Time Squad
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| Time Squad | |
|---|---|
 Time Squad's main theme logo. |
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| Genre | Animated television series |
| Creator(s) | David Wasson |
| Starring | Pamela Segall Mark Hamill Bob Joles Rob Paulsen |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes (15 minutes per segment) (approx. per episode) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Cartoon Network |
| Original run | June 8, 2001 – November 26, 2003 |
| Links | |
| IMDb profile | |
Time Squad is an American animated television series created in 2001 by David Wasson, following the adventures of a trio of hapless "time cops" from the year 100,000,000 AD, who travel back in time attempting to correct the course of history.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The show is set in the year 100,000,000 (one hundred million) AD, on a satellite which orbits Earth. This future Earth is never visited directly, though it is referred to in dialogue as a peaceful utopia where there are no longer any problems to solve. All nations of the world have merged into one, and, according to the character Tuddrussel, there are "no wars, no pollution, and bacon is good for your heart."
Despite this cheerful vision of the future, the space station on which the characters live and from which they travel to the past is remarkably dystopic. It features a shooting range, a terrarium, and a prison for repeat offenders, but it is dank, outdated (for the time) and unclean. Mostly this seems to be down to Officer Buck Tuddrussel, a scruffy and immature perennial bachelor, who nevertheless happens to be the station's most senior officer. There were also several accidents aboard the Time Squad Space Station; most notable of which is the terrarium being broken after Tuddrussel plays golf and breaks the glass shell of the station. This action seems to have no consequences in future episodes.
The only other official member of Buck's unit is Larry 3000, a now more or less obsolete robot who would rather be cleaning up than going on missions. Buck's mindless machismo clashes with Larry's effete sensibilities, and the two bicker terribly. Added to this the fact that neither of them has any great knowledge of history, and they are officially the worst unit in Time Squad history.
However, when they encounter Otto Osworth, a ten-year-old orphan who happens to be a history genius from the 20th century, he is quickly recruited and added to the team. Otto is shown to be the only one on the team with any enthusiasm or competence for the job. The problem is, neither of the other two are particularly willing to listen to his advice, and he must often resort to trickery to make sure the mission is completed.(The only time he can't help is during the one mission after the 20th century).
[edit] Premise
According to Larry 3000, an effete android time cop, "time is like a rope", and, as it is woven at one end, ages and gradually unravels and frays at the other. In the context of the show, this often means that historical figures have made different, and often anachronistic, choices in life (see free will), and as such will not be able to fulfill the role that history says they fulfilled. An early example of this shows Eli Whitney failing to invent the cotton gin, instead creating a horde of flesh-eating robots. The Time Squad organization was set up to ensure that history was maintained, and the future protected. Only three units of Time Squad are introduced on the show - one of which is that of Tuddrussel and Larry. All three have a single human officer and a robotic assistant, so it can be assumed that every unit follows the same formula.
[edit] Characters
- Beauregard "Buck" Tuddrussel (Rob Paulsen)
- A burly time cop in the peak of physical condition, Buck is less like a father to Otto and more like a carefree uncle. His obsessions are guns and beating people up, although he has a generally nice disposition. Tuddrussel is a total fanatic when it comes to justice, which is why he had a "Maximum Security" prison installed on the station for people in history who refused to set history right. He takes every opportunity on a mission to shout out his catchphrase: "IT'S GO TIME!" He frequently bickers with Larry, whose gentlemanly behavior and seriousness often clash with Tuddrussel's immature machismo. Tuddrussel's facemask and goggles seem to be permanently stuck to his head, (his goggles resemble those of the X-men's Cyclops) as it is the only part of his uniform he has never removed. He takes immense pride in his Southern heritage, most of his history knowledge centered around events such as the Alamo and Western characters such as Billy the Kid. His intellect seems to fluctuate depending on the situation, as he has expressed scientific knowledge from time to time.
- Laurrence "Larry" 3000 (Mark Hamill)
- Originally designed as a diplomat, Larry was put into Time Squad service when the world's nations all joined together in the year one million (which means that Larry is at least 99 million years old!), an event which turned out to be the worst thing to ever happen to him, second only to being saddled in Tuddrussel's unit. He is the only one capable of operating the time-travelling technology and most of the technology aboard the space station. (Although Otto is smart, he does not know how to operate the actual console.) He often expresses feminine tendencies, although he does show his masculine-side from time to time. He is an expert chef, although Otto is the only one who seems to appreciate his rare delicacies. He is also skilled at needlepoint, computers, and household chores, though he gets little to no appreciation from Tuddrussel. Although Larry expresses deep disdain for Tuddrussel, deep down he does value his friendship. David Wasson, the series creator, admits that Larry is a parody on Star Wars' C-3PO (and is in fact voiced by the actor who played Luke Skywalker).
- Otto Osworth (Pamela Segall)
- Otto was adopted/kidnapped by Larry and Buck when they miscalculated a mission to the 19th century. He was more than willing to leave the orphanage and became an unofficial member of the team. Although Otto has an enormous memory of history in nearly every field, deep down he is still a child, and easily gets along with Tuddrussel's immature, childlike attitude. In truth, he is the only member of the team to actually enjoy the history aspect of his job.
[edit] Guest stars
- Sheila Sternwell (Mari Weiss)
- Shiela is a capable and effective lieutenant in the Time Squad ranks. In truth however, she was married to Tuddrussel at one point. After realizing he was an utter moron, she got a divorce, which Tuddrussel seems to both regret and appreciate. She has more skill than Tuddrussel and takes her job far more seriously, and has more than once been called in to save Tuddrussel when he screws up. Whether Shiela still has feelings for Tuddrussel or not is debatable, she seems to be unsure of it herself.
- XJ5
- XJ5 is Shiela's robotic partner. As Shiela is the exact opposite of Tuddrussel, XJ5 is Larry's opposite. He is cool, calm and collected, and rarely complains about his job. He is also much more technologically advanced, not to mention capable, than Larry and enjoys rubbing it in his face. When Shiela displayed interest in Tuddrussel, he became concerned.
- J. T. Laser (Jim Wise)
- Time Squad's poster boy and best agent, J. T. and his robotic assistant, the Lance 9,000,000,000,000 are Tuddrussel and Larry's heroes respectively, although deep down they are true jerks.
- Sister Thornley (Dee Dee Rescher)
- The cruel head nun at the School for Wayward Tots, which was Otto's home before being adopted by the Time Squad. She antagonizes Otto for reading history books in Episode 1, Eli Whitney's Flesh Eating Mistake.
- Eli Whitney
- Whitney is the inventor of the cotton gin, but before he invented it he created a horde of flesh eating robots that he thought would help his fellow man. It's never explained why he thought they would help.
- Nostradamus (Brian Hamilton)
- He's the most reknowned of futurists. However, in one of "history's funniest home bloopers", poor old Nostradamus is accosted and cited for making "bogus predictions". When he pleads for a reason, in his native French, he's then arrested and ticketed for using profanity!
- Sigmund Freud
- Freud is one of the most famous psychiatrists of history, and was known for tinkering in hypnosis. But he began hypnotizing people into thinking they were animals until Time Squad came along. He is one of a few re-occurring historical figures in the show.
- Betsy Ross
- Betsy is the creator of the American flag, but instead she and a number of other people became hippies protesting the Revolutionary War, until she was introduced to coffee.
- Blackbeard the Pirate
- Instead of being the notorious pirate, he's the notorious animal rights activist.
[edit] Episode list
[edit] Season 1: 2001-2003
| Episode Number | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Eli Whitney's Flesh Eating Mistake / Never Look a Trojan in the Gift Horse | June 8, 2001 |
| 02 | Napoleon the Conquered / Confucius Say... Way Too Much | June 15, 2001 |
| 03 | The Island of Doctor Freud / Daddio Da Vinci | June 22, 2001 |
| 04 | To Hail with Caesar / Robin' and Stealin' With Mr. Hood | June 29, 2001 |
| 05 | Dishhonest Abe / Blackbeard, Warm Heart | July 6, 2001 |
| 06 | Ludwig van Bone-Crusher / Tea Time For Time Squad | July 13, 2001 |
| 07 | If It's Wright, It's Wrong / Recruitment Ad / Killing Time | July 20, 2001 |
| 08 | Big Al's Big Secret / Larry Upgrade | August 25, 2001 |
| 09 | Betsy Ross Flies Her Freak Flag / Every Poe Has a Silver Lining | September 21, 2001 |
| 10 | The Prime Minister Has No Clothes / Nutorius | September 28, 2001 |
| 11 | Kubla Khan't / Lewis & Clark & Larry | October 26, 2001 |
| 12 | Ivan the Untrainable / Where the Buffalo Bill Roams | November 2, 2001 |
| 13 | A Sandwich by Any Other Name / Shop Like an Egyptian | February 1, 2002 |
| 14 | Planet of the Flies / Keeping It Real with Sitting Bull | March 1, 2002 |
| 15 | Houdini Whodunit?! / Feud for Thought | March 29, 2002 |
| 16 | A Thrilla at Attila's / Cabin Fever | April 5, 2002 |
| 17 | Pasteur Packs O' Punch / Floundering Fathers | April 12, 2002 |
| 18 | The Clownfather / Hate and Let Hate | April 19, 2002 |
| 19 | Love at First Flight / Forget the Alamo | June 7, 2002 |
| 20 | Repeat Offender / Ladies and Gentlemen, Monty Zuma | June 14, 2002 |
| 21 | Whitehouse Weirdness / Nobel Peace Surprise | November 8, 2002 |
| 22 | Out with the In Crowd / Child's Play | March 14, 2003 |
| 23 | Day of the Larrys / Old Timers Squad | March 21, 2003 |
| 24 | Billy the Baby / Father Figure of our Country | March 28, 2003 |
| 25 | Ex Marks the Spot / Horse of Horrors | April 4, 2003 |
| 26 | Floral Patton / Orphan Substitute | November 26, 2003 |
[edit] Notes
Time Squad is not intended as an educational cartoon, like Liberty's Kids or Histeria!, but instead light-hearted entertainment. It is only loosely tied to the truth, and the inaccuracies range from the deliberately comical (such as Eli Whitney building flesh-eating robots) to the subtly misleading (such as Julius Caesar facing down Tuddrussel in the Coliseum of Rome, which would not be built for decades after Caesar's death or the insertion of fictional characters such as Clint Eastwoods the Man with No Name into actual historical events). In some ways it is reminiscent of the "Improbable History" with Mr. Peabody from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show (in fact Cartoon Network once aired a group of "bloopers" based on its Cartoon Cartoons one featuring Larry claiming "we did not copy their show"), in that it is comical and any errors in historical accuracy are reflective of a need to entertain, not educate.
[edit] Trivia and Tidbits
- In the episode "Orphan Substitute", Dexter from Dexter's Laboratory makes a short cameo appearance, he says "I am not an orphan!".
- In "Ladies And Gentlemen Monty Zuma", Montezuma's stage name is a reference to Monty Hall.
- In "Repeat Offender" any historic figure who does not make the correct choices accurate to history are locked up in a jail cell for repeat offenders on the satellite.
- In aforementioned cell, only two historical figures are locked in the prison chamber, Blackbeard refusing to focus on bucaneering and rather on animals such as whales and pandas and Gandhi who wishes to be a tap dancer rather than a non-violent leader.
- In "Betsy Ross Flies Her Freak Flag", one of the hippies named "Starbuck" is a reference to The Starbuck coffee's franchise.
- In "White House Weirdness", the background music playing is similar to the series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?.
- In "Shop Like An Egyptian", Otto says that Caeser and Cleopatra were lovers; however, the pyramids were done by the time Caesar was in power.
- President George W. Bush and his father, George H.W. Bush, both make an appearance in the final episode, "The Orphan Substitute". The younger Bush wants to "make a big ball of twine" to "bring America together." After Tuddrussel insults Bush, his father, George H.W. Bush, appears and says, "Don't cry. Wouldn't be prudent. Wouldn't be presidential." The episode was written very early in George W. Bush's presidency, notably before September 11, 2001, so the president's legacy was not yet well defined.
[edit] External links
- Time Squad at the Big Cartoon DataBase
- Time Squad at the Internet Movie Database
