Do you guys remember the series EXOSQUAD?

[UN Spacy]

What're your thoughts on this early nineties series? Overall, I thought it was an interesting story with a lot of character depth, inventive mecha designs, and great action (sound familiar).

What's the connection with the crossover of Destroids for their toyline?

[yellowlightman]

I remember watching the series every Saturday morning, pretty cool. I'm guessing the creators grew up watching Robotech because there are a lot of parallels between ExoSquad and Robotech/Macross.

The re-release of the Robotech toys by Playmates, well, I dunno exactly why they did it it although I've heard speculation that it was a cheap way to expand their toy line.

FYI, they didn't just re-release the Destroids. They also released stuff like the Invid Trooper, the Zentraedi Male Power Armor and maybe the Hovertank and Veritech Fighter? I don't remember exactly.

[GobotFool]

I have almost the whole collection of these toys, and man, Best american toys ever! Detail for something that was intended for little kids is astounding. The show was very well done, I go back and watch it and while the animation has lost its luster the characters and stories are as I remembered them. Its the only show from my youth that still is for me, as good now as it was then. Unlike transformers, voltron, transzor/mazinger Z. I see now and have to ask myself, WTF was I thinking when I dug these shows.

[BYG-DAMN]

I have just about all the Exosquad toys too. I loved te E-frames, they wee great designs with lots of gimmicks, and the jump troopers were good too.

I like the show, people died all the time in it, it was pretty violent for a kids show, it could have been a TV show if a network would pay the budget. Everybody had issues, no character was just a drawing. That made the toys that much cooler to collect.

[Jemstone]

I remember watching the series every Saturday morning, pretty cool. I'm guessing the creators grew up watching Robotech because there are a lot of parallels between ExoSquad and Robotech/Macross.

You are correct. I've forgoten most of the details but the creators were big Robotech/Macross fans. I liked the sereis myself bu it was never finished due to production problems towards the end.

(and Nara Burns should have cut her arm off the moment she recieved that plant mutation shot)

[Druna Skass]

Yeah I remember watching that series back in the day. I always liked that one guy with the brown E-Frame unit, Bronski. He seemed like a bad-ass version of Kakizaki. It was a pretty good series actualy, I was able to download some episodes off Kazaa but lost them when my comp got a virus. For the longest time I always though it was some not in the spot light anime that ended up here, best American series I can say.

Does anyone have any pics of any E-Frame units, or either Resolute-class battleships?

As for the series not being finished, wasn't the last episode the one where the Terren's took Chicago and Marsh welcomed the Admiral to Earth?

[Jemstone]

As for the series not being finished, wasn't the last episode the one where the Terren's took Chicago and Marsh welcomed the Admiral to Earth?

No, the last episode was when planet Mars was "recunstructed" via some gravity device then soem strange unknown alien ship came and took the squad members while J.T. (?) stood back and watched as it all happened in space.

[GobotFool]

Yeah I remember watching that series back in the day. I always liked that one guy with the brown E-Frame unit, Bronski. He seemed like a bad-ass version of Kakizaki. It was a pretty good series actualy, I was able to download some episodes off Kazaa but lost them when my comp got a virus. For the longest time I always though it was some not in the spot light anime that ended up here, best American series I can say.

Does anyone have any pics of any E-Frame units, or either Resolute-class battleships?

As for the series not being finished, wasn't the last episode the one where the Terren's took Chicago and Marsh welcomed the Admiral to Earth?

Bronski was da bomb, Not only was he a kick as character his frame kicked major butt too!

[BoBe-Patt]

ooh man exo squad was a bomb @$$ cartoon. I use to watch that series along with ronin warriors and afterwards I'd stop by the local toys r us and pick up an E-Frame and a ronin warrior figure. The E-Frames were hella cool. My favorite was wolf bronski's E-Frame, he just kicked @$$!! I wish they would put these episodes on dvd as I was never able to finish watching the series. Maybe someday they'll put everything on dvd.

[Agent ONE]

HEY!!!!! EXO SQUAD!!! Awesome.

I have this entire serries in AVI format, if anyone is interested in burned copies, email me.

[Roy Focker]

Worst Character Designs eevveeerrr.

It was like they all went to Super Cuts.

[Hurricane29]

I loved the show, but it did get a litle hokey when they had the crossover neospaein (sp) animal things.

[Mechafan]

It was a pretty good show. I wish I had it all. I think they were going to try to merge Robotech and Exosquad together some how but then it got canceled. Just when Alex came back . It would have been good to see it get finished.

[BoBe-Patt]

Yeah, I would've liked to have seen that robotech/exo-squad cross over and also see JT marsh's e-frame transform into a bike like the newer toy did. Oh well. Hey Agent one, can you convert those avi's to mpeg? Let me know. Thanx

[Hybridchild]

Funnily enough the toys made it over here but the series never did which was kinda annoying id like to check it out though

Hybridchild

[GobotFool]

Funnily enough the toys made it over here but the series never did which was kinda annoying id like to check it out though

Hybridchild

HC, the series is dated so don't expect super quality animation. heck its also american However if you want a cool series that is character and story centered, and wasn't just a 30 minute exscus to sell toys then give it a peak. While I liked the character design, how faces were drawn and stuff, the costume design was kinda stinky in its technocolor way. Made them look more like super hero's than soldiers. Also one of the things I loved about this series, NO Friggin Kids!!!!! They were all 21 up the charactors, there was no of this, well okay your 12 years old, but your just so cool and good we'll gives you a big robot though you have no training.

[Solscud007]

Ok let me clarify what i understand and remember.

At the end of Exosquad there was an alien race that was suppose to come in and threaten all of the universe in the realm of Exo Squad. That alien race was to be Robotech.

This was going to be the salvation HG needed however (and Im hypothesising) relations fell through the toys were made obviously however somethign went wrong and the show was canceled.

[GobotFool]

Actually rating plumited for some unknown reason during the last few eps.

[yellowlightman]

Ok let me clarify what i understand and remember.

At the end of Exosquad there was an alien race that was suppose to come in and threaten all of the universe in the realm of Exo Squad. That alien race was to be Robotech.

This was going to be the salvation HG needed however (and Im hypothesising) relations fell through the toys were made obviously however somethign went wrong and the show was canceled.

I'd never heard of that, I though the Robotech toys were a purely toy-based venture and not actually planned to be included in the series. Interesting though...

[Druna Skass]

At the end of Exosquad there was an alien race that was suppose to come in and threaten all of the universe in the realm of Exo Squad. That alien race was to be Robotech.

Sounded like it was about to get lame...

[Keith]

Ah, but there were indeed kids, or did you forget about the Exo-Scouts episode?

I'll agree, the show was for the most part cool, but got way too weak at the end. Neo-Lords, & other assorted varients went against the purpose of the Neo-Sapian revolt (i.e. not to be used as tools). Super plant powers...:::shudders::: what the hell was up with that? Was it a necessary plot element? Did it serve any true purpose other than to telekinetically stop Phaton from pushing a button? Phaton clones, bah! Dark Matter, all it served to do was lead to a canceled plot about aliens coming to look for the humans who stole & used their precious resource....sounds painfully familiar!

As it stands, there would have never been a robotech crossover, it was just for the toyline.

[Agent ONE]

Yeah, I would've liked to have seen that robotech/exo-squad cross over and also see JT marsh's e-frame transform into a bike like the newer toy did. Oh well. Hey Agent one, can you convert those avi's to mpeg? Let me know. Thanx

Dunno, I will have to check it.

[mondamoto]

That was a great show I have some of the episodes on tape, I remeber showing it to a buddy who hated cartoons and he was instantly hooked.

Robby benson did the voice of JT too

[GDomino]

I remember watching the show but don't remember a lick of the story-line or what exactly it was about. The toys are what I really remember. They were pretty good for their time and were the first I can remember that had the gimmick of an action figure that could go into a mech type suit (i know they're called e-frames). I especially liked the transforming JT Marsh e-frame. These are the last toys I bought with my parent's money (miss them weekly allowances ) which "cool factor" I ranked up there with TFs, GI Joe, MASK, and Starcom.

Took a break from toys after these, actually thought I had outgrown toys and thought I needed the cash for high school stuff... BUT seeing these toys still displayed in my old room when I came home from overseas-duty actually helped in reviving my love for toys and also brought back some RT/Macross nostalgia.

Edited September 18, 2003 by GDomino

[CAG]

AgentOne, if you can convert those to mpegs, I'd be interested.

[Uxi]

I'm also interested in mpeg, but will take the avi's too. Can U FTP them somewhere? Best would be to burn DVD-Rs with em (i'd even pay for my DVDs of course) but I understand if that's not doable... An official DVD release with commentary and maybe extras would be incredible. I still have the toys but boxed em up and put em away.

I loved Exo-Squad. Wish they would've had another season or two. I actually smelled too many Hitler/Nazi comparisons with the Neo-Sapiens and particularly Phaeton's madness. That excuses the clones, etc for me... he went bonkers. I thought the destruction of Mars was underplayed. Single best seen IMO is where the Resolute 2 de-cloaked and attacked the Neo-Sape flagship and there has got to be a couple hundred lasers going back and forth as it flies by and rakes it. It's what a full firing Star Destroyer SHOULD look like in the various SW simulator games.

Robotech? Those alien "ships" in the last episode were nothing at all from Robotech. They had tentacles and were flourescent. Indeed much more like some space creature than any sort of ship.

Edited September 18, 2003 by Uxi

[Keith]

DVD release? Not terribly likely, hell, I'd be surprised if a full set of the show still exists anywhere at universal.

All this talk of late 80's, early 90's cartoons has been drudging up memories though. Does anyone remember Bucky O'Hare. I remember the show itself as being pretty cheesey, but it had a catchy theme song.

Edited December 30, 2008 by Keith

[Keith]

Well I'll be damned. A year or so ago, after coming across a really shitty bootleg set that looked like VHS encoded as low res MPEGS way overscanned & badly re-encoded to DVD, complete with a missing audio channel. I started e-mailing around Universal to see if they had any plans on releasing a set.

I got no response. Today however, I got this e-mail

Dear "Exosquad" Fan,

Universal Studios Home Entertainment is delighted to announce the DVD release "Exosquad: Season 1" on April 14, 2009.

Watch as the intense interplanetary war between humanity and Neosapiens reaches new heights and the Exofleet fights to free humanity from Neosapien rule. Relive all 13 exciting episodes from season one when "Exosquad" lands on DVD!

Thank you for your continued interest in this series.

Sincerely,

Consumer Relations

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINMENT

It's nice to know not all niche title questiosn get swallowed up by the coorperate machine, and sometimes they even save those e-mails and notify the senders of pending releases. It's a new years miracle!

[Einherjar]

One thing I remember from this show was the noob pilot in the squad. IIRC, while everyone else used some kind of mecha, I think there was also a two seater in there, this guy was stuck with a space plane or something and got shot down a lot. Don't remember if they did anything with him over the course of the series. Also, that Cossack(?) pirate leader with the crazy white hair.

It was an okay series, but I wish they gave it an ending. Back in the day I was hoping to find out what was going on the last episode and was shocked to learn that was all they animated. I also heard in the 2000s about the supposed tie in with Robotech somewhere down the line, but wasn't sure if that was just a toy thing or something that was going to happen. It was probably a good thing that the deal didn't go through, which could've bogged down the series and creators into the ongoing Robotech/Macross licensing problem. At least from the toyline I bought, on impulse, what I later discovered to be a big Destroid Tomahawk.

Edited December 30, 2008 by Einherjar

[GobotFool]

One thing I remember from this show was the noob pilot in the squad. IIRC, while everyone else used some kind of mecha, I think there was also a two seater in there, this guy was stuck with a space plane or something and got shot down a lot. Don't remember if they did anything with him over the course of the series. Also, that Cossack(?) pirate leader with the crazy white hair.

It was an okay series, but I wish they gave it an ending. Back in the day I was hoping to find out what was going on the last episode and was shocked to learn that was all they animated. I also heard in the 2000s about the supposed tie in with Robotech somewhere down the line, but wasn't sure if that was just a toy thing or something that was going to happen. It was probably a good thing that the deal didn't go through, which could've bogged down the series and creators into the ongoing Robotech/Macross licensing problem. At least from the toyline I bought, on impulse, what I later discovered to be a big Destroid Tomahawk.

From what I understand harmony gold decided that the e-frames looked to much like robotech mecha and sued, and to try and placate HG universal proposed a cross over and everything fizzled from there. I just ignore the final episode, the episode before that that offers enough closure.

[RavenHawk]

Yep, finally coming to DVD in a few short months.

I don't think HG actually sued, btw. It was just Matchbox cashing in on old molds I think.

[xsjado]

i used to wake up an hour before school started every weekday just to catch the series. bronski had the best e-frame by far. i still have mine albeit, missing a missile. the haircuts were terrible, especially jt's. i tried to re-watch the series with my girlfriend a few months ago and we could not get into it. i came to the realization that american cartoons have nothing on anime. weak animation and watered-down story lines for the lose.

with the exception of Batman:TAS

[lord_breetai]

Exosquad is probably one of my favorite American TV shows period (I really loved the music) it captured my imagination and I loved it as a kid... I never got to see much of after they took the war to Earth though.

I had Marsh's and Phaton's E-frames and played the heck out of them.

For American Cartoons I think only Gargoyles, Reboot (actually Canadian), Batman TAS and Avatar would compare for me.... (but here's hoping on GI Joe resolute).

DVD release? Not terribly likely, hell, I'd be surprised if a full set of the show still exists anywhere at universal.

All this talk of late 80's, early 90's cartoons has been drudging up memories though. Does anyone remember Bucky O'Hare. I remember the show itself as being pretty cheesey, but it had a catchy theme song.

Yes I certainly remember it... you might want to check out the original comics by Larry Hama, they were a bit more military orientated then the cartoon and less cheesy and dummed down (Toad Borg also didn't exist in the comics).

But a very fun show.

[Graham]

Wow, I didn't even know that Exosquad was a cartoon. Thought it was just rebranding of those old Matchbox Robotech toys.

Graham

[Einherjar]

For a mecha war series, I'm surprised this series never got a table-top RPG and other merchandise besides toys. I played the side-scroller Genesis game years ago, but now I think it really had potential to go the whole Mechwarrior/Battletech route. If they took out some of the crazier parts of the series, it could have gone further on its own.

Has there been any thoughts about a revival?