Ulysses 31 (1981)
Synopsis
Ulysses and his crew struggle against the divine entities that rule the universe, the ancient gods from Greek mythology.
Network
France 3
Episodes
Vengeance of the Gods
On his trip back to Earth, Ulysses' son is carried off by the Cyclops to give sight to his followers with Telemachus' life force. Ulysses destroys the Cyclops and saves Telemachus, Yumi and Numinor. In retaliation the ancient Gods then send his ship, the Odyssey, into an unknown part of space with the bulk of its crew cursed to remain lifeless, floating in mid-air until Ulysses finds the Kingdom of Hades.
The Black Sphere
On an isolated asteroid Ulysses meets an old, blind, scholar called Heratos and his assistant, a young Zotrian woman named Atena. Heratos gives Ulysses a map that will lead him beyond the galactic glaciers - or so he claims.
Flowers of Fear
The Odyssey comes across a lifeless city world. On hearing that its people had the technology to bring the dead back to life, Yumi takes Numinor to the planet to revive him. However, she learns why there is no life in the city.
Cronus, Father of Time
Ulysses is saved from a Trident attack by Chronos, the god of time, who wants to use him as leverage to be allowed to reenter the home of the gods.
The Lost Planet
Numinor is awaken when The Odyssey chances upon a satellite world that has strayed far from it's orbit around he and Yumi's home world. Ulysses, Telemachus, Nono, Numinor and Yumi head down to the planet and make the startling discovery that the entire population has been turned to stone by an evil Witch.
Guardian of the Cosmic Winds
Aeolus, King of the winds, kidnaps Ulysses to provide entertainment for his daughter's birthday party. Unable to watch her father's cruel sport, she frees the captives and helps them escape.
The Eternal Punishment
Ulysses encounters Sisyphus, a king condemned to fill a crater with boulders for all eternity for having dared to want the secret of immortality. Zeus has promised Sisyphus he can leave if he makes Ulysses take his place.
Mutiny on Board
A space storm revives the companions as crazed automatons who take over the ship and try to crash it into space glaciers.
Secret of the Sphinx
Passing through the domain of the great Sphinx, Ulysses must answer his riddle to leave safely. His treacherous daughter kidnaps the children and plots to make Ulysses her slave.
Temple of the Lestrigones
The Odyssey arrives on a tropical planet, where the ruling tyrant uses a magic prism to shrink them.
Trapped Between Fire And Ice
Trying to help a stranded astronaut, Ulysses tries to find a hidden base on one of the deadly twin planets Scylla or Charybdis.
The Seat of Forgetfulness
Ulysses follows a Trident carrier in hopes of learning more about the way out of Olympus, and finds himself trapped in bizarre worlds. To save the children, he will have to give up his memories.
Song of Danger
Pirates kidnap the children to force Ulysses and No-No to brave the danger of the Sirens, said to guard a map of the Olympus universe.
Phantoms from the Swamp
Coming across a piece of Zotra that could bring Numinor back to life, Ulysses and Yumi pursue it to a swamp planet where they are ambushed by monsters who can copy their forms
Before the Flood
Ulysses and the crew land on a planet similar to prehistoric earth. They encounter a winged female named Sauria, whose people are under attack from mutant vultures called Keconopters.
The Magic Spells of Circe
The crew of the Odyssey are enslaved by the magic of the enchantress Circe and turned into pig-people to build a tower that will house all the knowledge of the universe.
The Hidden Truth
The shapechanger Nereus calls Ulysses for help when Shark Men, servants of the gods, take over his planet.
Lost in the Labyrinth
Princess Ariadne comes upon the Odyssey, and asks for Ulysses' help in saving her lover Theseus, who has been exiled to her father's labyrinth to be killed by the fearsome Minotaur.
At the Heart of the Universe
Mercurius, the bubble-dwelling "grandson of the gods," enlists Ulysses' help in taking a jewel from the brow of the giant Atlas under the promise that it will give him the power to send Ulysses home.
The Magician in Black
Ulysses is saved from an attack by the most powerful magician in the universe who breaks the gods' curse on his crew; however, as payment for his services, demands to hunt Ulysses's best men.
Rebellion on Lemnos
Princess Hypsipyle of the planet Lemnos is found by Ulysses; she tells them that the women of her planet are being forced by the Shark Men to build ships for the gods.
The City of Cortex
The Odyssey is dragged to a planet populated by machines, and governed by the tyrannical computer Cortex. One of its inhabitants, a "female" robot named Nanette, falls in love with No-No.
Strange Meeting
Ulysses and the children are sent back in time and meet the original Ulysses, Telemachus and Penelope of Homer's epic.
The Lotus Eaters
Needing raw materials to repair the Odyssey, Ulysses travels to a world where the inhabitants are addicted to eating seeds which induce amnesia.
Calypso
The Odyssey responds to a distress call from Queen Calypso, who tells him that if he saves her planet she will tell him the way back to earth. Calypso has been ordered by Zeus to betray Ulysses, but she falls in love with him and cannot carry out the gods' orders.
The Kingdom of Hades
In the final episode, Ulysses and his companions reach the Kingdom of Hades. They meet Orpheus, who seeks Ulysses' help to find his love, Eurydice, who has been taken to the Kingdom of Hades by Charon. Hades, the god of death, tells Ulysses that he must leave his companions behind if he wishes to return to Earth. He rejects the offer, which was a final test, and they all return home.
Cast
Trailer
Details
Original Title
Ulysse 31
Status
Ended
Seasons
1
Episodes
26
Production
France 3, CLT, Tokyo Movie Shinsha
