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Blue Manx
Archdeacon of Jabootu
USA
13 Posts |
 Posted - 04/02/2006 : 11:00:34 PM
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This was an article that was released on Toon Magazine, due to the success of the show. This info was first posted by Dana Uehara and Andy Hill.
source: _Toon_ Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 5, Fall 1994
Hanna-Barbera's SWAT Kats: The Best New Action-Adventure Series To Come
From Hanna-Barbera In Years!
by Michael Swanigan
Hanna-Barbera's _SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron_ already has proven to be
a bonafide hit. Arriving nationally in syndication and on TBS Superstation
in September of '93, the thrills and tactics have put Hanna-Barbera
squarely back at the forefront of action-adventure genre they pioneered in
the 1960's with _Jonny Quest_.
The crew at Hanna-Barbera wanted to create a cartoon pulsing with
sensory overload. SWAT Kats takes passengers into the thingypit with two
feline daredevils and their jet as they rip through skyscraper canyons and
dash across the skies of Megakat City in pursuit of the world's baddest
kats.
Replete with nonstop video-game action, high-tech laser gadgetry,
heart-stopping danger, daring rescues and a driving soundtrack, the all-kat
world of SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron arrived on television. Two
ex-pilots have assumed secret identities and taken to the skies in their
incredible Turbokat jet.
Creators and executive producers, Yvon and Christian Tremblay,
wanted a world infused with vibrant colors and roaring action. "SWAT Kats
leap to life in comic book style taking viewers along for the ride, solving
crime like no other superheroes ever have," said Christian Tremblay.
Each episode finds the heroes, Jake and Chance, challenged by one
of the myriad of unique villains who inhabit the huge city populated only
by cats. Jake and Chance transform themselves into the SWAT Kats, Razor
and T-Bone, who battle Dark Kat, overlord of crime; the Pastmaster, a
time-traveling evil creature; the Metallikats, a bionic clawing couple, and
other larger-than-life foes.
This super-team distinguish themselves from other heroes with two
qualities: inventiveness and speed. Instead of weapons, the SWAT Kats
have developed a stock of devices that assist them in capturing criminals.
New gadgets play a major role in the action and include the crook-catching
Octopus Missile, Glovatrix and Cyclotron, among others.
"Our Kats use their wits and ingenuity in settling the score. They
use gadgets that stop villains rather than go after crime with brawn and
armor," says Christian Tremblay. "Ultimately their schemes and devices
find more excitement and adventure than mere fighting would."
As the world's foremost expert fighter pilots, Jake and Chance
bring determination, flair and skills to the skies. They met during
Enforcer training and flew many combat missions together. An unlikely
looking pair, they established a friendship in the thingypit, where it was
camaraderie at first flight.
Together, they were their own "Radical Squadron." But they
disdained all the rules and regulations that Commander Feral and the
Megakat Force laid on them. Feral, in turn, hated them for their
independence, stubbornness and superior skills. On one fateful day,
Commander Feral cut them off when they were in pursuit of Dark Kat.
Feral's reckless move clipped the tail of Chance and Jake's jet which
crashed into Enforcer Headquarters, almost destroying it. Afterwards Feral
destroyed their careers, drumming them out of the service and relegated
them to pay off their societal debt by running the Megakat City Salvage
Yard.
The two mechanics eventually invented crime-fighting mechanisms
from the junk surrounding them, and built their own one-of-a-kind Turbokat
jet. Now they combat villains on their own terms.
Music helps set the tone for the SWAT Kats' mighty feats.
According to Christian Tremblay, "How better to rev up the adrenaline than
with a score that captivates the mood and accentuates the action."
The music selection relies on Queen (the rock band) influences and
adds effects that may be heard emanating from a neighborhood arcade. Since
the SWAT Kats' escapades speed along at video-game pace, the sound effects
of the Kats' missions could be mistaken as edits from the latest Nintendo
craze. Long regarded as the expert in animation sound effects (from the
scrambling of Fred Flintstone's feet to Jerry's pulling of Tom's whiskers),
Hanna-Barbera continues its tradition with the soaring, roaring, dashing,
crashing audio antics for the SWAT Kats' series.
CHANCE/T-BONE
Big-framed, burly Chance springs into action as a leap-before-you-look
daredevil who loves danger and daring-do. The riskier the enterprise, the
happier he is. As pilot of the Turbokat, he jettisons the plane to heights
never before imagined. His hard-core ways contrast his partner Jake's
naturally cautious bent. Secure and thingyy, Chance likes to ignore Jake's
warnings. He fancies himself a ladies man, but generally has more success
in a maniac in the [skies].
JAKE/RAZOR
As co-pilot, navigator, gadgets expert and idea kat, Jake has designed most
of the special unique firepower the Turbokat carries. More comfortable
around technical wizardry, Jake gets nervous around a pretty girl. Further
clashing with Chance's style, the smaller Jake conducts business in more
laconic manner. But when confronted with danger and villains, Jake bursts
into the situation, as agile as his partner.
COMMANDER FERAL
A lean, tough, by-the-book police veteran, Commander Feral displays his
militant, power-hungry way to prevent anyone from going around him.
However, the SWAT Kats go around, up and over him. Furious that the SWAT
Kats always end up doing his job, Feral boils over seeing his Enforcers
look bad against Megakat City's villains.
MAYOR MANX
Always ready to come up with an excuse for getting out of a prickly
situation, Mayor Manx happily leaves all the dirty chores to Callie Briggs.
Despite his coward, he remains in office largely because the SWAT Kats
always manage to bring Megakat City back from total catastrophe and
destruction.
CALLIE BRIGGS
The fearless, strong-willed right-hand woman to do-nothing Mayor Manx,
Callico (Callie) Briggs pounces on any situation that may put her beloved
Megakat City in danger. Callie often becomes the trouble shooter who gets
sent into dangerous situations so the Mayor can get information without
endangering his life. Though she does not know the true identity of the
SWAT Kats, Callie has a 'hot line' that can summon them when trouble
arises.
SWAT KATS: THE RADICAL SQUADRON EPISODE LIST AND CREDITS
Executive Producer ..................................... Buzz Potamkin
Producer ................................................... Davis Doi
Story Editor ........................................... Glenn Leopold
Director .............................................. Robert Alvarez
Creators/Production Designers ...... Christian Tremblay, Yvon Tremblay
Storyboard Supervisors ................ Barrington Bruce, Vic DelChele
T-BONE/CHANCE/MURRAY ................................... Charlie Adler
RAZOR/JAKE .............................................. Barry Gordon
COMMANDER FERAL ........................................... Gary Owens
CALLIE BRIGGS ........................................ Tress MacNeille
MAYOR MANX .............................................. Jim Cummings
BURKE .................................................... Mark Hamill
----- SEASON #1 (1993) -----
THE GIANT BACTERIA
When Dr. Viper creates a giant bacteria to help him break into Megakat
Biochemical Labs, it is up to the SWAT Kats to stop him... before Megakat
City is destroyed!
THE METALLIKATS
Two mobsters, Mac and Molly, return from the grave as deadly robots. As
the "Metallikats", these metal fiends terrorize city hall with an arsenal
of amazing gadgets even the SWAT Kats find tough to beat.
THE PASTMASTER ALWAYS RINGS TWICE
The SWAT Kats race against time to stop an "undead" evil sorcerer named
the Pastmaster, who intends to send Megakat City back into the Dark Ages.
But first our heroes must battle their way back from the prehistoric past.
DESTRUCTIVE NATURE
Doctor Viper is back with a hideous army of plant monsters. Only the
SWAT Kats can stop him from turning Megakat City in Mega-Swamp [City].
THE WRATH OF DARK KAT
In their most desperate mission ever, the SWAT Kats battle Dark Kat, who
has created a Doomsday Device to destroy Megakat City. It is not their
first encounter with the villain -- because of him they were booted out
of the Enforcers.
BRIDE OF THE PASTMASTER
When the SWAT Kats are accidentally brought back into the Dark Ages,
they save the Queen of ancient Megalith City from the Pastmaster's
mythical monsters... and his wedding proposals.
NIGHT OF THE DARK KAT
Dark Kat uses a techno-villain named Hard Drive to lure the SWAT Kats
into a deadly trap, then steals the Turbokat and wreaks havoc on Megakat
City.
THE GHOST PILOT
When a ghostly Megawar II pilot returns from a watery grave and targets
Mayor Manx, the SWAT Kats must do battle with this ancient air ace...
who is almost impossible to destroy.
CHAOS IN CRYSTAL
When a freak accident turns a hardened criminal into a giant crystal
colossus with a mineral "Midas Touch", it is up to the SWAT Kats to
stop him before Megakat City is destroyed.
THE CI-KAT-A
A space probe returns to Megakat City carrying a deadly cargo -- an
alien insect determined to take over the world. The SWAT Kats must stop
the Ci-Kat-A before he turns every citizen into bug-eyed slaves.
ENTER THE MADKAT
Madkat is a supernatural jester, who pops out of an ancient Jack-in-the-
Box to start wreaking havoc on Megakat City. Armed with giant razor
sharp playing cards, spiked dice, and the ability to appear and disappear
anywhere (including the Turbokat cockpit), Madkat seems unstoppable.
Somehow the SWAT Kats must find a way to destroy him before they disappear
into his giant Jack-in-the-Box.
METAL URGENCY
The Metallikats are back, and this time they are in the drivers seat of
two giant attack robots. Even the Turbokat seems helpless against these
armored leviathans -- who can only be destroyed by each other. The SWAT
Kats use a desperate scheme to gain control of one of the robots to
defeat the Metallikats.
KATASTROPHE
The SWAT Kats face their toughest challenge when Dark Kat forms an evil
alliance with Dr. Viper and the Metallikats. The fate of Megakat City
hangs in the balance.
----- SEASON #2 EPISODES (1994) -----
MUTATION CITY
When Dr. Viper submerges half of Megakat City in a mutation filled swamp,
the SWAT Kats must venture through "Mutation City" to get the anti-
mutagens to stop him. One problem: T-Bone can't swim.
A BRIGHT AND SHINY FUTURE
The Pastmaster propels the SWAT Kats into a sinister future world he has
prepared for them: a world where the evil Metallikats and their giant
robot Enforcers rule.
WHEN STRIKES MUTILOR
It's a deadly "close encounter" when Razor and T-Bone defend Megakat
City from the awesome threat of Mutilor, the interstellar water pirate,
as he tries to steal the oceans from the planet.
RAZOR'S EDGE
When innocent Kat civilians are apparently injured during a SWAT Kats
pursuit, Razor loses his nerve.
CRY TURMOIL
The SWAT Kats tangle with the elite fighter squadron of Turmoil, evil
Empress of the Air, who falls for T-Bone.
SWAT KATS UNPLUGGED
When electro-villain Hard Drive renders the Turbokat's high-tech gadgets
useless, the SWAT Kats must rely solely on their skill and smarts to
defeat him.
THE DEADLY PYRAMID
The Pastmaster returns, raising an ancient pyramid full of giant warrior
mummies, who are going to help him conquer Megakat City. But the SWAT
Kats have other ideas.
CAVERNS OF HORROR
The SWAT Kats are the only ones who can rescue newscaster Ann Gora from
a mine cave-in, but when they go underground, they find more than they
bargained for: a cavern of giant mutated rock scorpions with an
unhealthy taste for kats.
VOLCANUS ERUPTS!
When the evil fire demon Volcanus is accidentally released from his
island prison, it's up to the SWAT Kats to put out the fire.
THE ORIGIN OF DR. VIPER
When Dr. Elrod Purvis tries to steal a regenerative growth formula, it
spills on him and transforms him into the insidious Dr. Viper. Only
the SWAT Kats can stop him from turning Callie and Mayor Manx into
mutations, too!
THE DARK SIDE OF THE SWAT KATS
The SWAT Kats find themselves in an alternate universe, where evil SWAT
Kats are in league with Dark Kat, in a plan to destroy the Enforcers.
UNLIKELY ALLOYS
The SWAT Kats battle a giant intelligent machine that consumes other
machines. And this time, they have an unlikely ally... one of the
Metallikats.
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Edited by - Blue Manx on 04/02/2006 11:05:58 PM
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Blue Manx
Archdeacon of Jabootu
USA
13 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2006 : 11:04:22 PM
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http://casandro.dyndns.org/swatkats/IMAGES/AIVARS/POSTER/POSTER1.JPG
This Swat Kats ad was released in October/November (1994) issue of Animation Magazine. We do see clearly this ""Betcha never thought we had be the no.1 syndicated animated show of 1994* But we are! We made against all odds. And we are now gonna be kicking even more tails in 1995, with new episodes, action figures, videogames,... the works!".
But the reader will say "This is just an ad".
But still in this ad, lots of readers will miss 2 things. Did anyone notice "a star" on 1994?
But what is this star referring to?
Answer is on the ad, but readers don't recognize it.
1994* - *NTI/NSS W/O 8/30/93 - W/E 4/17/94.
NTI - Nielsen Television Index
NSS - Nielsen Syndication Service.
Due to the Success of the show, Canada TV Guide dedicated one whole page to Swat Kats in 1994, which never happened in the history before. Sadly, I don't have it. |
Edited by - Blue Manx on 04/02/2006 11:07:04 PM |
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Blue Manx
Archdeacon of Jabootu
USA
13 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2006 : 11:12:57 PM
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This info was first posted by Dana Uehara.
("Animation Scene", p. 66, _Comics Scene #48_)
SWAT Kats Canned_: It happened unexpectedly. SWAT Kats was doing reasonably well in the ratings, and there was talk of a third season. By late July, 13 episodes had been recorded for the show's second season; production was underway on episode #11. Suddenly, Turner Entertainment ordered its subsidiary, Hanna-Barbera, to cancel production altogether,
and lay off creative personnel throughout the studio. The purge affected 23 in-house artists (including half the background department) and 75 freelancers.
As for SWAT Kats' cancellation, former employees were told that the show wasn't selling enough merchandise. But that's because there was hardly any merchandise or marketing to begin with! Therefore, Turner decided to cancel the show. Go figure. SWAT Kats will have 10 new episodes this year; the final three have been recorded and storyboarded and, at this point, are in limbo. First season episodes are now being broadcast on the Cartoon Network.
My Concepts:
This article gives some important info about SK Cancellation. The cancellation of SK happened even before first episode of Second Season was released on TV. I don't believe SK got cancelled, due to low merchandise, because there are many reasons that go into different directions.
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Edited by - Blue Manx on 04/02/2006 11:21:33 PM |
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Blue Manx
Archdeacon of Jabootu
USA
13 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2006 : 11:13:49 PM
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http://fridays.toonzone.net/whatacartoon.html
This link clearly says like this "Thanks to the guidance of studio president, Fred Seibert, Hanna-Barbera had its greatest output period in years with shows like "2 Stupid Dogs", "SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron" and the ongoing work on "The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest", which had been in pre-production for a number of years."
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Kooshmeister
Preeminent Apostolic Prelate of the Discipleship of Jabootu
USA
104 Posts |
Posted - 06/02/2006 : 8:13:10 PM
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| These aren't reviews. This is ancient promotional material copied verbatim from what I can tell. |
Edited by - Kooshmeister on 06/02/2006 8:15:31 PM |
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Blue Manx
Archdeacon of Jabootu
USA
13 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2006 : 1:48:16 PM
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Yes, I was able to find these documents from the old posts of rat.org. Thanks to Ratman, I was able to get these documents.
I just put "SWAT Kats Reviews" to look into the success of the show.
Front Cover of Toon_ Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 5, Fall 1994 is available in this link.
http://www.toonhub.com/images/mags/toon/Toon5.jpg
You will see "SWAT Kats" on top of the cover.
October/November (1994) issue of Animation Magazine (SWAT Kats ad in this issue) is still available at Animation Magazine. If anyone is interested for this issue, Please contact Mercedes Milligan of Animation magazine.
1994* - *NTI/NSS W/O 8/30/93 - W/E 4/17/94.
Nielsen Syndication Service and Nielsen Television Index (NTI) were the ones who approved ratings for Most of the First-run syndication cartoons.
Also Here is an old post that mentions about SWAT Kats ad.
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.animation/browse_thread/thread/da8e8a81eec60afb/853b431138421e7d?lnk=st&q=SWAT+KAts+new+episodes+in+1995&rnum=1&hl=en#853b431138421e7d
I wish I could find the page about the success of SWAT Kats on TV Guide of Canada. There was one around 1994/1995. Sadly, TV Guide of Canada don't have that issue.
SWAT Kats, Captian Planet, and 2 Stupid Dogs were the last cartoons that aired on "The Funtastic World of Hanna Barbera".
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Edited by - Blue Manx on 06/07/2006 1:51:16 PM |
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Kooshmeister
Preeminent Apostolic Prelate of the Discipleship of Jabootu
USA
104 Posts |
Posted - 06/21/2006 : 10:58:53 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Blue Manx
Yes, I was able to find these documents from the old posts of rat.org. Thanks to Ratman, I was able to get these documents.
I didn't intend it as a compliment. I meant you should post actual reviews with your own opinions instead of copying and pasting promotional material written by other people. |
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Blue Manx
Archdeacon of Jabootu
USA
13 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2006 : 10:49:22 AM
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I posted these informations here, because these informations were "almost" lost until Ratman gave these infos to me. So I decided to post these informations, so that it will stay for a certain period of time.
Not only that, I have given credits to the people who wrote these articles.
I put "SWAT Kats Reviews", because these are the earliest records that mentions about the success of the show. If this thread was about my review, then I would have put "My SWAT Kats Reviews".
As for my comments about the cancellation of the show, I think the cancellation of the show had nothing to do with selling merchandise.
Kooshie, I can show my reasons with evidences, if you are interested.
Blue Manx
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Terrahawk
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
644 Posts |
Posted - 06/27/2006 : 2:18:48 PM
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BM, the point that Kooshmeister is trying to make is that this portion of the forum is for posting Jabootu minion reviews. It is not meant as a general discussion board or for posting ancient promotional material about a show. If you want to create a shrine to "Swat Kats", fine. This just isn't the place to do it.
The ROPe gives you three options, convert, submit, or die. There is a fourth, resist. |
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SWAT Kats Reviews
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