Repeat_Offender_(Time_Squad)

<i>Time Squad</i>

Time Squad

American animated television series


Time Squad is an American animated television series created by Dave Wasson for Cartoon Network and the 10th of the network's Cartoon Cartoons. It follows the adventures of Otto Osworth, Buck Tuddrussel, and the robot Larry 3000, a trio of hapless "time cops" living in the far distant future who travel back in time attempting to correct the course of history.[1] During their adventures, they run into major historical figures such as Julius Caesar, Abraham Lincoln, Sigmund Freud, Leonardo da Vinci, the Founding Fathers, and Moctezuma, who have taken a drastically different course of life than history dictates. The mission of the Time Squad is to guide these figures onto the correct path and ensure the integrity of the future.

Quick Facts Time Squad, Genre ...

The series premiered during Cartoon Network's marathon block "Cartoon Cartoon Summer" on June 8, 2001,[2] and ended after two seasons on November 26, 2003, airing 26 episodes in total. In the course of its run, the series received five Annie Award nominations. Creator Dave Wasson described the series as "a C-average student's approach to history."[3] It is also the final Cartoon Network original series to premiere during Betty Cohen's tenure, as she later resigned due to creative disagreements with Jamie Kellner, then-head of Turner Broadcasting System. Cohen was eventually replaced with Jim Samples ten days after Time Squad premiered.

The series also marked as the very first Cartoon Network original series to be entirely produced by Cartoon Network Studios, no longer a division of Hanna-Barbera following the death of William Hanna in 2001. The show also began airing on Canada's Teletoon Detour block in 2002. The show features music from Michael Tavera, who would later make music for ¡Mucha Lucha!, Lilo & Stitch: The Series, Yin Yang Yo! and The Secret Saturdays.

Premise

Set in the year 100,000,000 AD on a satellite orbiting Earth, Time Squad follows the adventures of Buck Tuddrussell (voiced by Rob Paulsen), a muscular and dimwitted officer of the law; Larry 3000 (voiced by Mark Hamill), a diplomatic robot; and Otto Osworth (voiced by Pamela Adlon), an eight-year-old orphan history buff, as they travel together backwards in time to set right the course of history as it unravels.

The Time Squad organization is set up to ensure that history is maintained and the future protected.[4] According to Larry 3000, "time is like a rope", and, as it is woven at one end, ages and gradually unravels and frays at the other. In the context of the show, this often means that historical figures have made different, sometimes anachronistic, choices in life, and as such will not be able to fulfill the role that history says they fulfilled. According to creator Dave Wasson, "We started by basically knowing what a guy did in history, then found the most outlandish way he could go wrong".[5]

Future Earth is now a peaceful utopia where all nations of the world have merged into one, and according to Tuddrussel, Earth has "no more war, no pollution, and bacon is good for your heart".[4] Despite this cheerful vision of the future, the space station on which the characters live and from which they travel to the past is remarkably dystopic. It features a shooting range, a terrarium and a prison for repeat offenders, but it is dank, outdated (for the time) and unclean. Mostly this seems to be down to officer Buck Tuddrussel, a scruffy and immature perennial bachelor, who nevertheless happens to be the station's most senior officer.

The only other official member of Buck's unit is Larry 3000, a translator robot and former diplomat who was rendered more or less obsolete when all of the world's nations merged. Buck's mindless machismo clashes with Larry's effete sensibilities, and the two bicker terribly. Added to this the fact that neither of them has any great knowledge of history, they made a rather poor team together.

However, when they encounter Otto Osworth, an 8-year-old boy who happens to be an orphan from the 21st century, he is quickly recruited and added to the team. Otto is shown to be the only one on the team with any enthusiasm or competence for the job. Neither of the other two are particularly willing to listen to his advice, and Otto must often resort to trickery to make sure the mission is completed.

Characters

Main

  • Otto Osworth (voiced by Pamela Adlon) is an orphan illegally time traveling along with Tuddrussel and Larry, taken on board due to their incompetence and his impressive historical knowledge (and for Otto to escape his brutal life at the orphanage). Despite being a bookworm, his demeanor is far from boring; he is just as childlike and jocular as any regular eight-year-old. Even though he is the youngest of the group, he is also the most responsible out of the squad, being the only one pure enough to not let himself get swayed by temptations. Depending on who he's siding with, he can either become loud and destructive (when Tuddrussel has him company) or composed and calm (when it's Larry he agrees with). It's unknown what happened to Otto's parents.
  • Lawrence "Larry" 3000 (voiced by Mark Hamill) is a grumpy robot and the only one on board able to operate the computer. It's his job to make sure the squad ends up at the right time and place. Initially, he was programmed as a polyglottic robot for diplomatic purposes; when all of the nations rejoiced into one, huge country, his consular abilities were no longer needed. Larry is famous for his effeminate behavior and interests, which are portrayed all but subtly. Unusually, he is extremely dramatic and open in showing his emotions whilst still being the snarkiest of the trio. He prides himself on having knowledge of proper etiquette and manners. For Otto, he has been repeatedly depicted as a maternal figure.
  • Beauregard "Buck" Tuddrussel (voiced by Rob Paulsen) is an immature time cop, who possesses all the physical requirements for his job and none the intellectual. Whenever there's someone who needs a beating up (and even when they do not), he is the best person to get assigned for such a task. Impulsiveness, aggressiveness, and air-headedness are traits that define Tuddrussel quite nicely. Buck is easygoing toward Otto and prides himself on being the "fun" parent. Not much of his backstory is known, aside from his Southern heritage and a short-lived marriage to fellow time cop Sheila Sternwell.

Recurring

  • Sheila Sternwell Tuddrussel (voiced by Mari Weiss) is a lieutenant within Time Squad ranks, Sheila is a no-nonsense woman that takes her job seriously. The ex-wife of Tuddrussel, it is made clear that while she regrets making the mistake of marrying him in the first place, and can be slightly bitter towards him, she actually does not resent him and still does her job and helps out Tuddrussel and his unit when needed. She even seems to go far in not ratting out Tuddrussel and Larry over Otto, and other screw ups that she should be reporting.
  • XJ5 (voiced by Daran Norris) is an advanced robot that is more qualified for the job of a time cop than Larry, and he loves to rub it in. Working with Officer Sternwell, XJ5 provides actual help and guidance on missions.

Other

  • J.T. Laser (voiced by Jim Wise) - Professional and competent, J.T. is the best officer of what Time Squad has to offer; but he is also an arrogant jerk that gladly makes trouble for Tuddrussel and Larry. Despite this, Tuddrussel and Larry are big fans of him and Lance Nine Trillion and still gush over them even after JT and Lance beat them to a pulp.
  • Lance Nine Trillion (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) is a high-tech robot in Time Squad that provides with the most ranked officer. Lance is the perfect partner for J.T; like XJ5 he boasts about how advanced he is.
  • Sister Thornley (voiced by Dee Dee Rescher) is Otto's former caretaker, the nasty nun of the orphanage and the main villain of the show before getting "adopted" by Larry and Tuddrussel. Otto has good reason to fear her, as do the other kids that she keeps. Obviously not afraid of the police or anyone coming after her, Sister Thornley freely abuses kids that are put into her care, while at the orphanage and even more disturbingly in public. Her motives are despairingly questionable, such making the children work under horrific conditions in order to make a quick buck, or why she has a problem with Otto reading books (or any child reading, for that matter. She apparently has an entire policy against it). At the end, Larry and Tuddrussel officially takes Otto much to her dismay, but to her joy she finds another genius child she can abuse.

Voice cast

Main

Additional voices

Episodes

More information Season, Episodes ...

Note: All episodes were directed by the series creator Dave Wasson, though Larry Leichliter co-directed "Keepin' It Real with Sitting Bull", "A Thrilla at Attila's", "Pasteur's Packs O' Punch", "Love at First Flight", "Child's Play", "Father Figure of Our Country", and "Floral Patton".

Season 1 (2001)

More information No. overall, No. in season ...

Season 2 (2002–03)

More information No. overall, No. in season ...

Reception

Time Squad was given a B rating from Houston Chronicle contributor Lana Berkowitz, who stated the series consisted of "more laughs than lessons".[6]

Awards and nominations

More information Year, Award ...

Merchandise

Home media releases

A DVD consisting of the first three episodes of the series was released in the United Kingdom by Boulevard Entertainment.[9]

Promotions

Cartoon Network and Subway partnered to release five Time Squad-themed toys in Subway Kids Paks. The promotion lasted from September 30 to November 17, 2002.[10]


References

  1. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 643. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  2. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 849–850. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  3. Bernstein, Paula (February 21, 2001). "Cartoon Net Gives Go to 4 New Shows". Variety. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on March 16, 2018. Retrieved 2013-05-31.
  4. "Eli Whitney's Flesh-Eating Mistake". Time Squad. Season 1. Episode 1. June 8, 2001. Cartoon Network.
  5. Keveney, Bill (June 8, 2001). "'Time Squad' Aims to Rewrite History". USA Today. p. 15E.
  6. Berkowitz, Lana (June 8, 2001). "It's History in the Remaking on Time Squad". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  7. "29th Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners (2001)". AnnieAwards.org. ASIFA-Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013. Retrieved 2011-07-30.
  8. "30th Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners (2002)". AnnieAwards.org. ASIFA-Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 9, 2017. Retrieved 2011-07-30.
  9. Time Squad [DVD], ASIN B00F6UBDNM
  10. "Subway and Cartoon Network Partner". QSR Magazine. Journalistic. September 3, 2002. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved 2014-01-20.

Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Repeat_Offender_(Time_Squad), and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.