Rocket Power
| Rocket Power | |
|---|---|
 From left to right: Otto, Reggie, Sam, Twister | |
| Created by | Klasky Csupo |
| Developed by | Adam Pennington Eryk Casemiro Michael Bloom Andy McElfresh |
| Starring | Joseph Ashton Shayna Fox Ulises Cuadra Gary LeRoi Gray John Kassir Gary Busey Ray Bumatai Lombardo Boyar |
| Opening theme | by Devo under the name "The Wipeouters" |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 61 (including 3 specials) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Gabor Csupo Arlene Klasky |
| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Production companies | Klasky Csupo Nickelodeon Animation Studios |
| Original release | |
| Network | Nickelodeon |
| Release | August 16, 1999 – July 30, 2004 |
Rocket Power is an American animated television series that aired on Nickelodeon.[1]
Premise
Rocket Power involves the daily situations of a group of best friends named Oswald "Otto" Rocket, Regina "Reggie" Rocket, Maurice "Twister" Rodriguez, and Sam "Squid" Dullard, as they live in the fictional town of Ocean Shores, California, a beach front city based on Santa Monica, California.
Characters
Main characters
- Oswald "Otto" Rocket (Joseph Ashton): the main protagonist, and Twister's best friend, Otto is an obsessive-compulsive and greatly successful athlete, whose arrogant attitude and short-sighted judgment often get him into trouble.
- Regina "Reggie" Rocket (Shayna Fox): Otto's older sister by two years, Reggie is an aspiring publisher who, while no less competitive and skillful as an athlete, is of calmer disposition and greater maturity. Reggie is most noted for her "magazine" (dubbed "The Zine").
- Maurice "Twister" Rodriguez (Ulises Cuadra): Otto's best friend, a "daredevil" on wheels, aspiring "videographer," and known for exhibiting a notable lack of intelligence, "Twister" hates to be called by his real name. He is often seen being teased by his big brother Lars. Twister is best at street luge, skateboarding and rollerblading.
- Samuel "Squid" Dullard (Sam Saletta; Gary LeRoi Gray; Sean Marquette): a Hutchinson, Kansas native, who, while not as athletically gifted as the others, has found a niche as the brains and conscience of the group and also a "rock-solid" goalie when they play hockey ("New Squid in Town", "Power Play"). Sam's reputation of being the smartest member of the group is, at times, one of his flaws. The character of Sam is based on the show's creator. Sam's mom is over-protective, and she once forced Sam to skip the 5th grade. Sam was originally the least athletic character, but eventually developed an expert level of surfing and decent abilities in other sports. His love for pancakes was also portrayed in many episodes.
- Ray (Raymundo) Rocket (Johnny Kassir): father of Otto and Reggie and the owner of the Shore Shack. Ray is 44 years old, a widower, and a surfer of no renown. He drives a "vintage Woodie," a 1962 Mercury. In Rocket Power: The Big Day, Ray and Tito's cousin, Noelani, get married, allowing Reggie and Otto to have a mother figure.
- Tito Makani Jr. (Ray Bumatai): a Hawaiian surfer and self-styled philosopher who helps his best friend Ray run the business. He also cooks hamburgers. He has a young nephew who occasionally visits from the islands, named Keoni Makani (professional surfer Matty Liu), who appeared in a few episodes.
- Lars Rodriguez (Lombardo Boyar): Twister's older brother, who routinely picks on him and the kids. When his group competes against the Rockets, they usually end up losing.
Secondary characters
- Eddie Valentine (Jordan Warkol): the self-styled "Prince of the Netherworld," he is an occasional participant in the Rockets' activities and a frequent target of Lars' bullying. The son of a magician couple, he favors an outfit of a hooded cloak and a "scary" mask.
- Oliver Van Rossum (David Gallagher): at first Sam's main rival in intelligence, he later bacame a close friend to the gang along with Eddie. He never played sports, and was only into academics until he met Sam. In the episode where Oliver met Sam, it was made clear that he would rather watch a documentary of a "dung beetle rolling dung balls" than participate in physical activity.
- Officer Shirley (C. C. H. Pounder): One of the only police officers in Ocean Shores as the only other time other police officers are shown is during the television film "Reggie's Big Break". Officer Shirley does what she can to keep the peace. A minor character, a relationship between her and Raymundo is implied numerous times in the show, usually by means of pet names. She refers to Raymundo as "Big Ray".
- Trish and Sherry (both voiced by Lauren Tom): Reggie's best friends, surfers, and members of the state volleyball team. Both had peripheral importance to the plots and appeared in a handful of stories.
- Mackenzie Benders (Rosslynn Taylor): The five-year-old ankle-biter. She continually annoys and torments the members of "the gang", but has a crush on Twister.
- Conroy Blanc (Obba Babatundé): owner of the skate park, Madtown, he later becomes Otto and Twister's teacher at their school. Conroy's parents were apparently vindictive, as shown in one episode, when Conroy was intent on finding the person(s) responsible for ruining a newly-poured cement skate ramp in Madtown Skate Park. Conroy is originally from Jamaica;
- Merv and Violet Stimpleton (Henry Gibson and Edie McClurg): The Rockets' neighbors. Merv is apparently retired and tries to live a life of leisure, but becomes easily frustrated with many, especially the Rocket gang. Because of this, he has the Madtown Skate Park opened so that the kids can skate without disturbing anyone. Merv is usually depicted as angry and somewhat eccentric, although he does have a friendly side, particularly towards his wife. Violet is quite the opposite, always smiling and cheerful. Her pride and joy is growing violets in her garden. She is also a prolific cook, though her food is not always edible.
- Doug Dullard: Sam's estranged father who works in the corporate industry. It is implied that he is always working, which clouds his better judgment. He tries to be the "cool dad" by including Sam's friends in their plans, but it ends up with him talking on his cell phone and ignoring Sam. Though he may seem neglectful, he has good intentions.
- Noelani Makani Rocket (Kim Mai Guest): Tito's cousin, Ray's new wife, and Reggie and Otto's stepmom. She is introduced in Rocket Power: Island of the Menehune. She is cautious because Ray's first wife Danni, Noelani's best friend, was killed in a surfing accident when Reggie and Otto were little. Noelani and Ray get married in Rocket Power: The Big Day.
- Lt. "Tice" Ryan: Coast Guardsman and lifeguard who has appeared in several episodes. Known to be a buzz kill on the group's activities. Enjoys enforcing rules with an iron fist and, in essence, runs the beach.
- Tony Hawk (Tony Hawk): Professional skateboarding legend Tony Hawk. The Rocket Power gang skates and snowboards with him in the one episode wherein he appears.
Other projects
Other projects related to Rocket Power and developed under the aegis of Klasky-Csupo and/or Nickelodeon have included Rocket Power: Beach Bandits, and Maximum Rocket Power Live: The Battle for Madtown Park, a live-action extreme-sports dramatic arena play that briefly toured the U.S. Midwest in spring 2002, before being canceled over low ticket sales (it had originally been scheduled to tour about 40 cities all over the U.S., all the way into the fall).
Episodes
Television films
References
External links
Categories:
- Rocket Power
- Nicktoons
- YTV shows
- 1990s American television series
- 2000s American television series
- 1999 television series debuts
- 2004 American television series endings
- American animated television series
- American children's television series
- American children's comedy series
- Television programs featuring anthropomorphic characters
- Television shows set in California
- 1990s Nickelodeon shows
- 1990s American animated television series