The BEST episodes of Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea
Every episode of Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea!
Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea (Les mondes engloutis) was a wonderfully crafted animated series that aired sometime in the 80s. It told the story of a civilization that survived a great cataclysm and moved to the center of the earth. These people, the Arkadians, thrived under the power of their artificial sun, The Tehra, until one day it began to fail. In desperation, the Arkadians broke the ancient law and entered the Forbidden Archives to search for an answer. They used their special powers and created a messenger to the people above, naming her Arkana. She meets up with Matt and Rebecca, two ordinary kids from the surface world, Bic and Bac, two strange anteaters from Arkadia, and Spartakus, a mysterious warrior. Together they search the worlds of the strata for a way to save a people and possibly the world. This cartoon is quite possibly one of the greatest animated series of all time. A French cartoon, Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea was very stylized in its animation and way of storytelling. Instead of bright pastel colors and deep lines, the colors were muted with mixtures of earthy tones. And the cartoon had themes of mysticism and surrealism. Yet its deep history and strong characters made the show appealing to people of all ages and tastes.
#1 - The Master of the Tongues
Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/17/1986
Guided by a mysterious mute woman, the group ascends a large tower filled with recorded knowledge from throughout history, but someone is trying to keep them from reaching the top.
#2 - The Land of the Great Spider
Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/24/1986
The travelers are caught in the web of a giant spider. Bic and Bac are held captive by a tribe of their anteater cousins for their fire-making ability.
#3 - The Triangle of the Deep
Season 2 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/8/1987
The travelers investigate the stratum where the People of the Deep mysteriously vanished long ago. To help Tehrig stay on course in this area, which has magnetic disturbances, they create a fake competitor to FIPIRATE, tricking the pirates into increasing their broadcast signal strength. Of course it also causes the pirates to put on a huge impromptu concert for all the rogues of the strata.
#4 - Uncle Albert
Season 2 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/15/1987
The group investigates a city closed in by giant walls and are captured by the army of Iron Men, who terrorize its citizens. With the help of an eccentric genius named Uncle Albert, they plot to help the people escape.
#5 - The Token of the Manitou
Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/10/1986
The travelers are aided in their search for an underground vein of metal that may be auracite by a powerful but suspicious magician called the Manitou. Along the way, they encounter a Cherokee from the surface who is looking for a new home for his people.
#6 - Between Two Worlds
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/1/1985
Tehrig is swept away by the powerful currents of the River of Time. The group finds themselves in a land occupied by a primitive tribe that is being threatened by the machines of an advanced civilization from the stratum above. Meanwhile, the children of Arkadia are trying to fix the entrance to the Archives, which has rusted shut.
#7 - Living Crystal
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/22/1985
In a crystalline strata that echos with the sound of the Tehra, the group meets Galileo and are taken prisoner by the Inquisitors, who try to get them to renounce their claims that other worlds lie beyond their stratum.
#8 - Arkana and the Beast
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/8/1985
Arkana is kidnapped by the Thot, a gigantic, well-meaning beast who lives in an abandoned metropolis.
#9 - The Pirate Klub
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/15/1985
#10 - The Law of the Mogokhs
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/29/1985
In a snow-covered land, Spartakus and his friends meet Mira and her grandfather and help them defend their village against the Mogokhs.
#11 - Prophecy of the Auracite
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/1/1986
The group returns to Arkadia to attempt to free the Prisoners of Lost Time but discover that the Tehra will never be permanently restored until a riddle is solved and a second auracite is found.
#12 - The Twisted Rainbow
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/29/1986
While crossing the deserts of Barkar, Spartakus recalls the incident that took away his family and forced him into slavery, his life as a gladiator, and the bitter reunion with his long-lost brother.
#13 - The City of Arkadia
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/24/1985
While exploring a cave, Matt and Rebecca meet Arkana, who tells them of her mission. When the pirates attack, they are rescued by a mysterious warrior named Spartakus.
#14 - The Gladiators of Barkar
Season 1 - Episode 14 - Aired 12/24/1985
#15 - The Emperor Quin and the Eighth Kingdom
Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired 12/31/1985
#16 - Cyrano
Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/15/1986
#17 - The Return of the Prisoners of Lost Time
Season 2 - Episode 26 - Aired 3/26/1987
Spartakus returns to Arkadia with the Prisoners of Lost Time. Together, they discover the truth about the second auracite and Arkadia's original purpose. Matt and Rebecca return home as the Arkadians fulfill their destiny.
#18 - The Tightrope
Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/22/1986
Matt follows a devilish trickster and his supernatural pets, a giant eagle and a teleporting snake, on a dangerous quest to find "the gold at the earth's core", thinking it may be the second auracite. Spartakus, knowing that no one has ever returned from the journey, tries to stop him.
#19 - High-risk Highrise
Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/5/1986
Ringnar holds Tehrig prisoner, forcing his triggies to build new luxury high-rise apartments for the pirates. When Nasty Max discovers what Ringnar is up to, the two begin a power struggle for the control of Tehrig, the tower, and the pirates' loyalties.
#20 - The Boy Pharaoh
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/12/1986
The travelers meet Tutankhaton, who is about to become pharaoh, and are caught up in a plot by the boy's uncle and the Priests of Amon, who want to seize power and return to worship of the old gods.
#21 - The Floating Casino
Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/19/1986
When the pirates capture just about everyone on the seas, the group find themselves prisoners in the hold of the pirates' ship. Meanwhile, Bic and Bac have to deal with being forced to work as Massmedia's musicians and trying to recover Spartakus' wristguard from the pirates' casino, all while trying to avoid nasty pickpockets.
#22 - Prince Matt
Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/26/1986
#23 - The Land of the Chameleons
Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/3/1986
The group befriends a city of people descended from the original Arkadians. They use their shapeshifting powers to help rescue Arkana from a pirate trap.
#24 - The Ransom of Peace
Season 2 - Episode 14 - Aired 12/31/1986
The group returns to Mira's village, which is preparing another confrontation with the Mogokhs. The villagers are divided over a plan to buy peace with the Mogokh leader by giving him a large ransom of gold. Spartakus helps with the plan, hoping he can learn something about his father from Baatu.
#25 - Tehrig's Nightmare
Season 2 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/22/1987
A badly damaged Tehrig returns to Arkadia for repairs and soon begins thinking he's actually the pirates' ship. His friends try to bring him out of his delusional state, while recounting some of their adventures involving the pirates in "clip show" fashion.