RoboCop: The Animated Series
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| RoboCop | |
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| Genre | Animated series |
| Running time | 30min |
| Creator(s) | Michael Charles Hill Michael Miner |
| Starring | Robert Bockstael Barbara Budd Len Carlson Rex Hagon |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Original channel | FOX |
| Original run | 2 October 1988–1988 |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| IMDb profile | |
RoboCop: The Animated Series was an animated series produced in the 1980s by Marvel Animation, and was based on the character and events of the movie RoboCop. The series' very conception is still regarded as one of the most baffling decisions in movie exploitation due to the fact RoboCop was never meant for a child audience, and that the movie of the same name was an R-rated affair. RoboCop's fanbase point to this cartoon as the "beginning of the end" for the franchise, as following this, RoboCop was gradually seen as a children's icon and further entries into the franchise on film and television beyond RoboCop 2 would reflect this perspective. As of 2006, none of the show's 12 episodes have been released onto Region 1 DVD.
The series follows on from the movie, with Alex Murphy still fighting to save the city of Old Detroit from assorted rogue elements, and on occasion, fighting to reclaim aspects of his humanity and maintain his usefulness in the eyes of the "Old Man", president of OCP. Many episodes see RoboCop's reputation put to the test or soured by interventions from Dr. McNamara, the creator of ED-209 and the top competitor for the financial backing of OCP. He often develops other mechanical menaces that frequently threaten RoboCop.
On the home front, RoboCop is befriended as always by Officer Anne Lewis, but is also picked up and lambasted by the prejudiced Lieutenant Hedgecock, ever determined to be rid of him and his kind, whom he sees as ticking time bombs. Their rivalry comes to a fever pitch during the episode Man in the Iron Suit, where Hedgecock comes close to finally beating Murphy with the aid of a new weapons system developed by McNamara, but almost kills Lewis when she interferes, enraging Murphy into tearing Hedgecock's iron suit apart and almost crushing his skull before Lewis emerges to assure him of her safety.
Whilst the show is generally criticized by fans of the original movie, and some animation fans in general, the cartoon boasted strong themes of racism (The Brotherhood), prejudice at work (Man in the Iron Suit), environmental espionage (Into the Wilderness), and reprogrammed assassins (The Scrambler). These all show the series had darker scripts than one would find when compared to the 1999 animated effort RoboCop: Alpha Commando. The series also had a high budget and tremendous animation, an inconsistent rarity from many 1980s series at the time. The title sequence even features a brief animated variation on Murphy being gunned down.
The series stuck to the concepts of the franchise as much as it could in an animated format aimed for children, and as a result, earned a small cult following of fans.
[edit] Episodes
- Good News Is No News
- Night of the Archer
- Rumble in Old Detroit
- Project Deathspore
- Man in the Iron Suit
- A Robot's Revenge
- Into the Wilderness
- Menace in the Mind
- The Brotherhood
- Crime Wave
- The Scrambler
- The Hot Seat
[edit] External links
| RoboCop |
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TV: RoboCop: The Series | RoboCop: The Animated Series | RoboCop: Alpha Commando | |
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Video Games: RoboCop | RoboCop 2 | RoboCop 3 | Robocop versus The Terminator |
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Comics: RoboCop versus The Terminator | Frank Miller's RoboCop |
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Organizations: Omni Consumer Products |
