SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron (TV series)
- This article is about the TV series. For other uses, see SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron.
| SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron | |
|---|---|
 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, 1993—December 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 | |
 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 (calling themselves the SWAT Kats) 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 | Air date |
|---|---|
| 1x01 | September 11, 1993 |
| 1x02 | September 18, 1993 |
| 1x03 | September 25, 1993 |
| 1x04 | October 2, 1993 |
| 1x05 | October 9, 1993 |
| 1x06 | October 16, 1993 |
| 1x07 | October 23, 1993 |
| 1x08 | October 30, 1993 |
| 1x09 | November 6, 1993 |
| 1x10 | November 13, 1993 |
| 1x11 | November 20, 1993 |
| 1x12 | November 27, 1993 |
| 1x13 | December 4, 1993 |
| 2x01 | September 10, 1994 |
| 2x02 | September 17, 1994 |
| 2x03 | September 24, 1994 |
| 2x04 | October 29, 1994 |
| 2x05 | November 5, 1994 |
| 2x06 | November 12, 1994 |
| 2x07 | November 19, 1994 |
| 2x08 | November 26, 1994 |
| 2x09 | December 10, 1994 |
| 2x10 | December 24, 1994 |
Special
| Title | Air date |
|---|---|
| "The SWAT Kats: A Special Report" | January 6, 1995 |
Cast
- Charlie Adler as T-Bone
- Barry Gordon as Razor
- Tress MacNeille as Deputy Mayor Callie Briggs
- Gary Owens as Commander Ulysses Feral
- Jim Cummings as Mayor Manx
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]
In popular culture
- In the Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode "Balloonenstein," when the portal first appears, it is stock footage of the Pastmaster's portal from "The Pastmaster Always Rings Twice."
Merchandise
Home media
In 1995, Turner Home Entertainment released three VHS volumes which include two episodes each: Strike of Dark Kat, Deadly Dr. Viper, and Metallikats Attack. These also included the "Secret Files of SWAT Kats" bumpers that aired on TBS.
On December 14, 2010, Warner Archive Collection released the entire series on DVD, calling the set SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron: The Complete Series. Due to an error in printing, many of the episodes came with the wrong end credits, leading to its removal from Warner Archive Collection's website on March 3, 2011, so the issue could be fixed. On January 19, 2012, Warner Archive Collection rereleased the set correctly. Unfortunately, neither version has the "Secret Files of SWAT Kats" bumpers that TBS aired with.
Toys
In 1994, Remco released a line of action figures based on Razor, T-Bone, Dark Kat, and Dr. Viper.
Gordy Toys released plastic "playsets" which included two different types of eyeglasses, a flash gun, and handcuffs.
Kids meal toys were also included by White Castle in 1994, and Carl's Jr. in 1996.
Video games
The TV series inspired a SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron sidescrolling action video game on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, which was released on August 21, 1995. There is also a SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron electronic LCD handheld video game released Micro Games of America.
References
- ^ Tremblay, Christan (November 30, 2012). "SWAT Kats The Animated Series Tlak to the Co-Creator Christian Tremblay". Reddit. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
- ^ Kim, Albert (April 21, 1995), "Ted's Excellent Speaking Engagement", Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ "Update 43: Re: Swat-Kats Revolution Update · SWAT-KATS REVOLUTION". Kickstarter. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
- ^ Tremblay Bros. Studios (January 20, 2021). "Update No. 45". Kickstarter. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
- ^ Foster, Elizabeth (February 1, 2021). "SWAT-KATS Get Back In Action With Toonz". Kidscreen. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
- ^ Sarto, Debbie Diamond "Cult Classic ‘Swat-Kats’ Returns". (February 2, 2021). Animation News Network. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
