Biker Mice from Mars
Encyclopedia
Biker Mice from Mars is a science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 animated series created by Rick Ungar
Rick Ungar
Richard "Rick" Ungar is a writer/executive producer in the world animation industry. His first creation, Biker Mice From Mars, which began its first run in the United States and the United Kingdom in 1993, became one of the most successful animated television programs of its time, spinning off...

 that began airing in 1993 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and lasted for three seasons before it was cancelled. It followed three anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...

 mice
Mouse
A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...

 motorcyclists named Throttle, Modo, and Vinnie who escaped a war on their home planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...

 Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...

 before arriving to defend the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

 from the evil that destroyed their homeland (the Plutarkians) and to one day return to Mars. The mice's weapons of choice consist of a Cestus
Cestus
A cestus is an ancient battle glove, sometimes used in pankration. They were worn as are today's boxing gloves, but were made with leather strips and sometimes filled with iron plates or fitted with blades or spikes, and used as weapons.-Terminology:...

 (Throttle's signature weapon), a Laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...

 (Modo's signature weapon), and Flares
Flare (pyrotechnic)
A flare, also sometimes called a fusee, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a brilliant light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for signalling, illumination, or defensive countermeasures in civilian and military applications...

 (Vinnie's signature weapons); thus no blood is shown, no firearms are used and many villains are monsters, aliens, and robots. These elements allowed the show to still be considered suitable for children.

Plot

On the planet Mars, there existed a race of anthropomorphic mice who enjoyed motorsports and had a very similar culture and society to that of human beings. At some point in time they were all but wiped out by the Plutarkians, an alien race of obese, foul-smelling, fish-like humanoids who exploit other planets for natural resources because they have wasted all of their own. Three survivors, Throttle, Modo and Vinnie, manage to find a spaceship and escape the Plutarkian takeover but they are soon shot down by a Plutarkian warship and end up crash-landing on Earth in the city of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

. There they meet a charming female mechanic named Charlene "Charley" Davidson and discover that the Plutarkians have come to Earth to steal its natural resources. The Biker Mice investigate the crumbling ghetto of the windy city and soon discover that Chicago's leading industrialist, Lawrence Limburger, is actually a Plutarkian who disguises himself as a human. Limburger enlists two henchmen, mad scientist Dr. Karbunkle and the idiotic Greasepit to help him steal Earth's natural resources and send them to Plutark. But the Biker mice from Mars themselves as heroic vigilantes come to to save the day and stop Limburger from destroying Chicago, doing it to bring Plutark to justice
Justice
Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...

 as payback for the loss and powerful destruction of their home in process. And to defend the Earth from the similar fate. Thus, the Biker Mice become Limburger's chief foils, felling his business tower at the end of nearly every episode.

The Mice and protagonists

  • Throttle (voiced by Rob Paulsen
    Rob Paulsen
    Robert Fredrick "Rob" Paulsen III , sometimes credited as Rob Paulson, is an American voice actor, best known as the voice behind Raphael from the 1987 cartoon of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Yakko Warner and Dr...

    ) - The leader-figure of the trio with tan fur. Throttle's vision was damaged in the same incident that caused the losses of Modo's arm and the right side of Vinnie's face. As a result he wears green sunglasses
    Sunglasses
    Sunglasses or sun glasses are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can sometimes also function as a visual aid, as variously termed spectacles or glasses exist, featuring lenses that...

     with field spec capabilities. His sight does not appear to have been damaged completely, as he is able to look through a telescope in "Back to Mars" (current fan theories state that he can see without his shades for limited periods of time). On his right hand he wears a battle glove (coined "Nuke Knucks") which increases the strength of his blows with that fist. His first symbolic quote in the series was, "In this wild and woolly universe, there are three things you can count on: your brains, your bros and your bike!"

  • Modo (voiced by Dorian Harewood
    Dorian Harewood
    W. Dorian Harewood is an American actor. He first garnered attention for his portrayal of Simon Haley in the ABC miniseries Roots: The Next Generations.-Career:...

    ) - The gentle giant of the three with gray fur and an eye-patch, suggesting that his eye may have been damaged during Karbunkle's experiments. He lost his right arm in the same incident that burned off the right side of Vinnie's face and damaged Throttle's vision. His robotic arm replacement has a built-in laser cannon and has great strength. When angry his right eye flashes red. He is prone to fits of rage when he or his bros are referred to as 'rats'. He is by far the strongest of the three mice, but also seems to have the most obvious capacity to love (Vinnie's attempts are often considered to be flirting). His bike is the only one out of the three with a definite name ("Lil' Hoss"), and the one with the most demonstrated AI capability. His first signature quote was "My momma didn't raise no stinkin' rat!"

  • Vinnie (voiced by Ian Ziering
    Ian Ziering
    Ian Andrew Ziering is an American actor best known for playing Steve Sanders on the television series Beverly Hills, 90210.-Personal life:...

    ) - Self-proclaimed lady-killer with white fur. The right side of his face was burned off in the same incident where Throttle's vision was damaged and where Modo lost his right arm; thus, Vinnie wears a flexible faceplate. He rides a red racing Sport bike
    Sport bike
    A sport bike, also written as sportbike, is a motorcycle optimized for speed, acceleration, braking, and cornering on paved roads, typically at the expense of comfort and fuel economy in comparison to less specialized motorcycles...

    , and is a thrill-seeker, often volunteering for the most dangerous tasks, enjoying the rush and subsequent glory. He wears a green X-cross bandolier on his chest, and wields expanding flares as well. His bike seems to have the greatest arsenal of weaponry between the three, and he is the best overall biker of the trio. He has a recurring catchphrase, "What a rush!", and has a signature laugh of triumph.

  • Charlene "Charley" Davidson (voiced by Leeza Miller McGee) - The Mice are always backed up by Charley, a human mechanic who owns the Last Chance Garage in Chicago. She is a headstrong woman, and is always ready to go into battle, though the Biker Mice try to keep her out of dangerous situations. Aside from being the target of Vinnie's affection (which she playfully blows off), she is also responsible for upgrades on the bros' bikes, is a high-tech genius in her own right, and is a biker every bit as skilled as the Biker Mice. Her name is quite obviously a pun on the famous Harley Davidson brand of motorcycles.

Antagonists

  • Lawrence Limburger (voiced by W. Morgan Sheppard
    W. Morgan Sheppard
    William Morgan Sheppard , sometimes credited as Morgan Sheppard or W. Morgan Sheppard, is a British actor.Sheppard was born in London to an Anglo-Irish family but was educated in Ireland. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art 1956-58 before spending 12 years as Associate Artist with...

    ) - The main antagonist
    Antagonist
    An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...

     of the series, Lawrence Limburger hails from Plutark and has an odd fascination for Earth's criminal society of the 1930s. Wearing a mask in order to look human and a purple suit at most times, he attempts to mine Chicago and other parts of Earth of various resources including random earth, dirt, rock, snow, metal and oil. He is highly resourceful and cunning, always failing due to the biker mice's interventions. His headquarters is Limburger Industries located in Chicago. Unfortunately for him and Limburger Industries his plans are foiled and his tower brought down by the Biker Mice at the climax of almost every single episode. Limburger reappears in the 2006 sequel series, but as a bootlicker for the Pit Boss.

  • Dr. Karbunkle (voiced by Susan Silo
    Susan Silo
    Susan Silo is an American actress and voice actress.-Early life and career:She was born in New York City, New York. Her acting career started in television on an episode of The Jack Benny Show. Silo also co-starred with Larry Blyden, Dawn Nickerson, and Diahn Williams in the NBC sitcom Harry's...

    ) - A thin, sly scientist. Karbunkle used to work for Limburger's superior, Dominic T. Stilton, until Limburger bribed him to cross over. Karbunkle's main task is to think of machines and robots to either battle the Biker Mice, gather resources from Earth, or look up the villain of the week with his dimensional transporter. What is common knowledge is that during the War of Liberation on Mars he gave Modo his bionic arm (though in the pilot he appeared to be unfamiliar with it, calling it an interesting invention), Stoker his bionic tail and Throttle his malfunctioning bionic eyes. Karbunkle was also the one who built the Mind Bender Beam, successfully used on Stoker to brainwash the Freedom Fighter leader into obeying the Plutarkians. Karbunkle is a sycophant, often seen admiring Limburger and praising him; however, Karbunkle's top priority is Karbunkle. He is often seen torturing Fred the Mutant, cares little about his co-worker Grease Pit and has traded Plutarkian employers many times. Karbunkle is very sadistic and is known to enjoy torturing people, wears a white lab coat, boots, has a green pair of goggles which he never takes off and once in a while, his red underwear is revealed. His full name is Benjamin Boris Zachary Karbunkle. Also reappears in the 2006 series as well, and suffers the same fate as Limburger.

  • Grease Pit (voiced by Brad Garrett
    Brad Garrett
    Bradley "Brad" Garrett is an American actor, voice actor, stand-up comedian, and professional poker player. Throughout he has appeared in numerous television and film roles....

    ) - The stereotypical cartoonish bungling bad guy sidekick usually in charge of whatever project Lawrence Limburger is running at the time. He fails in his endeavours most of the time, which Limburger soon learns to factor into his planning. Grease Pit rides a tri-cycle into battle against the Biker Mice at the head of his Goons and wears a pair of gardening trousers like a mechanic's. As his name suggests, Grease Pit constantly oozes oil, and he is consistently clumsy, often falling over or dropping critical pieces of Limburger's schemes. Grease Pit is the first villain Limburger ever hired though, his advert was "spiced up" to make him seem more capable than the bungling goof he is.

  • Fred the Mutant (voiced by Rob Paulsen
    Rob Paulsen
    Robert Fredrick "Rob" Paulsen III , sometimes credited as Rob Paulson, is an American voice actor, best known as the voice behind Raphael from the 1987 cartoon of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Yakko Warner and Dr...

    ) - Fred has a happy lot in life; he thrills at the thought of receiving pain and that is his one purpose as well, being the subject of many of Karbunkle's testings as well as physical abuse by Limburger. He is a midget with clothing similar to portrayals of Quasimodo
    Quasimodo
    Quasimodo is a fictional character in the novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo. Quasimodo was born with a hunchback and feared by the townspeople as a sort of monster but he finds sanctuary in an unlikely love that is fulfilled only in death. The role of Quasimodo has been played by...

    , is bald and has three pink eyes with black irises, a bushy tail, and a tentacle instead of a right arm.

  • Lord Camembert (voiced by Jeff Bennett) - Limburger's higher-up, whom Limburger finds disgusting. In some other cases, he will appear with the entire Plutarkian council with Limburger in a panic over what task is current.

  • Pit Boss (voiced by Stu Rosen
    Stuart M. Rosen
    Stuart M. Rosen is a voice director and voice actor. He wrote and starred in the TV series Dusty's Treehouse.He has voice directed many cartoons and commercials for television and had live-action roles in Rome and The Huntress...

    ) -

Recurring characters

  • Napoleon Brie (voiced by Luke Perry
    Luke Perry
    Luke Perry is an American actor. Perry starred as Dylan McKay on the TV series Beverly Hills, 90210, a role he played from 1990–95, and then from 1998–2000. Much publicity was garnered over the fact that even though he was playing a sixteen-year-old when 90210 began, Perry was actually in his...

    ) - Limburger's chief Plutarkian rival from Detroit, except that Brie usually seems to be rather successful. He and his "Number one", a gun for hire with a big red beard and sunglasses, dominate Detroit. Despite this, Brie's attempts at taking out the Biker Mice turn out just as futile as Limburger's. Brie's efforts are not helped by his undermining Limburger at the same time. Small of stature and the owner of a large variety of facial masks although he only ever wears the one with a crazy eye and speaks with an accent very similar to Elmer Fudd
    Elmer Fudd
    Elmer J. Fudd/Egghead is a fictional cartoon character and one of the most famous Looney Tunes characters, and the de facto archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheon . His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring...

    . (Instead of "revenge" or "rolaids", he says "wevenge" and "wolaids".)
  • Rimfire (voiced by Brian Austin Green
    Brian Austin Green
    Brian Austin Green is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of David Silver on the television series Beverly Hills, 90210, a role he played from 1990 to 2000. Green also starred in the sitcom Freddie and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Since 2009, he has appeared in a recurring...

    ) - Modo's nephew who is overprotected by his peers on Mars because of his age, despite the fact that he, too, is clearly capable of what it takes to be a worthy Freedom Fighter. He first appeared in the episode Stalkers, where he also crashed into the scoreboard at Quigley Field while escaping from intergalactic rogue bounty hunters (who view the Biker Mice as the big championship stock) that eventually request Limburger's permission, and he played a crucial role in their defeat. He also appears in the 3-part episode Once Upon a Time on Mars, where the viewers see for the first time how his age led to distrust from some of his peers.
  • Carbine (voiced by Leah Remini
    Leah Remini
    Leah Marie Remini is an American actress and model. She is best known for her role as Carrie Heffernan on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens and as Stacey Carosi on the NBC sitcom Saved by the Bell...

    ) - General Carbine is the de facto leader of the Freedom Fighters, a former Army officer who defected during the Plutarkian-Mars war. Has a heart for Throttle.

2006 revival

The Biker Mice from Mars returned to TV screens in 2006. The 2006 Biker Mice From Mars series is a continuation of the story.

The new series launched in autumn of 2008 in Italy on Italia 1, and on August 1 of the same year on 4kids FOX. The series is on hiatus in the US, but according to the official website (www.bikermice.tv) will return later in 2009, on 4kids CW.

In the 90s, the series was repeated on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 and from 1998-99 on its youth strand T4
T4 (Channel 4)
T4 is a scheduling slot on Channel 4 from about 09:00 until 14:00 on Saturdays and 17:00 on Sundays. It also airs on weekdays in the school holidays. The slot has a separate station identification on screen graphic from Channel 4 and E4. The logo of T4 is noticeably the top right segment of the...

.

The new 28 episode series began airing in the UK on Toonattik
Toonattik
Toonattik was the flagship children's strand of the British breakfast television station, ITV Breakfast . It began on 5 February 2005 and ran until New Year's Day 2011....

on GMTV
GMTV
GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...

 (now known at weekends as CITV
CITV
CITV is a British television channel from ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive, as well as commissions and acquisitions. CITV itself is the programming block on the main ITV Network .The CITV channel broadcasts from 06:00 to 18:00...

) on August 26, 2006. http://www.citv.co.uk/page.asp?partid=14&src=http://www.bikermice.tv However, due to production problems at the studio in the Philippines the series was not finalized until late 2007, resulting in the launch in the USA and many other countries being delayed until 2008 as it still needed to be dubbed.

CITV on ITV2
ITV2
ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...

 re-ran the original 1990s series at 07.55 Monday to Friday for a 10 week strip from early September 2006. It was repeated on ITV2 at 08.25 Monday to Friday for 10 weeks from March 27, 2007.

The series also launched successfully in Finland on MTV3 and in Australia on Channel Ten in October 2006.

Despite been successful in Europe, the revival didn't live up to the original series and the fans response was mostly negative.

Video games

A Biker Mice from Mars
Biker Mice from Mars (1994 video game)
Biker Mice From Mars is a Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game made in 1994 by Konami, based on the animated series of the same name. The object is to take on the role of Throttle, Modo, or Vinnie, and defeat space enemies Lawrence Limburger, Dr. Karbunkle, and Grease Pit in a series of...

video game was released by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...

 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...

 in 1994. The European version features extensive advertisements for Snickers
Snickers
Snickers is a brand name chocolate bar made by Mars, Incorporated. It consists of peanut nougat topped with roasted peanuts and caramel, enrobed in milk chocolate. Snickers has annual global sales of $2 billion....

 candy bars.

In 2006, Biker Mice from Mars
Biker Mice from Mars (2006 video game)
Biker Mice from Mars is the second video game released under the same title. It is based on the 2006 revival in Finland, Australia, United Kingdom and United States for the Nintendo DS & Sony PS2 consoles. It was developed by Creat Studio for the PlayStation 2, and British company Full Fat for the...

was released based on the 2006 Revival in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 & The United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...

 & Sony PS2 consoles. None of these games received any major positive ratings although the PS2 game was a major sales success throughout Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

.

Comic books

Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

 published a three issue series in the early 1990s. A fourth issue was solicited on the reader's page.
Marvel UK published its own series. The whole American series and portions of the British series were published in Germany (also by Marvel UK) in 7 magazine-sized issues from 1994 to 1995.

DVD releases

The first 13 episodes of Season One was released on DVD in the UK by Maximum Entertainment.

In the USA in 2008, Exposure Enertainment had released the 1st season on DVD as a two disc set.

Both the UK and US sets are now currentily out of print.

An online petition demanding the release of the full original series in DVD has so far collected the signatures of several hundred fans from around the world, representing a growing community of fans numbering thousands of people on facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

.

External links

  • Biker Mice From Mars at YouTube
    YouTube
    YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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