The Mighty Orbots

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On 8 September 1984, TMS Entertainment and Intermedia Entertainment released The Mighty Orbots. Just nine days later Transformers came to life. The Mighty Orbots was the first cartoon to be created by a true American and Japanese partnership. As a result of this unusual partnership, quite a unique and high-quality was born. The Mighty Orbots aired Saturday mornings for 13 episodes, however, on August 31, 1985, ABC ran the last episode which was called "The Invasion of the Shadow Star".

At the end, The Mighty Orbots ran for only one season. It was quite a shame at that since Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS) was eager to crack into the American television market, and worked well with Intermedia Entertainment and the result was arguably quite good.

What Happened To The Cartoon Series?

It is said that the show did not have much of a following, as it had stiff competition from rival stations which aired the Smurfs and Muppet Babies at the same time. However, behind the scenes, a story unfolded that few people were aware of. It appears that Tonka, the creators of the GoBots (another cartoon robot-based cartoon series) accused TMS Entertainment of using the word "Orbots" which was phonetically too close to the word "GoBots". They also claimed that the Orbots robot was a reproduction of the GodMarz robot and rather than facing a costly lawsuit, it was taken off the air. Although the claim may seem ridiculous it did go to court and the proceedings was big enough that it lead to the cancellation of Orbots.

The Mighty Orbots Characters

The Orbot was a sci-fi cartoon about a colossal robot that consisted of 6 separate robots. The 6 robots united into one 100-meter humanoid robot to fight Umbra, a cyborg-computer, who sought to dominate the universe. The 6 robots were part of the Earth-based, Galactic Patrol squad which was futuristic, military or police force. Each Orbot had its own unique talent and once fused became the Mighty Orbot.

• Tor- the strongest of them all, but very self-centered, boastful and the main torso – voiced by Bill Martin
• Bort – a nervous shape-changer, who seemed rather clumsy and was one of the legs of the mighty Orbot - voiced by Jim MacGeorge
• Bo - outgoing female weather-wizard who often plays practical jokes and one of the arms - voiced by Sherry Alberoni
• Boo - the twin sister of Bo whose talent was more ephemeral shields that can protect the Orbot – and is the other arm - voiced by Julie Bennett
• Ono - activated the Mighty Orbot and she can repair the Orbot when needed- voiced by Noelle North

Other characters include Rob Simmons (Barry Gordon) who was the robotics engineer. There's also the elf-like Commander Rondu which his formidable mental powers (Don Messick). The human Dia one was a capable agents and expert pilot (Jennifer Darling) rounded up the roster.

The Mighty Orbot Toys

Although it never became as popular as Transformers, it did release a toy that can still be found today if you know where to look. The Orbot can be found on eBay or Worth Point.

Where Can I Find Mighty Orbots Episodes?

Amazon sells the complete series. But since it only aired for a short time it did not gain the same level of popularity as the Transformer. One will never know if it was given the chance how popular it would become.