Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles
The DVD cover of Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles - The Complete Campaigns
Genre	Military science fiction Action Comedy-drama
Based on	Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
Developed by	Richard Raynis Duane Capizzi Jeff Kline
Voices of	Jamie Hanes David DeLuise James Horan Bill Fagerbakke Rino Romano E.G. Daily Tish Hicks Nicholas Guest Rider Strong Alexander Polinsky Steve Staley Thomas Wagner Irene Bedard R. Lee Ermey
Composer(s)	Jim Latham
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	36 (and 4 clip shows)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Paul Verhoeven Richard Raynis
Producer(s)	Audu Paden
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	Verhoeven-Marshall Flat Earth Productions, inc. Foundation Imaging Hyper Image Rainbow Studios Adelaide Productions Columbia TriStar Television
Distributor	BKN International
Release
Original network	Syndication (BKN Kids Network)
Audio format	Dolby Surround
Original release	August 30, 1999 (1999-08-30) – April 3, 2000 (2000-04-03)
Chronology
Related shows	Starship Troopers (film)

Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles is an exciting CGI animated TV show. It's based on the 1959 book Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein and the 1997 movie. The movie's director, Paul Verhoeven, helped produce the show.

The series follows a group of brave soldiers called "Razak's Roughnecks." They are part of the Mobile Infantry. Their mission is to fight against an alien race known as the "Bugs" or Arachnids. This war is called the SICON–Bugs War. The show mostly focuses on the Roughnecks' specific missions. It doesn't get too deep into the politics of the larger war.

The show aired for one season starting in August 1999. It was shown on the BKN Kids Network in the United States and Canada. Later, the Sci-Fi Channel in the U.S. and Teletoon in Canada also picked it up. You can stream the whole series on Crackle in the U.S.

The show mixes ideas from the original book and the movie. For example, it includes the alien "Skinnies," powered armor suits, and drop pods. It also adds new things, like the war starting on Pluto.

The Story of the Bug War

The story begins when the Mobile Infantry defeats a Bug invasion on Pluto. After this victory, all of humanity unites as the Strategically Integrated Coalition of Nations (SICON). SICON then declares war on the insect-like aliens.

The main characters are a group of soldiers called Alpha Team. They are also known as Razak's Roughnecks. After their mission on Pluto, they head back.

SICON soon finds a huge Transport Bug. This shows that the Bugs didn't originally come from Pluto. They follow the Bug to a water planet called Hydora. There, they meet a Brain Bug. This intelligent Bug controls all the other Bug types. It stops them from fighting each other. The Bugs plan to take over the whole universe. They won't stop until humans are gone.

SICON tries to set up a base on a desert planet called Tophet. This planet is home to a species called Skinnies. But the Bugs have enslaved the Skinnies. They force them to mine a special mineral called Xylon. This mineral is used for Transport Bugs. The Mobile Infantry manages to destroy the Control Bugs. These Bugs were overseeing the Skinnies. This frees Tophet. However, their friend Carl Jenkins is badly hurt mentally. The Skinnies then join SICON to fight the Bugs. They need help because they don't have space travel technology.

SICON soon learns about the Bug homeworld, Klendathu. They try to destroy the Bug Queen. But she escapes and heads for Earth. Her Transport Bug is destroyed before she reaches Earth. Still, she manages to get to the human homeworld. Many battles happen on Earth. More Bug soldiers arrive. The fight for Earth has just begun.

Military Campaigns

The TV series is split into eight main stories. Each story is called a "campaign." There are five episodes in each campaign. Every campaign takes place in a different location. On DVD, each campaign is on its own disc.

• The Pluto Campaign (5 episodes): This takes place on the dwarf planet Pluto.
• The Hydora Campaign (5 episodes): This happens on Hydora, a planet almost completely covered by water.
• The Tophet Campaign (5 episodes): This is set on Tophet, a desert planet where the Skinnies live.
• The Tesca Campaign (5 episodes): This takes place on the jungle moon of Tesca Nemerosa.
• The Zephyr Campaign (5 episodes): This is set on a frozen asteroid.
• The Klendathu Campaign (5 episodes): This takes place on Klendathu, the Bugs' home world.
• Trackers (5 episodes): The first episode is about the journey from Klendathu to Earth. The others are mostly summaries of past events.
• The Homefront Campaign (5 episodes; 4 others were planned but not finished): This takes place on Earth.

How the Show Was Made

Columbia TriStar Television and Sony Pictures produced the show. It was made for daily TV showings. The single season ended with a cliffhanger, meaning the story wasn't finished.

The show was first planned to be 2-D animation. But Sony decided to use 3-D computer animation. They hired Foundation Imaging for this. Other companies like Flat Earth Productions, Hyper Image, and Rainbow Studios also helped. This was because Foundation Imaging couldn't keep up with the fast schedule.

The series was supposed to end with a huge battle on Earth. But production stopped before this story was fully made. Out of 40 planned episodes, only 36 were finished. This was due to problems during production.

Four "clip show" episodes were made to fill gaps. These episodes reused old footage. They also had small bits of new material. These clip shows helped complete the 40-episode order.

Challenges During Production

Fans often talked about the problems that stopped the show from finding a big audience. Here are some of the issues:

• The show was sold to TV stations to air five episodes a week. But there weren't enough episodes ready. This meant some episodes were shown again and again. This made viewers lose interest.
• TV stations aired new episodes as soon as they were ready. This often interrupted ongoing story arcs.
• One of the two companies making the special effects was fired. This made the already tight schedule even harder.
• "Clip show" episodes were added to fill the gaps.
• Some stations aired the show very early in the morning. This was not a good time for kids to watch.

DVD Releases for Fans

Fans started a campaign to get the show released on DVD. Because of this, The Pluto Campaign was released first. Based on how well it sold, the other campaigns were also released. They were released in order of popularity, not in the story's timeline order. The last DVD was called "Trackers." It had an episode that connected the Klendathu and Homefront campaigns. It also included the four clip show episodes.

Later, all the DVDs were re-released as a 4-disc box set. It was called Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles – The Complete Campaigns. This set removed some of the extra features from the individual DVDs.

Fans hoped that good DVD sales would lead Sony to make a final movie. This movie would finish the Homefront Campaign story. But no new announcements have been made. The original company, Foundation Imaging, no longer exists.

Even though the series ends with a cliffhanger, the story editor shared his plans for the final three episodes. He explained them on the Homefront Campaign DVD commentary.

Mill Creek Entertainment later announced the complete series on DVD.

Main Characters

This section introduces some of the key characters in the show.

Earth Forces: Razak's Roughnecks

• Johnny Rico (voiced by Rino Romano): He is the main character. Rico is a good soldier, but he doesn't always trust new technology. He is best friends with Carl Jenkins and Dizzy Flores. He eventually falls in love with Dizzy. He gets promoted several times during the war.
• Isabelle "Dizzy" Flores (voiced by Elizabeth Daily): Dizzy is an old friend of Rico's from high school. She has a crush on him for most of the series. She is very brave and determined. She eventually becomes Rico's girlfriend.
• Lieutenant Jean Razak (voiced by Jamie Hanes): Razak is the wise and experienced leader of the Roughnecks. He has a mechanical left arm from a past mission. He is a respected veteran. He later dies saving Rico.
• Sergeant Francis Brutto (voiced by David DeLuise): Brutto starts off tough and aggressive. But he becomes a good friend to the squad. He gets injured and his son joins the Roughnecks later.
• Corporal Richard "Doc" LeCroix (voiced by James Horan): Doc is the team's medical officer. He is calm and often provides humor with Goss. He pilots the "Duck" cargo Marauder.
• Corporal Jeff "Goss" Gossard (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke): Goss is very good with machines. He invented a "TALC Box" to translate alien languages. He pilots the "King Kong" Marauder. He briefly dated Dizzy.
• Lieutenant/Ensign Carmen Ibanez (voiced by Tish Hicks): Carmen is a smart and calm pilot in the SICON fleet. Rico joined the military because of her. She often helps the Roughnecks when her ship crash-lands.
• Special Operations Tactician Carl Jenkins (voiced by Rider Strong): Carl is a psychic friend of Rico and Dizzy. His telepathic powers make other soldiers nervous. He suffers mental trauma after destroying a Brain Bug. He later returns with stronger but colder powers.
• Private Robert "Paperboy" Higgins (voiced by Alexander Polinsky): Higgins is a reporter assigned to the Roughnecks. He often films instead of fights. He is the narrator of the series.
• Private "Colonel" T'Phai (voiced by Steve Staley): T'Phai was the military leader of the Skinnies. He was an enemy at first, but then joined the Roughnecks. He is called "Colonel" by the squad, even though his rank is Private. He is a father figure.

The Bugs

The Bugs are the main alien enemies. They come in many different forms:

• Warrior Bugs: These are the most common Bug soldiers. They are about the size of a horse and attack with sharp limbs and mandibles.
• Sentry Bugs: Smaller Bugs that act as early warning systems. They have sharp teeth.
• Tanker Bugs: Huge, slow Bugs that breathe fire. They can tunnel underground and are very tough.
• Plasma Bugs: Even bigger Bugs that fire huge blasts of plasma from their rear ends. They are like Bug artillery.
• Hoppers: Flying Bugs that act as air support. They can ram targets at high speed.
• Transport Bugs: Giant creatures used to travel between planets. They are powered by water.
• Brain Bugs: These are the intelligent leaders of the Bug army. They control all other Bugs using telepathic mind control. They can also extract brains to gain information.
• Control Bugs: Small Bugs that take control of other creatures by attaching to their spinal cord. They are very agile.
• Nurser Bugs: These Bugs help care for Bug eggs. They can create new types of Bugs by mixing DNA.
• Queen Bug: The master and leader of the entire Bug race. She is a huge Bug that lays thousands of eggs every day.

Other Alien Creatures

• Skinnies: Humanoid but very thin aliens from Tophet. The Bugs enslaved them.
• Sparky: A squirrel-like creature from Tophet that can create an electric field.
• Seal Shark: A dangerous predator from Tesca Nemerosa that looks like a seal with shark teeth.
• Space Leech: A parasitic creature that feeds on Ice Bugs. They produce a chemical that is harmful to Bugs.

Cool Technologies

SICON and the Skinnies use many advanced technologies in the show:

• Starships: Large, city-like spaceships that serve as homes for troopers. They can travel through hyperspace and have many weapons.
• Dropship: Smaller ships that drop soldiers onto planets and pick them up.
• Marauder: A mecha-like suit that stands 10 feet tall. It gives soldiers more firepower and strength. There are two types: the "Duck" and the "Ape."
• Morita Smart Rifle: The standard weapon for all SICON soldiers. It can fire automatically or single shots.
• Shock Stick: A staff weapon that delivers a powerful electric shock. Soldiers use it as a backup weapon.
• Fighter: Small, fast aircraft used for air-to-air combat and ground support.
• Troop Transport: A six-wheeled vehicle used to move soldiers on land.
• Drop Suit: A heavily armored suit that protects soldiers when they drop from orbit to a planet's surface.
• Power Suit: The standard armor for S.I.C.O.N. soldiers. It's airtight, has its own air system, radio, and flotation device. Mobile Infantry suits also have jet-packs for short flights.
• Grappling Gun: Also called Lizard Lines. These guns fire drills with lines attached. They can carry heavy weights.
• Rocket Launcher: A shoulder-mounted weapon with more firepower than a rifle. It can destroy large targets.

How the Show is Different from the Book

The TV show changes some things from the original Starship Troopers book:

• In the book, Johnny Rico is from the Philippines. In the show, he is a Caucasian Argentinian.
• In the book, Dizzy Flores is a man. In the show, Dizzy is a woman.
• In the show, the Marauder is a large robot suit. In the book, the Marauder is the name for the standard armor worn by soldiers.
• The Mobile Infantry in the book did not allow women to join. In the show, women are part of the military.
• In the book, Razak (Rasczak) is already dead. In the show, he is alive until the Homefront Campaign.