Eagle Riders

Eagle Riders

Company type	Television series
Industry	Animation, Entertainment
Founded	1996
Founder	Saban Entertainment
Headquarters	United States
Area served	United States, Australia, United Kingdom
Key people	Eric S. Rollman (Executive Producer), Rita M. Acosta (Producer and Story Editor)
Products	Animated television series
Owner	Saban Entertainment

Eagle Riders, also referred to as Saban's Eagle Riders, is an animated television series that adapts the Japanese anime shows Gatchaman II and Gatchaman Fighter. Created by Saban Entertainment, the program consisted of 65 episodes broadcast on Australia's Network Ten between August and December 1997. In the United States, only 13 episodes were aired through first-run syndication during 1996 and 1997.

Premise

The planet is threatened by Cybercon and its robotic forces known as the Vorak. To counter this menace, the Global Security Council calls upon Dr. Thaddeus Keane, who reactivates his elite unit, the Eagle Riders. Keane verifies that the team remains assembled and has been outfitted with advanced weaponry.

Production

Saban secured the trademark for the series title in 1995 and subsequently developed the English-language dub. Villain Mallanox was voiced by R. Martin Klein at Wally Burr Recording in Burbank, California, where he incorporated humor into the character's portrayal. Heidi Lenhart, stepdaughter of Saban Entertainment founder Haim Saban, provided the voice for Eagle Rider Kelly. Bryan Cranston, who played Eagle Rider Joe, had previously collaborated with Saban on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and later reunited with the company for the 2017 Power Rangers film.

In a 2006 statement, writer Marc Handler referred to Eagle Riders as "not a good rendition," pointing out inconsistencies in the scripts. Several episodes were attributed to R.D. Smithee, a pseudonym used when writers wished to remain anonymous.

Adaptations and changes

The adaptation process involved extensive modifications: sensitive material was excised, and the original soundtrack was replaced by a new composition from Shuki Levy and Larry Seymour, accompanied by fresh sound effects. Names of characters and terminology were altered to suit localization.

Significantly, Mallanox (originally Gel Sadra) had her background and transformation from Gatchaman II removed; her gender was initially changed from female to male but later reverted in following episodes. To bridge the two series, the ending of Gatchaman II and the opening episode of Gatchaman Fighter were combined, eliminating Gel Sadra’s death scene and introducing Mallanox’s evolution into Happy Boy (originally Count Egobossler).

Due to objectionable content, the last eight episodes of Gatchaman Fighter were never translated; instead, episode 15 was used as the concluding episode for the series.

Release and reception

During its US syndication run from 1996 to 1997, Eagle Riders aired alongside the first season of Dragon Ball Z, another anime adapted by Saban Entertainment. Both shows attracted some criticism; a 1997 UCLA report on television violence highlighted that these programs featured "mean-spirited, glorified fighting," referencing a scene where a protagonist hurls metal stars at antagonists.

Following the end of syndication, the initial 13 episodes continued airing on select local stations through summer 1997. The remaining 52 episodes premiered in Australia from August to December 1997 within the morning cartoon block Cheez TV. Some episodes unaired in the US were screened at the 1997 GachaCon fan event, which included participation from Eagle Riders producer Rita Acosta.

Ken Innes of Absolute Anime described the series as "a nearly direct translation of Gatchaman II with minor additions." He anticipated any further US distribution would likely occur via cable networks but found later episodes less satisfying. Innes criticized the replacement background score as intrusive compared to Hoyt Curtin's compositions for Battle of the Planets, although he acknowledged it was an improvement over the original music from G-II.

Stations

City	Station
Boston	WLVI Channel 56
Chicago	WFLD Channel 32
Cincinnati	WSTR Channel 64
Dayton	WRGT Channel 45
Des Moines	KDSM Channel 17
Fort Pierce	WTVX Channel 34
Fort Myers	WFTX Channel 36
Fort Wayne	WFFT Channel 55
Hartford	WTIC Channel 61
Los Angeles	KCAL Channel 9
Milwaukee	WVTV Channel 18
New York	WPIX Channel 11
Orlando	WKCF Channel 18
Pittsburgh	WPTT Channel 22
Portland	WPXT Channel 51
Providence	WNAC Channel 64
Salinas	KCBA Channel 35
San Francisco	KOFY Channel 20
St. Petersburg	WTTA Channel 38
Tulsa	KTFO Channel 41

Home video

The series Eagle Riders has not been officially issued on home video or digital streaming platforms; it is only accessible through recorded broadcasts from the United States and Australia. The current holder of the American distribution rights remains uncertain. Saban's license for the Gatchaman franchise originally ended on September 7, 2004. Following Saban's acquisition by The Walt Disney Company in 2001, it is assumed that Disney's rights concluded in that same year.

Episodes

• In the United States, merely thirteen episodes out of sixty-five were broadcast, with some selections taken from later installments in the series.
• In the United Kingdom, Eagle Riders was among the initial programs aired on Fox Kids but was discontinued after episode forty-seven, coinciding with the conclusion of Gatchaman II material.
• Several episodes from both Gatchaman II and Gatchaman Fighter were either omitted or left untranslated during the adaptation process.
• During the adaptation of Gatchaman Fighter, Saban condensed and restructured episodes by merging the finale of Gatchaman II with the opening of Fighter to create a more streamlined narrative.

Team differences across versions

Gatchaman	Battle of the Planets	G-Force	Eagle Riders	OVA (Harmony Gold dub)	Rank	Bird Uniform	Weapon	Mecha	Voice actor (Gatchaman)	Voice actor (Gatchaman OVA)	Voice actor (BOTP)	Voice actor (G-Force)	Voice actor (Harmony Gold OVA dub)	Voice actor (Eagle Riders)	Voice actor (ADV TV/Sentai OVA dub)
Ken Washio	Mark	Ace Goodheart	Hunter Harris	Ken the Eagle	G1	Eagle	Razor boomerang	Airplane	Katsuji Mori	Masaya Onosaka	Casey Kasem	Sam Fontana	Eddie Frierson	Richard Cansino	Leraldo Anzaldua
George "Joe" Asakura	Jason	Dirk Daring	Joseph "Joe" Thax	Joe the Condor	G2	Condor	Pistol	Race Car	Isao Sasaki	Kōji Ishii	Ronnie Schell	Cam Clarke	Richard Cansino	Bryan Cranston	Brian Jepson
Jun	Princess	Agatha "Aggie" June	Kelly Jennar	June the Swan	G3	Swan	Yo-yo	Motorcycle	Kazuko Sugiyama	Michiko Neya	Janet Waldo	Barbara Goodson	Lara Cody	Heidi Lenhart	Kim Prause
Jinpei	Keyop	Pee Wee	Mickey Dugan	Jimmy the Falcon	G4	Swallow	Bolo	Dune Buggy	Yoku Shioya	Rica Matsumoto	Alan Young	Barbara Goodson	Mona Marshall	Mona Marshall	Luci Christian
Ryu Nakanishi	Tiny Harper	Hoot "Hooty" Owl	Ollie Keeawani	Rocky the Owl	G5	Owl	Pistol	God Phoenix	Shingo Kanemoto	Fumihiko Tachiki	Alan Dinehart	Jan Rabson/Gregg Berger	Richard Epcar	Paul Schrier	Victor Carsrud

Alternate Character Versions in Various Adaptations

Gatchaman	Battle of the Planets	G-Force	Eagle Riders	OVA (Harmony Gold Dub)	Voice actor (Gatchaman)	Voice actor (Gatchaman OVA)	Voice actor (BOTP)	Voice actor (G-Force)	Voice actor (Eagle Riders)	Voice actor (Harmony Gold OVA dub)	Voice actor (ADV TV/Sentai OVA dub)
Dr. Kozaburo Nambu-hakase	Chief Anderson	Dr. Benjamin Brighthead	Dr. Thaddeus Keane	Dr. Kozaburo Nambu	Tōru Ōhira	Alan Dinehart	Jan Rabson/Gregg Berger	Ikuya Sawaki	Michael McConnohie	Greg O'Neill	Andy McAvin
ISO Director Anderson	President Kane	Anderson / Cmdr. Todd (some episodes)	Anderson	Director Anderson	Teiji Ōmiya	Michael Rye	Jan Rabson/Gregg Berger	Yonehiko Kitagawa	Michael Forest		Marty Fleck
Red Impulse / Kentaro Washio	Col. Cronos	Red Impulse / Kendrick Goodheart	Red Impulse / Harley Harris	Red Spectre / Kentaro Washio		Keye Luke	Cam Clarke	Unshō Ishizuka	Bob Papenbrook		John Tyson
Berg Katse	Zoltar	Galactor	Lukan	Solaris	Mikio Terashima	Keye Luke	Bill Capizzi	Kaneto Shiozawa	R. Martin Klein		Edwin Neal
Sosai (Leader) X	O Luminous One / The Great Spirit	Computor	Cybercon	Lord Zortek	Nobuo Tanaka	Keye Luke	Jan Rabson/Gregg Berger	Nobuo Tanaka	Ralph Votrais	Peter Spellos	Winston Parish
Gel Sadra		Mallanox	Masaru Ikeda			R. Martin Klein
Sylvie Pandora-hakase		Dr. Francine Aikens	Dr. Sylvie Pandora Miyuka Ieda			Lara Cody
Announcer		Hideo Kinoshita/Shūsei Nakamura William Woodson (Main) / Alan Young (Zark) Norm Prescott	George Manley

Additional Significant Modifications

Variations	Gatchaman (Japanese)	Battle of the Planets	Guardians of Space	Eagle Riders	OVA (English, Harmony Gold)	Gatchaman (English)
Transformation command	Bird, go!‡	Transmute!	G-Force, transform!	Eagle Mode, now!	Ken Eagle One, transform! Joe Shapeshift, Condor! June Swan Mode, now! Jimmy Falcon Tracker, transform!	Bird, go!
Adversary planet	Selectol	Spectra	Galactor	Vorak	Galactor	Selectol
Hostile civilization	Galactor (Gyarakutā)	Spectra	Galactor	Vorak	Galactor	Galactor

‡The original Japanese version incorporates certain English terms.

Production staff

• Ownership and Distribution: Saban Entertainment
• Executive Producer: Eric S. Rollman
• Producer and Story Editor: Rita M. Acosta
• ADR Script Writers: R.D. Smithee, Marc Handler
• Voice Direction: Richard Epcar, Steve Kramer, Heidi Lenhart (uncredited), Michael Sorich
• Production Assistant and ADR Coordinator: Gregory C. Ireland
• Sound Operations Executive: Clive H. Mizumoto
• Sound Operations Supervisor: Xavier Garcia
• Editors of Sound Effects: Keith Dickens, Martin Flores, Zoli Osaze, Ron Salaises, John Valentino
• Mixing Engineers (Re-Recording): Michael Beirenger (uncredited), Mark Ettel, R.D. Floyd, Wayne T. O'Brien
• ADR Recording Technicians: Carl Lange, Kevin Newson, David W. Barr
• Foley Artists: Susan Lewis (uncredited), Kalea Morton, Taryn Simone
• Audio Support Staff: Brian Densmore, Andrew Kines, Don Sexton
• Composers: Shuki Levy, Kussa Mahchi
• Music Executive: Ron Kenan
• Music Supervisor: Lloyd Michael Cook II
• Music Editors: Barron Abramovitch, Bill Filipiak; Music Engineer: Barron Abramovitch; Assistant Engineers: James Dijulio, Frank Bailey-Meier; Music Assistants: Jeremy Sweet, Tim Gosselin
• Offline Editing: Terry Marlin; Video Traffic Management: Jerry Buetnner; Postproduction Audio Services: Advantage Audio
• Sound Effects Editing: Robert Duran; Dialogue Editing: Robbi Smith; Music Editing: Marc S. Perlman; Audio Transfer Technician: J. Lampinen
• Re-Recording Mixing Team: Fil Brown, Ray Leonard, Mike Beiriger, Jim Hodson, Mellisa Gentry-Ellis
• Online Editors: Michael Hutchinson, Harvey Landy (Hollywood Digital Inc.), John Bowen, David Crosthwait (Modern Videofilm)
• Telecine Operators: Lee Ann Went (Varitel Inc.), Greg Hamlin (Film Technology LA), Larry Field (Editel), Brent Eldridge (Ame Inc.)
• Postproduction Supervisor: John Bryant; Coordinator of Postproduction: Francesca Weiss; Production Executive in Charge: Dana C. Booton

Voice Cast

• Hunter Harris: Richard Cansino
• Joe Thax: Bryan Cranston
• Kelly Jenar: Heidi Lenhart
• Mickey Dugan: Mona Marshall
• Ollie Keeawani: Paul Schrier
• Dr. Thaddeus Keane: Greg O'Neill
• Dr. Francine Aikens: Lara Cody
• Auto: Dena Burton
• Mallanox: R. Martin Klein
• Cybercon: Peter Spellos
• Additional Voices (uncredited): Joshua Seth, Bob Bergen, Julie Maddalena, Richard Epcar

Further reading

• G-Force: Animated (TwoMorrows Publishing: )