Forced to Fail? The Crazy History of SWAT Kats

[@waynski1457]

Loved this show as a kid. It felt like Batman vigilantism going against Spider-Man's rogues gallery with a bitchin' OST and made a perfect accompaniment to those 2 animated series.

[@djpegao]

Also, the fact that Mark Hammill worked on all 3 shows kinda gave it a in universe feel

[@kamenanew9867]

Thank you, I watched the heck outta this and that's a perfect comparison

[@caloninsgames6481]

Thia show was awsome as a kid.

[@MakerCuisine]

This was one of my favorite shows as a kid and always wondered why it just stopped. Thanks for shedding light on it. Your research and production are amazing

[@LGF18]

Completely agree. I loved it.

[@ixiahj]

I loved the SWAT Kats "strange" art style. It uses these highly saturated bright colors and mixes them with these thick black ink outlines and deep dark shadows. It looked like an animated comic book.

[@GreyWolfLeaderTW]

That "strange" art style is actually the Bronze/Dark Age Comic Book style. Compare and contrast 80s and 90s comics (particularly the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) with their harsh shadows, strong and bold lineart, and sharp angles with SWAT Kats.

[@mr.vidjagamez9896]

not to mention the anime influence/animation quality in the 2nd season

[@MaxHDAvenger]

The irony is for me I'm unaware about anime ish style until later (one of the animation staff had anime series prior but I can't remember rn)

[@Cybershroom]

the art style was heavily inspired by comic books mainly DC comics while the second season adapted a more westernized anime look.

[@yagamijubei28]

Kinda like the 90s x-men series. It had that kinda art style

[@FiveToedSloth]

I can't express how much I loved this show as a kid (and still as an adult)

[@almightytallestred]

Same. I was about 11 when it aired and me and a friend from school both taped every episode we could ('twas the VCR times) and we would watch them over and over. Swat Kats was our jam.

[@dennisonlanon8102]

Even here the SWAT CATS are Kids Best Action Cartoon Series in 90's

[@Johnlindsey289]

@@almightytallestred Born 1982 too? i was 11 too

[@derrickhaggard]

Same here.

[@hackcubit9663]

I think it was the show that planted the seed of "love of hard-hitting guitar licks" that I still love to this day. That show was truly amazing as a kid and it makes me so sad how it was killed prematurely.

[@Sener]

I never stopped loving Swat Kats. The animation style, the designs, the soundtrack, and the acting was all awesome. It broke my heart as a kid that I couldn't find any toys.

[@sethherrington350]

Same

[@TheEndokuken]

Guys we had fun being 90's kids, we had SWAT KATS, killer instinct 1&2 samurai Pizza cats, gargoyles, X-Men, Dexter's Laboratory, Transformers G1 and Beast Wars. Our generation was the greatest for cartoons, music and entertainment, kids today don't know what fun and entertainment is, they missed out. Watching something on DVD isn't as good as experiencing it when it actually happened, Our generation Lived It Up man!

[@BugsyFoga]

Swat Katz deserved so much more than it was given !!!

[@bryanbatres4404]

I was OBSESSED with this show as a kid. Still think it doesn't get much cooler than the Swat Kats. The s.1 theme is my favorite intro music ever!

[@KC_Smooth]

I used to hum that song as a kid all the time!!!

[@retepoteil]

💯💯💯

[@mihirshetye4624]

Same here,man.

[@melvinshine9841]

Well, now I know why I always loved the "edgier" opening. I loved Swat Kats. It's funny to me how Swat Kats was deemed "too violent" when people actually died on The New Adventures of Johnny Quest and Johnny Bravo was almost Pepe LePew levels of skirt chasing creep. Really, a lot of the Cartoon Cartoons got away with way worse stuff than Swat Kats ever did.

[@RichWhiteUM]

The Powerpuff Girls were always blowing monsters to pieces. They did it in the show's opening.

[@kingcaesar3693]

Don't forget Ren and Stimpy, or Cow and Chicken. That stuff was really out there for a kids show.

[@powerist209]

Well, monsters are apparently “not humans” loophole (Godzilla and Big Boy and Rusty does that). I mean Samurai Jack had to do robots to show blood and decapitations.

[@melvinshine9841]

@@RichWhiteUM The first Courage The Cowardly Dog short had the Chicken From Outer Space murder a whole chicken coop. You don't see The Chicken snap another chicken's neck, but you see it holding one by the throat with one hand, other hand on the chicken's head, then the camera goes back to Courage while you *hear* a very loud snap. Then there's the old man getting disintegrated on-screen, and it's not played for laughs like similar gags in Looney Tunes cartoons.

[@Michael-590]

Both intros have some of the coolest music I’ve heard from American cartoons.

[@kuhaiel]

Wasn't a 90s kid, so I never grew up with it but found out about this show when I got older and fell in love with it. Would love to see it come back.

[@KenoshiAkai]

That's a cool retrospective of SWAT Kats. I loved that series when it originally aired. Always wondered why it got canceled. Had no idea that Turner killed it. It offends me that a quality cartoon like this got the axe and yet Captain Planet got so many seasons.

[@ProfJayBee]

Funny how optics have changed over 26 years. In 1995 they saw a violent, anger-inducing cartoon, in 2021 we see an animated series promoting the virtues of Science Technology and Engineering, and the power of Recycling, Reusing Materials and Circular Economy, and life after criminal conviction …. Now that’s educational content.

[@ZemplinTemplar]

Well said... :-D

[@eatit8262]

Eh, I see a couple of trigger happy cops that took the law into their own hands and leadership uninterested in acknowledging the consequences of their actions. So maybe an even worse time for such a thing optics wise.

[@Starr_Apathy]

​@@eatit8262 eh.... I see anthropomorphic "Kats" blowing up anthropomorphic monsters with ott gadgets. Is this show really any more "damaging" than the onslaught of films and etc. From like Marvel or anything? It's just an animated sci-fi show. It's absolutely harmless. There are way worse things out there. Ppl should lighten up.

[@eatit8262]

@@Starr_Apathy At it's heart, my comment is a “The Pen is Mightier than the Sword” derivative referencing propaganda. Your response is the kind of flaccid understanding of the power of messaging that makes people susceptible to it in the first place. It's a horrible cycle of ignorance that can only be fixed with education, made more difficult when people would rather embrace that ignorance over examining anything with a critical eye. When watching the video, it clearly establishes there were serious concerns even in it's time for a variety of similar issues. There's also an irony in referencing other media as a defense of SWAT Katz. Besides such examples being obvious and plentiful, attempting to site them in defense of this cartoon actually aligns them with the same messaging SWAT Katz possesses. Contrast is not added, reinforcement of my point is. In other words, SWAT Katz being a problem isn't excused by there being copious instances of said problem, it places it inline with a larger one. Paralleling cases of the same problem don't create an effective excuse, they show how prolific that problem is. The loose cannon cop is such universal trope that some how a children's show version was developed. It shouldn't be a hot take to say that teaching kids cops are allowed to break the laws they are supposed to enforce is a bad thing, but here we are. I mean, I'd say we leave that stuff for adults, who SHOULD be able to tell that in reality it'd be a nightmare to have Dirty Harry's running around everywhere. However, I have this strong suspicion that you might not find a problem with that, and thus the reason for the cavalier attitude you display here. You can choose to remain ignorant on, well frankly any number of topics. That doesn't make them any less worthy of discussion or facing the truths of regardless of your ability or desire to understand them.

[@gamedrop3262]

recycling is a myth

[@commandervile394]

Loved that fucking jet, it was like an F-14 with variable swept wing design, with Av-8 Harrier thrust vectors, I think it could go in outer space too, or atleast leave the atmosphere and re-enter it. So bad ass. Great music too.

[@marrag1]

It also had autopilot that basically could fly itself and use weapons by remote control. It’s like the Bat Tumblr but way more bad ass

[@commandervile394]

@@marrag1 Fuck yeah, kinda inspired to make a Lego moc of it now. Don't think it's been done yet, lol.

[@commandervile394]

@@omarcrespo77 Roger that, will do. I already have an F-14 moc I built so I plan on using that as the base, switching some of the colors to to red/blue, and just modifying the shape and details.

[@SSobotkaJr]

Don't forget the variable arsenal of missiles and 'guns (bubble-gum blaster?), as well as the fact they used rocket boosters to go into "Speed of Heat" mode. Jake and Chance were mad scientists of mil-spec hardware!

[@BluntmanEXE]

That's because the design of the TurboKat was directly inspired by the F-14 Tomcat.

[@Tazzer88]

This show still rocks even today, in its action, music and overall style. I supported that Kickstarter and as far as I'm concerned I'm never letting go of my SWAT Kats Revolution hoodie. Some day I hope Razor and T-Bone will get another chance to soar over the skies of a new Megakat City!

[@RR_1138]

We will never get these kind of zany cartoons ever in present time, thanks for taking us back to the 90’s Dan and Greg, “let’s go to mall for KayBee and buy some Buff Star Wars figs “.

[@syafiqjabar]

We just get different kinds of zany now, like a cartoon teaching children to be slumlords or something.

[@aihaibara4247]

Western animation is joke now this show alone had more detail animation and better writing than anything in the last 15 years

[@largepurplemonkey]

@@aihaibara4247 The animation for this show was outsourced to studios in Taiwan and Japan

[@aihaibara4247]

@@largepurplemonkey Ik most shows in the 90s was outsourced to Japan or Korea cause it was cheaper to animate there and there animation always looked better.

[@darlalathan6143]

@DEEPFOXJUDE Substandard housing for your customers.

[@OmarO_721]

I was born in 2001, but I first seen this show thanks to reruns from Boomerang back in 2007. I must say, this show has one of the best intro music I’ve ever heard of. I was shocked it only lasted two seasons, it could of been a legendary show.

[@jroberts2nd]

Oh yeah that’s right, that opening theme that just boldly said “YEAH WE LIKE QUEEN WHAT ABOUT IT?” I loved that show’s music. Had no idea why it just vanished, but I shouldn’t be shocked it was moralized to death.

[@RafaelBenedicto]

"No violence" Meanwhile, they had the Powerpuff Girls, which were probably the most violent little-girl-themed cartoon on Cartoon Network at the time 😅

[@WarhammerGeek]

I loved SWAT Kats as a kid and the show came out 5 years before I was even born. Boomerang was great. I remember having that feeling of I had to have been missing something because it felt like I had seen every episode. Only to later discover that I probably had seen all the episodes because it was a very short-lived show.

[@Josh_Greathouse]

I wonder if this is why DBZ took off so much in the west. We really weren't getting this kind of action show for years.

[@scotteous]

That’s an interesting point. I know for me, the animation in DBZ blew me away when I first saw it on Toonami. But I was also raised on shows like Heathcliff, TMNT and Real Ghostbusters that often had animation or voiceover errors.

[@thahotkidd]

I think it was like that for me. I still remember watching that first episode for the first time before school one morning. When Raditz flicked that bullet back at that farmer it blew my mind and I was all in after that

[@christographerx64]

DBZ took off because of AKIRA which was really the first big Anime in the US. Which was basically a mature cartoon. Where the US animation market was leaning away from violence and to more of the choppy rediculous animation. Dragonball Z told one long story instead of each episode being different giving a foundation. And the action sequences was a mix of sci-fi and kung fu which any kid I showed DBZ to instantly fell in love with. Let alone the style of animation and the immortal look of Akira Toriyama. It was just better than anything we had at that time.

[@GladDestronger]

now there's a a topic for mattpat's film theory series. send that to him.

[@haroldquick3402]

@@christographerx64 Yeah The Sci-Fi channel was ahead of its time, I remember getting up at like 6am as a kid to watch the Original Dragon Ball and Ronin warriors on Sci-fi. Also first saw Akira on Sci fi as well. In high school when i saw this new "Dragon Ball Z" i was already hooked

[@spacepolicemanofspace6073]

This show was so damn fun and Callie Briggs was probably one of the first characters I ever crushed on. Very good video.

[@aihaibara4247]

I ain’t no furry but they made CaIIie smexy af + she was more humanoid looking than the other characters that’s probably why.

[@Jackinthenoir]

Even better was they never sexualized her, didn't need to, she was intelligent, capable, interesting, strong, and sexy all at once!

[@spacepolicemanofspace6073]

@@Jackinthenoir Yes exactly!

[@MSGSlayer1]

I crushed on Cleo from Cadaillic Cats. Did anyone else notice all the cat girls wore legwarmers?

[@lonesquiff6551]

Oh good I wasn't the only one 😄

[@nerferothdrake559]

Swat Kats is a fantastic cartoon. It's really stylish, full of great heavy metal macho charisma. Wonderful soundtrack, cool character design and some mature (in a good sense) ideas. It is a quintessence of the raging 90s which we have, sadly, lost. Looking at modern day cartoon, I see that most of kids shows nowadays simply lack claws and teeth compared to Kats. My 7-year old son enjoyed Swat Kats big time and asked for more.

[@mrf19741]

LOVED SWAT KATS! The Turbokat, Cyclotron, Glove of Tricks, etc, were all AWESOME! T-Bone & Razor were both well-written characters and the storylines, art style, character development, and soundtrack were all Extraordinary!

[@sharingankyuubi007]

Swat Kats shows the kids the people to believe in their own power. How one can rise from the dirt to the skies, to soar , to roar & to prove they're better than the entitled ones. To fight for the good even from the shadows. To be Great. Thats what the show gives away if you ask any fan of the show.

[@RedRanger9305]

Very well said and true.

[@cheesecloth8]

Frigging loved Swat Kats, and always wondered why it was on Sundays like the cruddy cartoons of the time. I had a Jake and Razor figure, too.

[@ReplayStation]

Season 2 of Swat Kats looked gorgeous. I was too young to articulate why I liked the art style so much, but I just knew it was good...

[@neosquirrel]

I still get chills when I hear the original theme song. It blends so perfectly with whats going onscreen. Hearing T-Bone and Razor yelling “Yeah!” “all right!” while taking down the baddies, that giant lizard swinging its tail, the klaxon of the alarm going off, the bass and drums kicking in…. Animation gold. This was my jam back then, and it’s perfect for today’s animation environment. I’d even like to see them bring in a third team member, some scrappy gal with flight and bike experience maybe. It shows how much the Tremblay brothers have dedicated to their project. As a fellow artist I respect that tremendously; that they still own the property is unheard of in this day and age. The SwatKats will hit the skies some day again!

[@Treblaine]

"So why did you commit this fatal drive by shooting?" "Swat Kats made me do it, if definitely wasn't because the guy I killed was a rival drug dealer"

[@monarchsub8884]

wats worse is criminals actually do that kind of thing sometimes and even getting away with it nuts i tell u nuts!

[@manictiger]

Ban citizens from owning means of self-defense, sell confiscated machine guns to gang lords, drag drugs into the ghettos as a way to suppress African American economic advancement, brainwash stupid boomer parents into blaming cartoons and video games. All in a government day's work!

[@VMan29397]

@@manictiger We have God forbid we solve the real issues of violence let's just blame it on The easy target because we're too cheap to handle the real issue.

[@machanobakas3249]

So cancel culture already existed back then?😅

[@Starr_Apathy]

​@@machanobakas3249 on some levels...it always has. Nothing has really changed in this regard. It's just less quiet with things like social media at the forefront of society. Voices and opinions are heard louder, faster, and constant. That's all. The war on making life "safer" for everyone. Making all the "big decisions" for ppl.... If you think about it. It's demeaning. And...silly. By these types of thoughts... literally anyone who has or deso watch horror would be masked serial killers. It's dumb. And a lazy excuse for ppl to not do the work and take out the time to address the real issues and simply be compassionate and talk to each other. It's that type of thinking when a business punishes all employees or teachers taking away privileges for all kids because of the actions of one child.

[@wildfire885]

I’ve been waiting for this episode! I loved Swat Kats when it premiered, and have proudly introduced my children to it!

[@ZemplinTemplar]

Great ! :-)

[@ronak6283]

The 85-90s parents are going to be the coolest...I myself will introduce my future kids to such fantastic shows rather than the shit they show nowadays.

[@GideonMadu]

Swat Cats: "I'm gonna grace the small screens!" Ted Turner and Children's Television Act: "Yeah....we don't think so

[@kevin10001]

That act didn’t just kill the Swat Cats it killed Saturday morning cartoons as a whole cause they couldn’t really produce quality cartoons cause of the being educational requirement they managed to hang on until the 2000’s but by then the major networks had started doing a Saturday edition of their weekday news morning shows pushing the lineup back to 9 or 10 in the morning and abc ultimately just started running reruns of there Disney Channel show until new then showed power rangers for example but now Saturday isn’t looked forward to anyone like it used to be

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

@@kevin10001 It basically became a numbers game as it always was but even more so through the 2000s. They realized it was just way cheaper to simply put on news shows or infomercials or whatever other crap they could get for cheap. The days of producing stuff for the children's market was over and things like Nickelodeon and cartoon Network had taken over anyway so their market share was pretty small at that point. It is sad that in the end what killed Saturday morning cartoons was simply it was too expensive and they couldn't monetize it.

[@Dynaman21]

The Trembalay brothers have gone on record that Turner wasn’t to blame for their cancellation (as had been rumored), but it was middle management.

[@ccricers]

I think that’s the reason the act backfired with some channels. It didn’t say, you must show educational programming even if you never had kids’ programming. It was, if you show kids’ programming you need an educational quota. Some networks used the loophole to cease all kids’ programming all together. So then it went from Digimon one afternoon to Judge Judy or some shit the next week. The act failed its intended purpose through the loophole and it ended with content that are irrelevant to kids, like trash talk shows. Eventually the networks just didn’t want to try and it’s why PBS kids programming has been the most resilient in all those years.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

@@Dynaman21 Define "middle management".

[@grapeshot]

Yeah this show came out while I was in the US Army. I always liked it. Although some was complaining about the violence. But having watched Japanese anime that could get extremely violent especially in the 90s the cartoons they showed over here were nearly nonviolent by comparison.

[@powerist209]

I think this was the main reason why 4kids is hated. Also the “jelly donuts” in Pokémon and Sailor Moon.

[@gtf234]

Comparatively yes, Swat Kats was tame even compared to the violence shown in anime from the 70s and 80s...look at anything adapted from Go Nagai or Ken Ishikawa's works. But as far as US cartoons were concerned, Swat Kats was very violent, boy did it have a ton of on screen civilian deaths, like buses and trains shown to be full of people being eaten or crushed by giant monsters on the regular.

[@dwainsimmons3447]

@@powerist209 it was hated because people don’t like lighthearted things.

[@Andrematt]

I LOVED this with all my heart when I was a kid. Cartoon Network had a program where they would play 6 hours straight of the same cartoon in the middle of the night here in Brasil and they did Swat Kats a LOT. I never missed. It was my first 'binge watching' experience.

[@SWIFTO_SCYTHE]

The heavy metal music soundtrack rocked. Made the fights awesome whether jetting in thr Turbokat or martial arts on the ground with Gloves-o-tricks

[@NatetheNerdy]

I find it funny that groups would protest Swat Kats for being violent, when the show is clearly all about questioning the orders given to you and going against them when they only benefit the people in charge. Also, I've been waiting for this episode for a while. The more people hear about Swat Kats, the better the odds are we'll actually get a reboot.

[@dannypatrick9361]

That's exactly why they didn't want that message going out to young boys. They want you to never question anything and become a sheep.

[@DarkNoiseBW]

In these times they might have better luck pitching it to Netflix or even to Japanese studios as an anime (which considering the rise in anthropomorphic anime of late sounds like it could be a win win for all).

[@Snyperwolf91]

Touche. I hope japan takes this franchise and bring some fresh air in the Entertaiment industry . Its just pure potential right there !!

[@Nx57ytre]

They would still have to negotiate with Warner.

[@Nardio]

I don't want Netflix messing this up.... But yea, last hope besides a lotto ticket.

[@madamefluffy4788]

I think they had attempted Netflix; but Netflix wanted to make changes that the Trembleys weren't keen on, so they bowed out (which, good on them if this is true! How Netflix handled the last few revival cartoons was just insulting to the OG series they were based on. The Swat Katz - and the fans of the show - deserve far better than that).

[@Zandock]

@@madamefluffy4788 She-Ra was great at least.

[@chiaraddd]

Been on a Swat Kats binge these days. A shame it was cancelled after only II seasons. I loved when I got home from school and CN and Boomerang were airing reruns 🐱🚀💔

[@fununclenerfs]

It's a real shame they never produced a toy of that dang jet, imagine a Batman toyline with a batmobile

[@darwinxavier3516]

I think you meant to say "without". And yeah, a fully detailed jet with deployable cycle and all the ludicrous specialized missiles would've been awesome.

[@travissmith2848]

How about a combo dart and disk launching "Gloveatrix"?

[@whosaidthat84]

I remember only catching this show on rare occasion but I was hooked. It was almost like finding buried treasure. It's so sad to see the painful death of OG action cartoons with cool toys.

[@LUISPRIME]

Loved Swat Kats. Watch the show on Toonami when it aired. The Metallikats were my favorite villains. They were entertaining villains.

[@tonyryan1982]

Such an underrated show!way ahead of its time

[@ericgurule-mills8346]

Swat Cats comics. Cheaper and way more fan friendly. for the price of the 2minute teaser, they could've published their whole first arc.

[@johnnygyro2295]

I know, right? The TMNT started out as a comic series before television. A SWAT Kats comic series could help spark interest again before returning to television. Hell, considering TMNT's had their fair share of crossovers, maybe the Kats could do a crossover comic with them as well?

[@joaoonda]

For some time this was my favourite Cartoon! It was awesome! I remember the opening music of the second season so well! 😅

[@danymartinmejiacabrera2111]

Who is your favorite swat kats character?

[@kampferjam8899]

The swat kats theme song is my ringtone, I loved this show growing up. Completely original and did not feel like something dumbed down for me when I was a kid with a high comprehension.

[@mikekz4489]

SWAT Kats was the kind of cartoon that kept me watching them even after I was supposed to be getting too old for cartoons. I’m an ‘80s kid, but there was a lot of good stuff during the ‘90s.

[@CrypticCharm]

i love the Swat Katz, cancelled way too early and i loved how violent it was. also the fact that Jake and Chance lost their jobs because they came down in a tag that was legitimate and they were blamed for it. Like, in this world did having nine lives mean you had no Union! Totally loved it, got them all

[@blahlbinoa]

This was my favorite cartoon in the mid 90's! Even when they re-ran it in the late 90's, I was there watching it! I couldn't find any of the toys, but I really wanted the Plane and it's shame it was never made.

[@KiyokaMakibi]

That theme tune is amazing… I wish they’d release a version without the sound effects. Also, middle finger to Ted Turner and the parent groups who pushed for this to get taken down..

[@MarkArandjus]

Those guitars in the intro, man, epic!

[@davidstinson1335]

One of the greatest animated shows of all time , fly high SWAT KATS !!

[@BubbleBum4082]

Oh my god, thank you I’m a 2000’s kid but I grew up with boomerang and watched this whenever it was on typically around 10 pm

[@eee2861]

Not into toys at all, but this channel presents pop-culture and marketing history (and it's critique) in a smooth package. Keep us educated!

[@Zekrel]

I’ll never forgive them for canceling this show. I remember wanting to *BE* them when I was little and enjoyed every episode. The villains from this show have never left my memory and the art style was like watching an comic book and an anime altogether!

[@Diet_Black]

And here I am because they announced the show is in the works.

[@BenDaresAll]

Season 2 animation with Mook was so good that someone saw bits of ep1 Mutation City while I was watching and thought it was a Swat Kats movie. Blew his mind to find out it was just the first ep.

[@Gr0t0tter]

Hot damn, I loved this show as a 10-year-old. Essential watching early on Friday mornings, before leaving for school. These days, my 6-year-old daughter goes mad for it - and I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy watching it with her.

[@EchoKaslana]

Long time fan here! I remember watching it growing up and loving every second of it. Razor was my all time favorite character and I'd love to see the series make a comeback! Thanks for covering the show, it needs more love!

[@darlalathan6143]

I watched this show in college too! As a recovering "mama's boy," I'm pleasantly surprised the animators started in their mom's basement, lol! It was awesome!

[@Chris_Cross-pf3dp]

This show was the BOMB! I loved watching Swat Kats from the characters to the weapons and the vehicles. Especially Razor's motorcycle and of course the jet. The history between the Swat Kats and the commander reminds me of Peter Parker and J. J. J.

[@yurichristian2723]

I would love if they remade this show. Was a huge when I was much younger. I think it would translate well to this generation if done correctly. The solid foundation is already there.

[@GeneralRasp]

Season 2 of Swat Kats was the best. The visuals and soundtrack were amazing! I am going to have to re-watch that show.

[@geardog24]

And here we are still waiting for the Swat Kats reboot...

[@GhostRider-870]

They will screw it up.

[@hollywood21639]

After the horribleness of the current he man cartoon, you don't want it.

[@harlequinems]

@@GhostRider-870 like Biker Mice from Mars... It got turned into 3 skinny guys on sports bike with barely a single personality between them

[@aihaibara4247]

A reboot today would be awful

[@Cpt_Boony_Hat]

@@hollywood21639 why must you be right

[@SnowFiresinger]

Swat Kats was and is a huge factor in why I am still hooked on cartoons, anime, and have never lost my inner child. I loved watching this show. The lines and colors with the silky animations at times were amazing, and the intro/soundtrack never failed to deliver. This is still my benchmark series for the "oh, so you like nostalgic 90's cartoons? Ever heard of [insert series here]," line.

[@xenoboost]

Man swat kats was something else back in the day, especially that second season and its "anime influence" callie and every other female Kat was just a anime cat girl. But yeah still rock my swat Kats revolution tee and I pull out the VA signed character sheet from time to time. I hope that whenever it does happen I hope it's got a rocking theme like the second season and does radically well. An early 90s show that doesn't feel 90s, love it

[@senbrisbane5352]

Such a lovely cast of cat girls. And the writing was also good as well. Just goes to show that something's stand the test of time well. I can watch episodes of this show easily without cringing. Unlike some older animated shows that did not respect audience intelligence when the show was not a comedy

[@GenericProtagonist118]

The first time I even heard of Swat Kats was when I was cruising through old cable channels and it was playing on Boomerang.

[@archonfett]

going to point out the hypocrisy "SWAT Kats too violent, here are the Powerpuff Girls, literally ripping enemies into gory chunks"

[@Ilyak1986]

Cats (or kats, as the case may be) + jets + screaming metal music + awesome rogue's gallery... Swat Kats was just *chef's kiss*, and would fit *right in* on something like Toonami alongside shows like DBZ or Gundam. I really hope the relaunch happens, and that the design of the TurboKat actually upgrades from the F-14 (Tom*CAT*, natch) into the conceptualized ST-21, which was basically the spiritual successor to the F-14, albeit redesigning it with 5th-generation stealth technology to make it look like a cross-breed between the F-14 Tomcat, and the F-22 Raptor. Word's still out on what America's 6th-generation NGAD that's slated to replace the F-22 (because the jet's going to be pushing 40 years old, and happened to be the victim of shifting budget priorities), but the idea of the Turbokat getting an aesthetics upgrade would be just perfect. Oh, and maybe the creators can work together with Eagle Dynamics to get the Turbokat into DCS--or at least an F-14 turbokat livery, and have Growling Sidewinder make some videos, while sponsoring those videos. I have to imagine that fans of Growling Sidewinder's channel would go absolutely nuts over Swat Kats coming back. But yeah--the absolutely most awesome show of the "radical animals" genre by *far*.

[@BigEpinstriping]

I will admit, it was an excellent show. It had so much potential. Only a feature-length animation would do it justice at this point.

[@chrisgoku2000]

I remember watching SWAT KATS on Cartoon Network years ago but do not remember how it ended. But I really like and loved the cartoon years ago when I was a kid now I am 32 years old. I still watch cartoons and anime. Toonmai was great piece of my childhood and I watched Cartoon Network back when in 1992 when the channel started and I stayed loving that channel for years.

[@internetjesus]

That second opening theme is still one of the greatest.

[@KiyokaMakibi]

That guitar rift is just 👌🏻

[@_underscore_9271]

Honestly I thought the s1 theme was the best

[@MSGSlayer1]

I also visited a KB Toys near me during my college days; the stock was low and I was broke af anyway. Excellent segment and use if puns as always. Here's to seeing more Sunday-morning gems, like Double Dragon or Ultraforce, or maybe War Planets or Street Sharks.

[@W0lfenstrike]

Swat Kats was one of my all time favorites on the early days of Cartoon Network, I even saw the series recentely to see if it was just nostalgia and I was pleasently surprised at how much the show has held up. The first season is fairly standard 90's action cartoon for kids, with sprinkles of brilliance thrown in there from time to time, but BOY OH BOY was I smacked on the face by the pure, unadultered awesomeness that was the second season. Seriously, the animation got a massive upgrade, the action was better, the music, the intro, EVERYTHING was miles better than the first season! And just when it was starting to get better, they canceled it... It definitely was a case of being released at the wrong place and/or at the wrong time, perhaps if they pitched it to a japanese network and fully realize it's anime aesthetics from the second season, perhaps it might have lived as "that japanese anime about jet piloting cats". Hopefully Netflix is willing to pick them, I still want my darned Swat Kats, dammit!

[@Kingcj2001]

SWAT Kats was my obsession as a child and today I still love the show. I hate how stuff behind the scenes can ruin a good thng.

[@samuraix73]

I absolutely loved this show, I was already in my 20's when this came out. It didn't pretend to be something it wasn't. It was just a good old fashioned episodic action show which was fun to watch. I loved both theme songs, especially the season 2 version. Sigh, I miss old Cartoon Network.

[@maxordman4100]

I absolutely love Swat Kats! This is a very good retrospective. It’s nice to know that the creators are still invested in it and are working on new projects. I would certainly like to look them up later. This was an amazing show for me as a kid and I will always respect it! Love the Theme song too!

[@TheSci-fiAnarchist42]

I'm so glad to hear that this show is now coming back. Radical. 🐱🛩

[@happyhammer1]

This show and Exosquad were some of my favorite early 90's cartoons.

[@theajshow]

I actually remember watching this on Sunday mornings. That theme song was a banger!

[@maker_greg]

Swat kats still lists high among my favourite childhood cartoons. So glad y'all are finally covering it.

[@gnollman]

Man, I loved SWAT Kats. It was sooo cool to a fat kid that the hotshot pilot was the chunky guy and the genius mechanic was the skinny guy. That jet was the bomb, man. Loved it.

[@max.wilson]

That theme song still slaps. Love that radical squadron!

[@thomaslumpkin4162]

You forgot to mention Barry "Donatello" Gordon who voiced Razor. FYI, Hanho Heuang-Up is a South Korean animation studio, not a Taiwanese studio.

[@7ambris]

Pour one out for Swat Kats. God I loved this show. It never got the justice it deserved.

[@devildham]

1.) SWAT Kats was awesome 2.) It's Airwolf meets Shirt Tails

[@morganrobinson8042]

....The Shit Tails already had a jet. That seems a bit redundant.

[@jacksanchez7381]

Watched it and the long hour marathons of the kats never got bored

[@RobertsonBrendyn]

I love this show. It's a shame that it never got a third season.

[@wwetnabamafan194]

Little Known Fact: SWAT Kats toys were featured in little 10 second credits of the old "Boomeraction" lineup on Cartoon Network's Boomerang channel.

[@arvelcrynyd6311]

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED SWAT KATS as a kid. As a dumb kid, I didn't know why it just *disappeared* one day, knowing the truth is kinda sad. It's literally one of the best Saturday morning kid's cartoons of the early 90s.

[@jeromelanier2566]

This show was so hype! I watched this on a weekly basis every episode when it aired. I loved Swat Kats

[@vedantbhard]

I think I was born like 10 years after this show ended, but it was still a sizeabke part of my childhood because of the reruns. I remember my brother and I built like a model of their jet from lego :)

[@orlof507]

it was easily the best cartoon in the whole cartoon network catalog in the 90s, best action, best art, it had all that a kid would want at the time. Only thing that was comparable at the time were animes.

[@ARCWuLF]

I was older than the target demographic when this show was airing, but I do remember being impressed at the level of horror and violence that the show actually had. I'm not complaining though; it was refreshing to see actual stakes and consequences in a kids' cartoon.

[@boonsandrider]

I loved this show when I was a teen, staying up all night in the summer and watching episodes airing in the early hours on Cartoon Network. Outstanding character design and voice acting. The whole show felt “metal.”

[@troymcclure681]

I use to love this show the intro music was great

[@wintersoul510]

I absolutely loved this show and I got my nephews into it also.

[@kena7007]

Great show, I remember watching this then Bots Master would come on.

[@gigashock237wilde7]

Still a fan of the Swat Kats! The TurboKat was a magnificent vehicle. Never had any of the figures, though I would like to have Razor and T-Bone. The Radical Squadron still ROCKS...!!!

[@polskasausage762]

You missed the obvious "PUT THEM INTO A FLAT SPIN THAT WAS UNRECOVERABLE" a little Top Gun nod ,poor Goose

[@davidraley3054]

His goose was cooked.

[@radartechnicianbob8208]

Loved the show way back in the day. The scene that always sticks with me is a villain injected by DR. Viper, then mutating into a giant bacteria. I think they killed the thing at the end of the episode too, but ssssh, don't tell the parent groups. Glad my mom wasn't one of those kinds of parents. She liked the show first and actually got me into it.

[@_GeneralMechanics_]

As much as I liked this show, and loved the design of the Turbocat, I'll never understand why T-Bone and Razor are barefoot in their flight suits when they wear boots in their civilian attire.

[@jonathantillian6528]

If I remember correctly, they're the only ones to _not_ wear shoes, too.

[@_GeneralMechanics_]

@@jonathantillian6528 I know, right? Everyone wears shoes in this cartoon, including them, until they put on the gear.

[@ORLY911]

It's possible it was a overhead change to add a "cool" factor to the toys.

[@Getwright-]

The only reason a could give is maybe there wearing boots that look like feet? Like those tennis shoes with the toes built in

[@JakeNaughtFromStateFarm]

Damnit, you just ruined this show forever for me. I never noticed that lol.

[@vpuigdoller]

Omg Swat Katz was amazing loved beginning to end.

[@ArkadiaRetrocade]

The action figures were hecking radical and paired perfectly for play with TMNT figures. My T-Bone and Razor are, to this day, chillin with the Turtles in the sewer base playset up on the shelf in Mom & Dad's laundry room.

[@mechasduo004]

I loved this show as a kid. Bought the VOD DVDs direct from HB. As an adult I used to fly my nephew around in his laundry basket TurboKat... and now he's taking lessons for his pilots license as a teen. That show was bomb. As a KS backer for Revolutions, I have faith it will one day return!