Thundercats - Updated and AWESOME!!!

Tonight, the reboot of the classic 1985 Rankin/Bass Thundercats aired on Cartoon Network. The original cartoon was one of my favorites from that era (along with He-Man and Silverhawkes). I remember loving the characters and the awesome adventures that happened in the 30 minute spot. I was very excited to hear that the series was going to get a reboot, but I was nervous at the same time. If this series were to get the same quality (or lack thereof) treatment that the He-Man series received in 2002, I would be totally turned off. The total disregard for what the purpose and message of the original 1980's He-Man series and not so much as a wink at the original character design (the characters looked like Neanderthals!!) left a very bitter taste in my mouth that took me watching several of the original series episodes to clean out.
To my joy, none of the worries that I had were a problem with the new Thundercats. From the time that I saw the first previews for the new series I was pleasantly surprised. As I watched the 1 hour debut special and I saw each of the characters show up my immediate response was "Yes!" and occasionally, "Really?! They put Gruun in the first issue, too!?" The shocking moment of the evening, though, was when I said to myself "WHAT!!?? They killed off Panthro in the first episode?! We do not even get to see him?!" Each of the characters were very easily recognizable and each had the familiar feel of the original series.
The new series has done an excellent job of updating the plot and the relationships of the characters within that plot very seamlessly. Even the changes that were made from the original characters (like Tigra and Lion-O being brothers and Wilie-Kit and -Kat beign vagabonds) created a much more dynamic and interesting opportunity for conflict to surface. I also appreciated the simplification of the Thundera portion of the plot. Placing the Cats already on Third-Earth and having an already established conflict with the lizard mutants tightened up the plot and location greatly from the original space-travel idea. It is a refreshing change as well to have appropriate sexual tension between Lion-O and Cheetara (and if you think that it was not there, watch the episode again...) in the show.
Overall, I am very excited for the new series! There are still a lot of great characters to meet and the new conflicts and plot points show great promise for the this reboot!!