1964 saw
the debut of the original G.I. Joe action
figure from Hasbro. The figure was a
12-inch mannequin-like doll with multiple points of articulation made to
represent the four branches of the American military (for more on that figure,
check out the entry for G.I.
Joe: Sigma 6). That same year, Hal Belton, Sales Director for Hasbro’s
United Kingdom licensee Palitoy,
returned from the United States with one of the action figures for his
grandson. Seeing how well he liked it, Belton proposed to his company the idea
of importing the concept over there. General Manager Miles Fletcher and
Production Director Brian Wybrow met with Hasbro during 1965’s New York Toy Fair and acquired samples to
conduct some market research; which included giving some to employees to take
him to their children to test. Like Hasbro before them, Palitoy alleviated
concerns over boys playing with “dolls” by banning the word when discussing it
in favor of the newly-coined phrase “action figure”. Confident enough to move
forward, a licensing deal was struck with Hasbro and the new name Action Man
was chosen.
Action Man launched in 1966 and was like G.I. Joe in everything but
name, complete with additional uniforms and accessories that could be purchased to dress
up each figure. They proved a hit, with Palitoy unable to keep up with the
demand at first and being forced to import Canadian Joes to cover their
shortfalls. Much as Joe was moving away from its militaristic roots due
to fallout from the Vietnam
War, Action Man began his own move towards decidedly more British
themes in 1970 by including adventurers and sportsmen. To distinguish it from
its American counterpart, Palitoy included a wider array of uniform options and
also began making changes to the figure itself throughout the 70s. They
introduced flocked hair, conceived by Director of Design Bill
Pugh, and hands that could better hold accessories and items, based on
chief designer Bob Brechin’s
own hand; both of which soon made their way over to Joe (the latter
better known as “kung-fu
grip”). Action Man would adopt Joe’s new “eagle eye” mechanic,
which allowed the eyes to be moved back and forth. As they needed to replace their
aging molds, an entirely new body was created for Action Man in 1978;
doing away with any metal parts for safety and giving him a more muscular
physique. Two more additions followed: new talking figures were made, upgrading
the ones from the late 60s, and a “sharpshooter” head could
pivot upwards for a realistic shooting position (sharpshooter was also applied
to an attachment that could allow the soccer version of Action Man to realistically kick the ball).
It was awarded the prestigious “Toy of the Decade” by the National
Association of Toy Retailers.
As was the case overseas, toy
production in the 80s began to favor the 3.75-inch size for figures for their
cheaper production and greater allowance for accessories, vehicles and playsets
that would prove too expensive and unwieldly at the original scale. They
launched a new toyline in 1982 called Action Force,
which were smaller scale versions of the earlier Action Man figures
with an adapted Star Wars Death Star
playset (Kenner, who produced
the Star Wars toys, was also owned by Palitoy’s owner General Mills at this time, and Palitoy
had the distribution rights for Star Wars toys in the UK). The new toys
proved a hit and a storyline was conceived about the good guys—strike team
SAS, infantry backbone Z Force, nautical operations Q Force and the eyes and
ears Space Force—fighting against a terrorist foe, The Red Shadows (similarly
to the Joes vs. Cobra
storyline of their American counterparts). General Mills, looking to cut costs,
opted to end the original Action Man line in 1984 as Action Force was
cheaper to make and didn’t require paying Hasbro a licensing fee. Ironically,
the Action Force line would end up becoming nothing more than an avenue
to re-release G.I. Joe toys under both names.
By 1991,
Hasbro had come to own Palitoy through a series of acquisitions, and as the Joe
line had experienced its own resurgence, they decided to try and see if Action
Man could have the same. In 1992, four new figures were released under the Action
Man name; however, they were just repackaged Joe Hall
of Fame figures. The following year, an all-new line with an all-new
backstory was released, moving away from the realistic military motif it had originated
with into more fantasy-oriented action and adventure with an extreme sports
slant (like rollerblading
and bungee jumping).
The new Action Man was in a battle against the deadly Dr.
X and his minions, such as No-Face
and Professor
Gangrene. The new line moved away from the accessory-heavy model of the
earlier lines and came with increasingly permanent outfits and a set amount of
included weaponry with each figure. The only thing retained from the original
was the battle scar on his cheek; an innovation from the original Joe figures
to allow them to trademark the head design.
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| Action Man. |
Hasbro had previously tried to take another
page out of the Joe playbook by commissioning the production of an
animated pilot through DiC
Productions in 1986. However, there was little interest in it. But now that
the line was back, and with its 30th anniversary on the horizon, Hasbro
and DiC revisited the idea with a new animated series centered on the storyline
for the new toys developed by Bob
Forward and Phil Harnage,
and distributed by Bohbot
Entertainment.
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| Dr. X. |
Action Man
was Matthew Exler (Mark Griffin), an orphan adopted by esteemed rocket
scientist and wealthy inventor Dr. Alfred Exler. He and his older stepbrother,
Dorian (Rolf Leenders), were both geniuses and science prodigies. However,
Dorian was a born psychopath and set a fire that killed their parents. While
Matthew was sent off to the finest European boarding schools, Dorian used his
inherited wealth to set up his own para-military terrorist organization, The
Council of Doom, staffed by mercenaries called “Skullmen”, after the skull
design on their face shields. He proceeded to eliminate all records of Dorian
and became the mysterious Dr. X.
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| The untrustworthy Ursula. |
Matthew,
tormented by the guilt of the belief that he was the cause of their parents’
deaths, sought inner peace with a bizarre cult he discovered called the Akesh
Maharishis in the Himalayas. Over three years he studied their ways of physical
conditioning, survival techniques, martial arts, yoga and meditation. By
excelling in his training, he earned the coveted “A.M.” tattoo of the cult. His
mediation also led him to the realization that it was his brother, not him,
responsible for their parents’ deaths and set out to bring his brother to
justice. He infiltrated his organization in order to bring it down from within.
Complications arose when he fell for one of his fellow recruits, Ursula.
However, he was forced to blow his cover to save the lives of the peace-keeping
Action Team during an encounter.
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| Captured by X and his legions. |
A combination
of a concussion and Dr. X’s psychotropic drugs robbed Matthew of his memory.
Learning of Matthews intents and condition, Dr. X had all trace of Matthew
erased from the records in order to keep him from ever recovering his memory
and threatening his plans. Seeing some value in Matthew, he’s convinced to join
Action Team under the codename “Action Man” to help them stop Dr. X’s plans in
return for their help in restoring his memories.
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| The Action Team: Jacques, Natalie, R.A.I.D., Knuck and Action Man. |
Most of this backstory never made
it to the screen and only existed in the show’s bible.
The parts of it that did were brought about by a flash of memory Action Man
would receive whenever he faced certain events or encountered certain people,
like Ursula. Newly created for the show was Action Man’s team, comprised of the
gymnastic Natalie, callsign Action 3 (Joely Collins); brawler and bomb expert
Knuck (Dale Wilson), callsign Action 2; Jacques (Richard Cox), a genius in a
technologically advanced wheelchair; and Secretary General Norris (Garry Chalk),
callsign Action Command, a member of the World Security Council and their
direct overseer. Additionally, they had a dog named R.A.I.D. (Randomly Acquired
Intelligent Dog), who was once under Dr. X’s control. On top of their natural
skills, the Action Team was equipped with a variety of gadgetry to help them
best their foes and get out of tight scrapes. In a stock launch sequence, they
all slid down into the waiting Jet Xtreme and took off from the orbiting Space
Station Xtreme towards whatever emergency they faced.
 |
| Professor Gangrene. |
Along with Dr. X and his army of Skullmen,
there was Professor Gangrene (David
Hay). He was a master scientist whose name came from the fact he was
infected by so many diseases. Ursula, despite having affections for Action Man,
was loyal to Dr. X and continually used their past to lure him into traps. She
was a deadly hand-to-hand fighter and an expert marksman.
 |
| Jet Xtreme departing the space station. |
Action Man debuted on
September 23, 1995 in syndication as part of Bohbot’s Amazin’ Adventures programming
block. Interestingly enough, the series wasn’t allowed to air in Action Man’s
native UK due to laws forbidding the airing of shows based on toys (shows that
eventually got toys were fine). The series was written by Forward, Harnage, Greg Johnson, Michael A. Medlock, Jess Winfield, Bruce Shelly, Reed Shelly, Wendy Reardon, Jules Dennis, Gildart Jackson, Jeff Kwitny, Brooks Wachtel, Michael O’Mahony and Kim Rawl, with Forward and
Harnage serving as story editors. Character designs were handled by James Cross, Rob Davies and Louie Escauriaga, with music composed
by Stephen C. Marston. Point Animation
provided the animation.
 |
| Live-action Action Man talking into his wrist communicator. |
Each episode featured three
live-action sequences filed at Universal Studios
Hollywood and Florida,
making full use of their stunt show sets. The first would be a cold open
featuring Action Man (also Griffin) on an unrelated mission from the main
story, tussling with Skullmen and foiling Dr. X’s (also Leenders) plans. At the
end of an episode, Action Man would slip on a virtual reality suit and helmet
and strap into a computer named Vira (Iris Quinn) to analyze an unlocked
memory. The sequence was all stock footage and Action Man spoke in voiceover.
Finally, Action Man would appear to speak directly to the audience to deliver a
pro-social message about things like recycling, exercising and making mistakes.
These segments were written by Diane
M. Fresco and Julie Fuller.
Jeff Pruitt served as both
their director and stunt coordinator.
 |
| Action Man in Vira examining his latest memory. |
Action Man only lasted a
single season of 26 episodes (although, many places declare it was broken up
into two seasons of 13-episodes each), continuing on in reruns through 1998.
Had the series continued, there were plans to pick things up with Action Team
being disbanded now that Dr. X was seemingly defeated. Action Man would’ve done
some adventuring where he would meet Sir Arthur Strong who had some knowledge
of his parents and past. A crossover with G.I. Joe Night
Force would have occurred (which later happened in 2004 as a Toys ‘R’ Us-exclusive action figure 6-pack),
and Action Team would have been eventually reassembled with the addition of new
characters. Instead, an all-new Action Man CGI cartoon was released in
2000 with a new version of the titular hero.
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| Natalie and Action Man's cameos in Revolutionaries #7. |
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| Action Man complete series DVD. |
In the UK, 14 VHS
tapes containing 2-3 episodes each were released by Abbey Home Entertainment,
and later Just
Entertainment, between 1996 and 2004. Abbey would also release six
DVDs between 2002 and 2005, with two more from Prism Leisure
between 2005 and 2006. They contained a mix of new and previously-released
episodes out of order. In the United States, Lions Gate Home Entertainment and Trimark Home Video
released two VHS
tapes with 2 episodes, each in 2001. All four episodes were combined onto
the DVD Secret of Action Man, which released on the same day as the VHS
that shared its name. In 2003, Sterling
Entertainment released the DVD Action Man:
Space Wars, which re-released the episodes “Skynap” and “Space Wars”
along with two new ones. Neither DVD featured the live-action segments. In
2015, Mill Creek Entertainment
released the complete
series to DVD as part of their “Retro TV Toons” series. This was the first
time every episode had been put onto DVD. EPISODE GUIDE (NOTE: Some sources vary between it being
one or two seasons):
“Explosive Situation” (9/23/95) – Action Man is lured into Dr.
X’s trap by Ursula with the threat of a nuclear bomb.
Live Mission: Cut off Dr. X’s fuel supply in the North Sea.
“Fountain of Youth” (9/30/95) – Dr. X captures a group of
scientists to make use of their regenerative extract herb and get a fortune in
the resulting youth serum.
Live Mission: Invade Dr. X’s New York City headquarters.
“Cybersoldier” (10/7/95) – A KGB android Dr. X sends under
the guise of Action Man’s old friend seemingly kills him in the encounter.
Live Mission: Contain radioactive waste in Madagascar.
“You Can’t Go Home Again” (10/14/95) – While trying to
uncover some old memories, Action Man and Natalie must free a village being
held hostage by Dr. X and save the Xtreme Station.
Live Mission: Disable Megamind Computer in Sri Lanka.
“Ancient History” (10/21/95) – Natalie’s uncle seems to be
in charge of the team of miners excavating for Dr. X.
Live Mission: Destroy a weapons factory in Alice Springs,
Australia.
“The Red Plague” (10/28/95) – Dr. X steals a beaker of a
deadly virus and kidnaps the scientist that developed its cure.
Live Mission: Cut off Dr. X’s arms supply in Edinburgh,
Scotland.
“Peril at Perigee” (11/4/95) – Dr. X hijacks a stealth
bomber and plans to launch its payload from the European Space Agency base with
Jacques as a hostage.
Live Mission: Liberate Quark Plate in the Cayman Islands.
“Rogue Moons” (11/11/95) – Action Man braves the Gobi Desert
to stop Dr. X’s rogue moon launcher aimed at Earth’s cities.
Live Mission: Intercept arms shipment in Morocco, North
Africa.
“Hands Down” (11/18/95) – Dr. X kidnaps and brainwashes an
ambassador to set up Action Team, resulting in Knuck and Natalie being
arrested.
Live Mission: Secure a dam in La Paz, Bolivia.
“We Come in Peace” (11/25/95) – Dr. X uses a stolen
anti-gravity device to fake an alien attack on Earth.
Live Mission: Disable a sub station in New Orleans.
“R.A.I.D.” (12/2/95) – Dr. X sends a dog after Action Man,
but Jacques ends up adopting him and using him to thwart X’s next scheme.
Live Mission: Disable Dr. X’s signal in Boston.
“Skynap” (12/9/95) – Dr. X takes the Jet Xtreme and Norris
to the Action Space Station where he plans to start a major world war.
Live Mission: Secure an experimental serum in Barcelona,
Spain.
“The Outside Edge” (12/16/95) – Dr. X manages to frame
Norris for corruption and get Action Team disbanded.
Live Mission: Destroy weapon stockpile in Los Angeles.
“The X Factor” (1/6/96) – Gangrene plans to unleash his
X-Vitamin steroid into the city’s water supply.
Live Mission: Clear a blockage in Lake Ontario, Canada.
“Ice Age” (1/13/96) – Dr. X steals a device and enough
plutonium to eliminate the world’s oceans.
Live Mission: Destroy Dr. X’s new base in the Greek Islands.
“Soul of Evil” (1/20/96) – Ursula begs for Action Man’s help
as Dr. X targets her with an assassin that shares Action Man’s voice and
tattoo.
Live Mission: Destroy a toxic dump in Alaska.
“Déjà Vu” (1/27/96) – Dr. X’s plans to kidnap the G7 leaders
feels unsettlingly familiar to Action Man.
Live Mission: Escape from a prison and expose Dr. X’s plans
in Hawaii.
“Satellite Down” (2/3/96) – An important satellite crashes
down amongst a hidden Arctic civilization.
Live Mission: Disable a warhead in Moscow, Russia.
“Space Walk” (2/10/96) – Dr. X takes control of a space shuttle
with two of the world’s richest men on board.
Live Mission: Secure an armory in Cherbourg, France.
“The Most Dangerous Prey” (2/17/96) – The Action Team must
survive against Dr. X and his Overseer robot after Jet Extreme is shot down and
they’re all injured in the crash.
Live Mission: Secure top-secret files in Palermo, Sicily.
“Points of Danger” (2/24/96) – The Action Team must protect
a special fish from falling into the hands of Dr. X who wants to use its to
make a mind control gas.
Live Mission: Retrieve detonators in Marseilles, France.
“Crack of Doom” (3/2/96) – Dr. X saves an isolated island
tribe from a volcano, earning their trust so he can turn them against the
Action Team and the World Security Council.
Live Mission: Escape from a prison and disable Dr. X’s alarm
in Vienna, Austria.
“Space Wars” (3/9/96) – Dr. X distracts the Action Team so
he can steal and arm a space shuttle to take over an abandoned space station.
Live Mission: Destroy a warehouse in Birmingham, England.
“Past Performance” (3/16/96) – Dr. X steals a decryption
computer in order to crack the codes to launch missiles at strategic targets.
Live Mission: Destroy Dr. X’s unmanned helicopter on the
island of Crete.
“A Time for Action: Part 1” (3/23/96) – The Action Team
manage to stop Dr. X’s theft of a gold shipment, however one of his robots
manages to get past them and snatches the gold anyway.
Live Mission: Rescue a prisoner from a warehouse and escape.
“A Time for Action: Part 2” (3/30/96) – Jacques is forced to
abandon his team in an inhospitable environment when Dr. X takes his father and
Norris hostage.
Live Mission: Destroy a climate-manipulation device in the
Bahamas.
