Rocket Power

Rocket Power
From left to right: Otto, Reggie, Sam, Twister
Format	Comedy
Created by	Klasky Csupo
Developed by	Adam Pennington Shane Nelson Michael Bloom Andy McElfresh
Starring	Joseph Ashton Shayna Fox Ulises Cuadra Gary LeRoi Gray John Kassir Gary Busey Ray Bumatai Lombardo Boyar
Opening theme	"(Prepare to Countdown) Rocket Power" 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 producer(s)	Gabor Csupo Arlene Klasky
Running time	24 minutes
Production company(s)	Anivision Klasky Csupo Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Broadcast
Original channel	Nickelodeon
Picture format	480i (SDTV)
Original run	August 16, 1999 – August 2, 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 Oceanside, California.^{[citation needed]}

Airing history

It originally aired on Nickelodeon from 1999 to 2004. As part of the Nick on CBS block, it aired on CBS from 2002 to 2005. Nick GAS aired the series for a short time, and teen network The N aired the series starting in 2006 until 2009. Rocket Power currently airs on Nicktoons, and, although it premiered only a few months before the new millennium, has recently been announced to air on TeenNick as part of their The '90s Are All That block. As of October 3, 2011, one episode of Rocket Power aired as part of the U-Pick with Stick digital media face of The '90s are All That.

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, though he always makes things right in the end. Otto is usually seen to be the most driven and intense in skateboarding, surfing, etc.
• 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 the most clever despite his sometimes absent-mindedness. He seems to have a crush on Reggie.
• Sam "Squid" Dullard (Sam Saletta; Gary LeRoi Gray; Sean Marquette): a 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. The "N" on his shirt stands for New York, as it was originally Sam's home state during character development, this was later changed to Kansas, but the N on his shirt was never removed or altered. Sam is the only member of the "gang" to use a long surfboard rather than the harder-to-ride shorter boards.
• 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").
• Ray (Raymundo Roinks) 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. (Ray Bumatai): a Hawaiian surfer and self-styled philosopher who helps his best friend Ray run the business. He also cooks hamburgers and hash brownies. 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 lose.

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 became 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 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 a retired electrical engineer and 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.
• Keoni Khaloa Herbert Makani Jr.: Tito's younger cousin from Hawaii, he visits Ocean Shores for a surf competition and after a day of making Otto feel less important, apologizes and admits he just wanted to fit in.

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). Even with the moderate success of the show, there is no spin-off planned.

Episodes

Main article: List of Rocket Power episodes

Television films

Main articles: Rocket Power: Race Across New Zealand, Rocket Power: Island of the Menehune, and Rocket Power: The Big Day

References

1. ^ Sarah Rodman (3 October 2011). "Rocket' is a blast - Creators of `Rugrats' give `Power' and responsibility to older kids". http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/bostonherald/access/43968076.html?dids=43968076:43968076&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+16,+1999&author=Sarah+Rodman&pub=Boston+Herald&desc=`Rocket'+is+a+blast+-+Creators+of+`Rugrats'+give+`Power'+and+responsibility+to+older+kids&pqatl=google. 

External links

• Official page on Facebook
• Webpage at Klasky-Csupo
• Rocket Power at the Internet Movie Database
• Rocket Power at the Big Cartoon DataBase