He may not have had the sweet, flat green haircut/mullet, but make no mistake about it: Ted Turner was Captain Planet.
This morning, after the dissident mogul’s death, Turner is most remembered for launching CNN, the 24/7 news channel that undoubtedly changed the media landscape forever. But his contributions go much further than that and are not limited to the stations that bear his name, such as the first TBS (Turner Broadcast System) and TNT (Turner Television Network).
A decade after founding CNN, Turner established the Turner Foundation, which provides grants to support environmental causes. More specifically, the Turner Foundation was created “to protect and restore the natural systems—air, land, and water—on which all life depends,” as stated in its mission statement. That same year, Turner (with Barbara Pyle) co-created the environmental superhero Captain Planet and the animated television series. Captain Planet and the planets; He repurposed this innate trifecta of earthly systems into powers wielded by a group of teenagers who really loved recycling.
Captain Planet and the planets It was a co-production between Ted’s Turner Program Services and DiC Enterprises, which ’90s kids will recognize from the logo alone (and probably hear the “deek” sound in their heads as they read that sentence). The series aired 113 episodes in total from 1990 to 1996 (if you count The New Adventures of Captain Planet and the Planets), sees Gaia (first voiced by Whoopi Goldberg, then Margot Kidder), the spirit of the Earth, completely saving us from pollution, overdevelopment, and the like. Thanks, Jaya.
Before she left us to burn to the ground, Gaia distributed five powerful rings to four teenagers (I think) and one child (probably). Kwame (LeVar Burton) is from Africa and has the power of the Earth; Wheeler from Brooklyn has firepower. Lenka of the Soviet Union (later “Eastern Europe”) has wind power; Ji from Asia has the power of water. And young Ma-Ti from Brazil has heart power that is mostly useless. He also has a monkey. (By using the word “heart,” Ma-Ti can talk to animals, which is fun.)
With their combined powers, Captain Planet (David Coburn) shows up to stop the villain of the week in the middle of a forest clearing, or something. That treacherous group I love pollution. Captain Planet It may not have been the greatest animated film ever – the theme song was great – but it meant well and was well done. That was Ted Turner.
Turner was known to put his big money where his big mouth was. “The Mouth of the South” (not pro-wrestling manager Jimmy Hart) was a serious land conservationist and the bison’s best friend ever (until they were slaughtered – I’m sure – and served at Ted’s Montana Grill). But seriously he really loved those bison.
In 1991 – the peak Captain Planet and the planets — Turner won the Audubon Medal from the National Audubon Society, a conservation group that truly loves birds. In 1997, Turner (with Mike Phillips) established the Endangered Species Fund and the Turner Biodiversity Departments. Turner won the Albert Schweitzer Gold Medal for Humanitarian Action in 2001.
Through the Turner Foundation, to date, Turner has awarded more than $400 million in grants to help us humans do Gaia’s work. After Ted’s death, the Board of Directors consists of his five children and each of his grandchildren (once they reach age 25). By their combined strength, we may not be doomed to failure.
The famous Turner also donated $1 billion to the United Nations. You probably know that the United Nations is the international organization established to maintain peace and security around the world that President Donald Trump unilaterally decided was essentially useless.
This is not the future Turner wanted for us, although he prepared for it. Turner commissioned CNN to play the infamous “Doomsday video” when the apocalypse comes. In the (very real) footage, a band solemnly plays “Nearer, My God, to Thee,” the song that may have served as Turner’s heavenly entrance music on Wednesday.
Hopefully the rest of us will never have to watch this video for real – things are not going well – and not just because of the low definition and aspect ratio. In times like these, the late Ted Turner likes to remind us of Captain Planet’s motto and weekly signature: “Power to you!”
