodes, has become a fantasy genre classic. The engaging storytelling 
and dark themes greatly influenced future media--and the characters were so memorable, 
40 years later they caused a social media frenzy when their live-action counterparts 
made an unexpected cameo in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

For the uninitiated, back in 1983 Dungeons & Dragons designer and co-creator Gary 
Gygax had the bright idea to quash the Satanic Panic brewing around his game with the 
cunning use of... a Saturday morning kids' TV show. In doing so he also 
unintentionally helped create one of the most unsanitized children's programs in 
history--tackling mature topics like trauma, the futility of revenge, and what to do 
when your 11-year-old-brother contemplates slaughtering the demon-man that haunts your 
every waking moment?

In collaboration with Marvel Productions, TSR, and the Japanese company Toei, 
developer and writer Mark Evaniar and his team (including Hank Saroyan and later 
Michael Reaves) were tasked with diluting complicated D&D mythology and gameplay into 
30-minute episodic TV for preteens. This genius marketing ploy to make RPGs more 
relatable also produced a loyal and slightly unhinged multi-generational fanbase--one 
that fueled a decades-long rumor about the last episode they thought they had seen: 
"Requiem."

Nostalgia tends to make it increasingly difficult to separate reality from rumor, and 
a false collective memory began about what happened "to" and "in" that final episode. 
In an interview with io9, Mark Evanier said he wishes to dispel the urban legend once 
and for all: "There was NO 'final episode' of Dungeons & Dragons."

Confused yet? You soon will be.

First and foremost, let's establish what is remembered correctly: how the show began. 
Evanier was clever enough to invent a camera-friendly cast of characters to 
demonstrate player tactics (now a gaming standard) with five all-American kids, aged 9 
to 15: Hank the Ranger, Eric the Cavalier, Sheila the Thief, Presto the Magician, 
Bobby the Barbarian child, and Diana the Acrobat (their one Black friend).

Image for article titled How the Finale of the Dungeons & Dragons '80s Cartoon Became 
a Pop-Culture Mystery
Voiced by a then star-studded cast of '80s sitcom actors--including Don Most, Adam 
Rich, and Willie Aames--the series kicked off in spectacular fashion with a carnival 
roller-coaster ride gone rogue. The pilot begins with the kids finding themselves 
sucked through a cosmic portal into a magical realm, where they encounter a little man 
with a kinky moniker, "The Dungeon Master." Each immediately gains a special skill and 
game-like weaponry to confront challenges (sound familiar yet?), explained in plot 
exposition that fits neatly into the opening title sequence. There was also Uni, a 
mute infant unicorn, suitable for children ages 8 and up.

Evanier intended to play fanservice throughout the show by including some of the 
game's villains: Tiamat the red-hydra dragon, and the Spider Queen, Lolth. However, 
the true scene-stealer was new: Venger (voiced by Optimus Prime himself, Peter 
Cullen), a demon of pure nightmare fuel sporting a dramatic floor-length cloak of the 
finest haberdashery. What we didn't know at the time is that he also had an origin 
story for the ages (spoiler alert); it eventually revealed the angry dragon was his 
sister, and the wise old sage, the Dungeon Master, their daddy.

While these plot twists were impressive, the imagined versions by the fandom were 
equally theatrical. They emerged during the internet's infancy and spanned the early 
days of social media, from '90s chat rooms to Facebook and Reddit. According to the 
comments on this Reactor thread: "But I remember watching the ending... which doesn't 
exist!" a user named Cap-mjb posted. "They end up back reunited with their families."

Another user, Capnjimbo the BBS Captain, disagreed, insisting "It ended on a 
cliffhanger." On Reddit, OGBranFlakes lamented "They never got home... Does this mean 
we can get a D&D movie with Venger?" On Facebook, MrSchee fondly called this "My first 
brush with the Mandela Effect," and recalled how he was so sure he "saw an episode 
that revealed they were actually all dead (and in hell)."

As it turns out, the reason for the Mandela Effect--the name for a false memory that 
is nonetheless shared by a large group of people--in this case was relatively simple: 
there were two last episodes. The last one to actually air was "The Winds of 
Darkness," a story with the usual fare: a terrifying creature called the Darkling must 
be defeated, and there was also fog. It ends with Dungeon Master gaslighting the 
children once more, with tales of yet another way home.

On the other hand, "Requiem"--a never-produced script written by Reaves that was 
intended as a possible series finale--reveals Venger's identity as the Dungeon Master 
reopens the portal (wait, he could've done that the whole time?!) for the gang to 
choose whether to stay or go before fading to black. We never learn their decision. 
Before his passing in 2020, Reaves posted the PDF on his now-defunct blog, leading to 
a fan-made version of the episode created from editing together existing footage. Now, 
that's intense dedication: being so invested in the cartoon's outcome, fans first 
created a shared memory, then they created their own finale. Evanier believes the 
"missing finale" adds nicely to the lore, proving the power of the show's legacy. In 
the current climate of malicious fanboys boycotting any new or updated IP, it's 
heartwarming to see geek culture using its powers for good, albeit obsessively.

Image for article titled How the Finale of the Dungeons & Dragons '80s Cartoon Became 
a Pop-Culture Mystery
Over email, George Krstic, VP of the D&D franchise team for Wizards of the Coast, told 
io9 that the "unaired final episode isn't really part of the official D&D cartoon 
canon." But, he added, "We are all fans of it (the cartoon) here," and "the entire 
series means a lot to many players (and myself as well). It continues to be popular on 
the D&D: Adventures FAST [channel], so we know that there is hunger for more." As for 
confirming the newest online rumor: Venger still might appear in the live-action 
Paramount+ series or get his own standalone cartoon. "We want to be open to those 
paths," Krstic wrote.

Another sign that the D&D cartoon characters continue to be popular came when they 
popped up (in live-action!) in the TTRPG's recent big-screen outing. In an interview 
with Polygon, Honor Among Thieves co-writer and co-director John Francis Daley said 
the filmmaking team easily acquired the rights to use the animated characters' 
likenesses, since they were already part of the TSR property picked up by Wizards of 
the Coast. "The rights are kind of baked into the movie, just because it's D&D," he 
explained.

At a recent San Diego Comic-Con, Evanier watched the now-famous cameo for the first 
time as young ranger and thief cosplayers sat in the audience. "It was so great seeing 
those kids again," he mused. As far as what he thinks happened after the portal 
reopened: "Oh, the kids are still trapped in that world along with Venger, Tiamat, and 
all my royalties!"