COPS (animated TV series) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids COPS |
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Title screen for COPS
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| Developed by | Bruce Shelly |
| Directed by | Kevin Altieri |
| Voices of |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 65 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Andy Heyward |
| Producer(s) | Richard Raynis |
| Running time | 22 min |
| Production company(s) | DIC Animation City Crawleys Animation |
| Distributor | Claster Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | Syndication |
| Original release | October 5, 1988 – February 20, 1989 |
COPS (Central Organization of Police Specialists) is an American animated television series released by DIC Animation City, and distributed by Claster Television. This cartoon, which ran from 1988 to 1989, focuses on a team of highly trained policemen tasked with protecting the fictional Empire City from a group of gangsters led by the "Big Boss." The tag lines for the series are “Fighting crime in a future time” and "It's crime fightin' time!" In 1993, the series was shown in reruns on CBS Saturday mornings under the new name CyberCOPS, due to the 1989 debut of the unrelated primetime reality show of the same name. The show was based on Hasbro’s 1988 line of action figures called C.O.P.S. ’n’ Crooks.
Each episode has a title that begins with "The Case of..." with a different phrase being added to it (e.g. "The Case of the Iron C.O.P.S. and Wooden CROOKS"; "The Case of the Half-Pint Hero"; and "The Case of the Crime Nobody Heard") along with the COPS file number.
The music for the series was created by Shuki Levy, while the COPS theme music was written and composed by Haim Saban.
Numerous characters were featured in the cartoon that did not have action figures (including Mainframe, Brian O’Malley, Whitney Morgan, Nightshade, Ms. Demeanor, and Mirage).
Characters
COPS
COPS is short for Central Organization of Police Specialists. They were assembled in order to combat C.R.O.O.K.S. and other bad guys. Characters include:
- Baldwin P. "Bulletproof" Vess (voiced by Ken Ryan) — The leader of COPS and chief of police of Empire City as well as the only COP to appear in every single episode, Baldwin P. Vess is a Federal Agent from the FBI who was called in to help take down Big Boss. During the fight, he ends up seriously injured in a car wreck and is taken to the hospital. To save his life, Mayor Davis had the research scientists from the Overdine Institute perform an operation that gives Baldwin a cybernetic torso to save his life as it would take years for his torso to recover. Going by the name "Bulletproof" due to the cybernetic torso being able to deflect bullets, Baldwin assembles a team of highly trained police officers from across the country to form COPS and stop Big Boss and his gang of crooks. His cybernetic torso is computer-compatible as seen when he accessed the computer on Big Boss's Ultimate Crime Machine to stop it from crashing into Empire City as seen in "The Case of C.O.P.S File 1" part 2 and is able to carry a six-pack of small electronic grenades as seen in "The Case of the Bogus Justice Machines." He is representative of a Police Detective or an F.B.I. Agent.
- P.J. "LongArm" O'Malley (voiced by John Stocker) — P.J. O'Malley serves as a police sergeant for the Empire City Police Department. Second-in-command of COPS, he is a very compassionate officer who has the talent to convince juvenile delinquents to give up their criminal ways and become law-abiding citizens. He wears a wrist device that extends out a handcuff-like device to grab criminals escaping the law, or as an improvised grappling hook. LongArm is representative of a beat cop.
- Rex "Bowser" Pointer (voiced by Nick Nichols) — A police officer who worked for the Chicago Police Department. He loves animals and is the handler of Blitz. Bowser is representative of a K-9 officer.
- Blitz — Bowser's robotic dog who thinks like a human being.
- Walker "Sundown" Calhoun (voiced by Len Carlson) — A former Texas Sheriff that often wears a cowboy hat. He is an excellent lasso handler and sharpshooter known for conducting special investigations. Sundown is representative of a Texas Ranger.
- Susie "Mirage" Young (voiced by Elizabeth Hanna) — A female police officer who worked with the San Francisco Police Department. She is known for her talented work in undercover investigations. Mirage is representative of a vice officer.
- Sgt. Colt "Mace" Howards (voiced by Len Carlson) — A police sergeant who worked for the Philadelphia Police Department. He is known for his tactical strategies, his laser "Mazooka", and his love for a femme fatale named Nightshade. Mace is representative of a S.W.A.T. officer.
- Dave E. "Highway" Harlson (voiced by Ray James) — A police officer who worked for the California Highway Patrol. He is a known ace cycle trooper who is not good at baking cookies. Highway is representative of a motorcycle patrol officer.
- Stan "Barricade" Hyde (voiced by Ray James) — A soft-spoken police officer who worked for the Detroit Metro. He is known for his calm demeanor, his M.U.L.E. device, and crowd control. Barricade is representative of Riot Control. He also seems to have training in hostage negotiation.
- Donny "Hardtop" Brooks (voiced by Darrin Baker) — A rookie police officer who works for Empire City's Police Department. He is the driver of the COPS' Ironsides vehicle and has a crush on ECTV news reporter Whitney Morgan. Hardtop is representative of a patrol and pursuit officer.
- Hugh S. "Bullseye" Forward (voiced by Peter Keleghan) — A police officer who worked for the Miami Police Department. He is the best police helicopter pilot on the force which earned him the nickname "Bullseye". Bullseye is representative of a police helicopter pilot.
- Tina "Mainframe" Cassidy (voiced by Mary Long) — A police computer specialist who works for Empire City's Police Department. She is the best computer jockey ever whose talent in computer wizardry has helped solve even the most chaotic of capers. Mainframe is representative of a police technical analyst.
- Wayne R. "CheckPoint" Sneeden III (voiced by Ron Rubin) — A military officer who grew up in Alabama. He works for the United States Army and joins forces with COPS. Very fearful, nervous, anxious, but stays on the case with the team anyway to help get the job done. Appearing in "The Case of Mukluk’s Luck", "The Case of the Iron C.O.P.S and Wooden Crooks", and "The Case of the Red Hot Hoodlum" where he had major roles in those episodes. CheckPoint's toy File Card says his “father was a member of a top-secret military team in the ’80s and ’90s,” referencing G.I. Joe character Beach Head (AKA Wayne R. Sneeden). He is representative of a U.S. Army military police officer.
- Robin Wade (voiced by Zevi Wolmark) — A military officer who is a fifth generation career soldier. Due to his military skills, he is placed on a special duty with the COPS.
- Hy "Taser" Watts (voiced by Len Carlson) — A police officer who worked with the Seattle Police Department and is known for tasering crooks who try to resist arrest. He appeared in a few episodes, but his major role was in "The Big Boss’s Big Switch".
- Robert E. "A.P.E.S." Waldo — A police officer who worked with the Boston Police Department. He has a pair of long grappling hand devices similar to LongArm's powercuffs. A.P.E.S. is short for Automated Police Enforcement System. He appeared in "The Case of the High Iron Hoods".
- Roger "Airwave" Wilco — A police officer who worked with the Los Angeles Police Department and is a good communications expert.
- Francis "Inferno" Devlin — A firefighter who worked with the San Francisco Fire Department. He appeared in a few episodes including "The Case of the Bad Luck Burglar".
- Dudley "Powderkeg" Defuze — A police officer who worked with the Washington D.C. Police Department that is known for disarming and defusing bombs and other types of explosives. He helped Squeeky Kleen neutralize the Midas Glove that Squeeky wore in "The Case of the Midas Touch".
- Max "Nightstick" Mulukai — A police officer who worked with the Honolulu Police Department and is an expert in martial arts. He appeared in a few episodes including "The Case of the Missing Memory".
- Sherman A. "Heavyweight" Patton — A military officer who worked at Fort Leavenworth. He joined up with COPS where he serves as their A.T.A.C. (short for Armored Tactical Attack Craft) driver.
Supporting characters
- Mayor Davis — The mayor of Empire City.
- Commissioner Highwaters — The female police commissioner of Empire City.
- Whitney Morgan (voiced by Jeri Craden) — ECTV top reporter who is referred to as the prettiest reporter in Empire City.
- Beamer — Whitney Morgan's camera robot.
- Brian O’Malley — LongArm's son.
Home Video
On November 13, 2003, Sterling Entertainment released a DVD called C.O.P.S. — Fighting Crime in a Future Time. Unlike the later released boxsets, Part 1 of “The Case of C.O.P.S. File #1” includes the introduction scenes of Highway and Sundown.
On February 28, 2006, Shout! Factory and Sony BMG Music Entertainment released C.O.P.S. — Volume 1, a four-disc boxset featuring the first 22 uncut episodes on DVD in its original broadcast presentation in Region 1. It includes original concept art, storyboard-to-screen, and some of the original PSAs that were shown after the episodes. Volume 2 featuring 21 episodes was released as a Shout! Factory select title, available exclusively through their online store.
In October 2010, Mill Creek Entertainment announced that they had acquired the rights to the series and would be releasing it in its entirety. They subsequently released Volume 1, featuring the first 32 episodes of the series, on February 15, 2011. Volume 2, featuring the remaining 33 episodes, was released on September 13, 2011.
On March 14, 2017, Mill Creek Entertainment released C.O.P.S. — The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.
Broadcast
C.O.P.S. was released into syndication in 1988. The program was re-titled Cyber C.O.P.S. and re-run on CBS from March 27 to September 4, 1993. It was re-run again on the USA Network from January 2 to March 9, 1995 under its original title.
See also
In Spanish: C.O.P.S. (serie animada de televisión) para niños
