There is a common element that can be seen in the majority of 90s cartoons. Often, animals took center stage. Among the many well-known animated series that fall within this heading are Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Duck Tales, Animaniacs, Courage: The Cowardly Dog, Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, and of course, SWAT Kats.
Christian and Yvon Tremblay are the creators of “SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron,” which was made by Hanna-Barbera and Turner Program Services. It had a very good run, lasting for two seasons from 1993 to 1995. But regrettably, they were removed from the air. After some time, a reboot is finally on the horizon.
The universe of the show is one in which katkind has taken the place of humankind. In the metropolis known as Megakat City, anthropomorphic felines, or Kats, perform every task as humans would. The SWAT Kats also show up to handle any other wicked situations that endanger this city’s patrollers.
The two kats known as T-Bone and Razor engage in battle as the renowned pilot-mechanic team. The deputy mayor of the city always supports them, but the commander of the military police unit considers them a threat.
We will go into more detail on the show, its actors, its cancellation, and its comeback in this video.
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What Is The SWAT Kats (1993) Cartoon Television Series Is All About?
The name of the show itself is a direct giveaway when it comes to the premise of the show. Jake Clawson and Chance Furlong are two cat-like auto mechanics. They work in a junkyard and come off as two ordinary workers. However, that could not be farther from the truth.
The two of them have a secret den below the yard and this yard houses a self-built three-engine fighter jet, also known as the Turbokat, which is modeled after fighter jets such as the Grumman D-14 and the Saab Draken. It has a training area, several other equipment, and vehicles.
Chance goes by the name T-Bone while Jake goes by Razor. Together, they are the SWAT Kats who use their high-tech equipment to save Megakat City from its several troubles and adversaries.
The city has its military forces, namely Commander Feral and his militant team of Megakat Enforcers. However, the SWAT Kats are not allied with them and instead, happen to work as vigilantes. Naturally, the law isn’t super fond of them plus they cause the occasional damage. However, the SWAT Kats have proven themselves to be way more efficient than the Enforcers on several occasions.
For example, when the undead sorcerer known as the Pastmaster attacked to send the world back to the Dark Ages, it was the SWAT Kats who saved the city, not Commander Feral and his militants.
In the very first episode, ‘The Pastmaster Always Rings Twice’, the SWAT Kats go against the Pastmaster after Deputy Mayor Callie Briggs alerts them of the situation. But with the villain opening a time vortex to bring forth the Megasaurux Rex, the Kats find themselves in the age of the dinosaurs as they get sucked into it. However, they manage to return to the present and send the Pastmaster and the dinosaur back to the past.
Deputy Mayor Callie Briggs had always shown her support for the SWAT Kats over the Megakat Enforcers. But despite being one of the SWAT Kats’ strongest allies, she was never aware of their real identities.
Let’s address the question of how the SWAT Kats came to be. In the third episode of this twenty-four-episode series, the writers shed light upon the origin of the SWAT Kats and how they ended up in a junkyard.
Back in the day, Chance and Jake worked as the Enforcers under the power-hungry Commander Feral. The commander, however, was a stubborn and incompetent leader who had apparently climbed high up in the ranks, not because of his merit but because he pulled the right strings behind the scenes.
It was a day when the primary antagonist of the show, Dark Kat, was being a menace to Megakat City. Chance and Jake were on hot pursuit and they had already gotten their target on lock. However, Commander Feral suddenly asked them to fall back because he wanted to be the one to take down Dark Kat. Since Chance and Jake were close to taking the villain down, they rebelled against the orders of their overbearing superior. Unfortunately, the Commander did not take this lightly and instead of focusing on the problem at hand, decided to use his jet to slap the wing of Chance and Jake’s jet. This caused the jet to inadvertently crash into the headquarters of the Megakat Enforcers.
Dark Kat got away and severe damage had been caused to an important building. It was definitely Commander Feral’s fault but he wasted no time in pushing the blame onto Chance and Jake. With such heavy collateral damage to the infrastructure, he decided to work them to the bone. They were dispatched from being part of the Megakat Enforcers and were made to work at the military salvage yard to make them pay for the debt they had incurred. And that’s how the SWAT Kats ended up in their junkyard.
The Dark Kat returned to Megakat City once again to destroy the place and turn it into the lawless Dark Kat City. This time, the Megakat Enforcers and the SWAT Kats tailed him separately but neither were strong enough to go against the Dark Kat’s wrath. Commander Feral ended up as his prisoner. With his second-in-command chickening out and choosing to use this opportunity to aim for his own promotion, the SWAT Kats had to save the very man that had treated them terribly in the past.
But obviously, Commander Feral’s punishment had not been the end of the line for them back then. In fact, it was just the beginning. They took advantage of the dire situation they had found themselves in and began to use the mechanical military parts and weapons from the junk to build their own weaponry. And that’s how the super high-tech Turbokat was born.
A motorcycle or the Cyclotron was built into their jet as well. They also created other vehicles such as a military hovercraft called the Hoverkat, a subterranean vehicle that drills underground called the Turbo Mole, and a militarized jeep called the Tow Truck. Below the yard, they had also crafted a training area and a storage area.
They are even seen using fighter jet skis in the second episode “The Giant Bacteria” where an evil pilot they had taken down had mutated into a giant bacterium with the help of the evil Doctor Viper. Interestingly, this episode was set up to be the first episode but due to the raging popularity of the 1993 Jurassic Park movie, SWAT Kats was made to debut with the Pastmaster’s episode due to the presence of a dinosaur.
Chance and Jake then took upon their monikers as T-Bone and Razor to keep their identities hidden and commenced their adventures as the SWAT Kats. Whenever Megakat City was threatened, Deputy Mayor Callie Briggs would alert the SWAT Kats about the situation. They soon went on to fight villains like the Dark Kat (again), the Pastmaster, the genius Doctor Viper, Madkat, Volcanus, and the robotic Metallikats.
In fact, the Metallikats were the only ones who learned about the true identities of the SWAT Kats when they invaded their den below the yard.
Even though Commander Feral is not a villain, he would often have an antagonistic effect on the SWAT Kats as he did not agree with their methods. And Callie Briggs would remind him that the SWAT Kats were just doing the job that he should be doing in the first place.
Fortunately, the SWAT Kats have other allies as well. Callie Briggs aside, the reporter for Kats Eye news, Ann Gora, is pro SWAT Kats and desperately wants an exclusive on them. On top of that, Commander Feral’s niece, Lieutenant Felina Feral, disagrees with her uncle’s opinion on the SWAT Kats and sides with them when necessary.
The show boasts exemplary animation and this is not just about the movement of the animation but the details that have been used in the presentation and the designs. The show also does not chicken out from showing death either. For example, there’s a scene where Doctor Viper’s giant bacteria eats up a train full of people. In the episode ‘Caverns of Horror’, five miners and news reporter Ann Gora disappear. When the SWAT Kats manage to find Ann, they are also greeted with the bones of the miners. That can often be unchartered territory for an animated series that caters to children. And the rock music in the soundtrack adds the much-needed edge.
SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron boasts on another very important front as well. The characters. The good guys we root for are fantastic. The bad guys we are supposed to root against also have stellar concepts and storylines. So, let’s get right into them.
Starting off with T-Bone or Chance Furlong, he is the one who pilots the esteemed Turbokat fighter jet. The character is voiced by Charlie Adler, who has given his voice to several popular shows such as ‘Aaah! Real Monsters’, ‘Avengers Assemble’, and ‘G.I. Jones Renegades’.
T-Bone is a top-notch pilot who is quite into the history of aerial warfare. He is loyal and protective towards his partner Razor and is super daring when necessary. In fact, he did not know how to swim but when Razor was drowning, he did his best to rescue his partner. He likes Scaredy Kat cartoons and dislikes bugs. He would eventually go on to develop an interest in Lieutenant Felina Feral.
Razor or Jake Clawson is the tech genius of the SWAT Kats and the one who designs their high-tech gadgets and weapons. He was voiced by Barry Gordon, the one who gave his voice to Donatello and Bebop in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Razor excels in martial arts and works as a weapons control officer. Unlike T-Bone, Razor is not as daring and his moves are more calculated. He loves to watch David Litterbin (which is the David Letterman of the SWAT Kats verse).
Next, we have Calico ‘Callie’ Briggs (with the name Calico being a pun on the calico cat). She is the Deputy Mayor of Megakat City and the biggest ally of the SWAT Kats. The voice actor of Calico Briggs, Tress MacNeille has worked in The Simpsons, Rugrats, Futurama, and has voiced Daisy Duck for Disney.
Callie handles most of the work that should ideally be handled by the Mayor. She is the one who summons the SWAT Kats with her radio communicator when necessary and also has a crush on Razor. The title of the show, ‘SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron’ refers to Callie as part of the Squadron alongside T-Bone and Razor.
There’s als0 Commander Ulysses Feral who has a clear disdain for the SWAT Kats. He heads the Megakat Enforcers and is voiced by Gary Owens (not the comedian), who has also worked in shows like Space Ghost and Dynomutt, Dog Wonder.
He is the man who dispatched the now SWAT Kats from his team in the past after his own actions caused damage to the Enforcers’ headquarters and resulted in Dark Kat getting away. He believes the SWAT Kats to be ruthless vigilantes, even though the Kats care very much about the well-being of the city and the public. He also seems to be quite overbearing and even jealous of the Kats since they often do the heavyweight work, unlike the Enforcers.
Finally, for the good guys, there’s Commander Feral’s niece Lieutenant Felina Feral who made her appearance in Season 2. She was voiced by Lori Alan, who has voiced Pearl Krabs on Spongebob Squarepants, Miss Invisible on Fantastic Four, and Diane Simmons on Family Guy.
She is reckless, stubborn, and a super skilled pilot. She is also one of SWAT Kats’ allies and openly works with them.
In the bad guys’ department, we start off with the major antagonist of the show, Dark Kat. He was voiced by Brock Peters, who has played Darth Vader in the original Star Wars Trilogy radio drama adaptation.
Dark Kat’s antics kicked off the story that led to the birth of the SWAT Kats. He is very intelligent and wishes to create a lawless town named after himself. His wits allow him to stay one step ahead of his opponents at all times. And his tactic of rigging his hideout with explosives makes him one tough nut to crack.
There’s Doctor Viper who is an evil genius. He was voiced by Frank Welker who has also voiced Garfield, Fred Jones on Scooby-Doo, and several Decepticons in Transformers.
Before becoming Doctor Viper, Dr. Elrod Purvis worked at the Megakat Biochemical Labs. He had tried to steal a regenerative formula he was developing but instead, fell from the stairs and got covered with the formula. He died at first but was revived by the chemicals which also mutated him into a half-serpent and half-cat-like creature.
With his vast knowledge in the fields of genetics, biology, and robotics, he strived to turn everyone in Megakat City into a mutant like him. He is easily one of the deadliest foes for the SWAT Kats and in one episode, used a formula to turn into a giant monster.
The SWAT Kats also went against bat-like creatures called the Creeplings. They were voiced by T-Bone’s voice actor Charlie Adler and were super vicious as they worked as the Dark Kat’s henchmen.
Then there is Mac and Molly Mange. Mac was voiced by Neil Ross (who had previously appeared in 1989’s Back to the Future Part II) and Molly was voiced by April Winchell (who has worked in Phineas and Ferb, Kim Possible, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and voiced Cruella DeVille in 101 Dalmatians: The Series).
They are a criminal husband and wife team who escaped from Alkatraz prison on a boat. However, they drowned because their boat was hit by a bigger boat. They were later found by Professor Hackle’s robotic servants and even though they were dead, their minds were given to the heads of the professor’s robots. They went on to become the Metallikats and headed Megakat City’s most notorious mob syndicate.
Mac acted as the brawns and Molly acted as the brains. They also found out about the real cats behind the SWAT Kats. However, they forgot about it after they were deactivated.
Finally, there is the sorcerer known as the Pastmaster. He was voiced by Keene Curtis who has worked in Rabbit Test and American Hot Wax. He hated modern technology and civilizations and wanted to bring the Dark Ages back. He could travel in time using his pocket watch and had gotten his hands on a magical spell book that allowed him to summon mythical or extinct creatures to the SWAT Kats’ era. However, he was seen falling into molten lava in an episode called “The Deadly Pyramid”.
What Went Wrong With The Cartoon?
SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron used to be broadcasted by Cartoon Network. The channel aired other successful cartoons such as The Smurfs, Scooby-Doo, and The Flintstones. However, the problem came with the violence depicted in SWAT Kats. The other cartoons in their roster did not have violence and yet did very well in the market. The founder of Cartoon Network did not wish to air SWAT Kats for this reason, as he wanted to not worry about any controversy that would surround it.
Cartoons like Dungeons and Dragons had been canceled because of this very reason and with SWAT Kats not shying away from showing explosives, violence, and even death, it would not be of any surprise if people protested over the content that was being aired, just like they had done with Dungeons and Dragons.
In an interview, writer Lance Falk spoke about the show also suffering on other fronts such as the lack of good merchandise.
The way the animation industry works also played a role in its cancellation. After a season is finished and another begins, there is a gap. The network lets the team know about whether a certain cartoon will return for another season or not. However, during this gap, the staff often moves to other works and projects since they have to grab the spots for other works. So, getting a longer project during the gap meant that the members would not be able to return for the previous thing they were working on.
All of this combined with Ted Turner’s reluctance resulted in SWAT Kats going off-air, even though the show had great ratings.
Other Interesting Facts About The Cartoon
SWAT Kats was one of the cartoon network’s first action animated series. Following its cancellation, it aired another action series called ‘The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest’ in 1996. Unfortunately, that show was canceled as well and there were no developments on the action front until 2001’s ‘Samurai Jack’ (which was once again, dropped and later picked up by Toonami).
Initially, the writers had planned to replace Callie with Felina as the new heroine of the Squadron. It was even set up as T-Bone had given Felina a SWAT Kats beeper. However, due to the cancellation of the series, the show ended before Felina could find herself in a bigger role.
The Future Of SWAT Kats
Almost three decades have passed since ‘SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron’ was taken off the air. However, it is set to make a comeback after all this time and will go under the new name of “SWAT Kats: Revolution”.
Creators Christian and Yvon Tremblay are now working in an agreement with Toonz Media Group to bring back the Kats onto the screens once again. They had been wishing to bring the show back for quite some time now but with Netflix, Hulu, and Warner Bros passing up on it, there seemed to be no hope for a while. However, with the CEO of Toonz Media Group being pumped for the show’s revival, all seems to be going well for this franchise.
Back in the day, Western animation catered mainly to kids but nowadays, several teens and adults are tuning into cartoons and animation for their entertainment. As a result, the violence in SWAT Kats does not pose the problem it had posed in the past. Or maybe they might water down some of it. Only time will tell.
And with that, today’s video comes to an end. What did you think of SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron? Did you enjoy this video? If yes, then don’t forget to like and comment on this video. Till then, goodbye. And have a nice one!