Wild C.A.T.s

Wild C.A.T.S is a half-hour animated television series based on the comics series of the same name and developed for television by David Wise. It aired on CBS for one season from October 1, 1994, to January 21, 1995. The series was produced by WildStorm Productions in association with Nelvana.

Overview
When the evil Daemonites emerge from the shadows, multi-billionaire Jacob Marlowe assembles the Wild C.A.T.s, a team of warriors who are descendants of the heroic Kherubim race.

Production
Wild C.A.T.S, along with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Skeleton Warriors, was grouped into the "Action Zone" showcase that used a wraparound animated fly-though pre-credit sequence to bookend the three very different programs. The series was canceled around the same time that the "Action Zone" concept was officially retired (although TMNT retained the "Action Zone" credit sequence until the end of its run two years later). Following its cancellation, Wild C.A.T.s was picked up by USA Network and was aired as part of the USA Action Extreme Team block from 1995 to 1996.

The Wild C.A.T.s were composed of the original roster from the comic series. The major villain was Helspont, and the Troika and the Coda were featured as supporting characters. Mr. Majestic also made appearances, though not as a member of the group.

The series featured a rock soundtrack, with the theme song performed by Sheree Jeacocke and Gerry Mosby.

Cast

 * Rod Wilson as Hadrian-7/Spartan and Majestyk
 * Roscoe Handford as Lady Zannah / Zealot
 * Colin O'Meara as Cole Cash / Grifter
 * Ruth Marshall as Priscilla Kitaen / Voodoo
 * Dean McDermott as Reno Bryce / Warblade
 * Paul Mota as Jeremy Stone / Maul
 * Sean McCann as Jacob Marlowe
 * Janet-Laine Green as Void
 * Maurice Dean Wint as Helspont
 * Colin Fox as Pike
 * Dave Nichols as Attica
 * Addison Bell as Slag
 * Dan Hennessey as H.A.R.M.
 * Denis Akiyama as Dockwell
 * Kristina Nicholl as Artemis
 * Lorne Kennedy as Karillion
 * Jim Millington as Zachary Forbes
 * Bob Zidel as Professor Stone
 * David Hemblen as Commander

Marketing tie-ins
CBS published a one-shot comic book to promote the Action Zone time slot, featuring characters from Wild C.A.T.s, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Skeleton Warriors. The cover art was illustrated by Jim Lee.

Playmates Toys released a Wild C.A.T.s toy line of six-inch action figures from 1994 to 1995. The characters featured in the toy line were Spartan, Grifter, Zealot (Kherubim Warrior and Coda Uniform versions), Warblade, Maul (standard and Flexon Combat Suit versions), Voodoo, Void, Helspont, Pike, and a generic Daemonite. Mr. Majestic, Max Cash (as Black Razor), Slag, and a color variant of Pike were released as part of the comics-oriented "Image Universe" sub-line. The Bullet Bike was the sole vehicle in the toy line. In addition, Playmates released giant 10-inch figures of Spartan, Grifter, and Maul.

A video game based on the TV series was published by Playmates Interactive in 1995 for the Super NES, with Spartan, Warblade, and Maul as the only playable characters.

Reception
TechnicallyIDoComics of The Top Tens ranked Wild C.A.T.s at No. 5 on his list of the Top Ten Worst Comic Book Animated TV Shows, commenting that "choppy animation, sloppy voice-directing, and -- most importantly -- the most careless writing of any superhero cartoon I've ever witnessed as far as plot progression, character development, and dialogue are all concerned. Add an embarrassingly obnoxious theme song (lyrics and all), and you've got a recipe for disaster".

Home media
Wild C.A.T.s was released on VHS by Sony Wonder from 1994 to 1996. Funimation released the complete series on DVD on July 19, 2005. The series is also available on Amazon Prime Video and Tubi.