There was a show that I just loved as a kid, but have rarely ever seen or heard from since I last saw it back in 1987. The show was called “Visionaries”.
The show, according to Wikipedia, was “set on the planet Prysmos, located in another dimension, the Visionaries consist of two groups of knights — the Spectral Knights and the Darkling Lords, both of whom have their magical powers gifted from Merklynn after successfully completing a quest to reach Merklynn’s shrine on Iron Mountain. Each character had a different power that reflected their personality and could be activated by reciting a special verse.”
From what I remember, the show was about these mystical knights that wore cool futuristic armor suits with hologram symbols on their chests. Each knight had a different symbol, usually in the form of an animal, and could transform into that type of animal.
My favorite character was Feryl, who could transform into a Wolf. I remember I had the toy, which sadly, did not turn into a Wolf. It was still extremely cool, and was always one of my favorite non-Tranformers toys.
The other “good guy” characters would turn into animals such as a lion, bear, fox, eagle, cheetah or dolphin. The various animals allowed them to explore different types of terrain and battle on all sorts of landscapes.
The evil Darkling Lords would also “transform” into animals like the gorilla, lizard or shark. Apparently those are “evil” animals.
An interesting fact is that the character of “Cindarr” was voiced by Peter Cullen, the voice of Optimus Prime. The leader of the Darkling Lords, “Darkstorm”, was voiced by Chris Latta. Latta voiced such legendary bad guys, such as Starscream and Cobra Commander.
I don’t really remember the actual plot line of the episodes, but I sure remember the cool characters, and the cool hologram chest plates and of course the animals, as well.
I was surprised to learn that this show only lasted 13 episodes. It seems to me I watched a helluva lot more than 13 episodes. More than likely, I watched each one several times as most kids usually do with their favorite shows and movies.
As far as I know, there is a region-2 DVD series released, but if anyone knows of a Region-1 DVD (U.S. & Canada), please let me know. I haven’t been able to find any information on one.
I’d be shocked if anyone else out there remembers this show, but for some reason it’s stuck in my mind as a very cool show, and one that I wished had lasted longer. I still remember going from video store to video store with my Mom trying to find copies of the show on VHS.
You can add Visionaries to the list of incredible shows that boys of my generation were fortunate enough to grow up on. From Transformers to G.I. Joe to Ninja Turtles, we were a lucky bunch.
Better than all the crap like Pokemon and Digimon and whatever ‘mon show that is popular these days. My kids are going to have all the great 80’s and early 90’s cartoons on DVD. They won’t be watching any of these horrible new cartoons, or disturbing puppet-like shows that air on television for today’s children.
> Read My Top 10 Childhood Heroes
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Here’s a really neat story I read today, over at 
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MattGunn.ca 