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G Force (anime)
Encyclopedia
G-Force: Guardians of Space (1986
) is the second American
animated television
adaptation of the Japan
ese anime
series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman
(1972
), following Sandy Frank Entertainment
's initial 1978 effort Battle of the Planets
and preceding ADV Films recent 2005 attempt, known as just Gatchaman. With G-Force, Sandy Frank Entertainment collaborated with Turner Broadcasting
to create a newer, more faithful translation of Science Ninja Team Gatchaman for a new audience, and such a translation was made possible with the relaxed television standards
of the 1980s, a luxury that the more Star Wars
-themed Battle of the Planets did not enjoy.
During the early-to-mid 1980s, Sandy Frank Entertainment
's Battle of the Planets
(or BotP) was gradually being phased off the air after a successful number of years in syndication. Television stations began relegating the show to early morning timeslots (as typically done with programming on its way off the air) before dispensing of it altogether. During this period Ted Turner
's cable network TBS (then known as "SuperStation WTBS") also aired the show on their channel (albeit in a slightly more edited form, with cuts for time constraints), and by 1984
, WTBS was more or less the exclusive home of BotP before they too dispensed of it around 1985
, effectively ending the lengthy run of Battle of the Planets on U.S television.
With Battle of the Planets having run its course and still holding the domestic rights to the first Gatchaman series, Sandy Frank continued to market BotP wherever they could while seeking ways to continue making use of their license. Interest came from the part of Turner Broadcasting
(who was the last to air BotP on a wide scale on their TBS network) in creating a newer, more faithful adaptation of Gatchaman, which would be easier to accomplish with the newly relaxed television standards
of the Reagan era-1980s. (Themes such as violence, death and destruction in cartoons were heavily edited, if not cracked down on during the 1970s, which is why Battle of the Planets was so sanitized compared to the original Gatchaman.) Turner executives believed that the series still had potential, and in turn acquired the rights from Sandy Frank to begin work on what would come to be known as G-Force (the same title given to the collective group of protagonists in Battle of the Planets, which in turn would be used for the same purpose on the new version).
To develop this project, Turner enlisted the help of Fred Ladd
, a pioneer in the field of translating and distributing Japanese animation in the U.S (with famous works such as Astro Boy, Gigantor
& Kimba the White Lion
, under his belt) to produce the adaptation. Ladd had previously been offered to produce Battle of the Planets by Sandy Frank himself a few years before, but passed on the offer due to location conflicts; Ladd was working out of New York City
at the time, while BotP was being produced in California
. Ladd, through his production company "Sparklin' Entertainment", put together two "test" pilot episodes chosen by Turner (see Episode order), and sent them in for approval. Within days, Ladd and his company were given the greenlight to produce the adaptation, and work on "G-Force" began in the fall of 1986. Despite it being handled by Turner & Fred Ladd, Sandy Frank ultimately held the copyrights to the show (along with international distribution rights), while Turner, through its subsidiary Turner Program Services
, and King Features Entertainment (a subsidiary of Hearst Corporation
) held limited distribution and syndication rights.
with added dialogue where it was too explicit (i.e. profanity, certain on-screen gun usage, deaths via firearms and/or overly violent means and inter-team violence).
In a move that was, and somewhat still is common amongst dubbed anime, the silent parts of the Gatchaman soundtrack (i.e., in which there wasn't any music playing or dialogue spoken) were filled in with a sole, repetitive synth instrumental that would play on and off as the Gatchaman score faded in and out. The reason that's often been given for the practice of "filling in" the silent parts of a show's soundtrack is that it maintains the pace of the show, and keeps the audience from becoming bored or uninterested during a lull in action. This very well may have been the case with G-Force. The aforementioned synth instrumental (that is played throughout every episode of the series) is actually a stripped-down rendition of the show's opening/ending theme.
Episodes 18 ("The Whale Submarine") & 87 ("Galactor's Deadly Trap") of G-Force served as the two pilots for the show. They were put together by producer Fred Ladd before he had been given approval to work on the rest of the series, with the purpose being to demonstrate (to Turner Broadcasting) what his work on the show would look and sound like. The two pilots are unique amongst the rest of the episodes for having replaced all of the original Gatchaman music with new music composed by Dean Andre, which was part of the proposed, all-new music score for the show. Due to time constraints, the new pieces of music weren't utilized beyond the pilots and left on the cutting room floor, with the rest of the episodes retaining most of the original Gatchaman score. Incidentally, most of the new music that was exclusively played in the pilots also turned out to be variations of the show's opening/ending theme. There exist earlier, unaired versions of the pilot episodes which contain a radically different music score than even the broadcast versions of the pilots. They also contain an unused opening/closing theme, which along with the aforementioned score was also left on the cutting room floor in favor of the final music selection present in the broadcasted episodes. These "pre-production" pilot episodes are only available as extras on the Region 4 (PAL) "Battle of the Planets: Collection 2 " DVD set.
Between the efforts of both Battle of the Planets and G-Force, 99 of Gatchamans 105 episodes were adapted. Incidentally, the last six untranslated episodes were very crucial to the series' overall storyline, and also contained its true ending. They also featured some of the series' most violent, yet memorable moments. As previously mentioned, ADV Film's uncut Gatchaman release finally adapted all 105 episodes into English, more than 30 years after the show first aired and almost 30 years since its first English adaptation
.
On the creative side, the original Gatchaman character names and terms were once-again re-tooled and Americanized
in G-Force for the convenience of the English-speaking market, as they first were with Battle of the Planets years earlier. Despite the existence of BotP's set of English names and terms, G-Forces producers came up with their own set in an attempt to stray away from the previous adaptation as much as possible and avoid any potential confusion between the two. From Battle of the Planets to G-Force, the heroes' names were changed to Ace Goodheart (Mark), Dirk Daring (Jason), Agatha June (Princess), Pee Wee (Keyop), Hoot Owl (Tiny), and Dr. Brighthead (Chief Anderson), while the main villains were re-named Galactor
(Zoltar) and Computor (The Great Spirit) respectively. The only terms retained from BotP were the name of the group as a collective ("G-Force", in order to explain the "G" on their costumes and vehicles) and the team's ship ("Phoenix").
(formerly marketed by Turner Program Services
and King Features Entertainment, whose rights reverted back to Sandy Frank in 2003)
Producer: Fred Ladd
Voice Director
: Fred Ladd
Additional Music Composer/Music Editor: Dean Andre
Post-Production
: Bruce Austin Productions
Videotape Editor: Kurt Tiegs
Production: Sparklin' Entertainment
Dirk Daring/Red Impulse: Cam Clarke
Agatha June/Pee Wee: Barbara Goodson
Hoot-Owl/Dr.Brighthead/Computor: Jan Rabson
(some episodes), Gregg Berger
(others)
Galactor: Bill Capizzi
Opening Credits Announcer: Norm Prescott
(NOTE: The show's voice actors were originally uncredited in its credits list.)
the following week. Some sources say that G-Force was created solely for overseas syndication (and not U.S. consumption), and that the purpose behind the TBS "test run" was to clear a contractural agreement and also list the show as having "aired" in the U.S. to help it sell around the world. Regardless of whether this was true or not, the show was syndicated internationally in the following years, finding a decent following abroad while the U.S. was left without any incarnation of Gatchaman for years.
, another of Ted Turner's networks and still in its infancy was in dire need of newer and fresh programming, which conveniently provided an opportunity for G-Force to make its (proper) U.S. debut, as Turner still had a stake in the show at the time. G-Force premiered on Cartoon Network on January 2, 1995 as a mainstay of the network's action programming, and was finally aired in its entirety via weekday and weekend rotation.
G-Force was the first-ever anime
to air on Cartoon Network
, followed by Robot Carnival
, Vampire Hunter D
, Twilight of the Cockroaches (all three on January 29, 1995 in "Night of the Vampire Robots") and Speed Racer
(February 1996), all airing before the debut of Toonami
(March 1997) which popularized anime on the network.
The show did modestly rating-wise and developed a small following, but neither were on the scale that Battle of the Planets had and enjoyed in its day. More notable was the mass confusion that occurred amongst older viewers upon the premiere of G-Force. Many who recalled and were fans of its predecessor Battle of the Planets
were confused and thrown off upon watching G-Force (due to both being culled from the same material, Gatchaman and prominently using the name "G-Force"), assuming it was an altered version of BotP at first and not a newer, entirely separate adaptation of Gatchaman.
By 1996, Cartoon Network shunted the show to late nights and weekends only, and it lingered there for a while until they finally cancelled it in 1997, marking the last time G-Force has aired in its entirety in the U.S to date. Since its original U.S run, the show has made brief re-appearances in 2000 (on Cartoon Network's late-night "Toonami Midnight Run
" block) and again in 2004 (on ADV's "The Anime Network"), never airing more than a handful of episodes.
During its short stint on the weekend "Toonami Midnight Run" block in early 2000, G-Force was featured in a number of on-air promotions for Cartoon Network's Toonami
, which continued to air even after the show had left the air.
Due to its relative obscurity, and paired with the fact that ADV's recent uncut and unedited Gatchaman release has replaced it as the most accurate English adaptation, G-Force is unlikely to receive a full series or boxset release as its Battle of the Planets breathren has received (in the U.K at least http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0002317SY).
Also, Sandy Frank Entertainment's (owners of both Battle of the Planets and G-Force: Guardians of Space) distribution and marketing rights to the original Gatchaman series, including its adaptations, were believed to have recently expired, leaving the fates of both G-Force and its predecessor Battle of the Planets up in the air and most likely killing the already slim probability of any future G-Force releases on DVD.
To date only a handful of G-Force episodes have been released on home video, totaling to just 13 of its 85 episodes when adding up all of the ones in the following DVD releases:
1986 in television
The year 1986 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1986.For the American network television schedule, please see 1986-87 American network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:*September 6 –...
) is the second American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
animated television
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
adaptation of the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman
Science Ninja Team Gatchaman
is a 5-member superhero team that is composed of the main characters in several Japanese anime created by Tatsuo Yoshida and originally produced in Japan by Tatsunoko Productions and later adapted into several English-language versions...
(1972
1972 in television
The year 1972 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1972.For the American TV schedule, see: 1972-73 American network television schedule.-Events:...
), following Sandy Frank Entertainment
Sandy Frank
Sandy Frank is an American television producer and international TV program distributor as well as a marketer of TV shows to US networks.-Early life and career:...
's initial 1978 effort Battle of the Planets
Battle of the Planets
Battle of the Planets is an American animated television adaptation of the Japanese anime series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman . Of the 105 original Gatchaman episodes, 85 were used in the Battle of the Planets adaptation, produced by Sandy Frank Entertainment...
and preceding ADV Films recent 2005 attempt, known as just Gatchaman. With G-Force, Sandy Frank Entertainment collaborated with Turner Broadcasting
Turner Broadcasting System
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. is the Time Warner subsidiary managing the collection of cable networks and properties started and acquired by Robert Edward "Ted" Turner starting in the mid-1970s. The company has its headquarters in the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. TBS, Inc...
to create a newer, more faithful translation of Science Ninja Team Gatchaman for a new audience, and such a translation was made possible with the relaxed television standards
Standards & Practices
In the United States, Standards and Practices is the name traditionally given to the department at a television network which is responsible for the moral, ethical, and legal implications of the program that network airs...
of the 1980s, a luxury that the more Star Wars
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
-themed Battle of the Planets did not enjoy.
Summary
An excerpt from The Best of G-Force DVD:
Five teen-age champions!
The evil aliens Galactor and Computor, along with their armies of androids and giant monster machines, want to take over the Earth! Galactor will stop at nothing to complete his goal, but fortunately Earth has G-Force - a team of five youngsters willing to lay down their lives to protect the planet! Join Ace Goodheart, Dirk Daring, Agatha June (Aggie), Pee Wee, and Hoot Owl (Hooty) as they fight to keep the Earth safe!
Overview
Sandy Frank
Sandy Frank is an American television producer and international TV program distributor as well as a marketer of TV shows to US networks.-Early life and career:...
's Battle of the Planets
Battle of the Planets
Battle of the Planets is an American animated television adaptation of the Japanese anime series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman . Of the 105 original Gatchaman episodes, 85 were used in the Battle of the Planets adaptation, produced by Sandy Frank Entertainment...
(or BotP) was gradually being phased off the air after a successful number of years in syndication. Television stations began relegating the show to early morning timeslots (as typically done with programming on its way off the air) before dispensing of it altogether. During this period Ted Turner
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
's cable network TBS (then known as "SuperStation WTBS") also aired the show on their channel (albeit in a slightly more edited form, with cuts for time constraints), and by 1984
1984 in television
This article is a list of television-related events in 1984.-Events:*January 9 – Wendy's "Fluffy Bun" ad first airs, which propels Clara Peller and her "Where's the beef?" catchphrase to national prominence....
, WTBS was more or less the exclusive home of BotP before they too dispensed of it around 1985
1985 in television
The year 1985 involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1985.For the American TV schedule, see: 1985-86 United States network television schedule.-Events:*January 1 – VH1 launches in the United States....
, effectively ending the lengthy run of Battle of the Planets on U.S television.
With Battle of the Planets having run its course and still holding the domestic rights to the first Gatchaman series, Sandy Frank continued to market BotP wherever they could while seeking ways to continue making use of their license. Interest came from the part of Turner Broadcasting
Turner Broadcasting System
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. is the Time Warner subsidiary managing the collection of cable networks and properties started and acquired by Robert Edward "Ted" Turner starting in the mid-1970s. The company has its headquarters in the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. TBS, Inc...
(who was the last to air BotP on a wide scale on their TBS network) in creating a newer, more faithful adaptation of Gatchaman, which would be easier to accomplish with the newly relaxed television standards
Standards & Practices
In the United States, Standards and Practices is the name traditionally given to the department at a television network which is responsible for the moral, ethical, and legal implications of the program that network airs...
of the Reagan era-1980s. (Themes such as violence, death and destruction in cartoons were heavily edited, if not cracked down on during the 1970s, which is why Battle of the Planets was so sanitized compared to the original Gatchaman.) Turner executives believed that the series still had potential, and in turn acquired the rights from Sandy Frank to begin work on what would come to be known as G-Force (the same title given to the collective group of protagonists in Battle of the Planets, which in turn would be used for the same purpose on the new version).
To develop this project, Turner enlisted the help of Fred Ladd
Fred Ladd
Fred Ladd , is an American television and film writer and producer. He is notable as one of the first to introduce Japanese animated cartoons to North America....
, a pioneer in the field of translating and distributing Japanese animation in the U.S (with famous works such as Astro Boy, Gigantor
Gigantor
Gigantor is an American adaptation of the anime version of Tetsujin 28-go, a manga by Mitsuteru Yokoyama released in 1956. It debuted on U.S. television in 1964. As with Speed Racer, the characters' original names were altered and the original series' violence was toned down for American viewers...
& Kimba the White Lion
Kimba the White Lion
, known in the United States as Kimba the White Lion, is an anime series from the 1960s. Created by Osamu Tezuka and based on his manga of the same title which began publication in 1950, it was the first color animated television series created in Japan. The manga was first published in serialized...
, under his belt) to produce the adaptation. Ladd had previously been offered to produce Battle of the Planets by Sandy Frank himself a few years before, but passed on the offer due to location conflicts; Ladd was working out of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
at the time, while BotP was being produced in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Ladd, through his production company "Sparklin' Entertainment", put together two "test" pilot episodes chosen by Turner (see Episode order), and sent them in for approval. Within days, Ladd and his company were given the greenlight to produce the adaptation, and work on "G-Force" began in the fall of 1986. Despite it being handled by Turner & Fred Ladd, Sandy Frank ultimately held the copyrights to the show (along with international distribution rights), while Turner, through its subsidiary Turner Program Services
Turner Program Services
Turner Program Services was the former syndication arm of Turner Broadcasting. It served the same purpose as Turner Entertainment's distribution unit, with the exception that TPS was more involved in distributing television series rather than films....
, and King Features Entertainment (a subsidiary of Hearst Corporation
Hearst Corporation
The Hearst Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower, Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media...
) held limited distribution and syndication rights.
Changes and additions in the adaptation
Editing & censorship
For Turner's G-Force, none of Battle of the Planet's original elements (such as 7-Zark-7, 1-Rover-1, the concept of space travel and space battles and all of the added American footage) were retained, preferably replaced with a more accurate translation of the original Gatchaman series with far less alterations. Most of the plot, backstories, violence and deaths remained intact, only edited or "softened"Editing of anime in American distribution
Editing of anime in American distribution describes the process of altering anime to prepare it to be distributed in the United States and forms part of the process of localization. This process is generally applied only to series intended for broadcast on American television; series released...
with added dialogue where it was too explicit (i.e. profanity, certain on-screen gun usage, deaths via firearms and/or overly violent means and inter-team violence).
Music
An all-new music score (by composer Dean Andre) was in the works for G-Force, but those plans fell through due to the time constraints the project faced, which resulted in the adaptation retaining most of the original, 1970s Gatchaman score.In a move that was, and somewhat still is common amongst dubbed anime, the silent parts of the Gatchaman soundtrack (i.e., in which there wasn't any music playing or dialogue spoken) were filled in with a sole, repetitive synth instrumental that would play on and off as the Gatchaman score faded in and out. The reason that's often been given for the practice of "filling in" the silent parts of a show's soundtrack is that it maintains the pace of the show, and keeps the audience from becoming bored or uninterested during a lull in action. This very well may have been the case with G-Force. The aforementioned synth instrumental (that is played throughout every episode of the series) is actually a stripped-down rendition of the show's opening/ending theme.
Episode order
Unlike Battle of the Planets, which bounced around the Gatchaman episode order and adapted them as the producers saw fit, G-Force followed the original Gatchaman episode order for its entire run, only skipping Gatchaman episodes 81 (due to strong content, also skipped in BotP) and 86 (for unknown reasons) for a total of 85 dubbed episodes (the same number of episodes adapted for Battle of the Planets coincidentally). However, only the first 87 (85) of Gatchamans 105 episodes were adapted for G-Force which resulted in the adaptation ending at a cliffhanger, with no definitive ending. The reasons behind this decision are not exactly known; some sources claim that only 85 episodes were contracted and bought for this adaptation while others claim that budget constraints or lack of interest in adapting the remaining episodes cut it short. Also to be taken into consideration is the fact that the Gatchaman series became increasingly darker and violent towards its end, which would have made adapting those last episodes difficult, given that G-Force was being marketed towards children. It was not until ADV Films' uncut and unedited release of the first Gatchaman series in 2005-2006 that all 105 episodes were adapted and available in English.Episodes 18 ("The Whale Submarine") & 87 ("Galactor's Deadly Trap") of G-Force served as the two pilots for the show. They were put together by producer Fred Ladd before he had been given approval to work on the rest of the series, with the purpose being to demonstrate (to Turner Broadcasting) what his work on the show would look and sound like. The two pilots are unique amongst the rest of the episodes for having replaced all of the original Gatchaman music with new music composed by Dean Andre, which was part of the proposed, all-new music score for the show. Due to time constraints, the new pieces of music weren't utilized beyond the pilots and left on the cutting room floor, with the rest of the episodes retaining most of the original Gatchaman score. Incidentally, most of the new music that was exclusively played in the pilots also turned out to be variations of the show's opening/ending theme. There exist earlier, unaired versions of the pilot episodes which contain a radically different music score than even the broadcast versions of the pilots. They also contain an unused opening/closing theme, which along with the aforementioned score was also left on the cutting room floor in favor of the final music selection present in the broadcasted episodes. These "pre-production" pilot episodes are only available as extras on the Region 4 (PAL) "Battle of the Planets: Collection 2 " DVD set.
Between the efforts of both Battle of the Planets and G-Force, 99 of Gatchamans 105 episodes were adapted. Incidentally, the last six untranslated episodes were very crucial to the series' overall storyline, and also contained its true ending. They also featured some of the series' most violent, yet memorable moments. As previously mentioned, ADV Film's uncut Gatchaman release finally adapted all 105 episodes into English, more than 30 years after the show first aired and almost 30 years since its first English adaptation
Battle of the Planets
Battle of the Planets is an American animated television adaptation of the Japanese anime series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman . Of the 105 original Gatchaman episodes, 85 were used in the Battle of the Planets adaptation, produced by Sandy Frank Entertainment...
.
Character names & terms
Americanization
Americanization is the influence of the United States on the popular culture, technology, business practices, or political techniques of other countries. The term has been used since at least 1907. Inside the U.S...
in G-Force for the convenience of the English-speaking market, as they first were with Battle of the Planets years earlier. Despite the existence of BotP's set of English names and terms, G-Forces producers came up with their own set in an attempt to stray away from the previous adaptation as much as possible and avoid any potential confusion between the two. From Battle of the Planets to G-Force, the heroes' names were changed to Ace Goodheart (Mark), Dirk Daring (Jason), Agatha June (Princess), Pee Wee (Keyop), Hoot Owl (Tiny), and Dr. Brighthead (Chief Anderson), while the main villains were re-named Galactor
Galactor
is a group of fictional characters in the popular anime franchise Science Ninja Team Gatchaman.-History:The organization's exact origins are unknown except for that it apparently worked conventionally for years and kept such a low profile that it escaped the notice of any intelligence agency.That...
(Zoltar) and Computor (The Great Spirit) respectively. The only terms retained from BotP were the name of the group as a collective ("G-Force", in order to explain the "G" on their costumes and vehicles) and the team's ship ("Phoenix").
Other changes
- In G-Force, the Pee Wee character remained mostly identical to his original Gatchaman counterpart Jinpei, as opposed to Battle of the Planets which drastically altered the Jinpei character from a typical 10 year old to Keyop, a young android/test tube experiment with a speech impediment.
- In Gatchaman and Battle of the Planets, the two primary antagonists (known as Berg Katse/Zoltar & Sosai X/The Great Spirit respectively) shared a strictly subordinate/master relationship, which was changed to more of a master/consultant relationship in G-Force, with Galactor (Berg Katse) becoming the master and Computor (Sosai X) now relegated to his consultant. The reasons for this change are unknown.
Credits
Owned and distributed by: Sandy Frank EntertainmentSandy Frank
Sandy Frank is an American television producer and international TV program distributor as well as a marketer of TV shows to US networks.-Early life and career:...
(formerly marketed by Turner Program Services
Turner Program Services
Turner Program Services was the former syndication arm of Turner Broadcasting. It served the same purpose as Turner Entertainment's distribution unit, with the exception that TPS was more involved in distributing television series rather than films....
and King Features Entertainment, whose rights reverted back to Sandy Frank in 2003)
Producer: Fred Ladd
Fred Ladd
Fred Ladd , is an American television and film writer and producer. He is notable as one of the first to introduce Japanese animated cartoons to North America....
Voice Director
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
: Fred Ladd
Fred Ladd
Fred Ladd , is an American television and film writer and producer. He is notable as one of the first to introduce Japanese animated cartoons to North America....
Additional Music Composer/Music Editor: Dean Andre
Post-Production
Post-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
: Bruce Austin Productions
Videotape Editor: Kurt Tiegs
Production: Sparklin' Entertainment
Fred Ladd
Fred Ladd , is an American television and film writer and producer. He is notable as one of the first to introduce Japanese animated cartoons to North America....
Voice Cast
Ace Goodheart: Sam FontanaDirk Daring/Red Impulse: Cam Clarke
Cam Clarke
Cameron Arthur "Cam" Clarke is a prolific American voice actor and singer, well known for his work in animation and video games. Clarke is well known for providing the voices of Leonardo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Shotaro Kaneda in the 1989 original English-dub of Akira. He often voices...
Agatha June/Pee Wee: Barbara Goodson
Barbara Goodson
Barbara Goodson is an American actress known mostly for her versatility in voicing original and dubbed cartoons. She is voted one of the ten best women to do the voices for young males in cartoons...
Hoot-Owl/Dr.Brighthead/Computor: Jan Rabson
Jan Rabson
Jan Rabson is an American actor and voice actor.Rabson was born in East Meadow, New York. Jan's voice has been heard on thousands of commercials, films, TV shows and animated films and series...
(some episodes), Gregg Berger
Gregg Berger
Greggory "Gregg" Berger is an American voice actor, who is known for his longtime role as Odie the dog from the Garfield franchise...
(others)
Galactor: Bill Capizzi
Bill Capizzi
Bill Capizzi was a voice actor who is also known as Bill Capeze and Bill Kapezi. He was born in North Hollywood, California.-Anime:* Digimon Adventure - Frigimon* G-Force: Guardians of Space - Galactor...
Opening Credits Announcer: Norm Prescott
Norm Prescott
Norman "Norm" Prescott was co-founder and executive producer at Filmation Studios. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, he began his radio career in the Hub, becoming program director at station WORL in the late 1940s. He went to work for Joseph E. Levine's Embassy Pictures Corp. in 1959, serving as...
(NOTE: The show's voice actors were originally uncredited in its credits list.)
Team variations across different versions
The re-naming of the various characters and terms in G-Force are highlighted as follows (in correspondence to their Gatchaman equivalents, among others):| Gatchaman | Battle of the Planets | G-Force | Eagle Riders | OVA Original video animation , abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation... (Dub) | Rank | Bird Uniform | Weapon | Mecha | Japanese voice actor | Voice actor (BOTP) | Voice actor (G-Force) | Voice actor (OVA Dub) | Voice actor (Eagle Riders) | Voice actor (ADV Dub) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Washio | Mark | Ace Goodheart | Hunter Harris | Ken the Eagle | G1 | Eagle | Razor boomerang | Airplane | Katsuji Mori Katsuji Mori is a Japanese voice actor often accredited as the Casey Kasem of Japan. He is most known for the roles of Go Mifune , Joe Shimamura/009 , Ken the Eagle , Jouji Minami , and Garma Zabi .- Anime :*Nephrite in Sailor Moon*Seiji Hayami in Cutey Honey*Go Mifune in Mach Go Go Go/Speed Racer is a... |
Casey Kasem Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and... |
Sam Fontana | Eddie Frierson Eddie Frierson Edward Davies "Eddie" Frierson is an American voice actor and stage actor who is also known as Christy Mathewson, Ted Richards, and Eric Frierson Edward Davies "Eddie" Frierson (born November 22, 1959) is an American voice actor and stage actor who is also known as Christy Mathewson, Ted Richards,... |
Richard Cansino Richard Cansino Richard Cansino is an American voice actor. He is also known as Richard Hayworth because he is the nephew of Rita Hayworth, and occasionally goes by the name Steve Davis after the British snooker player of the same name... |
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Victor Carsrud |
- Although he was obviously the Swallow, Jimmy called himself the Falcon.
Other character variations across different versions
| Gatchaman | Battle of the Planets | G-Force | Eagle Riders | OVA (Dub) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dr. Kozaburo Nambu | Chief Anderson | Dr. Benjamin Brighthead | Dr. Thaddeus Keane | Dr. Kozaburo Nambu |
| ISO Director Anderson | President Kane | Anderson/Cmdr. Todd (some episodes) | Anderson | Director Anderson |
| Red Impulse / Kentaro Washio |
Col. Cronos | Red Impulse / Mr. Goodheart | Harley Harris | Red Spectre |
| Berg Katse | Zoltar | Galactor | Lukan | Solaris |
| Sosai (Leader) X | O Luminous One / The Great Spirit |
Computor | Cybercom | Lord Zortek |
| Galactor | Planet Spectra | Planet Galactor or Galactor's men | Vorak | Galactor |
| Gel Sadra (Gatchaman 2) |
Mallanox |
Identity change variations across different versions
| Gatchaman Identity change command | Battle of the Planets Identity change command | G-Force Identity change command | Eagle Riders change command | OVA change command (English) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bird, Go! | Transmute! | G-Force, Transform! | Eagle Mode, NOW! |
|
TBS run (1986)
The revamped G-Force premiered as a "test run" on Turner's own TBS network in the summer of 1986 and ran for just a week before mysteriously disappearing afterwards. The reasons for this are still unclear and/or unknown, but it wasn't on long enough for viewer receptions or higher-ups to even gauge its viability as some have indicated. Supposedly, it was replaced by re-runs of Gilligan's IslandGilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island is an American television series created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz and originally produced by United Artists Television. The situation comedy series featured Bob Denver; Alan Hale, Jr.; Jim Backus; Natalie Schafer; Tina Louise; Russell Johnson; and Dawn Wells. It aired for...
the following week. Some sources say that G-Force was created solely for overseas syndication (and not U.S. consumption), and that the purpose behind the TBS "test run" was to clear a contractural agreement and also list the show as having "aired" in the U.S. to help it sell around the world. Regardless of whether this was true or not, the show was syndicated internationally in the following years, finding a decent following abroad while the U.S. was left without any incarnation of Gatchaman for years.
Cartoon Network run (1995-1997; 2000)
Almost a decade later, Cartoon NetworkCartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
, another of Ted Turner's networks and still in its infancy was in dire need of newer and fresh programming, which conveniently provided an opportunity for G-Force to make its (proper) U.S. debut, as Turner still had a stake in the show at the time. G-Force premiered on Cartoon Network on January 2, 1995 as a mainstay of the network's action programming, and was finally aired in its entirety via weekday and weekend rotation.
G-Force was the first-ever anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
to air on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
, followed by Robot Carnival
Robot Carnival
is a Japanese anime anthology film released in 1987. It consists of nine shorts by different directors, many of whom started out as animators with little to no directing experience...
, Vampire Hunter D
Vampire Hunter D (1985 film)
Vampire Hunter D - one of the first anime films released outside of Japan, remains a cult classic in the English-speaking world...
, Twilight of the Cockroaches (all three on January 29, 1995 in "Night of the Vampire Robots") and Speed Racer
Speed Racer
Speed Racer is an English adaptation name of the Japanese manga and anime, which centered on automobile racing. Mach GoGoGo was originally serialized in print form in Shueisha's 1958 Shōnen Book, and was released in tankōbon book form by Sun Wide Comics, re-released in Japan by Fusosha...
(February 1996), all airing before the debut of Toonami
Toonami
Toonami was a registered trademark of Cartoon Network, used initially for action-oriented programming blocks on Cartoon Network television channels worldwide, mostly showing American cartoons and Japanese anime, originating in the United States on March 17, 1997 and ended on September 20, 2008.The...
(March 1997) which popularized anime on the network.
The show did modestly rating-wise and developed a small following, but neither were on the scale that Battle of the Planets had and enjoyed in its day. More notable was the mass confusion that occurred amongst older viewers upon the premiere of G-Force. Many who recalled and were fans of its predecessor Battle of the Planets
Battle of the Planets
Battle of the Planets is an American animated television adaptation of the Japanese anime series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman . Of the 105 original Gatchaman episodes, 85 were used in the Battle of the Planets adaptation, produced by Sandy Frank Entertainment...
were confused and thrown off upon watching G-Force (due to both being culled from the same material, Gatchaman and prominently using the name "G-Force"), assuming it was an altered version of BotP at first and not a newer, entirely separate adaptation of Gatchaman.
By 1996, Cartoon Network shunted the show to late nights and weekends only, and it lingered there for a while until they finally cancelled it in 1997, marking the last time G-Force has aired in its entirety in the U.S to date. Since its original U.S run, the show has made brief re-appearances in 2000 (on Cartoon Network's late-night "Toonami Midnight Run
Toonami
Toonami was a registered trademark of Cartoon Network, used initially for action-oriented programming blocks on Cartoon Network television channels worldwide, mostly showing American cartoons and Japanese anime, originating in the United States on March 17, 1997 and ended on September 20, 2008.The...
" block) and again in 2004 (on ADV's "The Anime Network"), never airing more than a handful of episodes.
During its short stint on the weekend "Toonami Midnight Run" block in early 2000, G-Force was featured in a number of on-air promotions for Cartoon Network's Toonami
Toonami
Toonami was a registered trademark of Cartoon Network, used initially for action-oriented programming blocks on Cartoon Network television channels worldwide, mostly showing American cartoons and Japanese anime, originating in the United States on March 17, 1997 and ended on September 20, 2008.The...
, which continued to air even after the show had left the air.
Reception
G-Force was (and still is) criticized by fans of the previous adaptation, Battle of the Planets, and to a lesser extent Gatchaman, both of which criticize its voice acting and "descriptive" character names, preferring their Gatchaman/BotP equivalents. Also, as previously mentioned, the similarity between BotP and G-Force has often led to fans of the former confusing it with the latter, when they are, in fact, two different English adaptations of the same show. The most common complaint amongst fans and new viewers alike was the distracting synth instrumental that was often played in every episode. These flaws proved to be enough for some to overlook G-Force's good qualities and avoid the show altogether, and all this among other factors (such as Cartoon Network not having had a strong national presence during the show's original U.S. run) resulted in G-Force failing to be as successful as Battle of the Planets was.DVD releases & availability
Also, Sandy Frank Entertainment's (owners of both Battle of the Planets and G-Force: Guardians of Space) distribution and marketing rights to the original Gatchaman series, including its adaptations, were believed to have recently expired, leaving the fates of both G-Force and its predecessor Battle of the Planets up in the air and most likely killing the already slim probability of any future G-Force releases on DVD.
To date only a handful of G-Force episodes have been released on home video, totaling to just 13 of its 85 episodes when adding up all of the ones in the following DVD releases:
- The Best of G-Force (Region 1DVD region codeDVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
NTSCNTSCNTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
released on September 28, 2004): A compilation DVD featuring seven random G-Force episodes, mostly out of episode order. - G-Force: Guardians of Space (Region 0 PALPALPAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
DVD released on May 13, 2003): Eponymously-titled DVD featuring the first three G-Force episodes. - Battle of the Planets Volumes 1-6 (Region 1 NTSC DVDs released between 2001–2002): The first six volumes of Rhino's Battle of the Planets release contain one episode of G-Force per volume as "extras" (Episodes 1-6, in the same order as the respective volumes). After Volume 6 this practice was stopped.
Trivia
- Unlike its Gatchaman and Battle of the Planets brethren, G-Force didn't have title cards at the beginning of its episodes which made following the show and its individual episodes quite difficult. Foreign-language dubs of G-Force attempted to correct this oversight by having the narrator announce the episode title at the start of each episode. Also, episodes which were listed and titled as two-parters in Gatchaman and Battle of the Planets were not titled as such in G-Force, but the plots in those episodes remained more or less intact. The show's episode titles were later revealed and available to the masses via fan clubs and the internet http://www.chronicsite.com/gatchaman/eplist.html.
- Cartoon NetworkCartoon NetworkCartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
's action-comedy Megas XLRMegas XLRMegas XLR is an American animated television series that aired on the Toonami block on Cartoon Network and is produced by Cartoon Network Studios. It was created by Jody Schaeffer and George Krstic...
occasionally depicted a parody of the G-Force: Guardians of Space team. Due to matters of recognition, the parody characters are often misattributed as knock-offs of the Power RangersPower RangersPower Rangers is a long-running American entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live action children's television series featuring teams of costumed heroes...
.-jc
Further reading
- G-Force: Animated (TwoMorrows PublishingTwoMorrows PublishingTwoMorrows Publishing is a publisher of magazines about comic books, founded in 1994 by John and Pam Morrow out of their small advertising agency in Raleigh, North Carolina...
: ISBN 978-1-893905-18-4) - Astro Boy and Anime Come to the Americas: An Insider's View of the Birth of a Pop Culture Phenomenon (McFarland & CompanyMcFarland & CompanyMcFarland & Company, Inc. is a book publisher of primarily academic and adult nonfiction based in Jefferson, North Carolina. Its president and editor-in-chief is Robert Franklin, who began the enterprise in 1979...
; Incorporated Publishers: ISBN 0-7864-3866-5)
External links
- Fairlight's Gatchaman Battle of the Planets Fansite Screenshots, chararcter bios, and downloads.
- Gatchaman - Home of the White Shadow
- Gatchaman Online and Gatchaman, BotP, & G-Force