Road Rovers

*Road Rovers*
Road Rovers
Created by	Tom Ruegger ; Jeff Gordon
Written by	Tom Ruegger ; Mark Seidenberg
Directed by	Herb Moore
Starring	Jess Harnell ; Tress MacNeille ; Jeff Bennett ; Kevin Michael Richardson ; Frank Welker ; Joseph Campanella ; Jim Cummings ; Rob Paulsen ; Sheena Easton ;
Theme music composer	Richard Stone
Composers	Gordon Goodwin ; Don Harper
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13
Production
Executive producer	Tom Ruegger
Producer	Bob Doucette
Running time	30 minutes (with commercials)
Production company	Warner Bros. Television Animation
Animation services	Studio Junio
Original release
Network	Kids' WB ; Nine Network (Australia)
Release	September 7, 1996 –; February 22, 1997

Last updated May 21, 2024

Road Rovers is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation that premiered on Kids' WB on September 7, 1996, and ended after one season on February 22, 1997.^[1] It was later shown on Cartoon Network from February 7, 1998, until 2000.

The show follows the adventures of the Road Rovers, a team of five super-powered crime-fighting anthropomorphic dogs, known as "cano-sapiens". The characters all live with world leaders, including the President of the United States, the British Prime Minister, the Chancellor of Germany, the Swiss President and the President of Russia.^[2]

Plot

In the town of Socorro, New Mexico, Professor Shepherd was forced to relinquish an experimental transdogmafier technology to General Parvo in exchange for his lost dog, but instead Parvo gives him a bomb that destroys his laboratory. One year later, as normal dogs begin to mutate into monsters, Shepherd, who miraculously survived the attack, takes measures to stop Parvo, who is behind this.

Shepherd selects five different dogs and in his new, secret underground lab, he uses his new transdogmifier on the five, turning them into "Cano sapiens." These dogs are the pets of world leaders, and when called to action, they are a team of crime fighters known as the Road Rovers.

Characters

Hunter (Jess Harnell): A Goldador from the United States and the leader of the team. Hunter is optimistic, funny, devoted, friendly, level-headed, and an effective leader. Hunter's power is super speed; this allows him to run faster than the speed of sound. He lives with President Bill Clinton in the White House. He also has a flirtatious relationship with Colleen in the later episodes of the series, which the latter reciprocates.
Colleen (Tress MacNeille): A no-nonsense Rough Collie from the United Kingdom, and the only female member of the Road Rovers. She is the coordinator of the team, always checking to see if everything is going well without any problems or issues. Colleen is also very athletic, being a skilled martial artist. She resides with the prime minister of the United Kingdom, John Major, and his wife Norma Johnson. She is openly attracted to Hunter, who she developed a flirtatious relationship with during later episodes of the series. She was turned into a werewolf after getting attacked by werewolves she and the team were fighting in London and was later turned back to normal by the swamp water.
Exile (Kevin Michael Richardson): A Siberian Husky from Russia. His full name is Exilo Michalovitch Sanhusky. Exile speaks English with a thick Russian accent, sometimes mixing up words in the process. He is friendly and easygoing, but often clashes with Blitz. Exile is super strong and also has heat, ice, and night vision. He used to work with other huskies as a sled dog, but now lives with the President of Russia Boris Yeltsin. Exile and Blitz shared a running gag in which Blitz would make a comment that could be interpreted in various ways, to which Exile would reprimand Blitz for being a "weird boy".
Blitz (Jeff Bennett impersonating Arnold Schwarzenegger): A Doberman from Germany. Unlike Hunter, Blitz is often selfish, immature, spiteful, faint-hearted, and has an ill temper. He has razor-sharp claws and strong jaws, which allow him to bite and cut through almost any substance. Blitz was formerly a guard dog for thieves, but now lives with the chancellor of Germany, Helmut Kohl. Blitz attempts to flirt with Colleen several times over the series, part of a running gag in which his flirting is met with her pretending not to know who Blitz is. This joke ran up until the series' final episode, at which point she finally acknowledges Blitz by name.
Shag (Frank Welker): A cowardly Old English Sheepdog from Switzerland. Shag only transformed halfway into a Cano-sapien. As such, he is incapable of comprehensible speech and does not wear a uniform. Like Exile, Shag is super strong, and also his hair can store a lot of things like weapons and random items. He lived in a valley with a flock of sheep, but now lives with Arnold Koller, the president of the Swiss Confederation. Despite his strength and ability to store extreme amounts of weaponry, Shag is extremely fearful, and often hides behind the other Rovers when confronted by danger.
Muzzle (Frank Welker): A shy but kind, sweet, lovable and curious Rottweiler. Muzzle was once "Scout", Professor Shepherd's dog that was kidnapped. He was never transformed into a Cano-sapien, but instead became aggressive due to Parvo's failed experiment on him. Due to this aggression, he is often restrained on a cart while wearing a straitjacket and mask.
Persia (Sheena Easton): An Afghan Hound and commander of the Space Rovers.
Professor Hubert (David Doyle): A Bloodhound scientist.
Confusus: A wise dog in the mountains.
Professor William F. Shepherd "The Master" (Joseph Campanella): The geneticist behind the transdogmafier and the Road Rovers. He's the master of the Road Rovers, and the one who selected each of them. Without him, the world would have been ruled by the cano-mutants led by Parvo.
General Parvo (Jim Cummings): The Road Rovers' main enemy, who seeks to destroy Professor Shepherd and conquer the world. It was revealed later in the series that he was previously a cat before being transformed into a "Feline Sapien", which resemble humans a great deal more than Shepherd's Cano-sapiens.
The Groomer (Sheena Easton): The Groomer is the mostly loyal assistant to General Parvo. She's generally armed with a portable hair clipper, though she uses other equipment if it's appropriate.
Captain Zachary Storm (Larry Drake)
Cano-mutants: Dogs turned into humanoid monsters and led by Parvo.
Werewolves: A pack of werewolves appearing in "A Hair of the Dog That Bit You" that turned Colleen into one and were restored by Hunter with the swamp water.

Episodes

Series overview

Season	Episodes		Originally aired
Season	Episodes		First aired	Last aired	Network
1	13		September 7, 1996 (1996-09-07)	February 22, 1997 (1997-02-22)	Kids' WB

Season 1 (1996-1997)

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Let's Hit the Road"	Herb Moore	Tom Ruegger and Mark Seidenberg	September 7, 1996 (1996-09-07)
The Master assembles the Road Rovers for the first time to stop Parvo from stealing a genetic stabilizer which would enable him to make his canine minions permanently anthropomorphic.
2	"Storm from the Pacific"	Jon McClenahan	Earl Kress and Tom Ruegger	September 14, 1996 (1996-09-14)
Disgraced captain Zachary Storm seeks revenge on the United States for his court-martial.
3	"A Hair of the Dog That Bit You"	Scott Jeralds	John Ludin and Mark Seidenberg	September 21, 1996 (1996-09-21)
Packs of werewolves take over London, and Exile seems to have gotten bitten (or scratched), which puts him under watch. When Colleen is revealed to have been turned into a werewolf, the Rovers seek help from the wise Confusus, who tells them how to cure werewolf bites. However, they must do so before the sun rises, or else the transformed humans will remain werewolves permanently.
4	"Where Rovers Dare"	Herb Moore	Brian Chin and Tom Ruegger	October 12, 1996 (1996-10-12)
The nations of Eisneria and Katzenstok (named after the CEOs of Disney and DreamWorks) are preparing to go to war over an ancient scepter.
5	"Let Sleeping Dogs Lie"	Blair Peters	Nick Dubois	October 26, 1996 (1996-10-26)
The Road Rovers must protect ancient artifacts from Parvo's army of ninjas.
6	"The Dog Who Knew Too Much"	Jon McClenahan	Earl Kress and Tom Ruegger	November 2, 1996 (1996-11-02)
One dog, Sport, has the answers to a rash of human and canine kidnappings and becomes a temporary Road Rover to testify. However, he has somewhat of a big mouth and often tries to talk himself out of certain situations.
7	"Hunter's Heroes"	Scott Jeralds	John Ludin and Mark Seidenberg	November 9, 1996 (1996-11-09)
Parvo begins running a high-tech, heavily armed concentration camp to keep thousands of dogs in captivity. Then, he will transform them into cano-mutants and send them to major cities so he can take over.
8	"Dawn of the Groomer"	Herb Moore	Mark Seidenberg	November 16, 1996 (1996-11-16)
The Groomer gets delusions of grandeur involved taking over the world with cats, otherwise known as Felo-Mutants.
9	"Still a Few Bugs in the System"	Brad Neave	Nick Dubois	November 23, 1996 (1996-11-23)
Biologist Eugene Atwater does some research on the survival of bugs over the years of their survival. However, General Parvo turns his research subjects into giants using an attachment from his Cano-Mutator. The bugs now plan on making a nuclear winter, with them as the sole survivors.
10	"Reigning Cats and Dogs"	Herb Moore	Tom Ruegger and Mark Seidenberg	February 1, 1997 (1997-02-01)
General Parvo builds a successful time machine so then 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"	Jon McClenahan	Jeff Kwitny and Tom Ruegger	February 8, 1997 (1997-02-08)
Gold begins to flood the world's markets at an alarming rate. The Rovers trace the source to South America, where a blind boy named Luca leads them to an ancient golden pyramid.
12	"Take Me to Your Leader"	Brian Chin and Scott Jeralds	Nick Dubois and Mark Seidenberg	February 15, 1997 (1997-02-15)
Zachary Storm is back again, and hires alien-like recruits to start a nuclear war by manipulating world leaders into fighting one another.
13	"A Day in the Life"	Scott Jeralds	Tom Ruegger	February 22, 1997 (1997-02-22)
The episode showcases an ordinary day for the Rovers, consisting of freeing hostages, attending a peace treaty signing at the United Nations, and tracking down Parvo's UFO. Hunter takes time off to visit his mother on a ranch in Wyoming, but returns to save his friends from Parvo, who threatens to kill them with lava.

Home media

A multi-region DVD of the entire series was announced on February 4, 2015, by Warner Archive and was released on February 10, 2015. All of the episodes can be purchased digitally on Amazon Prime, Google Play Movies and TV, Apple TV, and YouTube.

In popular culture

Hunter made a cameo appearance as a background statue in The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries fourth season premiere episode, "The Stilted Perch / A Game of Cat and Monster!".

Hunter's canine character model was reused in the animates series Histeria! and renamed "Fetch". In one special he hosted a mock late-night show called "Silly President Tricks" and spoke without needing to transform.

The Road Rovers made a cameo appearance in the Teen Titans Go! sixth-season episode, "Huggbees".

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa's Little Helper</span> Dog in The Simpsons animated TV series

Santa's Little Helper is a fictional dog in the American animated television series The Simpsons. He is the pet greyhound of the Simpson family. He was previously voiced by Frank Welker, and is currently voiced by Dan Castellaneta. The dog was introduced in the first episode of the show, the 1989 Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", in which his owner abandons him for finishing last in a greyhound race. Homer Simpson and his son Bart, who are at the race track in hope of winning some money for Christmas presents, see this and decide to adopt the dog.

Franklin Wendell Welker is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2023, making him one of the most prolific voice actors in history. With his films earning a total worldwide box-office gross of $17.4 billion, he is also the third-highest-grossing actor as of 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collie</span> Type of herding dog

Collies form a distinctive type of herding dogs, including many related landraces and standardized breeds. The type originated in Scotland and Northern England. Collies are medium-sized, fairly lightly-built dogs, with pointed snouts. Many types have a distinctive white color over the shoulders. Collies are very active and agile, and most types of collies have a very strong herding instinct. Collie breeds have spread through many parts of the world, and have diversified into many varieties, sometimes mixed with other dog types.

<i>Dog Soldiers</i> (film) 2002 film directed by Neil Marshall

Dog Soldiers is a 2002 British action horror film written, directed and edited by Neil Marshall in his feature directorial debut. Starring Sean Pertwee, Kevin McKidd, Emma Cleasby and Liam Cunningham, the film follows a squad of soldiers fighting to survive an attack by a pack of werewolves during a military training exercise in the Scottish Highlands.

Foofur is an American children's television series from Kissyfur creator Phil Mendez that was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions with SEPP International S.A. Airing on NBC from 1986 to 1988, the show was about the everyday misadventures of the skinny blue protagonist dog in Willowby. A comic book series based on the cartoon was produced by and released from Star Comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ace the Bat-Hound</span> DC Comics character

Ace the Bat-Hound is a superhero dog appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is commonly featured as the canine crime-fighting partner of Batman and as an ally of other animal superheroes, such as Krypto, Streaky and the Legion of Super-Pets.

<i>Whats New, Scooby-Doo?</i> American animated television series

What's New, Scooby-Doo? is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation for Kids' WB. It is the ninth incarnation of the Scooby-Doo franchise that began with Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! and the first Scooby-Doo series in a decade, since A Pup Named Scooby-Doo ended in 1991 and the first since both the foreclosure of Hanna-Barbera studios and William Hanna's death in 2001.

Toto (<i>Oz</i>) Fictional dog in the Oz series

Toto is a fictional dog in L. Frank Baum's Oz series of children's books, and works derived from them. He was originally a small terrier drawn by W. W. Denslow for the first edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). He reappears in later Oz books and in numerous adaptations, such as The Wizard of Oz (1939) and The Wiz (1978).

<i>Dog City</i> American-Canadian animated series

Dog City is an animated television series that was produced by Nelvana Limited and Jim Henson Productions in association with Channel 4 and Global Television Network. The series ran for three seasons, airing on Fox Kids from September 26, 1992, to November 26, 1994; in Canada, the series aired on YTV until 2000. The series contained both animation made by Nelvana, and puppetry by Jim Henson Productions - similar to Little Muppet Monsters - and invoked a mixture of detective fiction with police comedy.

The Littlest Hobo is a Canadian television series based upon a well-known 1958 movie of the same name directed by Charles R. Rondeau. The series first aired from 1963 to 1965 in syndication, and was revived for a popular second run on CTV, spanning six seasons, from October 11, 1979, to March 7, 1985. The concept of the show was that of "an ownerless dog".

"Bart's Dog Gets an 'F'" is the sixteenth episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 7, 1991. In the episode, the Simpson family's dog, Santa's Little Helper, infuriates Homer and Marge by destroying a family heirloom and an expensive pair of shoes. When Marge and Homer want to get rid of the dog, Bart enrolls him at an obedience school to curb his bad behavior.

The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs is an American children's animated series, produced by Saban Entertainment, that aired on Fox Kids from 1998 to 1999.

Gravedale High is an animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera for NBC Productions. The series premiered in the fall of 1990 on NBC as part of its Saturday morning children's lineup and lasted thirteen episodes.

Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! is an American animated comedy television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation, as the tenth incarnation of Hanna-Barbera's Scooby-Doo franchise.

<i>Super Friends</i> (1973 TV series) American TV series or program

Super Friends is a 1973 animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera and National Periodical Publications. It is based on the Justice League comic books, and is the first incarnation of the Super Friends series.

<i>Clifford the Big Red Dog</i> (2000 TV series) Animated television series or program

Clifford the Big Red Dog is a preschool animated educational children's television series, based upon Norman Bridwell's children's book series of the same name. Produced by Scholastic Productions, it was originally aired on PBS Kids from September 4, 2000, to February 25, 2003. A UK version originally aired on BBC Two in April 2002.

Pound Puppies is an animated children's television series developed by Wendy Klein Moss, Nancy Steingard, Paul Germain and Joe Ansolabehere for the Hub Network. It premiered on October 10, 2010 in the United States as the first Hub "original series". It also aired on YTV in Canada and on Boomerang in the UK, Ireland and Australia. Produced by Hasbro Studios, it was the second series to adapt Pound Puppies into a cartoon format. Originally a property by Tonka, Hasbro acquired Tonka itself and currently manages Pound Puppies. The plot style and music were similar to the 1960s TV series Hogan's Heroes and to films like Stalag 17 and The Great Escape. 9 Story Entertainment animated the first seven episodes of the series, followed by DHX Media/Vancouver from episode 8 onwards.

Major, a German Shepherd, was a presidential pet belonging to United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt.

References

↑ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 507–508. ISBN 978-1538103739.
↑ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 669–670. ISBN 978-1476665993.

External links

Road Rovers at IMDb

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[Perlmutter-1] Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 507–508. ISBN 978-1538103739.

[2] Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 669–670. ISBN 978-1476665993.

[1]

[2]