- TigerSharks
-
TigerSharks 
The official logo for TigerSharks.Format Animated television series Created by Arthur Rankin, Jr.
Jules BassVoices of Peter Newman
Earl Hammond
Larry Kenney
Camille Bonora
Jim MeskimenCountry of origin 
United StatesProduction Executive producer(s) Arthur Rankin, Jr.
Jules BassRunning time 22 minutes Production company(s) Rankin-Bass Animated Entertainment Distributor Lorimar-Telepictures Broadcast Original channel first-run syndication Original airing 1987 External links Website TigerSharks is an American animated children's television series developed by Rankin/Bass and distributed by Lorimar-Telepictures in 1987. The series involved a team of heroes that could transform into sharks and other marine animals and resembled the series ThunderCats and SilverHawks, also developed by Rankin/Bass.
The series lasted only one season with 26 episodes and was part of The Comic Strip show, which consisted of four animated shorts: TigerSharks, Street Frogs, The Mini Monsters, and Karate Kat.
The animation was provided by Pacific Animation Corporation. Warner Bros. Animation currently owns the series, as they own the 1974-89 Rankin/Bass library, which was incorporated into the merger of Lorimar-Telepictures and Warner Bros.
Contents
Overview
Production and development
Rankin/Bass followed up their successful ThunderCats and SilverHawks series with this series about a team of powered up man/marine form hybrids called the "TigerSharks". This third series also featured many of the same voice actors who had worked on ThunderCats and SilverHawks including Larry Kenney, Peter Newman, Earl Hammond, Doug Preis and Bob McFadden.
Story
The members of the TigerShark team were humans who had to use a device called the Fish Tank in order to transform into their powered-up marine forms and enter it once again to revert back into their human forms. The TigerSharks' base was a spaceship that could also go underwater. The ship was called the SARK and contained the Fish Tank, along with other research facilities.
The action took place in the fictional world of Water-O, which was covered almost completely by water. The planet was inhabited by a race of fish men called the Waterians. The TigerSharks arrived there on a research mission and ended up serving as the protectors of the planet against the evil T-Ray, who had arrived there beforehand.
Characters
TigerSharks
Protectors of Water-O, the team members are:
- Mako (voiced by Peter Newman): A gifted scuba diver, he is considered the field leader of the TigerSharks. Mako is not only a good mediator, but also an excellent fighter. He transforms into a human/mako shark hybrid after jumping into the Fish Tank, which grants him incredible speed underwater. Mako also uses his forearm fins and head fin to slice through metal, which leads us to believe that his shark skin is impenetrable.
- Walro (voiced by Earl Hammond): The scientific and mechanical genius who created the Fish Tank. He acts as the advisor of the team and is very respected by his comrades; when he talks the others listen. Walro turns into a human/walrus hybrid when he uses the Fish Tank.
- Dolph (voiced by Larry Kenney): Second in command and also an experienced scuba diver. Dolph has a knack for jokes and fooling around, but he knows when to joke and when to work. Dolph turns into a human/dolphin hybrid after jumping into the Fish Tank, which makes him very maneuverable underwater.
- Octavia (voiced by Camille Bonora): Captain of the SARK, communications technician and main strategist; without her tactical skills, the TigerSharks would be much less formidable. Octavia turns into a human/octopus hybrid (with tentacles instead of hair) after she uses the Fish Tank.
- Lorca: He’s the team’s mechanic and he often helps Walro to repair or build new machines. He’s also the team’s strongest member. Lorca turns into a human/orca hybrid when he uses the Fish Tank.
- Bronc: A teenager who works as an assistant in the SARK, he is very adventurous and sometimes reckless. He turns into a human/seahorse hybrid when he uses the Fish Tank.
- Angel: Bronc's sister. She, along with her brother Bronc, is the younger member of the team; this teenage girl also works as an assistant in the SARK and is much more serious and responsible than her brother Bronc. She turns into a human/angelfish hybrid after using the Fish Tank.
- Gupp: TigerSharks' pet Basset Hound. While his name might imply that he turns into a guppy, his features, including flipper-shaped legs and pin teeth, are more closely related to a seal or sea lion.
Villains
The show featured only two major antagonists. They are:
- T-Ray: T-Ray is a human/manta ray hybrid-type creature. He and his assistants/henchmen known as the Mantannas arrived on Water-O because their home planet had dried up. In seeking to conquer Water-O, he freed Captain Bizzarly and his crew from their iced prison on Seaberia. He is bent on conquering Waterians and destroying the TigerSharks. He and his assistants cannot survive outside of the water without using water breathing apparatus.
- Mantannas - A group of fish-like creatures that work for T-Ray.
- Wall-Eye (voiced by Peter Newman) - Member of the Mantannas.
- Shad - Member of the Mantannas.
- Dredge - Member of the Mantannas.
- Carper - Member of the Mantannas.
- Weakfish - Member of the Mantannas.
- Captain Bizzarly: A pirate with aquaphobia who controlled all crime-related activities on the vast oceans of Water-O until the Waterians froze him and his crew many years ago. T-Ray freed him and his men expecting them to help him. However, Bizzarly promptly betrayed T-Ray. Bizzarly now constantly tries to get rid of the TigerSharks and regain control of the oceans of Water-O.
- Dragonstein - Captain Bizzarly's pet dragon.
- Long John Silverfish - Member of Captain Bizzarly's pirate crew.
- Mankiller - Member of Captain Bizzarly's pirate crew.
- Spike Marlin - Member of Captain Bizzarly's pirate crew.
- Soulmate - Member of Captain Bizzarly's pirate crew.
- Lump - Member of Captain Bizzarly's pirate crew.
- Grunt - Member of Captain Bizzarly's pirate crew.
In other media
- The TigerSharks made a cameo in an episode of the 2011 ThunderCats remake called "Legacy."[1] They are among the "Animals" that forcibly worked under Mumm-Ra.
References
External links
Television
specialsRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer • Return to Oz • The Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy Show • The Ballad of Smokey the Bear • The Cricket on the Hearth • The Mouse on the Mayflower • The Little Drummer Boy • Frosty the Snowman • The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians • Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town • Here Comes Peter Cottontail • The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes • Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters • Willie Mays and the Say-Hey Kid • 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea • Red Baron • That Girl in Wonderland • 'Twas the Night Before Christmas • The Year Without a Santa Claus • The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow • The First Easter Rabbit • Frosty's Winter Wonderland • Rudolph's Shiny New Year • The Little Drummer Boy, Book II • The Easter Bunny Is Comin' To Town • The Hobbit • Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey • The Stingiest Man in Town • Jack Frost • The Return of the King • Pinocchio's Christmas • The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold •The Coneheads • The Wind in the Willows • The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus • The Flight of Dragons • Santa Baby!Feature
filmsWilly McBean and his Magic Machine • The Daydreamer • The Wacky World of Mother Goose • Mad Monster Party? • King Kong Escapes • Marco • The Last Dinosaur • The Bermuda Depths • The Bushido Blade • Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July • The Ivory Ape • The Last Unicorn • The Sins of Dorian GrayTelevision
seriesThe New Adventures of Pinocchio • Tales of the Wizard of Oz • The King Kong Show • The Smokey Bear Show • The Tomfoolery Show • The Reluctant Dragon and Mr. Toad Show • The Jackson 5ive Show • The Osmonds • Kid Power • Festival of Family Classics • ThunderCats • SilverHawks • TigerSharks • The Comic StripCategories:- 1980s American animated television series
- First-run syndicated television programs in the United States
- Television series by Warner Bros. Television
- Shapeshifting in fiction
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
