Starcom: The US Space Force - the animated series

Starcom: The US Space Force - the animated series

Starcom: The US Space Force is a 1987 animated television series inspired by a motorized toy franchise produced by Coleco. The characters were adapted for animation by series author Brynne Stephens, who also edited the show's storyline. Starcom was produced by DIC Animation City and distributed by Coca-Cola Telecommunications. The plot detailed the adventures of a brigade of American astronauts as they fought the invasion attempts of Shadow Force, an ugly collection of humans and robots led by the nefarious Emperor Dark. The toy line was popular in Europe and Asia, but was unsuccessful in the North American domestic market.

The show was developed with the help of the Council of Young Astronauts, with the original intention of piquing young viewers' interest in NASA's space program.

The show garnered little ratings and was canceled after 13 episodes. However, the series was re-run in the late 90s as part of DIC and Pax TV's “Cloud Nine” programming strand.

History

Like many toys from the 80s, the development of the Starcom toy line preceded the development of the cartoon series.

Starcom: The US Space Force debuted on television screens in 1987, and the toy line hit stores around the same time. There was a lot of variety to choose from for the small empire builder - the complete Starcom toy series offered 23 characters, 6 playsets and 13 vehicles on the Starcom side, while Shadow Force was represented by 15 action figures and 11 vehicles. . The action figures were two inches tall and arrived packed with a backpack, weapon, and ID cards explaining who they were and what their gear could do. Like the figures, the vehicles and playsets benefited from an elegant and attractive design.

The most unusual aspect of the Starcom toy line was the use of Magna Lock technology. The action figures had tiny magnets implanted in their feet. This not only allowed them to stand on vehicles and playsets without falling, but also activated the devices in the playsets. For example, if you place a figure in the elevator of the Star Base Station playset, its Magna Lock magnets would make the elevator climb to the top by itself. In the same playset, if you put a figure inside a cannon, the Magna Lock magnets activate a mechanism that makes it spin and fire its rockets.

The vehicles and playsets also provided Power Deploy functionality, which uses automatic charging mechanisms that allow them to perform multiple actions at the push of a button, without the use of batteries. For example, at the touch of a button, the Starcom StarWolf opens the front and both wings. All in all, they offered a lot of moving parts (hidden compartments, cannons, folding wings, etc.). Starcom toys never caught on in the US due to poor promotion and the fact that its main show only lasted a year in syndication. They were discontinued after two years, but ended up doing very well in Europe, where both show and toys continued to be popular long after American toys. The toys were successful and hugely popular in Europe and Southeast Asia only after they went into Mattel's production and promotion. That company removed the U.S. flag and NASA details from the Coleco originals and launched the toys with a second line of promotions in the early 90s.

Characters

Astromarines
Col. Paul “Bar of pork” Corbin
Captain Vic “Dakota” Hayes / Laser RAT Driver
Captain Rick Ruffing / Driver M-6 Railgunner
Personal Sergeant Champion Pilot O`Ryan / HARV-7
Sergeant Bill Travers
Sergeant Ettore Morales
Sergeant Victor Rivera
Pfc. John "Cowboy" Jefferson
Pfc. At the "Cannon" Evan

Starbase Command
Colonel John "Slim" Griffin
Captain Pete Yablonsky
Maj. Tony Barona / Starbase Command - Starbase Commander
Sergeant Maj. Bull Gruff / Star Base Station - Station Chief
Pfc. Shawn Reed
Pfc. Rusty Caldwell

starwing
Colonel James "Dash" Derringer
Captain Rip Malone / Starmax bomber pilot
Lieutenant Bob T. Rogers
Lieutenant Tom “Bandit” Waldron / F-1400 Starwolf pilot
Lieutenant Jeff “Bronx” Carrier / SF / B Starhawk Pilot
Sergeant Red Baker
Sergeant Ed Kramer
Sergeant Bob Anders / BattleCrane Pilot

vehicles
Laser Rat - Rapid Assault Locator / (Captain Vic "Dakota" Hayes)
M-6 Railgunner - Ground Attack Vehicle / (Captain Rick Ruffing)
HARV-7 - Armored Heavy Recovery Vehicle / (Staff Sergeant Champ O`Ryan)
Fox Missile - Tactical Launch Vehicle
SkyRoller - High rise Supertank
Starmax Bomber - Transport Missile Cruiser / (Captain Rip Malone)
F-1400 Starwolf - Flexwing Astro Fighter / (Lt. Tom "Bandit" Waldron)
SF / B Starhawk - Strategic Fighter Bomber / (Lt. Jeff "Bronx" aircraft carrier)
Battlecrane - Combat Cargo Lifter / (Sgt. Bob Anders)
Sidewinder - High speed jackknife fighter
Tornado Gunship - Space / Aircraft Transcopter
Six shooters
Double Fighter - Massive attack jet

Playset
Star Base Station - Strategic Deployment Platform
Starbase Command - Headquarters
Medical Bay - Mobile Action Pod
Big Cannon Fortress - Mobile Action Pod
Command post - Mobile action pod
Vehicle Repair - Mobile Action Pod
Laser Artillery - Mobile Action Pod
Missile Station - Mobile Action Pod

Starmada / Invasion


Emperor Dark (appeared only as a special edition)
General Von Dar
Captain Mace / Shadow Vampire pilot
Mag. Klag / Pilot Shadow Bat
Maj. Romak / Shadow Invader Pilot
Lieutenant Maj / Shadow Parasite Pilot
Sergeant von Rodd
Sergeant Hack
Sergeant Ramor
Sergeant Borek
Cpl. Bar
Cpl. Stunned

Robot Drones
General Torvek
Captain Battlecron-9 / Shadow Raider Pilot
Cpl. Agon-6

Technical data

Author Brynne Stephens
Developed dto Brynne Stephens
Written by Arthur Byron Cover, Barbara Hambly, Lidia Marano, Richard Mueller, Steve Perry, Michael Reaves, Brynne Stephens, Davide Saggio, Marv Wolfman
Regia Marek Buchwald
country of origin United States
Original language English
No. of episodes 13
The executive producer Andy Heyward
The manufacturer Richard Raynis
Duration 25 minutes
Production company DEC Animation City
distributorand Coca-Cola Telecommunications
Original TV network syndication
Original release date 20 September - 13 December 1987

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starcom:_The_U.S._Space_Force