Difference between revisions of "SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron (TV series)"

From Hanna-Barbera Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search
Line 18: Line 18:
|caption2= Season 2's on-screen title card.
|caption2= Season 2's on-screen title card.
}}
}}
'''''SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron''''' is an American animated action/sci-fi/supernatural TV series created by Christian and Yvon Tremblay. It was produced by [[Hanna-Barbera]] for [[TBS]]' Saturday morning block. It ran from [[1993]] to [[1994]], airing 25 episodes that spanned two seasons, followed by one clip-show special.
'''''SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron''''' is an American animated action/sci-fi/supernatural television series created by Christian and Yvon Tremblay. It was produced by [[Hanna-Barbera]] for [[TBS]]' Saturday morning block. It ran from [[1993]] to [[1994]], airing 25 episodes that spanned two seasons, followed by one clip-show special.


In a world populated by anthropomorphic cats, [[T-Bone]] and [[Razor]]—two disgraced ex-[[Enforcers]]—have turned to vigilantism in order to continue safeguarding [[Megakat City]] from various threats, including criminals, sorcerers, mutants, and robots.
In a world populated by anthropomorphic cats, [[T-Bone]] and [[Razor]]—two disgraced ex-[[Enforcers]]—have turned to vigilantism in order to continue safeguarding [[Megakat City]] from various threats, including criminals, sorcerers, mutants, and robots.

Revision as of 23:26, 30 March 2023

SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron (TV series)
SK S1 title card.png
Season 1's on-screen title card.
Created by Christian Tremblay
Yvon Tremblay
Developed by:
Glenn Leopold
Davis Doi
Network TBS
Production company Hanna-Barbera
Distributor Turner Entertainment
Original release September 11, 1993December 24, 1994
Run time 22 minutes
Starring Charlie Adler
Barry Gordon
Tress MacNeille
Gary Owens
Jim Cummings
Executive producer(s) Buzz Potamkin
Producer(s) Davis Doi
Music composed by Matt Muhoberac
John Zucker
Randall Crissman
Nick Brown
Writer(s) Glenn Leopold
Lance Falk
Director(s) Robert Alvarez
Kris Zimmerman (voices)
Second title card
SK S2 title card.png
Season 2's on-screen title card.

SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron is an American animated action/sci-fi/supernatural television series created by Christian and Yvon Tremblay. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera for TBS' Saturday morning block. It ran from 1993 to 1994, airing 25 episodes that spanned two seasons, followed by one clip-show special.

In a world populated by anthropomorphic cats, T-Bone and Razor—two disgraced ex-Enforcers—have turned to vigilantism in order to continue safeguarding Megakat City from various threats, including criminals, sorcerers, mutants, and robots.

The entire series has been released on DVD.

Production

Development

Aftermath

Despite the series being a successful program, Ted Turner, the CEO of Turner Broadcasting System, was reportedly displeased with the level of violence in his cartoons at the time, leading to the delay of the series' merchandising and its eventual cancellation.[1] He went on record on Congress and in a 1995 interview after the show's cancellation, where he made his statement on the matter:

“We have more cartoons than anybody: The Flintstones, The Jetsons, The Smurfs, Scooby-Doo. They're nonviolent. We don't have to worry that we're encouraging kids to kill each other - like some of the other cartoon programs do.”
- Ted Turner, 1995[2]

Music

The theme and score were composed by Matt Muhoberac and John Zucker for seasons one and two, with Randall Crissman and Nick Brown added to the latter. Bodie Chandler was director of music production.

Episodes

Episode Number Air date
"The Pastmaster Always Rings Twice" 1x01 September 11, 1993
"The Giant Bacteria" 1x02 September 18, 1993
"The Wrath of Dark Kat" 1x03 September 25, 1993
"Destructive Nature" 1x04 October 2, 1993
"The Metallikats" 1x05 October 9, 1993
"Bride of the Pastmaster" 1x06 October 16, 1993
"Night of the Dark Kat" 1x07 October 23, 1993
"Chaos in Crystal" 1x08 October 30, 1993
"The Ghost Pilot" 1x09 November 6, 1993
"Metal Urgency" 1x10 November 13, 1993
"The Ci-Kat-A" 1x11 November 20, 1993
"Enter the Madkat" 1x12 November 27, 1993
"Katastrophe" 1x13 December 4, 1993
"Mutation City" 2x01 September 10, 1994
"A Bright and Shiny Future" 2x02 September 17, 1994
"When Strikes Mutilor" 2x03 September 24, 1994
"Razor's Edge" 2x04 October 29, 1994
"Cry Turmoil" 2x05 November 5, 1994
"SWAT Kats Unplugged" 2x06 November 5, 1994
"The Deadly Pyramid" 2x07 November 12, 1994
"Caverns of Horror" 2x08 November 19, 1994
"Volcanus Erupts!" 2x09 November 26, 1994
"The Origin of Dr. Viper" 2x10 November 26, 1994
"The Dark Side of the SWAT Kats" 2x11 December 10, 1994
"Unlikely Alloys" 2x12 December 24, 1994

Special

Title Air date
"The SWAT Kats: A Special Report" January 6, 1995

Cast

Legacy

Three episodes were in production at the time of the series cancelation. One of them, "Succubus!" was recycled by writer Glenn Leopold for The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest episode "Eclipse" and the direct-to-video film Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island.

In 2015, the Tremblay Bros., who managed to retain the rights to the property, created a Kickstarter to crowdfund a potential revival under the working title of SWAT-Kats Revolution, and if possible, a 70-minute film. Although they had succeeded all their goals, they faced difficulties in securing an investor and a place to air, having been passed over by Warner Bros., Hulu, Netflix, and not finding Amazon to be suitable. In a Kickstarter campaign update on July 23, 2020,[3] co-creator Christian Tremblay alluded their issues with the revival getting picked up due to the 2019 film Cats becoming a major box office disaster, causing Hollywood to not see SWAT Kats any differently.

On January 20, 2021, the Tremblay Bros. announced on Kickstarter that they had secured an official backer in Indian studio, Toonz Media Group,[4] and on February 1, Kidscreen reported that they had gone into preproduction.[5] An official press release was given the next day.[6]

References

  1. ^ Tremblay, Christan (November 30, 2012). "SWAT Kats The Animated Series Tlak to the Co-Creator Christian Tremblay". reddit. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  2. ^ Kim, Albert (April 21, 1995), "Ted's Excellent Speaking Engagement", Entertainment Weekly.
  3. ^ "Update 43: Re: Swat-Kats Revolution Update · SWAT-KATS REVOLUTION". Kickstarter. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  4. ^ Tremblay Bros. Studios (January 20, 2021). "Update No. 45". Kickstarter. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  5. ^ Foster, Elizabeth (February 1, 2021). "SWAT-KATS Get Back In Action With Toonz". Kidscreen. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  6. ^ Sarto, Debbie Diamond "Cult Classic ‘Swat-Kats’ Returns". (February 2, 2021). Animation News Network. Retrieved May 5, 2021.