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SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron is an animated television series created by Christian Tremblay and Yvon Tremblay and produced by Hanna-Barbera and Turner Program Services. The series takes place in the fictional metropolis of Megakat City, which is populated entirely by anthropomorphic felines who are just like people, known as "Kats". The titular SWAT Kats are two vigilante pilots who possess a state-of-the-art fighter jet with an array of weaponry. Throughout the series, they face various villains as well as Megakat City's militarized police force, the Enforcers.

The show originally premiered and ran on TBS's syndication block "The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera" from 1993 to 1995. Every episode of the series was directed by Robert Alvarez. The bulk of the series was written by either Glenn Leopold (13 episodes) or Lance Falk (6 episodes). Jim Stenstrum contributed two episodes, while David Ehrman, Von Williams, Eric Clark (with Lance Falk), Mark Saraceni and Jim Katz all contributed one episode each. There were a total of twenty-five finished episodes and a special episode, that features a report on the SWAT Kats and of all their missions and gadgets as well as three unfinished episodes and two episodes still in the concept stage. The show later re-aired on Cartoon Network and Boomerang.

Overview[]

Chance "T-Bone" Furlong and Jake "Razor" Clawson were members of Megakat City's paramilitary law enforcement agency, known as the Enforcers. Unfortunately, the Enforcers were commanded by Feral, an incompetent, overbearing and inflexible Enforcer who was believed to have owed his position entirely to political machinations. While in pursuit of Dark Kat, one of the main arch-villains of the series, the two rebelled against Enforcer Commander Feral's orders to fall back and leave Dark Kat to him. When they objected, citing their already-acquired target lock, Commander Feral used his jet to slap their wing, sending Chance and Jake's jet crashing into Enforcer headquarters and allowing Dark Kat to get away. In his anger, Feral discharged Chance and Jake from the Enforcers and reassigned them to work at the city's military salvage yard to pay for the damage to the Enforcer Headquarters.

Using discarded military parts and weapons from the salvage yard, Chance and Jake built themselves a three-engine jet fighter called the Turbokat, which resembled several different jet fighters, most notably the Grumman F-14 and the Saab Draken, along with a handful of such other vehicles as the Cyclotron, a motorcycle built into the jet; the Turbo Mole, a subterranean vehicle used to drill underground; the Hoverkat, a militarized hovercraft, the Thunder Truck, a militarized Jeep modified from their tow truck, and they also built two jet skis which they used in the second season episode Mutation City. All these vehicles were stored, along with a training area and other equipment, in a secret hangar below the yard.

They commenced to patrol Megakat City as the SWAT Kats, defending it against any kind of menace that threatened the city. Their enemies included the criminal mastermind Dark Kat; the undead sorcerer The Pastmaster; the mutant evil genius Doctor Viper; and the robotic gangsters the Metallikats. The SWAT Kats also faced many villains-of-the-week, such as Madkat and Volcanus.

T-Bone and Razor kept their identities secret from everyone, and their closest ally became Deputy Mayor Callie Briggs, a character more important than the mayor himself. Their methods did not endear them to Commander Feral, and in the series the three often clashed. The Metallikats were the only characters in the series to learn their true identities, when they invade the secret hangar. In the second season, Feral's niece Lieutenant Felina Feral, who disagreed with her uncle's view about the SWAT Kats' activities, became another ally.

Characters[]

Main Article: SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron Characters

The series focuses on Chance "T-Bone" Furlong and Jake "Razor" Clawson, two vigilante pilots who possess a state-of-the-art fighter jet with an array of weaponry. Throughout the series they face various villains as well as Megakat City's militarized police force, the Enforcers.

Episodes[]

Main Article: SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron/Episodes

The series consists of two seasons containing a total of 23 episodes and 1 special. Most episodes of the series were originally preceded by a short prologue in which Razor would say, "Today on Swat Kats...", with a brief action scene from the episode. After most episodes, there was a small clip called "Secret Files of SWAT Kats" which gave information about the Heroes and Villains from the show.

Reception & Cancellation[]

SWAT Kats became the number one syndicated animated show of 1994, according to Nielsen Television Index (NTI) and Nielsen Syndication Service (NSS). Hanna Barbera Productions also stated this in a SWAT Kats Poster ad that they were going to release new episodes, posters, and other works in 1995. Toon Magazine also published a section about the success of SWAT Kats in Fall 1994 issue. Modelsheets of characters were also released in the same issue. The show was canceled with three unfinished episodes. Hanna-Barbera ended their syndication block The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera to focus mostly on producing original content for Cartoon Network.

Home Release[]

In July of 1995, Hanna-Barbera released three VHS collections with two select episodes on each. These releases also included some of the "Secret Files of SWAT Kats" clips that ended each episode in original airings. The VHS releases were titled: "Deadly Dr. Viper" - featuring "Destructive Nature" and "Katastrophe". "Strike of Dark Kat" - featuring "The Wrath of Dark Kat" and "Night of Dark Kat". "Metallikats Attack" - featuring "The Metallikats" and "Metal Urgency".

On December 14, 2010, Warner Archive released SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron- The Complete Series Collection on DVD in region 1, as part of their Hanna–Barbera Classics Collection. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com. It should be noted though, that the episodes themselves aren't remastered, but are from the best quality master tapes available and contain no extras or bonus features aside from the episodes themselves. Three scenes that were originally cut from the show were released on DVD. They are the title card of the episode "The Pastmaster Always Rings Twice", the Farmer Scene from the episode "The Giant Bacteria" and the Guidance System scene from the episode "Chaos in Crystal". But the "Today on SWAT Kats" and the "Secret Files of SWAT Kats" segments are not available on the DVD set.

Most episodes of the series were originally preceded by a short prologue in which Razor would say, "Today on SWAT Kats...", with a brief action scene from the episode. After most episodes, there was a small clip called "Secret Files of SWAT Kats" which gave information about the Heroes and Villains from the show and Warner Bros didn't release any information about the 6 unfinished episodes of the show. Another issue with the DVD was the end credits of the show. Warner Bros put the end credits for the episodes in the wrong order, meaning voice actors either aren’t credited for episodes they were in, or are credited for ones they weren’t. Only a few episodes had their proper end credits in tact.

On March 3, 2011, Warner Bros removed SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron from its DVD page, most likely to remove the current set, this is because on January 19, 2012, Warner Archive re-released the Swat Kats set with the end credits corrected, but still without the "Today on SWAT Kats" or the "Secret Files of SWAT Kats" segments.

Merchandise[]

Swat Kats Radical Squadron SNES Nintendo game print ad NickMag Aug 1995

1995 print ad for the Nintendo game.

  • Remco produced a line of action figures in 1994 which included T-Bone, Razor, Dr. Viper and Dark Kat. Other products were produced including a Super Nintendo game, a handheld game, posters and fast food tie-ins at Carls Jr. and White Castle.
  • The game SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron developed by AIM was released by Hudson Soft in August 1995 for the SNES. It is a 2-D Action Platformer with RPG elements in which you can play as either T-Bone or Razor. It features a password system and third-person flying sequences in the Turbokat Fighter. It is based on various episodes of the show and features a different boss for each world, with Dark Kat as the final boss. All worlds contain an urgent message from Mayor Manx prior to the start of each world.


Revival[]

On January 19, 2022 In a Kickstarter campaign update, show co-creator Christian Tremblay announced that they "teamed up with Toonz Media Group, an amazing global media company, to bring Swat-Kats Revolution to life." On February 1, 2022, several websites reported additional details, including that "the new series is billed as being for kids in the age range of 5-11" and that the series was already in pre-production as of that date.

Trivia[]

  • Razor was voiced by Barry Gordon, who also voiced Donatello on the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
  • Feral was voiced by the late Gary Owens, who did various roles over the years:
    • Opened the intro to Garfield and Friends.
    • Voice of Powdered Toast Man on The Ren and Stimpy Show.
    • Narrated Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.
    • Announcer in Space Ghost Coast to Coast.
    • Voice of Blue Falcon over the decades.
    • Narrator for the adventure games Space Quest IV and Space Quest 6.
Hanna-Barbera Series

1970 Where's Huddles?Harlem GlobetrottersJosie and the Pussycats
1971 The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm ShowHelp!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!The Funky Phantom
1972 The Amazing Chan and the Chan ClanWait Till Your Father Gets HomeThe Flintstone Comedy HourThe Roman HolidaysSealab 2020The New Scooby-Doo Movies
Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space
1973 Speed BuggyButch Cassidy and the Sundance KidsYogi's GangSuper Friends
Goober and the Ghost ChasersInch High, Private EyeJeannieThe Addams Family
1974 Hong Kong PhooeyDevlinPartridge Family 2200 A.D.These Are the Days
Valley of the DinosaursWheelie and the Chopper Bunch
1975 The Tom & Jerry ShowThe Great Grape Ape Show
1976 The Mumbly Cartoon ShowThe Scooby-Doo ShowDynomutt, Dog WonderClue ClubJabberjaw
1977 The Robonic StoogesFred Flintstone and FriendsCaptain Caveman and the Teen AngelsLaff-A-LympicsCB BearsThe Skatebirds
1978 The All-New Popeye HourYogi's Space RaceGodzillaJana of the Jungle
1979 The New Fred and Barney ShowFred and Barney Meet The ThingCasper and the AngelsThe New ShmooThe Super GlobetrottersScooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo
Fred and Barney Meet the ShmooAmigo and Friends

1980 Drak PackThe Flintstone Comedy ShowThe Fonz and the Happy Days Gang
The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show
1981 Laverne & Shirley in the ArmySpace StarsTeen ForceThe Kwicky Koala ShowTrollkinsThe Smurfs
1982 The Flintstone FunniesMork and Mindy: The Animated SeriesThe Little RascalsPac-ManJokebookShirt TalesThe Gary Coleman Show
1983 The DukesMonchhichisThe New Scooby and Scrappy Doo ShowThe Biskitts
Lucky Luke
1984 SnorksChallenge of the GoBots
1985 Paw PawsYogi's Treasure HuntGaltar and the Golden LanceThe Berenstain Bears
The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-DooThe Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible
1986 The New Adventures of Jonny QuestPound PuppiesThe Flintstone KidsFoofurWildfire
1987 Sky CommandersPopeye and Son
1988 A Pup Named Scooby-DooThe Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley
The New Yogi Bear ShowFantastic Max
1989 The Further Adventures of SuperTedPaddington Bear

1990 The Adventures of Don Coyote and Sancho PandaTom & Jerry KidsWake, Rattle, and RollRick Moranis in Gravedale HighMidnight Patrol: Adventures in the Dream Zone
1991 The Pirates of Dark WaterYo Yogi!
1992 Fish PoliceCapitol CrittersThe Addams Family
1993 Droopy, Master DetectiveThe New Adventures of Captain Planet2 Stupid Dogs
SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron
1995 Dumb and DumberWhat a Cartoon!
1996 Cave Kids: Pebbles & Bamm BammThe Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
Dexter's Laboratory
1997 Johnny BravoCow & ChickenI Am Weasel
1998 The Powerpuff Girls

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