Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (TV series) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
Genre	Animation Comedy
Developed by	Richard Mueller
Written by	Richard Mueller Jack Enyart Ted Pedersen
Directed by	Karen Peterson
Starring	John Astin Thom Bray S. Scott Bullock Cam Clarke Kath Soucie Christian Guzek Maurice LaMarche
Composer(s)	Haim Saban Shuki Levy John Bello
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	21
Production
Executive producer(s)	John De Bello J. Stephen Peace Joe Taritero
Producer(s)	Boyd Kirkland (Season 1) Richard Trueblood (Season 2)
Running time	23 minutes
Production company(s)	Marvel Productions Fox Children's Productions
Distributor	20th Television Saban Entertainment
Release
Original network	Fox (Fox Children's Network)
Original release	8 September 1990 (1990-09-08) – 23 November 1991 (1991-11-23)

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes is a funny cartoon show from America. It's based on the 1978 movie Attack of the Killer Tomatoes and its 1988 sequel Return of the Killer Tomatoes. The show first aired on Fox Kids from September 8, 1990, to November 23, 1991.

The story continues after the movies. A crazy scientist named Dr. Putrid T. Gangreen turns ordinary tomatoes into scary monsters. He wants to take over the world! But a brave young boy named John Finletter, his friend Tara Boumdeay, and a "Friendly Tomato" named F.T. (who looks like a dog) try to stop him. Tara has a secret: she's actually a human-tomato hybrid!

How the Show Started

The first movie, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, came out in 1978. It was a funny movie that made fun of old monster films from the 1950s. It became very popular.

Later, in 1986, an episode of Muppet Babies showed Baby Fozzie dealing with "Silly Tomatoes." This part used clips from the original movie. It was so popular that a company called New World Pictures decided to make a sequel to the movie.

The creators of the first movie, John De Bello, Costa Dillon, and Stephen Peace, made Return of the Killer Tomatoes. This movie was a big success! Because of this, New World Pictures decided to make a cartoon show for kids. They used ideas and characters from both movies. That's how Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: The Series began. It was one of the first cartoons on the Fox Children's Network in 1990. The show often made jokes about itself and its low-budget movie beginnings.

What Happens in the Story

The cartoon starts five years after "The Great Tomato War," when tomatoes are banned. But Dr. Putrid T. Gangreen keeps doing his weird experiments. His main goal is to rule the world!

One of his experiments, Tara Boumdeay, is a tomato that turned into a human. She runs away from Dr. Gangreen with F.T., a fuzzy tomato she pretends is her dog. They meet Chad Finletter, whose uncle, Wilbur, fought in the Great Tomato War. Chad helps Tara get a job at his uncle's tomato-free pizza place. Tara tells Chad her secret, and he promises to help them fight Dr. Gangreen.

In Season Two, Dr. Gangreen actually takes over the world! But he quickly learns that being in charge isn't as fun as he thought. He gets overthrown by Zoltan and his gang of super-mutated tomatoes. So, Dr. Gangreen has to team up with Chad, Tara, Wilbur, and the Killer Tomato Task Force to defeat Zoltan.

Main Characters

• Chad Finletter (voiced by Christian Guzek) - Chad is the main hero. He's a smart ten-year-old boy who delivers pizza for his Uncle Wilbur. Chad is one of the few people who knows Tara and F.T. are really tomatoes, and he keeps their secret. He's usually the one trying to stop Dr. Gangreen, but adults often don't take him seriously because he's a kid. In Season Two, Chad becomes more of a leader.
• Tara Boumdeay (voiced by Kath Soucie) - Tara was one of Dr. Gangreen's experiments that went wrong. She ran away with F.T. and became Chad's best friend and a waitress at Wilbur's Pizza Palace. Tara is a pretty teenage girl who likes Chad because he's brave. If salt is poured on her, she turns into a tomato. If pepper is poured on her, she sneezes and turns back into a human. She also has special tomato powers, like moving things with her mind.
• Wilbur Finletter (voiced by Thom Bray) - Wilbur is Chad's uncle and a hero from the Great Tomato War. He owns Finletter's Pizza Palace. He's very protective of Chad. He's always trying new pizza recipes without tomatoes, but they often don't work out. He's brave but not very smart, and like other adults, he thinks F.T. is just an ugly dog. In Season Two, he becomes a rebel leader.
• F.T. (vocal effects by S. Scott Bullock) - F.T. stands for Fuzzy Tomato. He was another of Dr. Gangreen's experiments that didn't turn out evil. Tara saved him, and they escaped. F.T. pretends to be "the world's ugliest dog" because people hate tomatoes. Only Chad knows F.T.'s secret.
• Whitley White (voiced by Neil Ross) - Whitley is the only reporter for the San Zucchini news station. He shows up everywhere to report on what's happening. He sometimes talks to himself as if he's reporting from two places at once!

Other Characters

• Tomato Guy (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) - This character appears in every episode. He shouts "Tomato!" which makes everyone around him panic. He often appears as an extra character in other scenes too. It's revealed he hates tomatoes because of a bad experience with cold tomato soup as a kid.
• The Censor Lady (voiced by S. Scott Bullock) - An old woman who tries to stop characters from doing anything violent or bad for kids to copy. For example, she might suggest vampire tomatoes kiss people instead of biting them.
• Sam Smith (voiced by S. Scott Bullock) - A member of the Killer Tomato Taskforce. He's great at disguises, but his most famous one is like the Lone Ranger.
• Floyd Bridgework (voiced by Thom Bray) - Another member of the Taskforce. He's an expert in underwater things and always wears his scuba gear, even on land!
• Mary Jo Nagamininashy (voiced by Kath Soucie) - The only female on the Taskforce besides Tara. She's a German athlete who loves to exercise, even when fighting tomatoes.
• Mayor Leonard Earwax (voiced by Cam Clarke) - The Mayor of San Zucchini. He's not very smart and often sleeps through important events, like when the city is taken over by tomatoes.

Bad Guys

• Dr. Putrid T. Gangreen (voiced by John Astin) - The main villain. He's an "angry" scientist who created the killer tomatoes to take over the world. He works with his not-so-smart assistant, Igor Smith, and his army of tomatoes led by Zoltan. Dr. Gangreen sometimes talks directly to the audience, knowing he's in a cartoon show. He considers Tara and F.T. his "failures" because they turned good. In Season Two, he conquers the world but then gets overthrown by Zoltan.
  • Igor Smith (voiced by Cam Clarke) - Igor is Dr. Gangreen's assistant. He's a bit silly and dreams of becoming a TV reporter. He's not truly evil, just goes along with Dr. Gangreen's plans, hoping for a reward. He gets locked up with Dr. Gangreen in Season Two but later joins the good guys to fight Zoltan.

Tomato Characters

Besides Tara and F.T., these tomatoes were created by Dr. Gangreen:

• Zoltan (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) - Dr. Gangreen's tomato commander. At first, he and his gang were lazy and acted like old movie characters. Later, he became a vampire tomato named "Spatula, Prinze of Dorkness." In Season Two, Zoltan and his gang become bigger, smarter, and more dangerous. They conquer the planet and overthrow Dr. Gangreen, with Zoltan becoming the new leader.
  • Tomacho (voiced by Cam Clarke) - One of Zoltan's gang. He's calm, a bit silly, and talks like a surfer.
  • Beefsteak (voiced by Chuck McCann) - Another of Zoltan's gang. He has a short temper and looks like a bull with horns and a nose ring.
  • Fang (voiced by Susan Silo) - One of Zoltan's gang. He has snake-like eyes and fangs.
  • Ketchuck (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) - One of Zoltan's gang. He's the biggest and hungriest of the group.
  • Mummato (voiced by Rob Paulsen) - One of Zoltan's gang. He's wrapped in bandages like a mummy and is usually quiet.
• Phantomato (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) - A deformed tomato who lives in the sewers. He wears a mask like the Phantom of the Opera. He helps Tara escape from Zoltan.
• The Ultimato - Dr. Gangreen's last tomato experiment. He was supposed to help the good guys but wanted to take over the world himself.
• Link (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) - A deformed tomato believed to be the missing link between normal and killer tomatoes. He's actually good and helps Chad and Tara. He's also very rich!
• Johnny Tomato (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) - A tomato created by Dr. Gangreen who can turn into a human. He looks like a young Elvis Presley. He was meant to trick Tara but developed feelings for her.
• Tomato Minions - These are all the other mutated tomatoes. They act as soldiers for Dr. Gangreen and Zoltan. In Season One, they came in different colors. In Season Two, they were all red and wore Roman-style helmets.

Episodes

Season 1: 1990

Season 2: 1991

Why the Show Ended

The show ended after Season Two for a few reasons. The animation style changed a lot, and the second season was one of the first Saturday morning cartoons to use computer animation. Also, instead of having a new story in each episode, Season Two had one big story that continued through all the episodes. Only eight episodes were made for the second season, and they were even shown out of order! Some characters also changed in ways that didn't match what happened in Season One. For example, Tara could suddenly change into a tomato without salt, and everyone knew her secret. These changes, along with making Zoltan and his gang more serious instead of funny, led to the show being cancelled.

Voice Cast

• John Astin - Dr. Putrid T. Gangreen
• Thom Bray - Wilber Finletter, Floyd Bridgework
• S. Scott Bullock - F.T., Sam Smith, The Censor Lady, Various
• Cam Clarke - Igor Smith, Tomacho, Mayor Leonard Earwax
• Chris Guzek - Chad Finletter
• Maurice LaMarche - Zoltan, Ketchuck, Tomato Guy, Link, Phantomato, Johnny Tomato, Various
• Chuck McCann - Beefsteak
• Rob Paulsen - Mummato, Various
• Neil Ross - Whitley White
• Susan Silo - Fang
• Kath Soucie - Tara Boumdeay, Mary Jo Nagamininashy, Various

Crew

• Stu Rosen - Voice Director