A.T.O.M.

A.T.O.M.[1] – Alpha Teens on Machines[2] (Known as Action Man A.T.O.M. in some countries) is a French-American superhero animated television series produced by SIP Animation in association with Jetix Europe. The series focuses on the adventures of five teenagers in the fictional Landmark City. The eponymous Alpha Teens, which consist of Axel Manning (the main character), Catalina Leone, Crey Kingston, Zack Hawkes, and Ollie Sharker, test prototype vehicles and weapons for Lee Industries, and use these prototypes to combat criminals, particularly the nefarious and sadistic bad guy Alexander Paine.

Not to be confused with A.T.O.M (album) or Atom (disambiguation).
A.T.O.M.
The "Alpha Teens on Machines" team shown from left to right: Shark, Hawk, Axel, King and Lioness
Also known asAlpha Teens on Machines
Genre
Created byAriane Desrieux
Paul-Patrick Duval
Directed byOlivier Jongerlynck
Voices ofClancy Brown
Brian Donovan
Bill Fagerbakke
Aldis Hodge
Tom Kenny
Alli Mauzey
Charlie Schlatter
Keith Szarabajka
James Arnold Taylor
Kari Wahlgren
Composer(s)
Country of origin
  • France
  • United States
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes52 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)Michael Lekes
Jacqueline Tordjman
Olivier Dumont (season 1)
Stephanie Kirchmeyer (season 2)
Producer(s)Bruno Bianchi
Greg Klein (season 1)
Tom Pugsley (season 1)
Sylvie Barro (season 2)
Cyone Clark (season 2)
Steve Granat (season 2)
Running time22 minutes
Production company(s)SIP Animation
DistributorBuena Vista International Television
Release
Original networkJetix (international)
Toon Disney (United States)
Picture formatHD: 16:9 [lower-alpha 1]
Original releaseAugust 27, 2005 –
November 18, 2006

The series debuted on August 27, 2005 on Jetix with its first season consisting of 26 episodes. It was renewed for a second season, also consisting of 26 episodes, which concluded on November 18, 2006.[3]

In countries such as France, Germany, United Kingdom,[lower-alpha 2] Italy, Australia, and Latin America, the series was branded as Action Man: A.T.O.M., with Panini Comics publishing a tie-in comic book series.[4]

Synopsis
Main article: List of A.T.O.M. characters

Set in the fictitious Landmark City, Janus Lee is the head of Lee Industries who holds a television contest as a front to recruit a group of talented teenagers. The winners of the contest, Axel, King, Lioness, Hawk and Shark are given prototype weapons, gadgets and vehicles and join forces to battle against the criminal mastermind Alexander Paine, who's also responsible for the death of Axel's father, and his minions Spydah and Flesh. In the end of the first season, they manage to defeat him and his gang.

However, it is revealed that Lee's true purpose was to use the teens' DNA to create clones powered with animal genes. During the second season the Alpha Teens once again have to team up to stop Lee and his army of mutants.

Episodes
Main article: List of A.T.O.M. episodes
Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
1 26 August 27, 2005 (2005-08-27) April 15, 2006 (2006-04-15)
2 26 September 2, 2006 (2006-09-02) November 18, 2006 (2006-11-18)

Cast

Production

The series was first announced by Jetix on 6 September 2004 with the working title of The Insiders. It was specifically designed to appeal to young boys ages 6 to 9 with an Autumn 2005 release. Originally, while the series was going to feature a team of rebellious teenagers, it was only going to focus on the main character who "has the task of tracking down and catching 100 of the worst villains and the mastermind who set them free from prison, the notorious Mr. Pain."[5] Hasbro was announced as the master toy licensee for The Insiders later the same month.[6] Interim CEO of Jetix Europe, Paul Taylor said that "The Insiders is a strong urban action-adventure series."[7]

On 15 November 2007, Jetix Europe announced their Year End results and stated in their report that they were not planning a third series of A.T.O.M., effectively cancelling the series.[8]

Release

Broadcast

In France, A.T.O.M. first aired on Jetix in 2005. In Italy, the show premiered on Jetix on October 1, 2005, and later aired on Rai 2 (during Random) from November 28 of the same year.[9]

Home media

In the United States, the DVDs are distributed through Liberation Entertainment. The first DVD of the series was released on August 28, 2007 titled "Vol. 1: Touch of Paine".[10] Following that, the second DVD titled "Vol 2.: Enter the Dragon" was released on August 28, 2007.[11]

In the UK, Volume 1: Feel the Paine was released for DVD and UMD Video by Sanctuary Visual Entertainment on January 23, 2006. A second volume titled The Terror Continues was planned but was cancelled for unknown reasons.

Streaming

The first season was streamed on Amazon Prime in the United States in 2016[12], although the seriew was removed in 2020. Distribution was handled by Multicom Entertainment Group.

The First season is currently avaliable to stream on Tubi TV.[13]

Multicom owned full distribution rights to the first season in the United States under license from Disney, however, as of 2020, the show is no longer listed on the company's website, meaning their contract to distribute the series has likely expired.[14]

Reception

In Europe, A.T.O.M. was the second-most popular Jetix original series for third-party sales as of fiscal year 2007, when the second season was delivered. All of the major Jetix Europe originals, including A.T.O.M., ranked "as one of the top two shows in their timeslots in all of the markets in which they aired."[8]

Common Sense Media, in their review of the show said: "The animation here — a blend of classic comic book and anime — is pretty good." and that "because of its relatively high level of cartoon violence [...] A.T.O.M. is best for older grade schoolers." and awarded the series 2 out of 5 stars.[15]

Other media

Toyline

The A.T.O.M. toy line is an action figure line, partially based on the Action Man franchise owned by Hasbro. Distinctly different from other Action Man story line variations, A.T.O.M.'s selling point is that the figures are the standard size of normal action figures and not of a doll format. Much like Action Man however, these figures are sold individually, usually with figure accessories, from the vehicles distributed to accompany them.

The franchise has vastly similar concepts to the 1980s' M.A.S.K. story line from Kenner (which Hasbro bought in 1991), even down to the code name lettering, as each vehicle for the A.T.O.M. members changes from one ordinary looking terrain vehicle to anything that ranges from a jet car with unfolding door wings, to a bike that soon propels its driver into the air as a helicopter.

In 2007, Hasbro released 12-inch versions of A.T.O.M. action figures, similar to the original Action Man action figures. The toy series was composed mostly of several versions of Axel Manning, the main character, and Paine, Flesh and Tilian as the villains. A plane, a sport car and several minor vehicles were included for this line of A.T.O.M. toys. The line was discontinued shortly thereafter.

Comic book

Panini Comics published a tie-in comic book series in the United Kingdom from 2006 to 2007. This title replaced their long-running Action Man series and featured stories by Simon Furman.[16]

Video game

A video game based on the show was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2007, developed by Brain in a Jar and published by Mastertronic Group under their budget game label Blast! Entertainment.[17] It is a racing and action game akin to the Driver series.

References
  1. "SIP Animation". 8 February 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-02-08. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  2. Terrace, Vincent (2008). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010, 2d ed. North Carolina: Macfarland & Company Inc. Publishing. ISBN 9780786486410.
  3. "The Serpent's Tale". Flixanity. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  4. Action Man: A.T.O.M., Panini Comics, issue 8, 5 July 2006.
  5. "Jetix Europe announces dynamic new action adventure co-production". Jetix Europe. Jetix. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  6. "Jetix Europe Secures Hasbro As Master Toy Licensee For Latest Action-adventure Property". Jetix Europe. Jetix. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  7. "Jetix Europe signs up Hasbro for The Insiders". The Retail Bulletin. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  8. "Jetix Europe N.V. announces results for the year ended September 30, 2007" (PDF). Jetix. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  9. "Antonio genna presenta ATOM". antoniogenna.net. Archived from the original on 10 February 2006. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  10. "A.T.O.M. Alpha Teens On Machines Vol. 1 Touch of Paine". Amazon. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  11. "A.T.O.M. Alpha Teens on Machines Vol. 2 Enter the Dragon". Amazon. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  12. "Amazon.com: A.T.O.M. Alpha Teens On Machines". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  13. "Watch A.T.O.M.: Alpha Teens on - Free TV Series Full Seasons Online | Tubi". Tubitv.com. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  14. "A.T.O.M.: Alpha Teens on Machines". multicom.tv. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  15. "A.T.O.M. TV Review". Common Sense Media. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  16. 'The Doomsday Key!', Action Man: A.T.O.M., Panini Comics, issue 8, 5 July 2006, page 5.
  17. "Action Man A.T.O.M.: Alpha Teens on Machines". GameSpot. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  1. Most versions have the series cropped, pillarboxed or shrunken to a 4:3 SD ratio.
  2. Only merchandise was branded under the Action Man name, the series itself in the UK used the regular name without the Action Man suffix.
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