include images? link to transcripts? what (if any) other content to include here?
Dark Water miniseries
Episode | Title | Written by | Original air date |
1 | The Quest | Lane Raichert, Mark Young, Kelly Ward | 1991 February 25 |
On Octopon, an idealistic lighthouse keeper named Ren rescues an old man at sea during a raging storm. The man is the long-lost king of Octopon, and was on a mystical quest to stop the Dark Water from ravaging Octopon. Shortly thereafter, Ren makes an enemy out of the most feared pirate lord known, “recruits” a somewhat unlikely crew, finds the first of the legendary Thirteen Treasures of Rule, and is on his way. | |||
2 | Dishonor | Lane Raichert, Mark Young, Kelly Ward | 1991 February 26 |
Ren directs the ship into the cavernous Atani Island to escape Bloth and his pirates. As they face harsh punishment for trespassing, Ren convinces the Atani king that he is indeed the son of Primus, and they’re welcomed warmly. However, Ioz and Tula soon reveal their dubious motivations for joining the quest by stealing gold and library scrolls. Konk, Bloth’s henchman, launches a sneak attack on the group and makes off with the Compass and the First Treasure of Rule. | |||
3 | Break-Up | Lane Raichert, Bill Matheny | 1991 February 27 |
Ren and his crew chase Konk to the monkeybird homeland of Pandawa, which is currently under the rule of the tyrannical slave trader Jargis. They meet a band of rebels trying to retake Pandawa; soon after, the slavers’ forces attack the rebels, and the slaves revolt en masse. In the fighting, the crew is separated: Ioz and Tula believe Ren has been killed, and they escape and vow to chase Konk and retrieve the Compass and First Treasure. Ren, who has survived, obtains the Second Treasure of Rule with Niddler. But shortly after departing Pandawa, they’re captured by Bloth. Noteworthy: the Dark Water makes its first series appearance in this episode |
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4 | Betrayal | Lane Raichert, Bill Matheny | 1991 February 28 |
Ren and Niddler are taken prisoner by Bloth’s pirates without being recognized. In the underbelly of the Maelstrom, Ren meets a woman named Avagon who was a close aide to his father. Meanwhile, Ioz and Tula chase Konk to Janda-town and reacquire the Compass and First Treasure with the help of Ioz’s friend Zoolie. But Tula knocks the men out, takes the Compass and Treasure, and goes to the Maelstrom to offer them to Bloth. | |||
5 | Victory | Kristina Luckey, Laren Bright | 1991 March 1 |
While trying to escape in the Maelstrom’s sewers, Ren is attacked by the Constrictus. In a prophetic fever dream, Ren realizes that the Treasures of Rule are meant to heal the entire planet. He unites with Tula and learns that she came aboard the Maelstrom to rescue an ecomancer named Teron to heal her home island of Andorus. Ioz and Zoolie come aboard to reclaim the Treasure and Compass, but Ioz is taken prisoner. Avagon incites a prisoner revolt as a distraction, and the heroes are reunited with a stronger sense of unity and purpose. |
Pirates of Dark Water, season 2
Episode | Title | Written by | Original air date |
6 | Andorus | Peter Lawrence, Laren Bright, Kristina Luckey | 1991 October 19 |
The crew and Teron are taking some time to rest and make repairs. Tula discovers that she is an ecomancer: she has the power to control nature. When Bloth’s pirates ambush them, they flee to an island on the horizon, which turns out to be Tula and Teron’s Dark-Water-ravaged homeland of Andorus. The two ecomancers use their powers to heal the island, and Ren obtains the Third Treasure of Rule from caverns deep underground. Through a potent mix of her swordplay and ecomancer abilities, Tula single-handedly chases off Bloth and his minions. | |||
7 | A Drop of Darkness | Laren Bright, Kristina Luckey | 26 October 1991 |
As Ren returns from recovering the Fourth Treasure, the crew rescues a pilot whose balloon is being attacked by Dark Water. The pilot is a woman named Cray, who was romantically involved with King Primus two decades prior. She tries to persuade them to help her obtain a sample of Dark Water, and resorts to casting a sleeping spell on Tula to coerce the others. Using the Dark Water sample they bring back, she creates a potion that restores her youth, and attempts to force Ren to marry her to pick up where Primus had left off. Ultimately, the darkness she ingested takes its deadly toll, and the wedding day is interrupted by Bloth’s greed, Cray’s regret, and the torment of the Dark Water. | |||
8 | The Beast and the Bell | Matthew Malach, Bill Matheny | 1991 November 2 |
Ren receives a towering vision of King Primus, ordering him to journey to the island of Banjamaar to ring a special bell that he claims will get rid of all the Dark Water. Ren does as the vision instructed, but it ended up being a trick by Kirroptus, a servant of the Darkdweller, the evil force controlling the Dark Water. Ren and the crew partner with Kangent, the leader of Banjamaar, to trap Kangent once again. In the process, Ren learns about the Year of the Black Tide and the origin of the Dark Water. | |||
9 | Panacea | Sean Roche | 1991 November 9 |
The heroes journey to the island of Miragon in search of the Fifth Treasure of Rule. After being thwarted by a humongous wormlike crab, they strike a deal with a biotransmuter named Slaggon, and hire a half-fur/half-fish creature named Roulette to be their swamp guide. However, Bloth and his pirates soon come to Miragon in search of the Treasure for themselves, and Slaggon has no problems with switching sides if the price is right. | |||
10 | King Niddler | Glenn Leopold | 1991 November 16 |
Fleeing Konk, the crew discovers an island hidden in a blanket of thick and corrosive fog. Once they land on the beach, they’re taken prisoner by a community of wingless monkey-birds—all except for Niddler, who they believe to be their legendary king because of his wings. They beg him to destroy the ferrix, a creature who lives in a lair above the fog and who attacks their village annually. The crew also discovers that the Sixth Treasure of Rule is in the ferrix’s lair, and that there is a connection between the Treasure, the fog, and the ferrix. | |||
11 | The Collection | David Ehrman | 23 November 1991 |
During a respite in Janda-Town, Ioz crosses paths with Scorrion, an old foe and treasure-hunting competitor. Their argument captures the attention of Garren, a sinister alchemist, who captures Scorrion’s treasure-laden ship—with Ioz on board—and shrinks them to fit into a bottle in Garren’s lab, where he can pluck out the chests of riches and restore them to their original size. Ren, Tula, and Niddler go to investigate and fall prey to the same magic. It falls to Ioz to rescue his friends and foes. | |||
12 | The Little Leviathan | Glenn Leopold, David Ehrman | 30 November 1991 |
When hiding from the Maelstrom in a cove, the crew comes across a baby leviathan that’d been separated from its herd. Ren and it take quite a liking to each other, much to the amusement and dismay of Ren’s friends. Hijinks ensue that result in Ren and Ioz being captured by Bloth, as well as Bloth taking ownership of the baby leviathan in order to obtain the Seventh Treasure of Rule. When Tula and Niddler go to rescue them, they fall in with a pack of adult leviathans, including the baby’s mother. | |||
13 | The Darkdweller | Sam Graham, Chris Hubbell | 7 December 1991 |
A celebration of reaching the halfway point of the Quest is interrupted by an ambush by Bloth and his pirates. As they attempt to escape, Tula falls into the Dark Water and is consumed. Bloth captures the others, and opts to keep them alive to let Ren be consumed by his grief and guilt. Ren receives a vision from Tula, asking him to bring the Treasures and come save him. He and Niddler journey into the Darkdweller’s lair to save her, and after reuniting on the surface, the heroes fight their first major battle against the lord of the Dark Water. |
Pirates of Dark Water season 3
Episode | Title | Written by | Original air date |
Description of the episode’s plot would go here. | |||
14 | The Dark Disciples | Glenn Leopold | 8 November 1992 |
For the first time since starting the Quest, Ren returns with his friends to Octopon, only to find it in ruins. It’s there that they meet the Dark Disciples, their half-human leader Morpho, and the failing resistance against them, which includes Ren’s guardian Jenna. The situation climaxes to a major confrontation, invoking the true power of the first seven Treasures of Rule. Half of Octopon is restored, and Morpho joins forces with Bloth in order to pursue Ren and stop him from gathering the Treasures of Rule. | |||
15 | The Ghost Pirates | Kristina Luckey (teleplay), David Ehrman (story) | 15 November 1992 |
The crew comes across a strange ship on a foggy night, which Ioz had heard is rumored to be overloaded with treasure. It ends up being a ghost ship, and its captain, a woman named Cressa, takes quite a liking to Ioz and orders him captured to be her new first mate. Ren, Tula, and Niddler have to free him before the moonrise, at which point Ioz will become a ghost forever. | |||
16 | The Dagron Master | Michael Maurer | 22 November 1992 |
During a terrible storm, Ren and Niddler are thrown overboard and find themselves washed up on an unfamiliar island. They’re taken in by Onda, a strange man, who claims to have seen a treasure and urges Ren to go in search of it while wearing a cloak for protection. Unfortunately, the cloak is enchanted, and transforms Ren into a dagron; Onda imprisons him, and ends up selling him to Bloth. Unaware of this, Ioz and Tula discover the island, and learn of Ren’s fate upon reuniting with Niddler. They sneak aboard the Maelstrom to find Ren, hoping that his memories haven’t faded and there is still hope of turning him back into his old self | |||
17 | The Game Players of Undaar | Brian T. Gaughan, Glenn Leopold | 29 November 1992 |
The Wraith and Maelstrom are captured by two frog-like Game Players, who issue Ren and Bloth an ultimatum: they must work together to beat the Game Players’ challenging and dangerous game, and if they win, they’ll be set free. If they refuse to play or lose the game—either to the tricky terrain or to the monstrous Korb that are pursuing them—they and their friends will die. | |||
18 | The Pandawa Plague | Kristina Luckey (story by Glenn Leopold, Kristina Luckey) | 2 May 1993 |
While the crew is resting in Octopon, the monkeybird queen comes in search of Niddler’s help: a plague is turning the monkeybirds of Pandawa against her. When Ren and Niddler go to Pandawa to investigate, they discover that it’s an artificial plague spread by deposed slave trader Jargis to find the egg of the future monkeybird queen and enslave future generations of monkeybirds. Unfortunately, Niddler falls prey to the plague, and it’s up to Ren to save him and to find the egg. | |||
19 | Sister of the Sword | Glenn Leopold | 9 May 1993 |
During a supply stop in Kalinda, Ren crosses paths with a troublemaking thief of a girl, who ends up being Ioz’s younger sister Solia. Their reunion ends up airing out old frustrations over the impact wrought on their family by Ioz’s departure for the high seas. However, Ioz’s thieving habits are indeed hereditary: after trying unsuccessfully to convince the crew to help her track down a treasure stash, Solia partners with Konk to do so. Upon realizing this, Ioz and the others immediately follow to ensure her safety. | |||
20 | The Soul Stealer | Glenn Leopold | 16 May 1993 |
On the advice of a personal soothsayer, Bloth has Morpho concoct a body-switching potion, which he uses to switch Ren and Bloth, as well as Niddler and Konk. Before long, Bloth learns that it won’t be quite as easy as he thought to infiltrate the crew and continue gathering the Treasures, and Ren uses Bloth’s massive size to break himself and Niddler out of the Maelstrom brig and pursue Bloth with remedy potion at the ready. At the same time, the crew crosses paths with Joat, the original owner of the Wraith—before Ioz stole it from him. | |||
21 | The Living Treasure | Kim Costalupes, Mark Kavanaugh, Glenn Leopold | 23 May 1993 |
After a prolonged period of no sign of the Eighth Treasure of Rule and heightening tensions among the crew, their luck changes. They travel to a distant island, where they’re taken captive by powerful Amazon-like warriors who enslave Ren and Ioz but allow Tula to join their ranks. The Treasure is revealed to be a living creature, a little furry animal called the margar that possesses regenerative powers. When Tula realizes this, she works with the still-free Niddler to break the others out of jail. Ultimately they return it to Octopon, feeling more united and resolved in their duty than ever, and immediately depart again, sailing into the sunset in search of their destiny. |