Road Rovers

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Road Rovers
The Road Rovers, from left to right: Muzzle, Shag, Hunter, Colleen, Blitz, and Exile.
Genre	Animated series
Creator(s)	Tom Ruegger
Starring	Jess Harnell Tress MacNeille Jeff Bennett Kevin Michael Richardson Frank Welker Joseph Campanella Jim Cummings
Country of origin	USA
No. of episodes	13
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	Kids' WB!
Original run	September 2, 1996 – February 22, 1997

Road Rovers is an action adventure / comedy cartoon. written and produced by Tom Ruegger, that premiered on Kids WB on September 2, 1996. It lasted only one season and ended on February 22, 1997. Re-runs of the show continued for a short time on Kids WB and then on Cartoon Network until 1999. Much of the humor contained in the show was derived from popular culture of the mid 1990s.

The show follows the adventures of the Road Rovers, a team of five super-powered crime fighting anthropomorphic dogs, known as "cano-sapiens". The leader of the rovers is Hunter, a golden retriever mix from the United States. The Rovers' boss is a scientist known as "The Master" who oversees their operations and supplies them with equipment from their subterranean headquarters.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Russian Name Song Controversy 3 Cancellation 4 Characters 5 Episodes 6 Trivia 7 Goofs 8 External links

[edit] Plot

One year prior to the formation of the Road Rovers, Professor Shepherd is attacked by a man named General Parvo, who demands the professor's experimental transdogmafier (a play on the term transmogrifier) technology in exchange for his pet dog. Shepherd gives in but is tricked by Parvo, who gives him a bomb that destroys his laboratory. The next year, as normal dogs begin to mutate into monsters, Shepard realizes it is Parvo who is behind it and decides to stop him.

Shepherd selects five dogs from around the world to combat this new threat. Once they arrive at his new, secret underground lab, he uses his new transdogmifier on the five, turning them into cano-sapiens. Cano-sapiens look like normal clothed humans except that they have retained all the trademark aspects of the dogs they came from, such as a tail, fur, distinctive ears, etc. Their personality before the transformation also remains intact. They can also speak English and possess super abilities that normal humans do not.

Professor Shepherd (or "The Master" as the new Road Rovers would call him) briefs them on their situation, and agrees to turn them back into their normal forms if they succeed in their mission. After hearing of the dangers inherent in their first mission, the Road Rovers are hesitant to help Shepherd, but he reassures them and gains their trust by offering them meals and weekly baths.

Their first assignment is to stop General Parvo from obtaining a Molecular Stabilizer that will allow him to make the effects of his cano-mutator permanent. The rovers nearly succeed in their task but are forced to hand over the stabilizer to Parvo in exchange for one of their own. As Parvo delights in his victory he realizes the stabilizer has been exchanged for a bomb. The bomb destroys Parvo's ship but he vows to continue fighting.

Back at Road Rover headquarters, the Master keeps his end of the bargain. He returns the five back to their normal canine forms and places them in the homes of the leaders of their country of origin; Hunter goes to the President of the United States, Colleen to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Blitz to the Chancellor of Germany, Exile to the President of Russia, and Shag to the President of the Swiss Confederation.

It is later discovered that many of the events in the past were caused by Parvo's time machine. These include Parvo's appearance in the past (as a cat named Boots), Parvo's failed attempt at construcing a transdogrifier causing Scout to become Muzzle, Boots becoming Parvo with Groomer's help, Muzzle meeting Hunter, and Shag saving Shepherd's life by informing him of the bomb that will blow up his lab. This is, perhaps, a jab at the Back to the Future movies, or other shows where timetravel has proven to cause the events of the present. Either way, the paradoxes have become part of the storyline.

[edit] Russian Name Song Controversy

Regardless of its short run on television, Road Rovers did have one notable controversial incident. During the episode A Day in the Life, Exile reveals his full Russian name. This launches the Rovers into a song, which explains how Russian names work. The source of the controversy doesn't appear until the last three lines, in which they demonstrate middle names and their paternal source. Using the name “Sonov” as an example, they add “-ovich”, creating “Sonovovich”, a homonymic pun on the phrase “son of a bitch”.

The Russian Name Song only appeared in its initial airing, and was subsequently removed following the objections of concerned parents^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Cancellation

In February of 1997, WB canceled the show, citing its low performance. Fans were upset that the show had gone off the air, and some claimed to have access to inside information about the ratings, and subsequently claimed that they were near or equivalent to Superman: The Animated Series, but did not give a solid answer on why Superman had been picked up, while Road Rovers was left alone.

The show's cancellation took on enhanced criticism in September of the same year, when Kids' WB did not air additional scenes of the "A Day in the Life" episode for the show's final airing, which they had assented to.^[1]

Some have suggested that the show was cancelled in part due to complaints about various factors (Blitz has been suggested to be a leading cause). If this is the case, it is unclear why Warner Brothers did not mention it.

[edit] Characters

• Hunter (Jess Harnell) – A Golden Retriever mix from the United States; Hunter is the leader of the Road Rovers. His naivete and literal thinking aside, he is a confident and serious leader who finds time to add humour to a situation. His primary superpower is super speed, though he also lists such abilities super generosity, super forgiveness, and super super luck. His two main of catch phrases are, “I would not have predicted this,” and, “Yet another unexpected twist,” which he uses during plot clichés.
• Colleen (Tress MacNeille) – A rough collie from the United Kingdom, and the only female in the group; Colleen’s skill of the martial arts is unparalleled whether in humanoid or canine form. She, like Hunter, throws in quips during a fight. Colleen has also displayed keen medical abilities. There are hints of a relationsip between her and Hunter while at the same time she receives endless confessions of love from Blitz, whose name and even existence she seems to be constantly forgetting. During A Day In The Life Colleen confesses to having failed paper training.
• Blitz (Jeff Bennett) – A Doberman from Germany; Blitz is the most combative member of the team. His super sharp teeth and claws can cut through anything, but his courage (or lack thereof) often causes problems for them all. He screams like a girl. Blitz is quite vain and has an uninhibited fondness for Colleen, who he believes he can impress despite all indications. During one mission, the team is nearly killed and he confesses his love to her. (Unfortunately, in the hurry of the moment, the message is instead directed at Exile, whose response is, “Please get therapy!”) He also has an obsession with peppermint milkshakes and “biting tooshies.”
• Exile (Kevin Michael Richardson) – A Siberian husky from Siberia; Exile is the master of fixing and unfixing things. His superpowers are heat, freeze and a kind of x-ray vision, along with super-strength (though not as much as Shag). He does, however, have a tendency to completely butcher everyday American expressions, often three or four at a time. He frequently tells Blitz, “Don't be weird boy.”
• Shag (Frank Welker) – A sheepdog from Switzerland; Shag is a kind of fluke as far as the transdogmafier process goes. Instead of becoming a complete cano-sapiens, he is stuck at someplace in between. Shag cannot speak English clearly and is only vaguely humaniod. He has super-strength and stores equipment (among other things, including weapons, lunch, furniture, and on at least two occasions even fellow Road Rovers) in his copious fur, but is also a complete coward. He has an unfortunate tendency to hold his rocket launcher backwards, leading Hunter to remark at one point, “This is precisely the reason they don't normally give bazookas to dogs.”
• Muzzle (Frank Welker) – Formally Professor Shepherd’s pet Rottweiler, Scout, a failed experiment with the transdogmafier turned him into the mad and foaming mess he is today. He is always restrained in a strait jacket and mask, and is only let out as a last resort (with the catch-phrase “Let's Muzzle 'em!”). While his fighting always takes place off-screen with implications of extreme violence, the result is usually beneficial to the Rovers. He was rescued from animal control officers by Hunter, who was also in the pound. The two have since been friends.
• Professor William F. Shepherd (Joseph Campanella)– The geneticist behind the transdogmafier and the Road Rovers. He is the team’s boss and supplier for all their gear. He is known as “the Master” to the Rovers. He always appears before them as a figure with glowing eyes, something he attributes to “Special effects”.

Villains on the show include:

• General Parvo (Jim Cummings) – The Road Rover’s main antagonist who is out to destroy Professor Shepherd and conquer to world. He was once a cat, and often requests lozenges from the Groomer for hairballs.
• The Groomer (Sheena Easton) – The Groomer is the equally nasty assistant to General Parvo. She's generally armed with a portable hair clipper, though she uses other equipment when appropriate.
• Zachary Storm (Larry Drake) – A former soldier that was discharged from the army and wants revenge on the United States.
• Gustav Havoc (George Dzundza) – An arms dealer that brought two neighboring countries to the brink of war just so he could make some money.
• Donovan Bell – A heartless business man who steals and sells dogs for money, he supplied General Parvo with dogs so they could be mutated.

[edit] Episodes

1. Let's Hit The Road (7 September 1996) - The Road Rovers meet for the first time.
2. Storm From The Pacific (14 September, 1996) - Disgraced Captain Zachary Storm seeks revenge on the United States for his court-martial.
3. A Hair Of The Dog That Bit You (21 September, 1996) - Packs of werewolves take over London, and Exile seems to have gotten bitten (or scratched), which puts him under watch. Ultimately it turns out Colleen was the one who turned into a werewolf.
4. Where Rovers Dare (12 October, 1996) - Eisneria and Katzenstok are preparing to go to war over an ancient scepter.
5. Let Sleeping Dogs Lie (26 October, 1996) - The Road Rovers must protect ancient artifacts from unknown ninjas (belonging to Parvo).
6. Hunter's Heroes (2 November, 1996) - Parvo and his cano-mutants are at it again. This time, it's a high-tech, heavliy-armed concentration camp to keep thousands of dogs in captivity. This is for shipping armies of cano-mutants out to the major cities of the world so Parvo can take over militarily.
7. The Dog Who Knew Too Much (9 November, 1996) - One dog has the answers to a rash of human and canine kidnappings, and becomes a temporary Road Rover so he can testify.
8. Dawn Of The Groomer (16 November, 1996) - The Groomer gets delusions of grandeur involving taking over the world with cats, otherwise known as Felo-Mutants.
9. Still A Few Bugs In The System (23 November, 1996) - Dr. Eugene Atwater does some research on the survival of bugs over the years of their survival. However, General Parvo turns his bugs for research into life-size giants using an attachment from his Cano-Mutator. Some of the bugs have their own plans for a nuclear winter.
10. Reigning Cats and Dogs (1 February 1997) - General Parvo builds a successful time machine so that he could stop Prof. Shepherd from creating the Road Rovers. An accident reverts him back to his original form of an alley cat, but the Rovers still have to follow him back to ensure their creation.
11. Gold and Retrievers (8 February, 1997) - Gold begins to flood the world's markets at an alarming rate. The source is traced to South America, where a blind boy named Luca leads them to an ancient golden pyramid.
12. Take Me To Your Leader (15 February, 1997) - Zachary Storm is back again, and some aliens are intent on making trouble.
13. A Day In The Life (22 February, 1997) - A pretty ordinary day for the Road Rovers (doesn't look like it, though).

[edit] Trivia

• The opening scenes of “A Hair of the Dog That Bit You” featured Prince Charles and Princess Diana finalizing their divorce before being attacked by werewolves. This was edited out of syndication following Diana’s death on 31 August 1997.
• Two episodes featured a modified opening theme song that contained slightly different lyrics. Instead of commenting on their descriptions between lines, the Road Rovers get ready to sing in harmony.
• In "The Dog That Knew Too Much", Hunter explains that Colleen's terms of affection could be considered as insubordination and could "demoralize the troops," possibly explaining why he seems to always brush off her advances. After she talked to him in "baby talk" he says, "That's better." Toward the end of the episode, he also seems to show some affection toward her after she gets on his hovercycle.
• In A Day in the Life, the season and series finale, Blitz refers to Hunter having a new girlfriend after Colleen had been expressing a great deal of sadness and semi-jealousy over Hunter's quest to find his mother, suggesting that the two may have paired up as a romantic couple off camera.
• Since this show has almost the same creators (and voice actors), they had Brain from Pinky and The Brain do a cameo appearance. In the end of "Take Me To Your Leader", an argument in a sanitarium erupted between Capt. Storm and Dr. Atwater about who would take over the world, and Brain (not shown), cries "No, it is I who should rule the world. YES!"
• When "Let's Hit The Road" first aired the opening titles were actually played at the end of the show, right before the end titles. During the end credits different music was played, a sort of fusion-jazz version of the Road Rover theme.
• The show was distributed internationally and was translated from English into German, Spanish, Arabic and Portuguese.
• Fetch, Loud Kiddington's dog on Histeria!, bears a striking resemblance to Hunter.
• The 12" action figure toy line K9 Corps bears a very strong resemblance to Road Rovers, story-wise.

[edit] Goofs

Many drawing and computer errors occurred in this show. For example:

• In "....Knew Too Much", when the bikers are after Sport (and the Rovers), Blitz, Colleen, Hunter & the volunteer Sport are in the Street Rover, Hunter is driving and Blitz is sitting in the back seat. In a quick scene, whle Colleen is talking to Sport, a Hunter-colored Blitz appears while Hunter (driving), is out of sight.
• In Where Rovers Dare when the Rovers were riding the Sled Rovers, Hunter appears with Colleen's markings for a few frames.
• In Let's Hit The Road when Blitz is in his normal canine form, a close up shows him wearing his armour.

[edit] External links

• Road Rovers at the Internet Movie Database.
• Road Rovers at the Big Cartoon Database.