RESCUE HEROES / RESCUE HEROES: GLOBAL
RESPONSE TEAM
(CBS, Teletoon, WB, October 2, 1999-December 18, 2002)
(CBS, Teletoon, WB, October 2, 1999-December 18, 2002)
MAIN CAST:
Rescue
Heroes was an animated series based on the Fisher-Price toyline
of the same name. Debuting in 1997, the toys featured various rescue
personnel (firefighters, police officers, construction workers, medics, etc.)
with exaggerated features (large hands and feet, burly chests for the male
characters), interchangeable tool backpacks that had various electronic or
mechanical actions, and names that were generally puns related to their
specialty. Over the course of the line, various sub-lines were made that
introduced new features to the figures: such as light-up tools or
glow-in-the-dark uniforms. One sub-line involved
a partnership with the FDNY
initially designed to help spread the message of fire safety to children in New
York City with part of the proceeds going to the fire department, but altered
after the September
11 attacks to have all the proceeds donated to them.
To promote
the toys, a pilot was commissioned for a potential animated series. “Lava
Alarm” was produced by Pictor
Entertainment Corp for Alliance
Multimedia Inc., written by Diana
West and starred Brooks
Barnett, Teorri Higginson,
Loretta Jafelice, David Keeley, Tabitha Lupien, Merwin Mondesir, Pandou
Mowlins, Deborah Odell, John
Ralston, David Rosser, Ron Rubin, Corey Sevier, Mike Shara, Paul Soles and Adrian Truss. The half hour
episode, animated by Toon-Us-In
Animation, introduced the characters and showcased their gear and mission.
When the
series was purchased by CBS, production moved
to Nelvana, with whom CBS had an
arrangement with to provide programming for their CBS Kidshow programming
block on Saturday mornings, with co-production handled by Hong Guang Animation. The show
centered on the Rescue Heroes team: an assembly of elite first responders
equipped with high-tech gadgetry that were called in whenever an emergency
became too much for standard rescuers to handle anywhere in the world. They
primarily operated out of the cliffside Rescue
Heroes Command Center; however, they also had a submersible Aquatic
Rescue Command Center for sea operations and an orbiting space station
called The Hexagon
that monitored global activity for emergencies.
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| Promotional art featuring (from front): Billy Blazes, Wendy Waters, Rocky Canyon, Jack Hammer and Jake Justice. |
The Rescue
Heroes were led by Billy Blazes (Norm Spencer), a Canadian firefighter who
inspired his younger brother, Bobby (Neil Crone), to become one as
well. He always put the mission first, and was quick to dole out fatherly
advice when needed. The main team was comprised of second-in-command Wendy
Waters (Lenore Zann), a fire rescue specialist that pushed herself to live up
to her father, Warren
Waters (John Bourgeois),
who was the team’s director and chief dispatcher; Jake Justice (Martin Roach), a
police officer that served as the team’s primary law enforcement specialist and
worked with local units to cordon off areas and detain suspects; Ariel Flyer
(Lisa Messinger), a former stunt pilot and airborne auxiliary unit that
co-piloted the team’s Hyper Jet; Jack Hammer (Rod Wilson), a construction
specialist that earned his place on the team by saving colleagues during the
building of the Command Center and had a problem with his sister, Jill (Alyson
Court), becoming a firefighter; and Rocky Canyon (Joseph Motiki), a mountain
climbing specialist who was a rookie on the team and sometimes struggled to gel
with their methods.
 |
| Braving the elements. |
Other
members of the team often called on in various situations included Aiden Assist, a
high-tech wheelchair-bound paramedic; arctic rescue specialists Al Pine (Edward Glen) and Bob Sled (Andrew Sabiston); Ben Choppin (Robert Bockstael), a
lumberjack; Bill
Barker (Kent Sheridan),
a ground patrol specialist and K-9 unit operative partnered with a German Shepard
named Buster; Bob Buoy (Dorian Harewood), a scuba diver
and leader of the Aquatic Rescue Command Center; Brandon Irons, a cowboy
wildlife rescue specialist and spring-shoe operator; Captain Cuffs, a
soldier-like police captain; Cliff Hanger (Adrian Hough), an Australian
birdwing operator and hang-glider; Eddie Splash, an
ocean rescue specialist that had a strong relationship with Ariel; Gil Gripper (Paul Essiembre), a scuba diver
and jet ski operator that worked with a dolphin named Nemo; Hal E. Copter (Tony Daniels), an aerial
firefighter that used a helicopter pack; Kenny Ride (Richard Yearwood), a bicycle
patrol officer that once won the Tour de
France; Matt
Medic (Andrew Pifko), a
field medic and head of the emergency medical response team; Maureen Biologist
(Jane Luk), a marine life
specialist that worked with a trained Mako shark named Mako; Patrick “Pat” Pending
(Donald Burda), the chief
equipment designer for the team; Perry Chute (James Rankin), a Scottish
parasailer that performed aerial rescues; Rip Rockefeller
(Cal Dodd), a mountaineer
and construction worker; Rock Miner, a rescue
minor that worked with a bat named Radar; Roger Houston (Christopher Earle), a
communications officer aboard the Hexagon; Sam Sparks (Vince Corazza), a member of the
fire rescue squad; Sandy
Beach (Jesse Collins),
an Australian lifeguard that loved surfing on tidal waves; Sergeant Siren (Dean McDermott), a British
police officer partnered with traffic officer Willy Stop (Paul Haddad); Seymour Wilde (Cedric Smith), an Australian
animal wrangler; and Trixie Tracker (Sarah Edmondson), a police
officer and crowd control specialist.
Rescue
Heroes debuted on CBS as part of the CBS Kidshow programming block
and Teletoon (now Cartoon Network)
in Canada on October 2, 1999. Initially, the series only lasted a single
under-advertised season. CBS had ended their programming deal with Nelvana
following the merger of Viacom and CBS Corporation in
early 2000. As a result, they entered into a new programming arrangement
network cousin Nickelodeon in a block called Nick Jr. on CBS.
However, reruns continued on Teletoon and proved to be popular enough for two
additional seasons to be commissioned with the added subtitle Global
Response Team. The series was slightly retooled to tone down the comedy for
increased tension in situations, raise the stakes of the dangers the characters
faced, and altered the character designs to make them look less cartoony like
the over-exaggerated toys. The animation itself received a facelift, going from
traditional cel animation by Hong Guang Animation to digital ink and paint by Akom Production Company, Super Sonics Productions Inc. and Mercury Filmworks. The format was also
changed to show two story segments for most of the episodes as opposed to the
single full-episode stories of the first season. Kids’ WB would pick the
show up for airing in the United States. Because of the delay between seasons,
Messinger was unavailable to reprise her role of Ariel and ended up replaced by
Odell, who had starred in the original pilot episode.
 |
| Fiery search and rescue. |
The entire first season was written
and story edited by Rhonda Smiley,
with Brent Piaskoski taking
over as executive story editor and writer along with Terry Saltsman,
Jules Dennis, Kenn Scott, Isaac Szpindel, Howard Nemetz, Melissa Mortimer, Howard Busgang, Ian James Corlett, Alan Swayze, Lorne Wise, Edgar Lyall, Shane McDougall and Michael Gelbart. John Semper Jr. was an executive consultant
for the first season. Each episode ended with a PSA message delivered by the
characters with important safety tips on how to handle various situations. Dr. Miki Baumgarten served as
the educational consultant and Paul Tessier as the safety consultant. The theme
was composed by Martin Kucaj.
Additional music was composed by Jack
Lenz for Downright Adagio Inc., and later Lenz Entertainment. Designs
were handled by Boomstone
Animation Inc. and Side Show Entertainment Inc. Although the series was
cancelled after its third season, it was given a big send-off the following
year with a completely computer-animated direct-to-video film.
 |
| Hal E. Copter patrolling the skies. |
Reruns of Rescue Heroes aired
on Qubo from 2009 all the way until its ending in 2021, and from 2012-14 on
Vortexx, the final format of what was formerly Kids’ WB. It was made available
to stream on Pluto
TV, Pure
Flix, Freevee
and Peacock,
and was uploaded to YouTube on the Treehouse
Direct channel; a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment along with Nelvana. Fisher-Price
released various episodes to VHS,
either sold individually or included for free with the purchase of an action
figure. They were also released to four
DVDs under the title Adventure Collection, with the first two
volumes containing 7 episodes each and the last two containing 12.
A number of educational video games
were released featuring the characters. The first three took stronger influence
from the toys, despite their boxes featuring visual cues reminiscent of the
show. The series was prominent in the remaining games beginning with 2002’s Tremor Trouble and
its sequel, Meteor
Madness, developed and published by Knowledge Adventure
for home computers, and 2003’s Mission Select
developed by Knowledge Adventure subsidiary Funnybone
Interactive and published by Vivendi Universal. The
games featured a team of Rescue Heroes (with each one being used in turn)
contending with various disaster mini-games selected from a central hub map. The
next game, Lava Landslide,
was developed by Knowledge Adventure and took a more linear approach with each
level appearing in succession as the story played out rather than using a hub.
Each stage featured a mini-game that gave the current hero more power-up power
or fuel. Notably, the vehicles in that game featured designs closer to their
toy versions. Modern publishing also released a series of
coloring books beginning in 1999, again blending the show and toy designs.
 |
| The new Rescue Heroes. |
The Rescue Heroes toyline continued
for a few more years before Fisher-Price ended production in 2007. From
2010-13, the toyline was resurrected under the Hero
World line featuring other licensed characters. In 2019, the line was relaunched
again as a Walmart exclusive. A
new animated series was produced alongside it, with 14 5-minute episodes
uploaded to Fisher-Price’s
YouTube channel. While Billy (Jason
Paquette) and Rocky (Wellington Saygbay) both returned, the rest of the
team was comprised of new characters and others that hadn’t yet been adapted.
EPISODE GUIDE:
Pilot:
“Lava Alarm” (4/7/98) – The team must rescue a scientist’s
family as they camp on an island with a volcano about to erupt.
Season 1:
“Peril on the Peaks” (10/2/99) – An overzealous Rocky
ignores the team’s rescue plan and ends up putting them all in peril.
“El Niño”
(10/9/99) – The team tries to save a town from a mudslide, but one elderly
resident insists on relying on an ancient legend to save them.
“Tidal Wave” (10/16/99) – Wendy must overcome her fear of
underwater rescues in order to help Gil Gripper plant explosives to stop a
deadly tidal wave.
“Twister” (10/23/99) – When a tornado threatens his
hometown, Rocky must choose between saving a hot rod with sentimental value or
his old nemesis.
“Electrical Storm” (11/6/99) – An electrical storm causes a
series of problems for a small town.
“Meteor” (11/13/99) – Recovering from her injuries with her
father in the Space Command Center, Wendy becomes part of the front lines of
stopping a meteor shower on its way to Earth.
“Arctic Spill” (11/20/99) – Jack pushes himself too hard to
complete the underwater repair of a ruptured oil tanker.
“When it Rains, it Pours” (12/4/99) – Ariel is asked to be a
spokesperson for a national safety council, but it would take too much time
away from her being an actual rescuer.
“Cave In” (12/11/99) – Rocky must rescue his former mentor
from a cave in.
“The Fire of Field 13” (12/18/99) – Billy’s brother’s anger
causes even more problems than the massive forest fire they’re trying to put
out.
“Four Alarm Fire and Brimstone” (1/15/00) – While Jake puts
up a family whose house was damaged by fire, their kid sneaks aboard the
Hyperjet during an emergency.
“Storm of the Century: Part 1” (1/22/00) – Billy must work
with his estranged father when a series of storms leaves them stranded in the
Hyperjet.
“Storm of the Century: Part 2” (1/29/00) – Billy and his
father put their differences aside and work together to rescue others.
Season 2:
“Wildfire / White Wall of Terror” (7/21/01) – The team must
deal with a wildfire that threatens an African Wildlife Reserve. / Rocky’s ski
vacation is cut short when two teens are buried under an avalanche.
“Rock Star on the Rocks / Last Stop – Disaster” (7/28/01) – The
team must save a rock star and his daughter after their plane crashes in a
remote mountain area. / The team must stop a runaway Japanese bullet train.
“Houston, We Have a Problem / Trapped Beneath the Sea”
(8/4/01) – Roger Houston feels left out watching rescues from space until an
out-of-control satellite crashes on the planet. / The team must rescue sailors
from a submarine that collided with a cruise ship.
“Underwater Nightmare / Eye of the Storm” (8/11/01) – A boy
must face his fear of swimming when an underwater volcano rocks an aquarium. /
A boy that idolizes the team ends up being rescued by them and his father, the
town’s sheriff.
“High Anxiety* / Canyon Catastrophe” (8/18/01) – Wendy’s
competitive nature ends up jeopardizing a rescue. / Three teen mountain bikers
get into trouble when they decide to ride restricted paths in the Grand Canyon.
*Originally aired as “Terror in the Tower”, but changed
after the September 11 attacks.
“Mayhem in the Mist / Sibling Blowout” (8/25/01) – A fog
causes a pileup in England, and an injury teaches Billy a new lesson about
leadership. / Jack is against his sister becoming a firefighter until they need
to work together to stop one.
“Smokejumpers” (9/1/01) – A fire threatens to devastate a
national forest and the nearby town.
“Edge of Disaster / Flood of Fear” (9/26/01) – Rocky leads a
rescue expedition on the world’s most dangerous peak. / Jack’s sense of humor
begins to rub Jake the wrong way.
“Summertime Twister / The Chilling Championship” (10/24/01) –
A twister devastates a campground full of campers. / The team must rescue high
school basketball players after their bus crashes into an icy river.
“Flashback to Danger” (11/7/01) – Almost causing a fatality
makes Rocky decide to quit, but Billy tries to change his mind by telling him a
story about the only other Rescue Hero that decided to.
“Tidal Wave of Pride / A Whale of an Adventure” (11/14/01) –
An extreme sports competition at a seaside community is about to get a visit
from a massive tidal wave. / Bill Barker would rather work on his strength than
train for the circus until a rescue shows him the value of it.
“Shake Up in the Jungle / Lights, Camera, --Destruction!”
(11/21/01) – A professor and his students end up trapped in the jungle after an
earthquake. / A actor studying the team ends up interfering with a mudslide
rescue.
“Rescue Robots / Race to the Finish” (11/28/01) – Billy
disproves of a new Rescue Robot until it becomes the only thing that can save
him. / While Al Pine and Bill Baker compete in a dogsled race, the team must
rescue two boys trapped in an abandoned mine.
Season 3:
“Heroes” (9/11/02) – While the team is honoring the various
rescue teams they’ve worked with, everything seems to go wrong for a nervous
Billy.
“Ultimate Ride / The Newest Rescue Hero” (9/18/02) – Jake is
forced the pilot the new ultimate robot vehicle he had difficulty with when
Jack is injured in the mission. / Jack gets his sister onto the team, but does
she really want to be?
“Blackout / Fire Down Under” (9/25/02) – Billy and the Night
Force deal with a blackout while Aidan Assist, Sergeant Siren and Willy Stop
deal with a crippled airplane. / The team deals with a series of raging
wildfires in Australia.
“Up, Up and Uh-Oh / Fiery Differences” (10/2/02) – Avery
Ator fails to perform routine maintenance on his biplane and ends up needing
assistance. / Neighbors’ argument could jeopardize an entire town if a forest
fire is allowed to reach the gas station.
“On Thin Ice / Peril in Peru” (10/23/02) – A massive
snowfall threatens a senior center while Al’s nice and nephew have gone
missing. / Ariel and Rock Miner must save an archaeologist from a tomb.
“In the Driver’s Seat” (10/30/02) – An explosion from a car
crash causes fiery oil to infest the sewer and makes all water sources shoot
fire instead of water.
“For Better or Curse / Bat’s Life” (11/6/02) – Rocky is
convinced an ancient curse is making their underwater rescue of a treasure
hunter difficult. / An oil drill accidentally pierces a salt vein and causes a
flood that traps a mother and daughter in a cave.
“The Royal Rescue Hero / Foul Weather Friends” (11/13/02) –
Rocky is offered the position of safety officer for a kingdom after rescuing
their princess. / A hurricane hits just as two boys decide to explore the
forest.
“Quake Me When It’s Over” (11/20/02) – Wendy is transported
back to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and must save people without any of
her gear.
“Rock and a Hard Place / Cruise into Danger” (11/27/02) – A
rock climber that skips weather training ends up trapped in a deadly storm. / A
floating high school is rocked by several deadly hazards in the South Seas.
“Not on This Planet / Tunnel Vision” (12/4/02) – Students
are accidentally shunted off into space and must work together to get home. / A
truck carrying explosives accidentally explodes in an underwater tunnel.
“Alone for the Holidays” (12/11/02) – Rocky is depressed he
needs to be on duty for the holidays, but a rescue may just remind him what the
true meaning of the season is.
“Going with the Wind / A Bridge too Frail” (12/18/02) –
Santa Ana winds cause chaos across Catalina Island. / The team wonders if they
made the right choice putting Rocky in charge of operations dealing with a
rockslide near the El Chorro Gorge in Spain.
Film:
“The Movie” (11/18/03) – A magnetic volcanic ash is causing
a rash of storms around the world, and Rocky must overcome his recent screw-ups
to retrieve the cure for a plant that poisoned Billy.
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