Exosquad

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Exosquad
Phaeton, the Leader of the Neosapiens
Genre	space opera, military science fiction
Creator(s)	Will Meugniot
Voices of	Lisa Ann Beley Robby Benson Janyse Jaud David Kaye Richard Newman Teryl Rothery
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	52
Production
Running time	19:54 min (per episode)
Broadcast
Original channel	USA Network FOX
Original run	September, 1993 – May, 1995
Links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Exosquad (alternate spellings include EXO Squad, ExoSquad, and Exo-Squad) was an American soft science fiction animated television series that ran on the USA network and Fox from September 1993 to May 1995. It was created by Will Meugniot and Universal Animation Studios as a response to anime ^[1], and the show was cancelled after only two seasons.

Contents 1 Opening narration 2 Plot summary 2.1 Themes 2.2 Episode list 3 Cast and characters 4 Other media 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Opening narration

"It was a golden age for all mankind. Using the incredible exoskeletons called E-frames, we had successfully terraformed Venus and Mars, and were now poised to move on to the Outer Planets. Suddenly, it all ended. We were pressed into a nightmarish war on a scale previously unimagined. We were attacked by our own creations, the Neosapiens, a race of artificially created humans. Led by Phaeton, they had seized control of Venus, Earth and Mars. This is Lt. J.T. Marsh, member of the Exofleet, leader of a small band of E-frame pilots dedicated to freeing humanity from Neosapien rule. We are... the Exosquad."

[edit] Plot summary

In the 22nd century (approximately 2119-2121 AD),^[2] humans (often referred to as "Terrans") have expanded their presence beyond Earth, terraforming and colonizing Venus and Mars (the three "Homeworlds"). At the beginning of the series, the Homeworlds are drawn into a conflict with the Pirate Clans, several groups of rebel humans occupying parts of the outer Solar System. After the Clans raid one too many unarmed Homeworld freighters, the Earth Congress dispatches the entire Exofleet, humanity's space-based military, against them.

With war with the Pirate Clans looming, a revolt is about to begin among the Neosapiens, an artificial humanoid race engineered to be physically stronger than humans and better adapted to hostile environments (such as the surface of Mars), who were used primarily as slaves during the colonization of Mars and Venus. The maltreatment of the Neosapiens led to the First Neosapien Revolt 50 years earlier, which was mercilessly crushed. The new insurrection has been thoroughly planned by the Neosapien Governor of Mars, Phaeton, and begins shortly after the Exofleet leaves the Homeworlds to chase after the Pirate Clans. Of course, its absence was a part of the plan, as well, so the Neosapiens capture the Homeworlds without much effort.

The two seasons that the series was on the air follow the progress of the Neosapien War, as seen through the eyes of Able Squad, an elite E-frame squad, composed of J.T. Marsh, Nara Burns, Maggie Weston, Kaz Takagi, Alec DeLeon, Rita Torres, Wolf Bronsky, and Marsala (a Neosapien).

The exploits of Able Squad unfolded against the backdrop of the progress of the war, as Able Squad participated in events, often in a critical role in major turning points. Given that events took place in a science fiction universe and many of the war's events could not be fully shown on the T.V. screen, the war's progress was typically treated realistically. The show took care to follow major events in detail, as well as showing their effects upon the war as a whole and upon the major characters (Able Squad, Phaeton and the leading Neosapiens, Winfield and Simbacca, etc.) in particular. For example, several episodes detailed Exofleet reconaissance of Venus preparatory to its recapture, the Exofleet invasion of Venus and the repulse of the first Neosapien attempt to recapture Venus. Even after Venus was recaptured by the Exofleet, several episodes dealt with the Exofleet dealing with the members of the Venus resistance after liberating Venus and with Neosapien holdouts who hid across Venus, refusing to surrender and expecting a Neosapien reconquest of Venus.

The second season ends with the defeat of the Neosapiens and the liberation of the Homeworlds. The series was cancelled soon afterwards. However, Exosquad ends with a cliffhanger, suggesting that the third season would have been about a war against a new alien race, and that the Terrans and the Neosapiens would have been forced to ally with each other. It has been mentioned on numerous fan sites that the show was set to be tied into Robotech before being canceled.

[edit] Themes

Exosquad had a very serious approach to the plot with several intertwined storylines and a number of memorable characters displaying a full spectrum of human relationships, such as friendship, love, hatred, personal tragedies, treachery, taking responsibility for others, etc. The same dramatic combination is credited with making Robotech a success in the US, and later made Disney's Gargoyles a fan favorite.

Interplanetary politics and space war typical for military science fiction were presented with an assumption of the history of the Solar System up to that point. The Able Squad's duties became more spread out as the second season unfolded. There were separate story arcs on Mars, Venus, Earth, and in space, running simultaneously. Espionage and intrigue were often featured instead of straightforward battles.

One of the most significant aspects of the television program was that the progress of the show's narrative made it clear well before the end of the second season that the tide of the war had turned decisively in favor of the Exofleet/Pirate alliance and against the Neosapiens, and it became obvious several episodes before the end of the second season (and the end of the show) that the Neosapien Order was doomed, and Phaeton's defeat was inevitable. This allowed the show to deal not simply with the traditional and straightforward question of whether the Exofleet (the "good guys") would win, but also to address cold reality, such as the fact that it was clear that even though his defeat was inevitable Phaeton would not surrender, and even though the war was all but won, lives on both sides would continue to be lost in fighting the last battles of a war that was for all intents and purposes already over. The show followed both the Exofleet (and the Pirates) and the Neosapien Order, showing how different Neosapiens serving Phaeton and the Neosapien Order responded to the pressures as the Neosapien Order collapsed around them. The show deliberately addressed issues such as the futility of continuing to fight and sacrificing lives even though defeat was a foregone conclusion, and how many of Phaeton's soldiers chose to die for him and his cause, even though he clearly cared nothing for their lives, only for his own personal power and their service.

Will Meugniot, the executive producer of the series, once compared anime series Mobile Suit Gundam and Exosquad to the two theatres in the World War II. Gundam, being fought mostly in space, was analogous to the Pacific Theatre, while Exosquad, with its land-based battles in occupied territories, was analogous to the European Theatre. ^[3]

The Exo-Frames, also known as E-frames, were multi-purpose mecha-like exoskeletons, mostly utilized as armored combat vehicles or enforced body armor in the series, although before the Neosapien War, they were used for peaceful purposes, as well. Sources of inspiration for them may have been Robotech, Battletech, and, most likely, Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers.

[edit] Episode list

• 1.01 - Fall of the Human Empire Pt. 01 - Pirate Scourge
• 1.02 - Fall of the Human Empire Pt. 02 - Seeds of Deception
• 1.03 - Fall of the Human Empire Pt. 03 - Hidden Terrors
• 1.04 - Fall of the Human Empire Pt. 04 - Blitzkrieg
• 1.05 - Fall of the Human Empire Pt. 05 - Resist!
• 1.06 - Veil of Doom Pt. 01 - Target: Earth
• 1.07 - Veil of Doom Pt. 02 - A Traitor Among Us
• 1.08 - Veil of Doom Pt. 03 - Scorched Venus
• 1.09 - Veil of Doom Pt. 04 - Sabotage
• 1.10 - Into The Heart of Darkness Pt. 01 - Abandoned
• 1.11 - Into The Heart of Darkness Pt. 02 - The Brood
• 1.12 - Into The Heart of Darkness Pt. 03 - Betrayal
• 1.13 - Into The Heart of Darkness Pt. 04 - Defying Olympus

• 2.01 - The Gathering
• 2.02 - The Embassy
• 2.03 - Pirate's Ransom
• 2.04 - Ultimate Weapon
• 2.05 - Expendable
• 2.06 - Mindset
• 2.07 - The Last Man
• 2.08 - Dragon's Rock
• 2.09 - Inner Dark
• 2.10 - The Dogs of War
• 2.11 - The First Step
• 2.12 - The Greatest Fear
• 2.13 - Flesh Crawls
• 2.14 - Behind the Shield
• 2.15 - Venus Rising
• 2.16 - Miracle
• 2.17 - Under the Skin
• 2.18 - Ultimatum
• 2.19 - Warrior Brood
• 2.20 - The Dream War
• 2.21 - No Surrender
• 2.22 - Fire Ship
• 2.23 - Martian Luck
• 2.24 - The Lost Patrol
• 2.25 - Call of the Unknown
• 2.26 - Heart of Mars
• 2.27 - Winged Fury
• 2.28 - Night of the Traitor
• 2.29 - Trial by Combat
• 2.30 - The Perfect Warrior
• 2.31 - The Price of Courage
• 2.32 - Dark River
• 2.33 - The Art of War
• 2.34 - The Fall of the Neosapien Empire Pt. 01 - One Small Step
• 2.35 - The Fall of the Neosapien Empire Pt. 02 - Fifth Column
• 2.36 - The Fall of the Neosapien Empire Pt. 03 - The Last Jump
• 2.37 - The Fall of the Neosapien Empire Pt. 04 - A Night Before Doomsday
• 2.38 - The Fall of the Neosapien Empire Pt. 05 - Abandon Hope
• 2.39 - Beyond Chaos

[edit] Cast and characters

See also Exosquad characters

Lisa Ann Beley	Lt. Nara Burns
Robby Benson	Lt. / Wing Cmdr. J.T. Marsh Mayor of Chicago
Michael Benyaer	Kaz Takagi
Gary Chalk	Marsala General Shiva
Michael Donovan	Wolf Bronsky
Janyse Jaud	Sgt. Rita Torres
David Kaye	General Draconis Lt. Hallas Senator X Prakash
Wally Marsh	Alec DeLeon
Rob Morton	General Typhonus
Richard Newman	Phaeton
John Payne	Sean Napier
Teryl Rothery	Lt. Maggie Weston

[edit] Other media

The television series spawned several adaptations in other media:

• Exosquad, a Sega Genesis arcade video game developed by Appaloosa Interactive
• Exosquad: Liberation, a fan-made mod for Battlefield 1942 (dead)
• A row of action figures (plain list, with photos)
• A comic book [1] and an interactive movie book [2]
• A board game based on the series [3]

[edit] See also

• Exosquad characters
• Exosquad planets

[edit] References

1. ^ Patrick Danner's FAQ, last retrieved on 27 August 2006
2. ^ Dates on the tombstone of Nara Burns' parents. Exosquad, episode 1.08.
3. ^ Google Groups: rec.arts.anime entry, last retrieved on 27 August 2006

[edit] External links

• Exosquad at the Internet Movie Database
• The Exo Squad MySpace Profile Complete series available online
• Episode Guide (TV.com)
• The ExoSquad Universe, a fan site containing bios, summaries and technical data