Road Rovers

When it comes to the horde of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles clones, Road Rovers was a very unique but decent show. I never grew up watching it, but when I learned it was made by the creator of Animaniacs, Tom Ruegger, it got me interested. I really like the concept and execution of humanoid dog heroes, but when I first watched it on Apple TV as an adult, I honestly wished it could have been better. Personally, it felt slightly mediocre to me because there are a ton of flaws in the show. Most of the humor was average, the gags were cheap and overused too much, the writing and logic felt like it was on auto-pilot, almost all the plotlines in every episode felt wasteful, Muzzle was way too overpowering, the Rovers themselves often feel and act one dimensional, stereotypical, and don't have any complex or emotional depth. For example, Blitz is basically an Arnold Schwarzenegger stereotype, as well as a narcissistic and cowardly dumb jock. I just find him to be very irritating, but I also feel sorry for him for being unfairly hated so much. Colleen however has to be probably one of the best characters in the show, because she reminds me a lot of Bayonetta. I can understand why Road Rovers has a following, but I'm not a die hard fan. Not to mention, this show came at a very late time when animation started appealing towards more mature audiences like The Prince of Egypt and Gargoyles. So in conclusion, Road Rovers is neither bad nor good, it's just... slightly decent and I guess it has gained the audience it deserved.

Now this show looks like most of the other shows of it's type from the mid-90's, but the only thing is about this one is that it's different, they use a lot of comedy and action in this one and maybe a little bit of drama too. I personally thought it was a good show, I can't understand why would they cancel it. The good thing is that the fan base of this show is still alive ever since 1997 up to date.

My hopes is that the WB bring back the show or even do a movie, which I know is gonna be impossible to do, but hey it doesn't hurt to dream, doesn't it?

Anyway, I would recommend if you hadn't seen it to find the DVD of all 13 episodes, because the characters are great, the story lines are good, the comedy is good and well the whole show is just great.

This was along with Freakazoid one of the funniest cartoons I have ever witnessed. Pity it didn't run longer.

Hunter- is an all American hound. a little dim sometimes but still a good leader.

Blitz- Doberman. Sounds like a cross between Arnold Schwarzenegger and both Hanz and Franz from the old SNL skits. Has an obssesion with biting the enemies 'tushies'.

Exile- Siberian husky from Russia. Got slang mixed up constaintly.

Colleen- The female of the group. A Collie naturally. Expert in judo and totally ignors Blitz.

Shag- Sheepdog. Big hairy and has a coat with with items.

Muzzle- Deranged rotweiler. Just plain nuts.

Master- the human who created the rovers and and is their 'boss' er.. master.

The show is hilarious. For example here is a quick scene from one episode:

(They are surrounding a building) Blitz: I'll bite anything that comes out of the rear. Exile: Frued would have field day with nut boy like you.

The Road Rovers was a great show about canine superheroes chosen by the Master to fight crime around the world. The show was hilarious to say the least. Simple and complex jokes that could appeal to all ages. Running jokes throughout the series that could spawn a drinking game. The action was mesmerizing, and cleverly set up. The characters were very original, each with a very different personality. But what made me enjoy the show the most was the depth of the characters. Each of them have struggles and emotional difficulties that are never expressed, but implied in subtext. Hopefully, one day, there'll be some way to watch the Rovers in action again.

Much like Freakazoid!, Road Rovers comes from the creators of Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain and has the same sharp wit and clever writing the team is known for. While not as fondly remembered as shows Like Freakazoid!, Road Rovers is still a very good example of 90s Saturday morning cartoons at their best.

Road Rovers is an affectionate parody of crime fighting animal shows of the 80s and 90s including but not limited to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Biker Mice from Mars, and Swat Kats: The Radical Squadron just to name a few. The show takes the same approach as its inspirations with a group of anthropomorphized animals(in this case pet dogs who live with various world leaders in their off time but undergo a process that turns them into superheroes) fighting crime and going on adventures that involve saving the world from a villain of the week. While on the surface that might not appear to be anything special, the show is clever enough that it can be viewed as either a parody or action adventure show thanks to its usage of pop culture and current events to effective use. One notable episode involves a trio of countries whose leaders all bear resemblance to former Walt Disney Company executives but used in a clever Maltese Falcon esque adventure.

The show was a respectable success upon release, but it was expensive to produce and had the misfortune to be released around the same time as the 4kids dub of Pokemon which was not only cheaper to produce but became a ratings juggernaut leading to a decline in traditional saturday morning cartoons and an increase in imported shonen and childrens anime. As it stands Road Rovers is a good, but short lived show that deserves its place in TV history.