Wild C.A.T.s
Wild C.A.T.S is a half-hour animated television series based on the comics series of the same name and developed for television by David Wise. It aired on CBS for one season from October 1, 1994, to January 21, 1995. The series was co-produced by WildStorm Productions & Nelvana.
Overview
When the evil Daemonites emerge from the shadows, multi-billionaire Jacob Marlowe assembles the Wild C.A.T.s, a team of warriors who are descendants of the heroic Kherubim race.Production
Jim Lee's talent agency, Creative Artists Agency, suggested Lee consider adapting some of his characters to animated series due to the success of X-Men: The Animated Series creating a demand for superhero across the networks. CAA set up a meeting between Lee and Canadian animation studio Nelvana, with Lee pitching Wild C.A.T.s to the studio with Nelvana showing Lee their work on Cadillacs and Dinosaurs which sold Lee on working with the studio on the series. Lee and Nelvana pitched Wild C.A.T.s to CBS who were receptive to the series and put the show into development.CBS had also acquired options on Savage Dragon, Freak Force, and Youngblood with CBS eventually passing on Freak Force with the intention of creating a 90-minute block of animated series based on Image Comics' characters to compete against the successful X-Men: The Animated Series on Fox Kids. Wild C.A.T.s was eventually picked up to series while CBS passed on Savage Dragon and experienced a contentious fallout with Youngblood creator Rob Liefeld over content changes mandated by the network which Liefeld refused to entertain.
Wild C.A.T.S, along with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Skeleton Warriors, was grouped into the "Action Zone" showcase that used a wraparound animated fly-though pre-credit sequence to bookend the three very different programs. In March 1995, CBS announced that Wild C.A.T.S would not be returning for a second season.
The series was canceled around the same time that the "Action Zone" concept was officially retired. Following its cancellation, Wild C.A.T.s was picked up by USA Network and was aired as part of the USA Action Extreme Team block from 1995 to 1996.
The Wild C.A.T.s were composed of the original roster from the comic series. The major villain was Helspont, and the Troika and the Coda were featured as supporting characters. Mr. Majestic also made appearances, though not as a member of the group.
The series featured a rock soundtrack, with the theme song performed by Sheree Jeacocke and Gerry Mosby.
Cast
- Rod Wilson as Hadrian-7/Spartan and Majestyk
- Roscoe Handford as Lady Zannah / Zealot
- Colin O'Meara as Cole Cash / Grifter
- Ruth Marshall as Priscilla Kitaen / Voodoo
- Dean McDermott as Reno Bryce / Warblade
- Paul Mota as Jeremy Stone / Maul
- Sean McCann as Jacob Marlowe
- Janet-Laine Green as Void and Karyn McKee
- Maurice Dean Wint as Helspont
- Colin Fox as Pike and Archer Armerment
- Dave Nichols as Attica
- Addison Bell as Slag
- Dan Hennessey as H.A.R.M.
- Denis Akiyama as Dockwell
- Elizabeth Hanna as Artemis
- Kristina Nicholl as Providence
- Lorne Kennedy as Karillion
- Jim Millington as Zachary Forbes
- Bob Zidel as Professor Stone
- David Hemblen as Commander
Marketing tie-ins
CBS published a one-shot comic book to promote the Action Zone time slot, featuring characters from Wild C.A.T.s, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Skeleton Warriors. The cover art was illustrated by Jim Lee.Playmates Toys released a Wild C.A.T.s toy line of six-inch action figures from 1994 to 1995. The characters featured in the toy line were Spartan, Grifter, Zealot, Warblade, Maul, Voodoo, Void, Helspont, Pike, and a generic Daemonite. Mr. Majestic, Max Cash, Slag, and a color variant of Pike were released as part of the comics-oriented "Image Universe" sub-line. The Bullet Bike was the sole vehicle in the toy line. In addition, Playmates released giant 10-inch figures of Spartan, Grifter, and Maul.
A video game based on the TV series was published by Playmates Interactive in 1995 for the Super NES, with Spartan, Warblade, and Maul as the only playable characters.