"G-Force: Guardians of Space" (1987) TV series

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Release Date:

27 July 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Animation | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A bird-themed superhero team battles the threat of Galactor and his minions, an international terrorist organization with advanced technology.

Plot Keywords:

Superhero | Terrorism | Anime

Cast

Bill Capizzi	...	Galactor
Cam Clarke	...	Dirk Daring / Red Impulse
Sam Fontana	...	Ace Goodhart
Barbara Goodson	...	Agatha June / Pee-Wee
Jan Rabson	...	Hooty / Professor Brighthead

Also Known As:

"G-Force" (USA) (short title)

Runtime:

22 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:TV-Y7 | UK:U

Company:

Sparklin' Entertainment

Trivia:

In 1986, Turner Broadcasting acquired the rights to 85 episodes of Gatchaman (episodes 1-80, 82-85, and 87) and commissioned a brand-new English-language dub of the series under the name "G-Force." This run of episodes included fourteen episodes ("Kagaku ninja tai Gatchaman" (1972) episodes 13, 19, 20, 28, 29, 34, 38, 50, 56, 64, 66, 78, and 85) that were not dubbed by Sandy Frank Productions as part of the series "Battle of the Planets" (1978).

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Robot Chicken: Squaw Bury Shortcake (#3.2)" (2007)

My Introduction to Gacchaman

When I first saw G-Force on Cartoon Network when I was a kid, I immediately liked this show. I even pretended to be characters such as Ace, Hoot Owl, and Pee-Wee.Years later, I discovered that this is an Americanized version of Science Ninja Team Gacchaman, a popular anime show, made for U.S. audiences by Sandy Frank and Ted Turner.

This show was done in Japan by the award winning studio Tatsunoko Productions, which also produced Robotech and Speed Racer, two other great animes. I also found out that before G-Force, Sandy Frank heavily edited the violence and hired some of the best voice actors (Casey Kasem, Keye Luke, Alan Young, Janet Waldo, etc.) and added their mascot, 7-Zark-7, in a version which he called "Battle of the Planets," made in 1978. But when BOTP's copyright expired in '86, Frank teamed up with Ted Turner to re-dub Gacchaman and restore most of the violence that he previously edited in BOTP.

The result was a more faithful show to the original Gacchaman story called "G-Force." The only two flaws it had were some poor dubbing and an often annoying synthesized disco soundtrack by Dean Andre. Bob Sakuma's original music is far superior to Andre's, but I also like Andre's music. I remember the music from childhood, when I first watched this show. Despite these flaws, it is the best dub of Gacchaman yet. Forget BOTP. Stay with the original Gacchaman, which is still the best, and G-Force!!! (If you want.)

8/10