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Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors is an French/American/Japanese animated TV show which first aired on September 16, 1985. It was produced by Saban Entertainment for DiC Entertainment (originally distributed for syndication by SFM Entertainment), and directed by an uncredited Japanese studio. The uncompleted show, which spawned 65 30-minute episodes, was created to support Mattel's toy line.
The show featured two duelling forces. The "good guys" are humans, called the Lightning League. They drove white and silver vehicles with assorted weaponry, and are led by Jayce. The "bad guys" are organic green vegetable-based creatures called the Monster Minds, who tend to take the shape of black and green vehicles. They travel via large green organic vines, that sprout seeds that rapidly grew into further Monster Minds. They are led by Saw Boss.
The opening titles features the phrase:
Thundering across the stars to save the universe from the Monster Minds. Jayce searches for his father to unite the Magic Root and lead his Lightning League to victory over the changing form of Saw Boss. Wheeled Warriors explode into battle - Lightning Strikes!
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Background
Most of the episodes were written by French writers, Jean Chalopin and Haskell Barkin. The series producer was J. Michael Straczynski, and with all orchestral music scored by Shuki Levy.
In the United States, the series was a part of the USA Cartoon Express, a popular television programming block of animation on the USA Network from 1980 to 1998. In the United Kingdom, it was screened on Sunday mornings, on Channel 4. In France, a French language version of the show titled Jayce et les Conquérants de la Lumière was broadcast on Les P'tits Loups, a children's show on TF1, beginning on 9 September 1985; it entered syndication on 1 May 1986.
Strangely, although the show was created to promote a line of toys, no action figures of the show's characters were ever sold. This is likely because the toys came first; no backstory was given with the toys for the Lightning League and the Monster Minds doing battle, and so distinct characters were created to allow for a structured story.
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Plot synopsis
The plot concerns Jayce, son of Audric, and his quest to rejoin him. The backstory is that Audric was a botanist who did several experiments with biotechnology. One of which blossomed and became a young humanoid girl named Flora. Audric had also created a miracle crop that could thrive in any environment and end galactic hunger. However, suddenly a solar flare mutates his plant into an evil, sentient being named Saw Boss, and changes other plants around Audric's laboratory into similar creatures, who collectively become known as the Monster Minds. Audric manages to create a magical Root that can destroy the Monster Minds, but is forced to flee before he can complete the task. He keeps half himself and gives the other half to his servant, Oon, whom he sends to serve Jayce. Thus, Jayce and his Lightning League friends are constantly on a quest to find Audric and combine the halves of the Root.
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The movie
Due to less than successful toy sales, Jayces' 65 episode run was not followed up, and it ended unresolved. However, according to series producer J. Michael Straczynski, a movie had also been commissioned along with the series, following in the footsteps of other toy based animated series such as Transformers and GI Joe; if the series had proven successful in toy sales, production would have began. Straczynski wrote the script, but due to the failure of the toyline, preparation for the movie was shelved.
Had the movie been filmed, it would have provided a sense of closure on Jayce, with his Lightning League meeting with the originals and being trained on the home world of the Guardians, he would be reunited with his father Audric, but according to Straczynski, Audric would have been killed by Saw Boss as the Monster Minds began a final assault on the galaxy, and in a final battle, Jayce would unite the root and kill Saw Boss, ending the Monster Mind threat forever.
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List of characters
Jayce - Leader of the Lightning League, possessed half of the magic Root, as well as the Ring of Light, a constant deus ex machina to the League's adventures.
Audric - Jayce's father, original master of Oon, possessed half of the magic Root, creator of the Root, accidentally creator of the Monster minds, co-creator of Flora and the early Lightning League vehicles.
Gillian - a wizardly mentor to Jayce, co-creator of Flora and the early Lightning League vehicles, sole creator of the later Lightning League vehicles.
Flora - a young girl created from a flower, has telepathic powers, can sense Monster Minds and communicate empathicaly with animals.
Oon - a small worrisome Etetnal Squire (magicaly animated suit of armor servant).
Herc Stormsailor - a "Han Solo"ish-type character who pilots the spaceship Pride of the Skys II.
Brock - Flora's companion flying fish mount, which "speaks" in chirps and whistles.
Zoggies - Flora's three pets, block-like techno-organic reptiles that sported lasers.
Jal Gorda - an anthropomorphic alien spy, recuring guest character throughout the series.
Saw Boss - the overlord of the Monster Minds, transforms into an oversized version of the Saw Troopers, which is noticibly missing the prominent "stripes" seen on the Troopers.
Terror Tank - sub-boss of the Monster Minds, oversees the Terror Trooper clones.
Gun Grinner - sub-boss of the Monster Minds, oversees the Gun Trooper clones.
KO Kruiser - sub-boss of the Monster Minds, oversees the KO Trooper clones.
Beast Walker - sub-boss of the Monster Minds, oversees the Beast Walker clones.
Saw Trooper Commander - rarely appearing sub-boss of the Monster Minds, oversees the Saw Trooper clones in Saw Boss's sted, while Saw Boss rules the Monster Minds entire.
Dr. Zorg - An evil scientist who coveted Audric's technologies and worked with/for Saw Boss.
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Lightning League vehicles
The Lightning League vehicles can operate on pre-programmed battle plans without drivers through commands issued on Jayce's communicator.
Lightning League AI ground vehicles (early)
Armed Force - Armed Force is a vehicle with a large golden grappling arm mounted atop it. Gillian had intended it for Audric, but gave it to Jayce instead when Audric was unable to join the League. It seats two, unlike its toy counterpart. Another note about Armed Force's toy counterpart is a gimmick dubbed "Stack n' Attack". Any of the other smaller vehicles could detatch its wheeled chassis and attach to the top of Armed Force (a promotional comic in He-Man magazine showed two vehicles stacked atop Armed Force, though this was physicaly impossible using the toys, as only Armed Force featured two lined up holes suitable for another vehicle's underside to jack into). This never happens in the show; instead, "stack n' attack" refers to the Lightning League vehicles being able to exchange weapons mid-battle.
Drill Seregeant - A two-seater vehicle with a drill to dig tunnels. Driven in the opening sequence by Flora, who seems to prefer it, as does Gillian.
Quick Draw - A vehicle with a concealed gun in a shield atop the vehicle. Gillian drives it in the opening sequence, but it has no regular driver in the series. Seats one.
Spike Trike - A three-wheeled vehicle built for speed. Herc drives it in the opening sequence, and it is his vehicle of choice during the series, as well.
Trail Blazer - A large, four-legged vehicle with a front-mounted battering ram., capable of carrying the smaller vehicles. It usually seats one, but has occasionally been seen with unused seating for four. Trail Blazer was stronger and more durable than the other vehicles, but was used much less often for reasons never disclosed (unlike the expenditure of resources that served as an excuse for the more rarely used larger vehicle troopers of the Monster Minds). Trail Blazer is depicted as much larger in scale with the other vehicles than was true with the toy counterparts. While the toy version of Trail Blazer could carry a single smaller vehicle on its back, the cartoon counterpart could carry four of the smaller vehicles within its body, via a platform that lowered from its underside.
Battle Base - A mobile fortress that houses all the other vehicles and is usually attached to the League's ship as its bridge. The main weapon is a large elevating gun turret. Battle Base, like Trail Blazer, is of a much larger relative scale in the animation than in its toy form. The Toy for Battle Base had three garages that could each hold a single smaller vehicle, and its control bridge seated two. In the cartoon footage, not only could Battle Base contain all of the smaller vehicles, but even Trail Blazer was seen to be able to enter it. The bridge was a rather large full room.
Lightning League AI ground vehicles (created later by Gillian)
Fling Shot - A vehicle equipped with a catapult, built in "The Stallions of Sandeen." A toy was designed, but never produced.
Spray Gunner - A vehicle with a cannon that sprays various fluids, that was added later in the series, but has no introduction episode. The toy did not reach the production stage.
Motor Module - A low-riding vehicle with a powerful drive system, often used to field repair other vehicles, or to haul loads in an attachable trailer. It was added later in the series, but has no introduction episode. The toy did not reach the production stage, but was designed to be motorized, and could "Stack-An-Attack" as Armed Force could (the gimmick remained unused in the cartoon).
Lightning League aerospace vehicles (not reflected in the toy line)
Pride of the Skies II - aka "the Barge", a ship owned by Herc Stormsailer and home to the Lightning League throughout the series.
Space Scooter - a small air-bike.
Emergency Cruser - the Pride's seldom used shuttlecraft.
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Monster Mind vehicles
Generally, Monster Mind battles are carried out by clones of the main Monster Minds that are grown from vines. Saw Boss is able to communicate with these clones (and communicate with others with a clone as a medium) telepathically. These clones are referred to as "troopers"; Saw Trooper, Terror Trooper, K.O. Trooper, etc. The true Monster Minds change from their humanoid forms into vehicles upon leaving their headquarters, although they are significantly larger and more powerful than their mass-produced clones.
Monster Minds ground legions (early)
Saw Troopers - Vehicles with a large buzzsaw on a roating stalk.
Terror Troopers - Tank-like vehicles with a large, venus flytrap-like mouth mounted on the body.
Gun Troopers - Vehicle with a cluster of cannons clenched in its teeth. The main weapon was a multi-headed spiked flail mounted on top of the body.
K.O. Troopers - Truck-like vehicles with a large wrecking ball-like stalk.
Beast Walkers - Large, four-legged vehicles with a front-mounted claw weapon that are the powerhouse of a Monster Mind clone army. They were seldom used, due to requiring more energy to spawn.
Monster Minds ground legions (developed later)
Flapjacks - Van-like vehicles with a catapult; they were designed, but not produced in the toy-line.
Lurchers - Vehicles with a front ram, again, not produced in the toy-line.
Snapdragons - Smaller four-legged walking vehicles with front-mounted "petals" that opened like a flower to expose a laser cannon.
Battle Stations - The Monster Minds' answer to Battle Base, it was unproduced in the toy line. Used in only one episode as it took enormous amounts of energy to spawn.
Monster Minds aerospace legions (unrepresented in the toy-line)
Crusers - Larger Monster Mind spacecrafts.
Scouts/Satelites - Smaller Monster Mind spacecrafts. Both names referred to the same vehicle type in the animation.
Drill Vines - Small rocket craft with a drill nose-cone, containing a Monster Mind vine cluster, which were used to penetrate targets and release a growth of vines.
Pods - Plant-like insertion craft launched by Cruisers or Scouts, when Drill Vines are not called for.
Space Fighters - Small Monster Mind starfighters, used much less commonly than Scouts.
Monster Mind network legions (unrepresented in the toy-line)
Expansion Vines - Large vine growths used to infest a planet and spawn Monster Mind Troopers, also sometimes used to connect planets through open space.
Recepticles - Block-like plants that are used to form a teleportation point for Saw Boss's headquarters (originally Audric's lab).
Brains - A small plant mass with a single central eye, used for communication by Monster Mind agents of other races.
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Toy-line Failure
Wheeled Warriors suffered from an extremely bad toy launch. The toys arrived on shelves before the cartoon, in order to hit the 1984 Christmas season. The manufacturer then panicked and pulled them from shelves before the cartoon could build a following. Further, the toys featured blank slate humans and rubber brains for pilots, while the cartoon had actual human characters and Monster mind "bosses" who changed from plant beings to vehicles and had hordes of "troopers" that grew from plants. The cartoon also made almost no use of any weapons except the main ones and ubiquitous lasers.
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Episode List
Escape from the Garden of Evil
Flora, Fauna and the Monster Minds
The Children of Solarus II
Final Ride at Journey's End
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Voice actors
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Credits
Executive Producers: Jean Chalopin, Andy Heyward, Tetsuo Katayama
Supervising Chief Directors: Bernard Deyries, Kazumi Fukushima, Bruno Bianchi
Assisted by: Tricia Piascik-Goetz
Assistant Director: Michael Maliani
Creative Supervision: Jean Chalopin
Assisted by: Lori Crawford, John Andrucci
Executives in Charge of Production: Thierry Laurin, Kevin O'Donnell, Janan Roberts
Story Editors: Jim Carlson, Haskell Barkin
Written by: J. Michael Straczynski, Larry Ditillio, Howard R. Cohen, Jina Bacarr, Natasha Lubin, Rod Baker, Lynn Manning, Haskell Barkin, Dennis O'Flaharty, Jim Bertges, Glenn Olsen, Jack Bornoff, Mike O'Mahoney, Rhonda Fields, Daniel Pitlik, Patrick J. Furlong, David Pitlik, Barbara Hambly, Bruce Schaefer, Seth Hill, Bill Schienkai, John Howard, Judy Strauss, Ken Kahn, David Weimers, Dale Kirby, John Wilkman, Ken Koonce, Karen Willson
Associate Producer: Joellyn Marlow
Production Coordinator: Donald P. Zappala
Animation Production Manager: Shigeru Akagawa
Production Assistants: Hideki Akiyama, Masako Nighida, Tina Bigham, Minoru Tareo, Jay Francis, Jeffrey Thorin, Gail Forest, Hiroshi Toita, Allison Heitner, Takahiko Tsuchiya, Earnie McKeithen, Mary P. Willhide, Elizabeth Miller, Rikiu Yoshida
Assistant Production Coordinator: Mitsuya Fujimoto
Casting: Marsha Goodman, Madeleine Hurley
Music by: Shuki Levy, Haim Saban
Voice Direction by: Terry Burke
Talent Coordination by: Jennifer Goldie
Voice Recording Engineer: Vic Pyle
Storyboard Artists: Tetsuya Endo, Yohito Hata, Zuiryo Motohira, Michael Maliani, Hitoshi Nanba
Character Designers: Francois Allot, Don Greer, Junzaburo Takahata
Image Designers: Christian Choquet, Tim Gula, Stephane Martinere
Supervising Director: Kazuo Terada
Key Animators and Layout: Studio Giants, Studio Look, Studio Sunrise, Studio Shaft, Swan Production
Art Director: Misuharu Miyamae
Animation: Kanzunori Iida, Kanzuhisa Takeda
Production Manager: Toshitsugu Mukaitsubo
Camera Direction: Masahide Ueda
Lip Sync Editors: Linda Davies, Woody Yogum
Color Styling: Yukiko Nunomoto, Setsuko Tanaka, Kimie Yamana
Unit Directors: Tetsuya Endo, Yoshito Hata, Zuiryo Motohira, Hitoshi Nanba
Post Production Executive: W.R. Kowalchuk Jr.
Post Production Services: Animation City Editorial Services Ltd
Post Production Supervisor: Clinton A. Soloman
Editorial Department Supervisor: Tim Roberts
Supervising Editor: Barry Gilmore
Sound Effects Editors: Jeremy MacLaverty, Oliver Manton, Dan Sexton, Kevin Ward
Music Editors: Steven R. Mitchell, Jack Heeren
Sound Engineers: Patrick Calvert, Teve Pepin
Track Department: Trudy Alexander, Andy Attfield, Alison Brown, Cindy Fret, Kelly Hall, Peter Jones, Fiona Paterson, Brian Jeffrey Street
Format Editor: Helen Watson
Videotape Supervisor: Patty Hayes
Post Production Coordinator: Ted Harrison
Assistant Coordinators: Maya Koisumi, Paul Quinn
Produced by: Jean Chalopin, Denys Heroux, John Kemeny
©1985 DIC Audiovisual and ICC TV Productions Ltd. All Rights Reserved
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Availability
Only one English language DVD, titled Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors - Escape from the Garden of Evil, has been released; it contains the episodes "Escape from the Garden", "The Vase of Xiang", "Steel Against Shadow" and "Flora, Fauna, and the Monster Minds". The entire series has been released in French, in two boxed sets each containing five DVDs.
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Trivia
An uncredited, unfinished comic based on the series was once published in the French comic magazine Pif gadget 922. Strangely enough, the 13-page adventure ended on a cliffhanger, the next issue of Pif gadget did not include the follow-up story, and in the end, the conclusion to that story was never published. It included characters created specifically for the comic, such as a white-hair, youngish sorceress called Algora who was an ally of Saw Boss'.
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