Road Rovers

This cartoon series was excellent while it lasted. The premise is relatively simple: dogs who live with heads of state transform into partial humans, fight crime, and go back to their pampered existences. The comedy was amusing for almost all age levels, giving adults as many laughs as children. Given its ratings for the time, it is a surprise that the show was cancelled, but then again, there's the WB for you. If you can only see one episode, watch "A Day in the Life", the last of the cartoons, for an idea of the Road Rovers at their best. Good luck finding a videotape, though...

How did Road Rovers get greenlit? What was their goal?

Well anyway, we have some very cute and sexy cartoon humanoid dogs who are so buff and humanoid they quantify as people. Does that sound like a Cronenberg flick? Well it should because that is what happens.

They go around saying dog puns and such and kicking butt.

The animation is standard 90's stuff. Lot's of detail, lush painted backdrops, not very punchy animation because it's probably rushed into planning so we get floaty animation with many frames.

The one thing that I think that bothers me most is the accents. All the characters act like their national stereotype which was something I was uncomfortable with but I was 5 in the year 2000 so what do I know?

Road rovers is one of the many shows that live in the back of my mind.

When it comes to the horde of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles clones, Road Rovers was a very unique but decent show. I never grew up watching it, but when I learned it was made by the creator of Animaniacs, Tom Ruegger, it got me interested. I really like the concept and execution of humanoid dog heroes, but when I first watched it on Apple TV as an adult, I honestly wished it could have been better. Personally, it felt slightly mediocre to me because there are a ton of flaws in the show. Most of the humor was average, the gags were cheap and overused too much, the writing and logic felt like it was on auto-pilot, almost all the plotlines in every episode felt wasteful, Muzzle was way too overpowering, the Rovers themselves often feel and act one dimensional, stereotypical, and don't have any complex or emotional depth. For example, Blitz is basically an Arnold Schwarzenegger stereotype, as well as a narcissistic and cowardly dumb jock. I just find him to be very irritating, but I also feel sorry for him for being unfairly hated so much. Colleen however has to be probably one of the best characters in the show, because she reminds me a lot of Bayonetta. I can understand why Road Rovers has a following, but I'm not a die hard fan. Not to mention, this show came at a very late time when animation started appealing towards more mature audiences like The Prince of Egypt and Gargoyles. So in conclusion, Road Rovers is neither bad nor good, it's just... slightly decent and I guess it has gained the audience it deserved.

This was along with Freakazoid one of the funniest cartoons I have ever witnessed. Pity it didn't run longer.

Hunter- is an all American hound. a little dim sometimes but still a good leader.

Blitz- Doberman. Sounds like a cross between Arnold Schwarzenegger and both Hanz and Franz from the old SNL skits. Has an obssesion with biting the enemies 'tushies'.

Exile- Siberian husky from Russia. Got slang mixed up constaintly.

Colleen- The female of the group. A Collie naturally. Expert in judo and totally ignors Blitz.

Shag- Sheepdog. Big hairy and has a coat with with items.

Muzzle- Deranged rotweiler. Just plain nuts.

Master- the human who created the rovers and and is their 'boss' er.. master.

The show is hilarious. For example here is a quick scene from one episode:

(They are surrounding a building) Blitz: I'll bite anything that comes out of the rear. Exile: Frued would have field day with nut boy like you.

The Road Rovers was a great show about canine superheroes chosen by the Master to fight crime around the world. The show was hilarious to say the least. Simple and complex jokes that could appeal to all ages. Running jokes throughout the series that could spawn a drinking game. The action was mesmerizing, and cleverly set up. The characters were very original, each with a very different personality. But what made me enjoy the show the most was the depth of the characters. Each of them have struggles and emotional difficulties that are never expressed, but implied in subtext. Hopefully, one day, there'll be some way to watch the Rovers in action again.