Ulysses 31

     This was an animated retelling of the greek legends of Ulysses, set in the future, in outer space. After angering 'the gods' Ulysses is cursed to roam the depths of uncharted space, with his crew frozen, except for a select few. This cartoon is a lot older than Highlander. It was made in 1981, at which time I was only one year old. I would have been around 5 or 6 when I first saw it. As a result, I can remember even less of it than I can of other cartoons. Fortunately, other people have heard of this one, and there is a limited number of fan sites available on the net. At time of writing, I have found two very informative ones, complete with pictures, sound and video. Follow the links below to reach them


Concept:


Links:

Jamiens Ulysses31 page - with sound and video
Alans Ulysses31 page

Principle characters:

  • Ulysses
    Main character, commander of the Odyssey.

  • Telemicus
    Ulysses' Son

  • Nestor
    Ulysses' best friend, and second in command

  • Yumi
    A blue skinned telepathic child, rescued from the cyclops by Ulysses

  • Numinor
    Yumi's older brother, frozen with the ships crew

  • Penelope
    Ulysses' Wife

  • Shirka
    The Odyssey's main computer

  • NoNo
    Nail eating robot, designed to give comic relief in the same way as R2D2,


    Why it was cool:

    Thanks to it being based on greek legends, it had a solid foundation of story material, which has been treid and tested throughout the centuries, and beats what hollywood churns out any day. The writers were adventurous enough to kill off characters - something never EVER found in childrens cartoons anymore. Even, batman, one of the greatest cartoons of late, never kills characters. (If they fall out of a plane, they land in water etc.)

    © PlanetRory 2000