SWAT Kats: Radical Squadron

SWAT Kats show logo. Courtesy of http://epguides.com

No other cartoon has come to symbolize the Cartoon Network of the 90’s quiet like SWAT Kats. Created by Christian and Yvon Tremblay, SWAT Kats became one of Cartoon Network’s biggest action series of the decade. SWAT Kats was produced by Hanna-Barbera, who worked on shows such as: The Jetsons, Top Cat and Scooby-Doo among many others, and produced several other hit shows for the network (e.g. Powerpuff Girls, Johnny Bravo and Dexter’s Laboratory). However, while those shows were comedic and light-hearted, SWAT Kats was a heavily loaded action series, full of action sequences and big explosions. However, the premise of a world of anthropomorphic cats that are protected by a vigilante duo flying in a sleek fighter jet reeled in the viewers, my brother and myself included. First aired September 11, 1993, the show released twenty three episodes on TBS and Cartoon Network. After getting through at least half of its second season however, SWAT Kats was taken off the air on August 9^th 1995. While there was never an official stated for the show’s cancellation, there have been plenty of rumors. One of the most prominent was parental complaints to the channel that the violent content in the show was unacceptable. Could this be founded? Sure, SWAT Kats had a lot of action which was one of the many reasons kids, particularly boys, got really into it. However was it really bad enough to warrant a cancellation? Let’s take a closer look at the show’s three qualities to find out.

Writing: SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron follows a pretty simple formula. The metropolis of anthropomorphic cats, MegaKat City, gets attacked by a villain or monster of the day, and the SWAT Kats, T-Bone and Razor, are notified by Deputy Mayor Callie Briggs to come and help. The duo use their jet, the Turbo Kat, and a wide arrange of tools to outwit their enemies and stop them. The plot is very simple, which means that the show can focus more on the action. However, one of the aspects of having a simple plot that I did appreciate, was that it also gave more time to focus not just on the action, but on the characters as well. For example, the show takes time to explain the SWAT Kats’ history and how they became who they are.  Chance Furlong (T-Bone) and Jake Clawson (Razor) were dishonorably discharged from the the city police force, The Enforcers, when they failed to follow the orders of Commander Feral, who gave the order out of arrogance. 

The titular heroes, Razor(right) and T-Bone(left). Photo courtesy of http://www.the-other-view.com

The two were sent to work in a military junk yard to pay for the damages they caused. However, the team-mates make the choice to build their own jet and tools to go after criminals without having to follow bad orders. Although this does glorify vigilantism, the SWAT Kats do show that they have moral standards. Although sometimes their exploits may cause property damage; no one is harmed and the damage is small-scale compared to what would have occurred had the villains succeeded (At least that is what the SWAT Kats and their allies argue).

The SWAT Kats are not alone in their endeavors to protect the city. Their main contact is the Deputy Mayor of MegaKat City, Calico “Callie” Briggs. She is always quick to call the main duo should trouble arise, and is the first to defend them should Commander Feral try to pin blame on them. Being the show’s main heroine, Callie does a decent job. There are plenty of times where she needs to be rescued by the heroes, but when push comes to shove, she is willing to do what she can to help take down the villain of the day. She is a smart, shown by how she does most of the work for the actual mayor, and has a strong sense of justice. This often puts her at odds with Commander Feral, who strongly disapproves of the SWAT Kats and her trust in them.

The rouges gallery of SWAT Kats has an interesting line up. There is Dark Kat, a mysterious criminal mastermind and main antagonist of the show; Doctor Viper, a mutated scientist eager to reduce to city to a swampy wasteland; and the Metallikats, a gangster couple that died while escaping prison and were revived as robots, just to name a few. Their motivations are the stereotypical villain fare; take over the city/world and destroy anyone who gets in their way. Although both the Metalikats and Viper where given a decent back story, the main antagonist, Dark Kat, while intimidating, really doesn’t have an explained back story or motivation to why he wants to take over the city (He is a criminal and he is smart so I just assume he’s doing it for fun). Among the many more adversaries for the SWAT Kats, such as an ancient imp with the power to control time, aliens and even ghosts are revived to face the heroes. Some are more interesting to watch than others but I have to admit, the villains were just as interesting to watch as the heroes at times, especially when multiple villains were together in the same room.

Despite having good characters, dialogue on the other hand can be hit and miss with this show. Most of the dialogue is decent but it also often falls into a common cliché for action cartoons: stating the obvious. This mostly occurs during the action sequences in the jet, say if a missile failed or a new development arises. While it isn’t necessarily grating, as a visual story, this kind of writing is not very appealing. A key role of any fiction is to show rather than tell. This is even more potent for movies and television since they can actually show the action unlike a book. The writing doesn’t need to state outright what we just witnessed. A mistake like this may go over a kid’s head but not an adult.  However, it’s a minor annoyance at best and if you can get past it to enjoy the action and characters, than you will get your money’s worth.

Animation: Impressive by early 90’s standards. The backgrounds set the tone well by showing a New York City-like metropolis, that while beautiful, can be dangerous as well. The action sequences are fast paced with a very cool sounding soundtrack with lots of electric guitars. 

The opening sequences did a fantastic job of demonstrating the tone and animation. Here is the second season opening to let you get an idea how the show looked and prepared its audience for the upcoming episode.

 Those of you who have seen the film Top Gun may recognize that more than a little influence was taken from the movie as far as both sound and choreography of the action scenes. Parents should also take warning that there are plenty of animated scenes in this show that may scare young or sensitive kids. Villains, such as Doctor Viper, have creepy moments that are animated in an almost horror film-like style. This adds to the suspense and makes the villains seem much more of a threat, but depending on your child’s temperament, it may be too much. If I had to describe SWAT Kats’ overall theme through the visuals in just one word, it would be big. Big settings, big action sequences (Both on the ground and in the air), and a big cast of characters, which gives the setting much more depth. 

Timeless: Considering how reflective this show is of the 90s and how today those common media themes of big action and big explosions are a subject of humor, I would have to say SWAT Kats is not a timeless show. If you watched as a kid and still enjoy it, then there is nothing wrong with that. It was a neat idea that could have had the chance to become much more if given the chance. The sad fact is however, it didn’t. Due to this short coming, it is not a show that can really entertain adults who haven’t grown up with it. The occasional cheesy dialogue and lack of an overall narrative moving from episode to episode hurts this show from a writing perspective. The big action, while it may keep a kid’s attention, can get a bit repetitive from an adult perspective and there are little to no moments were the story stops to breathe. All in all, while entertaining for action-loving kids and old fans, there are really few others who could really benefit from watching this show.

In conclusion, I give SWAT Kats: the Radical Squadron a 1.5 out of 3, an interesting story idea with great animation but overall lacking qualities that could have made it so much better. However, I do not believe the show was violent enough to warrant a cancellation. Though there are animated shows far superior to this one, SWAT Kats is by no means bad show. If it had more time, I have a good feeling that a lot of the problems I mentioned above could have been worked out. Sadly, it never got that chance. SWAT Kats is still being aired on Cartoon Network's Boomerang and the complete series DVD box set is available on Amazon. Take a look for yourself and see what you think.