Time Squad

Time Squad

From left to right, Buck Tuddrussel, Otto Osworth, and Larry 3000
Genre Science fiction
Comedy
Superhero
Created by Dave Wasson
Written by
  • Dave Wasson
  • Carlos Ramos
  • Michael Karnow
Directed by
Voices of
Composer(s)
Country of origin United States
Canada
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 26 (53 segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Dave Wasson
Running time 21 minutes (whole)
11 minutes (segments)
Production company(s) Cartoon Network Studios
Release
Original network Cartoon Network
Original release June 8, 2001 (2001-06-08) – November 26, 2003 (2003-11-26)

Time Squad is an American/Canadian animated television series created by Dave Wasson for Cartoon Network, and the 10th of the network's Cartoon Cartoons. It follows the adventures of Otto Osworth, Buck Tuddrussel, and the robot Larry 3000, a trio of hapless "time cops" living in the far distant future who travel back in time attempting to correct the course of history. During their adventures, they run into major historical figures such as Julius Caesar, Abraham Lincoln, Sigmund Freud, Leonardo da Vinci, the Founding Fathers, and Montezuma, who have taken a drastically different course of life than history dictates. The mission of the Time Squad is to guide these figures onto the correct path and ensure the integrity of the future.

The series premiered during Cartoon Network's marathon block "Cartoon Cartoon Summer" on June 8, 2001, and ended after two seasons on November 26, 2003, airing 26 episodes in total. In the course of its run, the series received five Annie Award nominations. Creator Dave Wasson described the series as "a C-student's guide to history".[1]

Overview

The show is set in the year 100,000,000 AD, on a satellite which orbits Earth. This future Earth is never visited directly, though it is referred in dialogue as a peaceful utopia where there are no longer any problems to solve. All nations of the world have merged into one, and, according to Tuddrussel, there are "no wars, no pollution, and bacon is good for your heart".

Despite this cheerful vision of the future, the space station on which the characters live and from which they travel to the past is remarkably dystopic. It features a shooting range, a terrarium and a prison for repeat offenders, but it is dank, outdated (for the time) and unclean. Mostly this seems to be down to Officer Buck Tuddrussel (Rob Paulsen), a scruffy and immature perennial bachelor, who nevertheless happens to be the station's most senior officer. There were also several accidents aboard the Time Squad Space Station; most notable of which is the terrarium being broken after Tuddrussel plays golf and breaks the glass shell of the station. This action seems to have no consequences in future episodes.

The only other official member of Buck's unit is Larry 3000 (Mark Hamill), a translator robot and former diplomat who was rendered more or less obsolete when all of the world's nations merged. Buck's mindless machismo clashes with Larry's effete sensibilities, and the two bicker terribly. Added to this the fact that neither of them has any great knowledge of history, they made a rather poor team together.

However, when they encounter Otto Osworth (Pamela Adlon), an 8-year-old orphan who happens to be a history genius from the 21st century, he is quickly recruited and added to the team. Otto is shown to be the only one on the team with any enthusiasm or competence for the job. The problem is, neither of the other two are particularly willing to listen to his advice, and he must often resort to trickery to make sure the mission is completed.

The Time Squad organization is set up to ensure that history is maintained and the future protected. According to Larry 3000 in the episode "Napoleon the Conquered", "time is like a rope", and, as it is woven at one end, ages and gradually unravels and frays at the other. In the context of the show, this often means that historical figures have made different, sometimes anachronistic, choices in life (see free will), and as such will not be able to fulfill the role that history says they fulfilled. An early example of this shows Eli Whitney failing to invent the cotton gin, instead creating a horde of flesh-eating robots (stemming from a desire to create something beneficial to mankind, and a failure to realize that flesh-eating robots would not in fact fulfill that).[2] According to creator Dave Wasson, "[W]e started by basically knowing what a guy did in history, then found the most outlandish way he could go wrong."[3]

Characters

The Time Squad

Recurring characters

Historical figures

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
113 (27 segments)June 8, 2001 (2001-06-08)March 29, 2002 (2002-03-29)
213 (26 segments)October 26, 2001 (2001-10-26)November 26, 2003 (2003-11-26)

Timeline and world history

Voice cast

Principal voice cast

Historical figures/Special guests

Reception

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee Result
2001 Annie Awards Outstanding Achievement in a Primetime or Late Night Animated Television Production[4] Cartoon Network Studios Nominated
Outstanding Individual Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Television Production[4] Tim Biskup Nominated
Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Female Performer in an Animated Television Production[4] Pamela Adlon
as Otto Osworth for "Eli Whitney's Flesh Eating Mistake" 		Nominated
2002 Outstanding Character Design in an Animated Television Production[5] Alex Kirwan
for "The Clownfather" 		Nominated
Outstanding Production Design in an Animated Television Production[5] Dave Wasson
for "Keepin' It Real with Sitting Bull" 		Nominated

Merchandise

Home media releases

Time Squad has not received any official DVD releases. However, the episode "Dishonest Abe" is featured in the Powerpuff Girls VHS Meet the Beat-Alls.

Promotions

Cartoon Network and Subway partnered to release five Time Squad-themed toys in Subway Kids Paks. The promotion lasted from September 30 to November 17, 2002.[6]

Video games

Though the series has no official video games, the character Larry-3000 appears in the Cartoon Network game Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall.

References

  1. ↑ Bernstein, Paula (February 21, 2001). "Cartoon Net Gives Go to 4 New Shows". Variety. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2013-05-31.
  2. ↑ "Eli Whitney's Flesh-Eating Mistake". Time Squad. Season 1. Episode 1. June 8, 2001. Cartoon Network.
  3. ↑ Keveney, Bill (June 8, 2001). "'Time Squad' Aims to Rewrite History". USA Today. p. 15E. |section= ignored (help)
  4. 1 2 3 "29th Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners (2001)". AnnieAwards.org. ASIFA-Hollywood. Retrieved 2011-07-30.
  5. 1 2 "30th Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners (2002)". AnnieAwards.org. ASIFA-Hollywood. Retrieved 2011-07-30.
  6. ↑ "Subway and Cartoon Network Partner". QSR Magazine. Journalistic. September 3, 2002. Retrieved 2014-01-20.
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