Unlike the 1966 Lone Ranger cartoon, which strayed into science-fiction and comic book plots, the 1980 version stuck to more standard Western fare.[2] The plots included real figures from American history, including President Ulysses S. Grant and Nellie Bly.[3]
Filmation originally tried to cast Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels, reprising their roles from the live-action series, but could not afford the extra day of rehearsal per episode the actors required. William Conrad performed the opening narration over the classic William Tell Overture, with a slight change to the description of Tonto as "fearless Indian friend" vs the original "faithful Indian companion" of the old series. Moreover, for the new series, Tonto spoke whole sentences, in contrast to his more-limited vocabulary from the live-action show.
From 1982–83 season, The Lone Ranger series had continued on CBS on Sunday Morning at part of the mini CBS Lineup at Lone Ranger/Zorro, which ran for 30 minutes in short cut versions, starting with showing Zorro, then The Lone Ranger.
References
^Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 369–370. ISBN978-1538103739.
^Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 513–515. ISBN978-1476665993.