Shadow Raiders
- Disambiguation: Shadow Raiders is also the title of the first book in the Dragon Brigade series.
Shadow Raiders | |
---|---|
Genre | Action Science fiction |
Developed by | Len Wein Dan DiDio |
Starring | Donna Yamamoto Paul Dobson Mark Oliver Enuka Okuma Matt Hill Scott McNeil Jim Byrnes Garry Chalk |
Composer | Robert Buckley |
Country of origin | Canada |
No. of series | 2 |
No. of episodes | 26 |
Production | |
Executive producers | Christopher Brough Ian Pearson |
Producers | Mark Ralston B.F. Painter |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production companies | Mainframe Entertainment Alliance Atlantis |
Original release | |
Network | YTV (Canada) First-run syndication (US) Sky One (UK) |
Release | September 16, 1998 June 23, 1999 | –
Shadow Raiders is a Canadian animated television series produced by Mainframe Entertainment and syndicated by The Summit Media Group,[1][2] that aired from September 16, 1998 to June 23, 1999. The show was loosely based on the Trendmasters toy line, War Planets.[3] The original character designs were created by ReBoot designer, Brendan McCarthy. The series focused on the four warring planets of a solar system called the Cluster as they were forced to set aside their differences and form a coalition against the menace of the Beast Planet.
Plot
Shadow Raiders is set in a five-planet star system known as the Cluster. The four inhabited planets are in a constant state of war, always raiding one another for resources unique to each planet. However, when an alien named Tekla comes from another solar system, she brings a warning: the Beast Planet is coming. Now Graveheart, a humble miner of Planet Rock, must convince the leaders of Fire, Rock, Bone, and Ice to put aside their differences and stand together against the Beast, their new common enemy.
The story begins as Tekla's homeworld of Planet Tek is consumed by the Beast Planet. She and her robotic companion, Voxx, escape to the Cluster through a Beast jump portal to warn them of the impending danger. Tekla is pursued by Beast drones and crash-lands on Planet Ice, where she is rescued by Graveheart. The drones subsequently attack and slaughter the combined forces of Rock and Ice in the area, leaving only Tekla, Graveheart, and Ice King Cryos. The threat convinces Cryos and Graveheart to form an alliance of the Cluster worlds against the Beast Planet.
The first season revolves around the efforts of Graveheart, who has become the de facto leader of the Alliance, to convince the leaders of the other Cluster worlds to join the Alliance. The first planet they visit is his home planet, Planet Rock, but Lord Mantel stubbornly refuses to ally himself with the other worlds after Rock's Battle Moons repel a Beast attack. Graveheart's friend and captain of the Royal Guard, Jade, joins him to help rally planets Fire and Bone to his cause. Fire and Bone join the Alliance.
The Beast forces are tracked to the dead world of Remora, converted into a fortress by the Beast drones. An attack by the combined forces of Ice, Fire, and Bone, with some timely intervention by Rock's Battle Moons, sees the destruction of Remora. However, this only serves to anger the Beast Planet, which emerges from within the Cluster's star and proves its superiority by destroying one of the Battle Moons with a single blast from halfway across the system. It then unleashes its wrath upon the nearest planet; Fire.
The second season focuses on the Alliance's efforts to avoid the unstoppable Beast Planet. Each world in the Cluster is discovered to be equipped with "World Engines", massive drive systems which can propel the planets through space. Using these, the worlds of the Cluster flee the Beast; Fire's engine is damaged and the planet is thus sacrificed in a futile attempt to stop the Beast. Fire's population is moved to the remaining Battle Moons, now down to three following the battle to save Fire. On their journey, they discover Planet Sand, which joins the Alliance, and Planet Jungle, which the Alliance blows up when the Beast tries to consume it; this, too, proves useless. The plants of Jungle live on as a single cutting which is given to Emperor Femur of Bone.
The finale introduces the Prison Planet, a teleport world used as a penal colony. Graveheart and Cryos are captured by a faction of convicts led by Jewelia, a devious woman who takes a liking to Graveheart. Femur and Jade are taken by a second faction commanded by Sternum, Femur's nobler brother, from whom Femur stole the throne of Planet Bone. Convinced that their friends have been slain by the other faction, the two pairs join the fight on the side of their respective faction until the truth is revealed. Meanwhile, Lord Mantel takes control of the Alliance by force, convinced that his forces are superior to the Beast. His arrogance nearly dooms the Alliance and costs Mantel his life when Blokk invades Rock and kills him in single combat. As the Beast Planet is about to consume Planet Rock, the Prison Planet teleports into its path. Graveheart and his group use Sternum's Telepod to travel to Rock. Sternum then teleports the Prison Planet out of the system, taking the Beast Planet with it. Alliance members mistakenly think that Beast Planet would have been destroyed during the teleportation. A final battle between Graveheart and Blokk results in Blokk's demise, Jade's rise to ruler of Planet Rock, and the Alliance's new era of peace. However, the story ends with a scene in a distant part of the galaxy, moments before the destruction of Planet Reptizar at the hands of the Beast Planet.
Although the show ended after its second season, a proposed third would have answered major questions, like the origin of the Beast Planet.
Setting
The main setting of Shadow Raiders is the Cluster, a series of four interdependent worlds. The four main planets – Fire, Rock, Bone, and Ice – have warred for as long as any of them can remember over their natural resources: Fire produces energy, Rock produces metals and minerals, Bone produces food, and Ice produces water, and all four worlds depend on each other to survive.
A large part of the series mythology in the second season is the World Engines, a propulsion system built into the planets of the Cluster (and presumably many other worlds, since two different planets in different solar systems have them) by an ancient alien race. Using five mountain-sized energy thrusters which emerge from the planet's surface, the World Engines can propel a planet through space at great speeds. A combination of an atmospheric shield and artificial gravity generators keep the sudden shift in orbit and lack of a star from killing everyone on the surface. The Prison Planet has a variation known as Teleport Engines, which teleport the world to different locations in space instantly. The same artificial gravity and atmospheric shielding technology is used to protect the inhabitants. Each set of engines is located at the core of its world and can be reached using Telepods, small platforms on the surface of each world. The Telepods send the user to the core of the planet where they can use the computer to move the planet. The Telepods can also be used to move people from one planet to another.
The World Engines are equipped with sensors capable of detecting – but not acting upon – threats to the planet. The AI is able to recommend a course of action, and does not appear to require clearance of any sort, responding to any voice commands given. The Telepod technology was reverse-engineered by Tekla to create a force field generator so anyone can physically fight a Null Matter being without disintegrating on contact.
Main characters
Episodes
Season 1 (1998)
{{Episode table |background=#C6C9FF |overall=5 |season=5 |title=32 |dreictor=20 |writer=20 |writerT=Script writer|airdate=20 |episodes=
11"Behold, the Beast"Colin Davies & Phil MitchellLen WeinSeptember 16, 1998
22"On the Rocks"Mark SawersChristy MarxSeptember 23, 1998
33"Born in Fire"Mark SchiemannMarv WolfmanSeptember 30, 1998
44"Bad to the Bone"Dwayne John BeaverKen PontacOctober 7, 1998
55"Wolf in the Fold"Anthony AtkinsChristy MarxOctober 14, 1998
66"Mind War"Owen M. HurleyKen PontacOctober 21, 1998
77"J'Accuse"Andrew DuncanKatherine LawrenceOctober 28, 1998
88"Blood is Thicker..."Vladmir StetoffMarv WolfmanNovember 4, 1998
99"Rock and Ruin"George SamilskiChristy MarxNovember 11, 1998
1010"Against all Odds"Raul InglisMarv WolfmanNovember 18, 1998
1111"Uneasy Hangs the Head"Craig McEwenLen WeinNovember 25, 1998
1212"Ragnarok, Part One"James E. TaylorSteve CudenDecember 2, 1998
1313"Ragnarok, Part Two"James BoshierLen WeinDecember 9, 1998
|}
Season 2
Episode | Title | Director | Script | Premiere | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
14 | 1 | "Worlds within Worlds" | Owen Hurley | Christy Marx | March 31, 1999 | |
The Beast Planet demonstrates its might, launching an armada to attack Fire while training its powerful cannons on the Battle Moons. A stray blast threatens to destroy Ice, but Tekla and Lady Zera discover world engines hidden within the planet, which move it out of the path of the blast. | ||||||
15 | 2 | "This is the Way the World Ends..." | Steve Ball | Marv Wolfman | April 7, 1999 | |
The Beast Planet targets planet Fire. Graveheart and Tekla must hurry to find the world engines. During the invasion, Graveheart is injured while saving prince Pyrus. The Grand Vizier witnesses the sacrifice and reconsiders his judgment towards the outlanders. In the end, everything is lost for planet Fire but the Grand Vizier sacrifices himself and tells prince Pyrus that his new friends are indeed worthy ones. Prince Pyrus orders the Vizier to evacuate with the rest of his people, because he still needs his guidance and company. The Vizier disobeys, saying that Pyrus is old enough to rule, and that the Vizier does not want to die a coward. The Grand Vizier uses the world engines to ram Planet Fire onto the Beast Planet's claw, hoping that it will destroy the Beast Planet, The Beast Planet consumes planet Fire anyway, killing the Grand Vizier. | ||||||
16 | 3 | "Period of Adjustment" | J. Falconer | Ken Pontac | April 14, 1999 | |
Emperor Femur and Pelvus must make good their commitment to return to the Alliance. They agree to feed all the people of the Alliance with the resources of Bone, and so Bone rejoins the Alliance. | ||||||
17 | 4 | "Blaze of Glory" | Andrew Duncan | Dan DiDio | April 21, 1999 | |
Captain Blaze and his renegade squad steal one of the Battle Moons and attempt to regain their lost honor in destroying the Beast Planet. But when Blokk and his battle fleets almost seize Prince Pyrus, Captain Blaze returns to save his young lord. At the command center, Jade is contacted by Lord Mantle to finish their bargain. | ||||||
18 | 5 | "Sandstorm" | Craig McEwen | E. Bull and W. Shetterly | April 28, 1999 | |
The Alliance travels to planet Sand. Lady Zera meets one of the Sand People, Zuma. She is a telepath. In the end, the great Sand People save the day with their mind power. | ||||||
19 | 6 | "Girls Night Out" | George Roman Samilski | Brooks Wachtel | May 5, 1999 | |
Jade, princess Tekla, Lady Zera, Pelvus and Zuma head for "Moon Over Mayhem" to socialize. In an attempt to reconcile, Tekla gives Jade the key of the Cluster defenses. During this pleasure trip they are attacked by Fire's pirates and smugglers as well as Lamprey and her drones. | ||||||
20 | 7 | "Timebomb" | Raul Inglis | Art Holcomb | May 12, 1999 | |
The Alliance of the Cluster find Planet Jungle. They are willing to sacrifice this non-living world to trap the Beast Planet and Blokk's forces. On a trip to planet Jungle they place explosives but living plants ask for their help. Tekla finds out the planet's world engines were destroyed long ago. The vegetation on this world is doomed. A sentient plant asks Femur to preserve a small part of the planet's life. Planet Jungle explodes, but the Beast Planet is unharmed. | ||||||
21 | 8 | "Embers of the Past" | Mark Sawers | Gillian Horvath | May 19, 1999 | |
The Alliance is surprised when Planet Fire catches up to them. Apparently the Grand Vizier is alive but his personality seems different. It is revealed that it isn't the Grand Vizier but a creation of the Beast planet. The Alliance retreats into a nebula to evade destruction from Blokk and his battle forces. | ||||||
22 | 9 | "Divided We Stand" | Owen Hurley | Christy Marx | May 26, 1999 | |
The Alliance detects a signal from a mysterious planet which is determined to be a battleground. Graveheart and Cryos are traveling together as are Jade and Femur. The two groups crash land separately and lose contact with their fleet. The miner and the Ice King are found by Jewelia and her band of criminals. Jewelia develops a liking for the former rock soldier. Jade and Femur meet Sternum who is a tough warrior from planet Bone. Sternum relocates the prison planet to another location evading the scanners of any possible enemies. | ||||||
23 | 10 | "Nor Iron Bars a Cage" | Steve Ball and Sebastian Brodin | Marv Wolfman | June 2, 1999 | |
It turns out the prison planet can teleport itself. Sternum is revealed to have been Femur's brother. Tekla and Pyrus must confront Lord Mantle, who wants to rule the Alliance. Mantle shuts down the defenses for the entire Alliance endangering the fleet. Meanwhile, Jewelia and Graveheart lead an attack on Sternum's camp but are driven off by its superior arsenal. Sternum was the rightful ruler of Bone before being overthrown by his brother and seeks revenge on Femur. Graveheart and Jewelia retreat while Tekla has no choice but to pass over leadership to Mantle. The Rock King reveals a key which is the defense key given by Tekla to Jade. On the prison planet Jade is set to kill Femur. | ||||||
24 | 11 | "Death of a King" | James E. Taylor | Christy Marx | June 9, 1999 | |
Both factions of the prison planet prepare for their next battle. Jade helps Sternum with the maintenance around the base while Cryos and Graveheart devise a plan to get to the teleport engines. Meanwhile Tekla, Zera and Pyrus receive a summons from Lord Mantle. Mantle reveals to the three his intent of wiping out the Beast Planet with an all-out assault from the battle moons. Pyrus objects because his people now live on the battle moons. Back on the prison planet, Jewelia begins her assault on Sternum's base while Cryos and Graveheart move underground. Detecting enemy presence in the underground and threatening Femur to provide Jade with backup, while Sternum intercepts Graveheart and Cryos. Both groups engage with each other. Graveheart seeks to avenge Jade's supposed death. Jade herself narrowly escapes assassination from Jewelia's sniper. In retaliation for Rock's attack, the Beast sends out its armada which wipes out Rock's defenses easily. Blokk and his drone infiltrate Mantle's throne room. Mantle calls back the battle moons once he realizes that his moons are doing no damage. Blokk and Mantle engage in battle; Blokk proves victorious and kills the Rock Lord. | ||||||
25 | 12 | "The Long Road Home" | Anthony Atkins | Marv Wolfman | June 16, 1999 | |
The Beast has captured Planet Rock, and starts to round up the planets' population. On the Prison Planet, the fight between the two factions continues, but Graveheart, Cryos, Jade, and Femur are reunited. The Sand people find the Prison Planet and guide the planet back to the Alliance system. The planet teleports back, appearing between the Beast Planet and Planet Rock. As the Beast Planet's claw closes onto the Prison Planet, Sternum activates the teleport engines, teleporting both the Prison and Beast Planets to parts unknown. | ||||||
26 | 13 | "Ascension" | George Roman Samilski | Ken Pontac & Dan DiDio | June 23, 1999 | |
The episode opens with Lord Mantle's funeral. As Graveheart speaks and the Alliance watches, Blokk kills three Rock soldiers. Tekla, Pyrus and Zera confront Jade to demand why she would betray them, and Graveheart reveals that it was to convince Mantle to lend them the Battle Moons for the fight with Remora. Graveheart then asks Jade to be the next ruler of Rock. After an argument, she agrees and goes for the test. Blokk enters the World Engine and kills all the Rock soldiers except the captain. He steers the planet towards the closest star. He then contacts the Alliance and demands that Graveheart face him. Cryos informs Graveheart, who goes to meet Blokk in the world engines as Jade takes the royalty test. She passes the test. The Graveheart battles Blokk while Voxx, Tekla and Cryos go to repair the engines and get the planet away from the star. Voxx repairs the world engine allowing Jade to steer the planet away as Graveheart finishes Blokk off by plunging the Force field Generator inside him. In the aftermath, Jade makes Graveheart an official Rock citizen, and the series ends with the Beast Planet devouring another planet, the subtitle below echoing the first episode: "Planet Reptizar: On Doomsday". |
Cancellation
The series had originally been planned to have three seasons and 40 episodes in total. But during the exhibition of season two, the toy line had very low sales in Canada. Because of this, despite the series receiving good ratings, the producers decided to cancel it because the series was made to promote the toy line. Due to the cancellation, the third season was not made.[4]
Home releases
The entire series was released on DVD by ADV Films in the year 2000. The series was spread over six volumes. Bonus features on the DVDs included data files on the characters, animation turnarounds, and a series trailer, featuring original animation not seen in the series. Much like fellow Mainframe Entertainment series ReBoot, the North American DVDs are long out of print and rare, though tend to fetch substantially less than other Mainframe DVDs.
Volume Number | Volume Title | Episodes Contained |
---|---|---|
1 | Uncommon Hero | Behold the Beast, On the Rocks, Born in Fire, Bad to the Bone |
2 | A Dangerous Enemy | Wolf in the Fold, Mind War, J'Accuse, Blood is Thicker... |
3 | Final Hours | Rock and Ruin, Against All Odds, Uneasy Hangs the Head, Ragnarok parts 1 and 2 |
4 | Alliance Attacks! | Worlds Within Worlds, This Is The Way The World Ends..., Period of Adjustment, Blaze of Glory |
5 | New Worlds! | Sandstorm, Girls Night Out, Timebomb, Embers of the Past |
6 | Final Conflict | Divided We Stand, Nor Iron Bars a Cage, Death of a King, The Long Road Home, Ascension |
Both complete seasons are available in two sets in the United Kingdom. Eight volumes were released in Germany (English + German audio)[5] and six volumes were released in Russia, both also containing all 26 episodes.
Cast
- Donna Yamamoto – Tekla
- Paul Dobson – Graveheart
- Mark Oliver – King Cryos
- Enuka Okuma – Jade
- Matt Hill – Prince Pyrus
- Scott McNeil – Pelvus and Blokk
- Jim Byrnes – Grand Vizier
- Garry Chalk – Emperor Femur
- Tasha Simms – Lamprey
- Blu Mankuma – Lord Mantle
- Tegan Moss – Lady Zera
- Janyse Jaud – Jewelia
- Ellen Kennedy – Zuma
- John Payne – Sternum
War Planets toy line
The Shadow Raiders series was based on the War Planets toys from Trendmasters. Toys of Planets Ice, Fire, Bone, Rock, Sand, Tek, Water, Reptizar, Remora, the Beast Planet, several Battle Moons and Beast, Bone and Ice Tanks were created. The series is not strictly set around the toys since more worlds than just Rock have Battle Moons. Several toys were brought out that were based on the Shadow Raiders series but they were either figures of the main characters or ships.
See also
- Trendmasters makers of War Planets
- Mainframe Entertainment producers of Shadow Raiders
- List of Shadow Raiders characters
- List of Shadow Raiders planets
References
- ^ "10-K". Edgar Online. March 31, 1998. p. 6. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
- ^ "Tooning in the 1998 Fall Season". Animation World Network. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
- ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 683. ISBN 978-1538103739.
- ^ "Welcome to Shadow Raiders (aka War Planets)".
- ^ "Shadow Raiders 8 – Death of a King" (in German). Retrieved 4 February 2013.
External links
- 1998 Canadian television series debuts
- 1999 Canadian television series endings
- 1990s Canadian animated television series
- 1990s Canadian science fiction television series
- Animated television series about extraterrestrial life
- YTV (TV channel) original programming
- Canadian computer-animated television series
- Works by Len Wein
- Television series by Corus Entertainment
- Television series by Rainmaker Studios
- Canadian children's animated action television series
- Canadian children's animated space adventure television series
- Canadian children's animated science fantasy television series
- English-language television shows
- Television shows filmed in Vancouver
- Television series set on fictional planets