Road Rovers

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

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

Plot

One year prior, in Socorro, New Mexico, Professor Shepherd was forced to relinquish his experimental transdogmafier technology to General Parvo in exchange for having his kidnapped dog Scout returned to him, but Parvo refused to do so and destroyed his laboratory. One year later, as Parvo mutates normal dogs into monsters, Shepherd, who miraculously survived the attack, takes measures to stop him.

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

Characters

• Hunter (voiced by Jess Harnell)^[3] – A Goldador from the United States and the leader of the team. Hunter is optimistic, funny, devoted, friendly, level-headed, and an effective leader. Hunter's power is super speed; this allows him to run faster than the speed of sound. He lives with President Bill Clinton in the White House. He also has a crush on Colleen, whom he openly flirts with in the later episodes of the series.
• Colleen (voiced by Tress MacNeille)^[3] – A no-nonsense Rough Collie from the United Kingdom, and the only female member of the Road Rovers. She is the coordinator of the team, always checking to see if everything is going well without any problems or issues. Colleen is also very athletic, being a skilled martial artist. She resides with the prime minister of the United Kingdom, John Major, and his wife Norma Johnson. She is openly attracted to Hunter, who she developed a flirtatious relationship with during later episodes of the series.
• Exile (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson)^[3] – A Siberian Husky from Russia. His full name is Exilo Michalovitch Sanhusky. Exile speaks English with a thick Russian accent, sometimes mixing up words in the process. He is somewhat friendly and easygoing, but often clashes with Blitz. Exile is super strong and also has heat, ice, and night vision. He used to work with other huskies as a sled dog, but now lives with Russian president Boris Yeltsin.
• Blitz (voiced by Jeff Bennett impersonating Arnold Schwarzenegger)^[3] – A Doberman from Germany. Unlike Hunter, Blitz is often selfish, immature, spiteful, faint-hearted, and has an ill temper. He has razor-sharp claws and strong jaws, which allow him to bite and cut through almost any substance. Blitz was formerly a guard dog for thieves, but now lives with German chancellor Helmut Kohl.
• Shag (voiced by Frank Welker)^[3] – A cowardly Old English Sheepdog from Switzerland. Shag only transformed halfway into a Cano-sapien. He is incapable of comprehensible speech and does not wear a uniform. Shag lives with Arnold Koller, the president of the Swiss Confederation.
• Muzzle (voiced by Frank Welker) – Professor Shepherd's Rottweiler, who was originally named Scout. He was kidnapped and experimented on by Parvo, which drove him insane. As a result, he is often restrained on a cart while wearing a straitjacket and mask.
• Persia (voiced by Sheena Easton) – An Afghan Hound and commander of the Space Rovers.
• Professor Hubert (voiced by David Doyle)^[3] – A Bloodhound scientist.
• Confusus – A wise dog who lives in the mountains.
• Professor William Shepherd / "The Master" (voiced by Joseph Campanella)^[3] – A geneticist who created the transdogmafier and the Road Rovers.
• General Parvo (voiced by Jim Cummings)^[3] – The Road Rovers' main enemy, who seeks to destroy Professor Shepherd and conquer the world. He was previously a cat before Shephard's assistant Jeffrey Otitus captured him and transformed him into a "Felo-Sapien". Unlike other transformed animals, he largely resembles a human except for his cat ears, which are usually hidden by his helmet.
• The Groomer (voiced by Sheena Easton)^[3] – General Parvo's assistant.
• Zachary Storm (voiced by Larry Drake)^[3] – A former member of the Navy with aspirations of world domination.
• Eugene Atwater (voiced by Steve Franken)^[3] – A professor and bug enthusiast.
• Cano-mutants – Dogs who were turned into humanoid monsters and led by Parvo.
• Werewolves – A pack of werewolves appearing in "A Hair of the Dog That Bit You". They are led by the Wolf King (voiced by Rob Paulsen).^[3]

Home media

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

In popular culture

A statue of Hunter makes a cameo appearance in The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries episode "The Stilted Perch".

The Road Rovers make cameo appearances in the Histeria! episode "Big Fat Baby Theatre" where Loud Kiddington's dog "Fetch" bears a strong resemblance to Hunter, and the Teen Titans Go! episode "Huggbees" on a film reel.

References

1. ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 507–508. ISBN 978-1538103739.
2. ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003. 2nd ed. McFarland & Co. pp. 669–670. ISBN 978-1476665993.
3. ^ "Road Rovers (1996 TV Show)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved June 19, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.