ExoSquad is one of those 90s cartoons along with Batman: The Animated Series and Gargoyles that aimed for something much more sophisticated and mature than the typical American action cartoon.
The violence of the series was not romanticized...the war that dominated most of the episodes was portrayed as a terrible thing. The "good guys" lost just as often as they won. The "bad guys" were given valid reasons for doing what they did, and did not think of themselves as evil. Most of the major characters went through considerable growth over the course of each arc. There was no true status quo.
The show was a big hit in the first season, but something went awry during season two. Not in the quality of the episodes...they were as cool as ever. It just became hard to find on the schedule. I remember having to get up at five in the morning to catch it. Difficult, since I was in college at the time and used to sleeping in.
Here's hoping the DVD release is a big enough hit that I'll finally be able to catch all of Season Two. Posted by Boris (Member # 6935) on :
I'll save you the trouble. Season 2 ends in an annoying cliffhanger. Which is all I'll say.
Except to add that it really is an awesome series. I was just a little too intense for the (assumed) target audience. I assume it got moved to the early time slot so the producers could stop getting annoyed parent notes.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
A Disney film aimed at the kiddies came out during the same period called The Lion King. You may have heard of it, heh. It arguably had just as intense content. And yet, parents used that as an electronic baby-sitter, once it came out on VHS. I guess violence is nicer when it's done by talking animals than by mecha and neo-sapiens? Posted by krynn (Member # 524) on :
i remember this show. i had the leader's blu exosquad toy, the mech with the wings. it was a cool show. i only remember they were fighting the neos and one of them was a good guy. the dude with the orange mech was a fat guy and a slob. umm, that about sums up what i remember of the cast.
Posted by Telperion the Silver (Member # 6074) on :
Oddly they sold Robotech Zentraedi mechs under the ExoSquad brand for awhile.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
Well, when the third season was canceled, the toy line was left without the new characters, mecha, and antagonists that would have been introduced. But they still wanted to sell toys! So, the Robotech stuff was deemed "close enough". Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
Unfortunately, the season one set is a bit of a disappointment so far.
It's completely bare-bones. No commentary, no interviews, no behind-the-scenes content, nothing.
While the show itself remains as good as ever, the visual and audible quality of the episodes vary wildly. Some episodes are in good shape, others are a stew of occasional hazy sequences and blips of garbled sound.
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