COPS (animated TV series) explained

COPS (animated TV series) should not be confused with Cops (TV program).

Alt Name:CyberCOPS
Genre:police procedural
Developer:Bruce Shelly
Director:Kevin Altieri
Country:Canada
United States
Language:English
Num Seasons:1
Num Episodes:65
Executive Producer:Andy Heyward
Producer:Richard Raynis
Runtime:22 min
Company:DIC Animation City
Crawleys Animation
Channel:Syndication

C.O.P.S. (Central Organization of Police Specialists) is a 1988 animated television series released by DIC Animation City, and distributed by Claster Television. The series focuses on a team of highly trained police officers tasked with protecting the fictional Empire City from a group of gangsters led by the "Big Boss".[1] The tag lines for the series are "Fighting crime in a future time" and "It's crime fightin' time!"[2] In 1993, the series was shown in reruns on CBS Saturday mornings under the new name CyberCOPS, due to the 1989 debut of the unrelated primetime reality show of the same name.[3] The show was based on Hasbro's 1988 line of action figures called C.O.P.S. 'n' Crooks,[4] which were designed by Bart Sears.[5]

Overview

In the year 2020, Brandon "Big Boss" Babel and his gang of crooks are causing crime to run rampant in Empire City enough for the Empire City Police Department to be unable to stop him.[6]

Mayor Davis requests federal assistance. The FBI sends in Special Agent Baldwin P. Vess (Codename: Bulletproof) to help take down Big Boss. However, Vess suffers very serious injuries in a car wreck during a fight with Big Boss' criminal henchmen and has to be taken to the hospital. Facing years of rehabilitation, Vess is outfitted with a cybernetic bulletproof torso that allows him to walk again.

While staying at the hospital and knowing he cannot do all of this alone, Bulletproof, sends out Empire City police officer P.J. O'Malley (Codename: LongArm) and rookie officer Donny Brooks (Codename: Hardtop) to round up the best law enforcers from all over the country. With these men and women consisting of David E. "Highway" Harlson, Colt "Mace" Howards, Stan "Barricade" Hyde, Tina "Mainframe" Cassidy, Walker "Sundown" Calhoun, Suzie "Mirage" Young, Hugh S. "Bullseye" Forward, and Rex "Bowser" Pointer and his robot dog Blitz, he forms a team that is "the finest law enforcement agency there is in the country".[7] Bulletproof becomes the proud founder and commander of COPS. Together, he and his COPS team are able to take down Big Boss and his gang of crooks and thwart the first of many of Big Boss' criminal schemes.[8]

Each episode has a title that begins with "The Case of..." with a different phrase being added to it (e.g. "The Case of the Iron C.O.P.S. and Wooden CROOKS"; "The Case of the Half-Pint Hero"; and "The Case of the Crime Nobody Heard") along with the COPS file number. Bulletproof would narrate at the beginning of the episode as well as at the end, concluding by repeating the COPS file number and title, ending it with "Case Closed" with a "Closed" mark being stamped onto the file folder. The two exceptions are the first parts of each of the two-part episodes, "The Case of Big Boss' Master Plan" and "The Case of C.O.P.S. File #1", where the conclusion of the episode is marked with a "Case Continued" plastered on the files.

In the cartoon, the COPS frequently shouted, "It's crime fighting time!" as a battle cry when it was time to bag the CROOKS and solve a caper. Meanwhile, the CROOKS would shout "Crime's a-wasting!" whenever they went to do another caper, whether it was pulling another heist (as in so many episodes such as "The Case of the Blur Bandits"), giving C.O.P.S. a hard time to the point of replacing (actually disposing) them for good (as in "The Case of the Big Boss' Master Plan") or taking captive a certain individual to be held prisoner for ransom (as in "The Case of the Ransomed Rascal").

The music for the series was created by Shuki Levy, while the COPS theme music was written and composed by Haim Saban.

Numerous characters were featured in the cartoon that did not have action figures (including Mainframe, Brian O'Malley, Whitney Morgan, Nightshade, Ms. Demeanor, and Mirage).

Characters

C.O.P.S.

C.O.P.S. is short for Central Organization of Police Specialists. They were assembled in order to combat C.R.O.O.K.S. and other bad guys. Characters include:

C.R.O.O.K.S.

C.R.O.O.K.S. is an organized crime group that commits crimes in Empire City. Known members include:

Minor criminals

Other villains in this show were either unaffiliated with Big Boss' gang or shown working with them only once. They include:

Supporting characters

Minor characters

Episodes

C.O.P.S. for Kids

At the end of each episode of C.O.P.S., a special Public service announcement (PSA) segment known as C.O.P.S. for Kids is shown either in animated form featuring the C.O.P.S. and CROOKS or in live action form with real-life police officers giving kids information about safety issues. These included staying away from drugs, gangs, how to be safe at home and on the street, and how to help in preventing crime. Each and every C.O.P.S. for Kids segment was made with the blessing and assistance of organizations like DARE, the National Crime Prevention Council and the California Highway Patrol. These segments were omitted from some international broadcasts of the show.

Title Characters

Broadcast

C.O.P.S. was broadcast in syndication from 1988 to 1990.[10] On November 21 and 28, 1989, Record Breakers pre-empted the series. The program was re-titled Cyber C.O.P.S. and re-run on CBS from March 27 to September 4, 1993. It was re-run again on the USA Network from January 2 to March 9, 1995, under its original title.

Comics

A 15-issue series based on the show was published by DC Comics.[11]

Home video

Sterling Entertainment released a DVD called C.O.P.S. – Fighting Crime in a Future Time on November 13, 2003. Unlike the later released boxsets, Part 1 of "The Case of C.O.P.S. File #1" includes the introduction scenes of Highway and Sundown.

Shout! Factory and Sony BMG Music Entertainment released C.O.P.S. – Volume 1 on February 28, 2006, a four-disc boxset featuring the first 22 uncut episodes on DVD in its original broadcast presentation in Region 1.[12] It includes original concept art, storyboard-to-screen, and some of the original PSAs that were shown after the episodes. Volume 2 featuring 21 episodes was released as a Shout! Factory select title, available exclusively through their online store.[13]

Mill Creek Entertainment acquired the rights to the series,[14] releasing Volume 1, featuring the first 32 episodes of the series, on February 15, 2011 which includes a bonus episode of Hey Vern, It's Ernest!.[15] Volume 2, featuring the remaining 33 episodes, was released on September 13, 2011 which includes slideshow of concept art and a trailer for Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors.[16] They released C.O.P.S. – The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 on March 14, 2017.[17]

DVD NameEp #Release Date
C.O.P.S. Volume 132February 15, 2011
C.O.P.S. Volume 233September 13, 2011
C.O.P.S. Complete Series65March 14, 2017

Reception

Hal Erickson, author of Television Cartoon Shows, An Illustrated Encyclopedia stated that "C.O.P.S. had potential though it was a potential left unrealized by the dishearteningly flat animation style".[18] Erickson noted that C.O.P.S. "scored with a sturdy inner lining of social satire" such as Mayor Davis' cost-cutting attempts that would unwittingly aid the cause of the villain. IGN gave the show a rating of three out of ten, stating that "to fully appreciate this series one must have a tolerance for clunky, mechanical animation (the kind that says 'We really didn't spend too much money on it') and a love for '80s-style action"; and that "it offers little in terms of character development. I mean, all any kid needs to know is the C.O.P.S are the good guys and Big Boss and crew are the bad guys. Beyond that, the cartoon does offer one element to behold: its emphasis on gadgetry".

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Perlmutter . David . The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows . 2018 . Rowman & Littlefield . 978-1538103739 . 136.
  2. News: C.O.P.S.: The Animated Series – DVD Review at IGN . IGN. February 27, 2006. November 20, 2013. Head, Steve.
  3. News: COPS: The Animated Series, Volume 1. DVD Talk. 2010-08-14.
  4. News: POLICE REPORT ToyFare talks to the creators behind the C.O.P.S. toys and comic, and shows you never-before-seen artwork! . Wizard. 2010-03-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071009011526/http://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazine/toyfare/004165286.cfm . 2007-10-09.
  5. , #4, December 1991; "Pursuing Justice in a Dark Knight: the Bart Sears Interview", by Patrick Daniel O'Neill; p. 8, "I was working at Hasbro at the time. I designed the C.O.P.S. toys"
  6. News: C.O.P.S. – Press for C.O.P.S. contains episode list & Extra's for Shout release. TVShowsOnDVD.com. 2010-02-23. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100308085220/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/COPS/4773. 2010-03-08.
  7. Book: Erickson . Hal . Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 . 2005 . 2nd . McFarland & Co . 978-1476665993 . 213–214.
  8. News: COPS: The Animated Series, Volume 2. DVD Talk. 2010-08-14.
  9. http://www.yojoe.com/filecard/86/beachhead.shtml Yo Joe: Beachhead File Card
  10. Erickson, 2005. p.213
  11. https://www.comics.org/series/3580/#index_status COPS DC, 1988 series
  12. News: C.O.P.S. – Volume 1 Review. TVShowsOnDVD.com. 2010-02-23. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100226014155/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/reviews/COPS-Volume-Release/5435. 2010-02-26.
  13. Web site: Shout! Factory Store . Shout! Factory Store . 2012-06-23 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120308191103/http://www.shoutfactorystore.com/prod.aspx?pfid=5257129 . 2012-03-08.
  14. Web site: Site News DVD news: US Townhall.com Interview with Mill Creek VP Jeff Hayne . TV Shows On DVD. 2007-05-25 . 2012-06-23 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120518152705/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Site-News-Interview-with-Mill-Creek-VP/14528 . 2012-05-18.
  15. Web site: C.O.P.S. DVD news: Announcement for Mill Creek's Volume 1 and The Best Of . TV Shows On DVD. 2007-05-25 . 2012-06-23 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120521051612/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/COPS-Volume-1-and-The-Best-Of/14869 . 2012-05-21.
  16. Web site: C.O.P.S. DVD news: Announcement for C.O.P.S. – Volume 2 . TV Shows On DVD. 2012-06-23 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120521060928/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/COPS-Volume-2/15704 . 2012-05-21.
  17. "For the First Time Ever, DVDs for 'The Complete Series'!"
  18. Erickson, 2005. p.214