Eagle Riders (also known as Saban's Eagle Riders) is an animated television adaptation of the Japanese anime series Gatchaman II and Gatchaman Fighter, which have been combined. It was produced by Saban Entertainment. 65 episodes aired in Australia on Network Ten from August 14, 1997, to December 4, 1997. In the United States, 13 episodes had previously aired in first-run syndication during the fall of 1996 and 1997.

Premise

Earth is under siege from the alien menace known only by the name Cybercon and its legion of android forces, the Vorak. The Global Security Council convenes to address this problem, and calls upon Dr. Thaddeus Keane for assistance. They remember the aid they had received from Keane's special force, the Eagle Riders, in years past. Keane assures them that the Eagle Riders are still together, still strong, and armed with brand new weapons.

Production

Saban first trademarked the show's name in 1995, and recorded their dub afterwards. In a 2006 interview, one of the writers, Marc Handler, stated that Eagle Riders was "not a good rendition", and that the scripts often lacked continuity with each other. Several episodes were credited as being written by R.D. Smithee, a pseudonym similar to the Alan Smithee pseudonym that has been used when writers and directors are too ashamed to have their names credited in projects they have worked on.

Adaptations and changes

Both series were heavily edited when it came to the adaptation process, with controversial elements removed, as well as the entire soundtrack being replaced with a new one by Shuki Levy and Larry Seymour and the entire sound effects being replaced with new ones. As with previous English adaptations of Gatchaman, character names and terms were also changed in the localization. One notable example of the changes made to the series is the removal of Mallanox (Gel Sadra)'s origin and transformation, which happened in the premiere episode of the original Gatchaman II. The character was also changed from female to male, though her correct gender and origin were reinstated in later dub episodes. Another change, made to segue the two series together, involved the finale of Gatchaman II and the first episode of Gatchaman Fighter being merged, as well as the death of Gel Sadra being cut. Instead, Mallanox is said to have been transformed into a new form, named Happy Boy (originally, the Gatchaman Fighter villain Count Egobossler). The final eight episodes of Gatchaman Fighter were never translated, due to the objectionable content involved. Instead, the 15th episode of Gatchaman Fighter served as the series finale.

Release and reception

During its 1996–97 syndication run in the US, the show was being aired alongside the first season of Dragon Ball Z, another anime that had been adapted in conjunction with Saban Entertainment. At the time, the two programs attracted minor controversy. A 1997 report on violence in television by UCLA stated that "Eagle Riders and Dragon Ball Z both contain images of mean-spirited, glorified fighting. One episode of Eagle Riders shows a hero viciously throwing metal stars in the faces of different villains." Even after the syndication run had ended, the initial 13 episodes were still being aired on certain local stations as late as summer 1997, before the remaining 52 episodes saw a release in Australia from August 1997 to December 1997. They aired at 7.30am Mondays to Thursdays on the morning cartoon block Cheez TV. Some episodes that never aired in the USA were shown at the 1997 GachaCon fan convention, which had Eagle Riders producer Rita Acosta as a guest. Ken Innes of Absolute Anime wrote in his review, "The first thirteen episodes were a nearly straight translation of Gatchaman II with a few embellishments [...] If there is any hope for a further US release, it will be on cable. Unfortunately, it appears this is as good as it gets. I had the opportunity to preview some of the later episodes in July 1997. They were a major disappointment." He also states that "the new background music is intrusive and doesn't compare to Hoyt Curtin's work in Battle of the Planets, but it is an improvement over the original G-II background music."

Stations

Home video

Eagle Riders has never been released on home video or streaming, and only exists via US and Australian television recordings. The current American ownership of the series is unclear, but all of Saban's rights to the Gatchaman property were originally set to expire on September 7, 2004. However, in 2001 Saban was purchased by Disney, with Disney presumably losing the rights in 2004.

Episodes

Character variations

Team variations in different versions

Other character variations across different versions

Other notable changes

‡The original Japanese-language version of Gatchaman contains a small number of words in English.

Production staff

Voice cast