Action Man (1995 TV series)

Action Man
Title card
Genre Animation
Action
Created by DIC Entertainment
Bohbot Entertainment
Based on Action Man
by Hasbro
Developed by DIC Entertainment
Bohbot Entertainment
Written by Gildart Jackson
Jules Dennis
Bob Forward
Diane M. Fresco
Julie Fuller
Phil Harnage
Jeff Kwitny
Reed Shelly
Brooks Wachtel
Michael A. Medlock
Directed by Jeff Pruitt
Chris Bartleman
Creative director(s) Jeff Pruitt
Chris Bartleman
Voices of Mark Griffin
Rolf Leenders
Joely Collins
Dale Wilson
Composer(s) Stephen C. Marston
Country of origin United States
Canada
United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 26
Production
Executive producer(s) Andy Heyward
Brad Kreisberg
Robby London
Michael Maliani
Producer(s) Kyle Solorio
Jim Weathers
Cinematography Nick Woolfolk
Editor(s) Miriam L. Preissel
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s) DIC Entertainment
Bohbot Entertainment
Release
Original network Nickelodeon (U.S./U.K.)
Original release 23 September 1995 – 15 December 1996
Chronology
Related shows A.T.O.M.
Action Man (2000 TV series)

Action Man is an American children's animated television show, created by DIC Entertainment and Bohbot Entertainment. The cartoon is based on the Hasbro toy line of the same name. The show also featured live action segments before and after the main show, which they were filmed at Universal Studios Hollywood and Florida.

Plot

Action Man is a member of an elite multinational task force named Action Force who fight against the terrorist Dr. X and his 'Council of Doom'. Action Man is also portrayed as being an amnesiac who is trying to unlock the mystery of his past.

Cast

Additional cast

Episodes

Season 1

No. Title Original airdate
1"Explosive Situation"23 September 1995 (1995-09-23)
Dr. X orchestrates the explosion of a plane to steal a nuclear warhead. With a nuclear battleship about to fall in Dr. X's hands, Action Man makes haste to recover the warhead, aided by his team and Dr. X's former lackey Ursula.
2"Fountain of Youth"30 September 1995 (1995-09-30)
Dr. X captures the Fargo scientists to get hold of the regenerative Extract Herb to gain a fortune out of youth serum. Action Man liberates the scientists, but Dr. X has destroyed all their research.
3"Cybersoldier"7 October 1995 (1995-10-07)
Dr. X steals an experimental KGB cybernetic android. Action Man barely survives his encounter with the android, but uses this an advantage to beat Dr. X to his game at a robotics factory.
4"You Can't Go Home Again"14 October 1995 (1995-10-14)
Natalie helps Action Man recall some of his past memories, but realise they had followed a false trail to Haven Mount village that Dr. X is holding captive to ensure the destruction of the Xtreme Station. Action Man is able to destroy Dr. X's plasma cannon and save Haven Mount.
5"Ancient History"21 October 1995 (1995-10-21)
Dr. X has stolen a tunneling machine and kidnapped a team of miners for an excavation led by Natalie's uncle Ian, under blackmail from Dr. X. Thanks to Ian's mine planted on Dr. X's snowcruiser, Action Man manages to destroy Dr. X's acquired lethal PAX 39 gas canisters.
6"The Red Plague"28 October 1995 (1995-10-28)
Dr. X has taken a beaker of deadly Red Plague virus and kidnapped Dr. Pandemo who developed the cure. Action Man is lured to Dr. X's underground lab so Dr. X can steal the Jet Xtreme. Action Man liberates the jet and scientist and vanquishes the Red Plague virus for good.
7"Peril at Perigee"4 November 1996 (1996-11-04)
Dr. X has hijacked a stealth bomber. Dr. X takes the bomber's weapons to launch from the European Space Agency base. Dr. X takes Jacque as hostage, but Jacques turns the tables on Dr. X and puts his satellite out of operation.
8"Rogue Moons"11 November 1995 (1995-11-11)
Dr. X has a rogue moon launcher set to destroy Earth's cities. After Action Man braves the Gobi Desert hazards, Jacques seeds some precipitation to wash out Dr. X's camouflaged gun bunker and destroy the launcher.
9"Hands Down"18 November 1995 (1995-11-18)
Dr. X's kidnaps the American ambassador to brainwash him in order to set up the Action Team. Action Man goes vigilante to root out Dr. X and clear the Action Team's name.
10"We Come in Peace"25 November 1995 (1995-11-25)
Dr. X has stolen an anti-gravity device to stage an alien attack on Earth. With the aid of the scientist Professor Mackenzie who invented the device, Action destroys the fake alien battleship.
11"R.A.I.D."2 December 1995 (1995-12-02)
With his Catalyst Crystal plot thwarted, Dr. X sends a dog (which Jacque adopts under the name Raid) to attack Action Man. Jacque uses Raid to track down Dr. X and terminate his Catalyst Crystal missiles.
12"Skynap"9 December 1995 (1995-12-09)
Dr. X steals Jet Xtreme and kidnaps Secretary Norris and takes over the Action Space Station to start a major war around the world. Using his VR Suit, Action Man hacks into the Space Station to drive Dr. X out.
13"The Outside Edge"16 December 1995 (1995-12-16)
Dr. X and his infiltrator Domichi frame Secretary Norris of corruption and disband the Action Team. The Action Team liberate their equipment and Norris and thwart Dr. X's next shipment theft, thus clearing their names.

Season 2

No. Title Original airdate
14"The X Factor"22 September 1996 (1996-09-22)
Action Man helps Knuck investigate his nephew Tom who has been involved in Gangrene's X-Vitamin steroid tests. Action Man tricks Dr. X into destroying Gangrene's lab and prevents him from putting the X-Vitamin into the city's water supply.
15"Ice Age"29 September 1996 (1996-09-29)
Dr. X steals a Neutron Phalanx Gun and a large amount of Plutonium to destroy the world of its oceans. Action Man recovers the Neutron Phalanx, while Kunck defuses the Plutonium bombs.
16"Soul of Evil"6 October 1996 (1996-10-06)
Soon after winning a martial arts match, Action Man encounters an assassin named Gem Eye. Learning they both have the same "AM" tattoo, Action Man is led to believe that he and Gem Eye are both members of an assassin cult called the "Acolytes of Mayhem".
17"Deja Vu"13 October 1996 (1996-10-13)
While Dr. X attempts to abduct the G7 leaders, Action Man is constantly troubled by how familiar Dr. X's plan feels. A memory flash reveals that it was Action Man himself that came up with the plan in the first place.
18"Satellite Down"20 October 1996 (1996-10-20)
A satellite containing important security codes for the World Security Council goes down in a hidden civilization nestled somewhere in the Antarctic.
19"Space Walk"27 October 1996 (1996-10-27)
Dr. X takes control of a fully automated private space shuttle carrying two of the world's richest men.
20"The Most Dangerous Prey"3 November 1996 (1996-11-03)
The Action Team head to Australia to free a group of locals being forced by Dr. X's to mine uranium, but Jet Extreme is shot down soon afterwards by Dr. X's Overseer robot. Stranded with no working equipment, Action Man and his friends must survive as Dr. X and the Overseer hunt them down.
21"Points of Danger"10 November 1996 (1996-11-10)
Action Man and his team must protect a special fish called the "Puppet Quill" that can emit a special gas. Dr. X needs the fish to create a mind control gas which he plans to use on the world's leaders.
22"Crack of Doom"17 November 1996 (1996-11-17)
The people of Vulcana Island live in isolation from the rest of the world, but Dr. X earns the locals' trust after saving their island from a volcanic eruption, and manages to make the Action Team and the World Security Council look bad in the process.
23"Space Wars"24 November 1996 (1996-11-24)
Dr. X sends a diversionary attack to Brussels to keep the Action Team busy while he steals and arms a space shuttle from Cape Canaveral. His goal: to take over an abandoned but still armed space station.
24"Past Performance"1 December 1996 (1996-12-01)
25"A Time for Action: Part 1"8 December 1996 (1996-12-08)
26"A Time for Action: Part 2"15 December 1996 (1996-12-15)

Toys

The show introduced several new team mates for Action Man which were then made into toys. The action figures of Natalie Poole and Knuck have become very rare collectors items. At Joecon 2010, a convention exclusive Q-Force action figure of Natalie Poole was released.

Media releases

The series was only available on VHS in the UK due to rules on advertising to children (a toy could follow a program but not the other way around). The series was later released on DVD but the episodes on the DVDs are in a random order and many episodes have been released numerous times while several have not been released at all. This has caused confusion amongst many fans. On 17 February 2015, Mill Creek Entertainment released Action Man- The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.[1] This marked the first time all episodes of the show had received a DVD release.

DVD Name Episodes Release Date Running Time Additional information
Explosive Situation Explosive Situation, Fountain of Youth, Cyber Soldier 2002 63:00 minutes
The Outside Edge The Outside Edge, Skynap, Crack of Doom 2004 63:00 minutes
Past Performance Soul of Evil, We Came in Peace, Past Performance 2004 63:00 minutes
A Time for Action A Time For Action - Part One, A Time For Action - Part Two, The Most Dangerous Prey 2005 63:00 minutes
Peril At Perigee Peril At Perigee, You Can't Go Home Again 2005 42:00 minutes
Rogue Moons Rogue Moons, Points of Danger, Deja Vu 2006 63:00 minutes
Space Wars We Came in Peace, Satellite Down, Skynap, Space Wars 2007 68:00 minutes
The Complete Series All episodes 2015 Complete series

References

  1. ↑ Both Seasons of the 1995 Series Come to DVD in 'The Complete Series' Archived 8 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
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