Centurions | |
---|---|
Genre | |
Voices of | |
Narrated by | William Woodson (Opening Narration) |
Theme music composer | Udi Harpaz |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 65 |
Production | |
Executive producers | |
Producer | Larry Huber |
Animator | Nippon Sunrise Studio 7 |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production company | Ruby-Spears Enterprises |
Original release | |
Network | first-run syndication |
Release | April 7 – December 12, 1986 |
Centurions is an American science fiction animated television series produced by Ruby-Spears and was animated in Japan by Nippon Sunrise's Studio 7. The series began in 1986 as a five-part mini-series and was followed with a 60-episode series. [1] The series was story edited by Ted Pedersen and written by several authors, including prolific science fiction writers Michael Reaves, Marc Scott Zicree, Larry DiTillio and Gerry Conway.
The series theme and soundtrack were composed by Udi Harpaz. There was also a line of tie-in toys by Kenner and a comic book series by DC Comics. [2]
The show revolves around the conflict between Doc Terror's cyborgs and the Centurions (a combination of hard-suit and a mecha).
"In the near future, Doc Terror and his cyborg companion Hacker unleashed their forces to conquer Earth! Only one force can stop this evil: a handful of brave men. In specially created exo-frames, they can be transported anywhere to fuse with incredible assault weapon systems beamed down from the space station Skyvault, becoming man and machine, Power Xtreme! Max Ray, brilliant Sea Operations commander! Jake Rockwell, rugged Land Operations specialist! Ace McCloud, daring Air Operations expert! Whatever the challenge, they are ready - The Centurions!"
- opening narration by William Woodson.
In the near future of the 21st century, the cyborg mad scientist Doc Terror seeks to conquer the Earth and turn its inhabitants into robot slaves. He is assisted by his cyborg companion Hacker and an army of robots. There were many types of cyborgs:
There are also submarine drones. They are joined on many occasions, starting with the first episode, by Doc Terror's daughter Amber.
At each turn, their evil plans are thwarted by the heroic Centurions. The Centurions are a team of men dressed in specially created exo-frames that allow them (upon shouting "PowerXtreme") to fuse with 'incredible' assault weapon systems, becoming what the show calls man and machine, Power Xtreme! The end result is a weapons platform somewhere between a hard-suit and a mecha. The exo-frames can also be equipped with space gear or diving gear. Originally, there were three Centurions but two other Centurions were added later:
Original Team:
Extended Team (later additions):
The Centurions are based on an orbiting space station called Sky Vault where its operator, Crystal Kane, uses a transporter to send the Centurions, and the requested weapon systems, to where they are needed. To monitor the global situation there are relay stations such as Ice Castle, Sand Castle and Fire Castle. Crystal is always in the company of either Jake Rockwell's dog Shadow or Lucy the orangutan mostly. Shadow is usually more involved with the Centurions' battles than Lucy and sports a harness with dual missile launchers. Crystal suggests tactics and sends equipment as required. The Centurions also have a hidden base in New York City called Centrum. Its entrance is hidden in a book store and must be reached via an underground railcar. Centrum serves as the Centurions' land base of operations and also has a beaming pod for rapid transport to Sky Vault. In addition to Sky Vault and Centrum, there is also a Centurion Academy whose location is kept completely secret and only seen in the last 5 episodes. All weapon systems are manufactured by a submersible aquatic Sealab.
Much like the Super Friends ' additions of Black Vulcan, Apache Chief, Samurai, and, El Dorado to introduce racial diversity into the series, The Centurions saw the addition of Rex Charger, the energy expert, and John Thunder, the Apache infiltration expert.
A typical Centurions episode was 22 minutes in length, and would be played with 8 minutes of advertisements. The main storyline, usually involving the Centurions foiling a new Doc Terror plan, would take up the majority of the episode, however, the last few minutes were sometimes dedicated to an educational segment in which one or more Centurions characters would break the fourth wall to teach the audience about how the episode's themes apply to the real world. For example, in the episode 'Day of the Animals', in which Doc Terror creates a device which controls animals and gives them powers, the ending segment highlights real 'powers' animals have, such as the ability of sharks to detect magnetic fields.
As well as the adventure side of the show, the series considered various science fiction themes. In particular, the fusion or relationship between humans and technology was a focus throughout the show's run. To tie in with real-world issues at the time, a number of episodes revolved around ecological themes, such as Doc Terror's attempts to extort money from the governments of the world by threatening to destroy some aspect of the environment. The subject of magic is explored in "That Old Black Magic" when Ace becomes involved with a woman named Cassandra Cross, who is a practitioner of white magic. Her evil twin sister, Lilith, joins forces with Doc Terror in "Return of Cassandra". Both characters are voiced by B. J. Ward.
Ace also has other romantic interests; some of them reappear in later episodes, such as television reporter Jenny Rivers and Sealab technician Mei Lee. Ace's most elusive romantic pursuit is Crystal Kane, who later reveals she had lost a fiancé in action ("You Only Love Twice"). Ace has a romantic dream involving Crystal at the beginning of the episode "Firecracker". Crystal often resists Ace's advances either firmly or jokingly, but sometimes demonstrates she has affection and love for him. The two finally kiss at the conclusion of the two-part story "The Better Half".
Doc Terror is sometimes assisted by his daughter Amber. Like the Batman character Talia al Ghul, she sometimes shows affection for an enemy of her father (Jake Rockwell) and even betrays him when he goes too far ("Let the Lightning Fall").
The series also sometimes leaves an episode's ending up to viewer interpretation. In the two-part story "The Better Half", Doc Terror and Hacker's robotic halves, Syntax and Lesion, join together after a freak accident and become "Uniborg" as Doc Terror and Hacker end up sharing a body during that time. Uniborg turn on the two, forcing Terror and Hacker to ally with the Centurions. Upon breaking into Dominion and defeating their robotic counterparts, Terror is poised to destroy them, when they argue that he cannot kill them because they are his creations and an extension of himself and Hacker. Terror screams in anguish as he fires his disruptor cannon and the episode ends with a scene on Skyvault, not revealing whether or not Terror intentionally misses or destroys Uniborg. In "To Dare Dominion", Terror unleashes a time/space vortex consumer within Dominion that plays havoc with reality. The Centurions are able to destroy it, but not before it wrecks Dominion's power generators, causing a violent explosion that seemingly kills Doc Terror and Hacker. The Centurions are beamed out before they suffer the same fate. Terror and Hacker's fate remains unresolved at the episode's conclusion with Jake believing that they are finished and Max arguing that they may not be.
Episodes were produced and broadcast in an anachronistic order. For example, the episodes which showcase the recruitment drive for the two extra Centurions ("Man or Machine" 5-parter) were produced long after several episodes showcasing the new additions.
Comic book artists Jack Kirby and Gil Kane contributed to the design and concepts of the show [3] while Norio Shioyama did the character designs. [4] Mitsuo Fukuda was also credited for his involvement in the show as an assistant director. [5]
A board game called Centurions: Jake Rockwell's Battle to Stop Dr. Terror Game was released by Parker Brothers [6] in 1986.
A video game called Centurions Power X Treme was published by AriolaSoft for Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC [7] in 1987. It was met with mixed reception by critics.
On December 6, 2011, Warner Home Video released The Centurions: The Original Miniseries on DVD in Region 1 via their Warner Archive Collection. [8] This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and only in the US. [9] On July 21, 2015, Warner Archive released The Centurions: Part One on DVD in Region 1 which contains the first thirty episodes of the regular series. [10] On March 15, 2016, Warner Archive released The Centurions: Part Two on DVD, which contains the remaining thirty episodes of the series. [11]
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