Godzilla: The Series is an American animated television series series developed by Jeff Kline and Richard Raynis. The series was produced by Centropolis Television, Toho Co., Ltd., Adelaide Productions and Columbia TriStar Television and originally aired on Fox Kids in the United States between September 12, 1998, and April 22, 2000, and is a sequel to Godzilla (1998). Malcolm Danare, Kevin Dunn and Michael Lerner reprise their roles from the film.

Plot

The series follows the Humanitarian Environmental (or Ecological, in "Area 51") Analysis Team (or HEAT for short), a research team led by Dr. Nick Tatopoulos (voiced by Ian Ziering) as they battle giant mutant monsters that frequently appear in the wake of the events depicted in the 1998 film Godzilla. Dr. Tatopoulos accidentally discovers an egg that survived the aerial bombardment before it hatches, in a minor change from the ending in the 1998 film. The creature hatches after Nick Tatopoulos stumbles onto him and he assumes him to be his parent. Subsequently, Dr. Tatopoulos and his associates form a research team, investigating strange occurrences and defending mankind from dangerous mutations.

Godzilla, the only hatchling of his species to survive in the movie, imprints on Nick and becomes the main weapon summoned against the other mutations encountered by the human characters.

The series also introduces two new characters: Monique Dupre, a French secret agent assigned by Philippe Roache to keep an eye on Godzilla and H.E.A.T., and Randy Hernandez, an intern of Nick's who specializes in computer hacking.

Characters

H.E.A.T.

thumb|right|250px|Godzilla on the [[Empire State Building as depicted in the opening to Godzilla: The Series.]]

  • Godzilla – A giant mutated iguana kaiju and the only surviving offspring of the first Godzilla that attacked New York City in 1998. Due to Nick's accidental presence at his hatching, Godzilla has imprinted on Nick as his parent and as a result, he is very protective of him. Nick also has the ability to control Godzilla to a certain extent, which allows humans to use him as a weapon against other giant mutated monsters. Godzilla always seems able to sense whenever Nick is in trouble and is quite willing to follow him and the rest of H.E.A.T. all over the world. Unlike his biological parent, he seems to be incapable of asexual reproduction but is capable of using the signature atomic breath.
  • Dr. Niko "Nick" Tatopoulos (voiced by Ian Ziering) – Leader of H.E.A.T. and the "adoptive father" of Godzilla. He fiercely protects Godzilla and other mutations from both foreign and domestic governments. Ziering takes over the role from film actor Matthew Broderick.
  • Dr. Elsie Chapman (voiced by Charity James) – One of the original members of Nick's team; a sarcastic and cynical palaeo-biologist. She specializes in studying the behavior of Godzilla and other mutations. She also has the tendency to be jealous of Audrey around Nick, leading to the two women to snark at each other. James takes over the role from film actress Vicki Lewis.
  • Dr. Mendel Craven (voiced by Malcolm Danare) – The team's engineer and chemist. He is slightly cowardly (as his last name implies) and prone to numerous strong allergies, but is often resourceful. He is also enamored of Elsie. Although initially fearful of Godzilla, over the course of the series he comes to trust the monster as an ally. Danare reprises his role from the film.
  • N.I.G.E.L. (voiced by Tom Kenny) – Short for "Next Millennium Intelligence Gathering Electronic Liaison", N.I.G.E.L. is an analysis robot created by Mendel and oftentimes reprogrammed by Randy to have various quirky voices from a Texas cowboy to a Shakespearean actor. A running gag on the show is that he is damaged or destroyed in every episode, presumably to be rebuilt or replaced later.
  • Randy Hernandez (voiced by Rino Romano) – An intern and expert hacker working under Nick, and is Godzilla's constant supporter like Nick. Talented in various fields of technology, but extremely lazy, sarcastic, and somewhat laconic, he usually annoys Mendel by programming N.I.G.E.L. with different various personalities, all the while sharing a tight brotherly rival turned friendship with Mendel. Randy has a crush on Monique but is always rebutted when he attempts to court her.
  • Monique Dupre (voiced by Brigitte Bako) – A French Agent of the DGSE specializing in hand-to-hand combat and infiltration. She was originally sent to have Godzilla killed, but becomes a member of H.E.A.T. after being assigned to supervise Godzilla indefinitely. She is very talented with martial arts, espionage, and marksmanship.

Supporting

  • Major Anthony Hicks (voiced by Kevin Dunn) – Commanding officer of the Sandy Point Military Base in New York, who played a key role in the first Godzilla's death. Though he is at first skeptical of the second Godzilla, over time he develops a soft spot for the creature, whom he views as a hero. Dunn reprises his role from the film.
  • Audrey Timmonds (voiced by Paget Brewster) – Nick's college sweetheart and somewhat untrustworthy girlfriend, whose career as a reporter often leads the two into conflict as seen in the film. Yet despite that, she is always been there for Nick whenever it involves his life and Godzilla's life. Brewster takes over the role from film actress Maria Pitillo.
  • Victor "Animal" Palotti (voiced by Joe Pantoliano) – The Channel 8 News cameraman and Audrey's sarcastic working partner who is always willing to help her film Godzilla and the other mutations, alongside helping the H.E.A.T. team. He is also a happily married man and supportive of Nick and Audrey's relationship. Pantoliano takes over the role from film actor Hank Azaria.
  • Mayor Ebert (voiced by Michael Lerner) – The cynical mayor of New York City who is determined to keep it safe from mutation-related threats. Lerner reprises his role from the film.
  • Philippe Roache (voiced by Keith Szarabajka) – High ranking agent in the French DGSE. Roache led the team hunting down the first Godzilla and later sent Monique to kill the second, but relented when the creature saved lives. Szarabajka takes over the role from film actor Jean Reno.

Villains

  • Cameron Winter (voiced by David Newsom) – A former classmate of Nick in college. He is a devious technological mogul whose desire is to control Godzilla for the furtherance of his ulterior goals. Smug and sadistic, Winter frequently taunts Nick and H.E.A.T. and often enacts various plans to keep Godzilla in line. He also knows how to cover up his acts and maintain his position, allowing him to avoid prosecution. At the end of the episode "Lizard Season," Winter has successfully sold his technology over to the US military and hides to build new robots to destroy Godzilla.
  • Dale, Bill, and Hank (voiced by Ronny Cox, Tom Kenny, and Bob Joles respectively) – Three big-game hunters who came to New York to hunt Godzilla. The three of them would usually try to hunt Godzilla which usually ends with them either being thwarted by H.E.A.T. or ending up arrested. Their names are a parody of three of the main characters from King of the Hill and their bumbling antics are comparable to The Three Stooges, of which they are even called as such by Winter.
  • Sidney Walker (voiced by Steve Susskind) - An electric bus maintenance worker who was undergoing a Theta wave therapy to cure his insomnia, but ended up in a coma-like state that eventually manifested his subconscious rage as the giant monster Crackler.
  • The Leviathan Aliens (voiced by Ron Perlman) – An ancient species of psychically powerful extraterrestrials. One of their spaceships, called the Leviathan, crashed on Earth sometime during the Cretaceous Period of the Mesozoic Era and remained hidden until modern times. In the three-part episode "Monster Wars", they attempt to conquer Earth by using a tachyon transmitter to send mind-controlling signals to subdue the mutations in order for their alien race to invade the planet - including Godzilla and their cyborg mutation Cyber-Godzilla (created from the carcass of the first Godzilla) - but are ultimately defeated by H.E.A.T and a freed Godzilla and forced to retreat.
  • Dr. Alexander Preloran (voiced by Kenneth Mars) - A brilliant xenobiologist who Craven idolizes. Preloran and his colleagues enter a sunken Leviathan ship, where Preloran decides to help them conquer Earth, believing it will help the planet. Preloran apparently sacrifices himself by launching an escape pod manually so H.E.A.T. and his colleagues can escape, though it is implied that he may have survived.
  • Dr. Hugh Trevor (voiced by Roddy McDowall) - A scientist who was studying Nessie the Loch Ness Monster, but wants to destroy it for attacking his lab. It is later revealed he kidnapped Nessie's baby and plans to sell it on the black market. Trevor attempts to escape with the baby in his submersible, but is thwarted by Nessie.
  • Dr. Jonathan Insley (voiced by Nick Jameson) - Insley is the creator of the D.R.A.G.M.A.s. In an alternate future, his creations had not only killed Godzilla, but also all of the other mutations on Monster Island, creating an apocalyptic scenario where humanity is forced to hide underground.
  • Maximilian Spiel (voiced by Clancy Brown) - A wealthy businessman and illegal fight promoter who also sets up a monster fighting tournament on a private island for other wealthy attendees.
  • Alexandra Springer (voiced by Linda Blair) - Alexandra Springer is the main antagonist in the episode "S.C.A.L.E." She is the fanatical leader of S.C.A.L.E. (short for Servants of Creatures Arriving Late to Earth), a radical animal-rights group that believe that mutations are the next stage of evolution and must be protected.
  • Tobias Wilson (voiced by Dorian Harewood) - A ringmaster of the mutant circus "Mutant Mania", he put a bounty on Godzilla, but Nick and H.E.A.T. saved Godzilla from the bounty hunters. Later, Nick confronts him for his bounty on Godzilla, telling Wilson to leave Godzilla alone or he'd do everything in his power to shut down Mutant Mania. When Medusa, a mutated sea anemone escapes and starts wreaking havoc in New York, Wilson tries to stop Mayor Ebert from destroying Medusa on the claim of "private property," but the mayor refuses. Wilson attempts to flee with Medusa, but is captured by the military.
  • Colonel Charles Tarrington (voiced by Michael Chiklis) - A US Army colonel who is heading a project overseeing the creation of mutant scorpions for weapons. After the first scorpion proves uncontrollable, he has a group of smaller, more controllable scorpions created. Having a high disregard for Godzilla and other mutations, Tarrington appears to see the error of his ways after Godzilla destroys the scorpions, but orders a new batch of scorpions created immediately after.
  • Paul Dimanche (voiced by Jesse Corti) - A corrupt business owner who was overfishing a Louisiana bayou and leaving the locals hungry. He begins flirting with Audrey when she interviews him over alleged abuse of over-fishing and illegal dumping into the swamps, of which he denied at first. He showed no care or concern for the safety of his guests when the Swamp Beast attacks his boat and mansion during Mardi Gras. After he was saved by Georges, he confessed to committing bribery which was unknowingly to him filmed by Animal. He is arrested afterwards.
  • Milo Sanders (voiced by Stuart Pankin) - An obnoxious and reckless tour guide of "Monster Liner", he bothers Nick and H.E.A.T. and ends up putting his passengers in danger while Godzilla was fighting the Deep Dweller. He also invited some photographers who attempted to get pictures of Godzilla up close, but were attacked by the Deep Dweller and had to be saved by H.E.A.T.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (1998–99)

Season 2 (1999–2000)

Home media

Columbia TriStar Home Video released two separate episode collections on VHS: Trouble Hatches, composed of the two-part pilot episode (which was actually titled "New Family" when it first aired), and Monster War, featuring the three-part episode of the same name.

In 2006, Sony released the "Monster Edition" DVD of Godzilla (1998), featuring three episodes of the TV series: "What Dreams May Come", "Monster War: Part 1" and "Where Is Thy Sting?". In 2014, Mill Creek Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in North America, including the two unaired episodes. The episodes were released in chronological order, not the broadcast order.

, the series is currently available for streaming online on The Roku Channel and Throwback Toons and Voyage YouTube channels (managed by Sony Pictures).

Reception

The series did well during Fox Kids' Saturday morning line-up. Ultimately, however, it was overshadowed by the late 1990s Pokémon/Digimon war between Kids' WB and Fox Kids during the 1999–2000 at the time. As a result, Godzilla: The Series was placed in different timeslots on Saturdays to accommodate many of the Digimon marathons and back-to-back episodes (this would affect other Fox Kids shows as well). For a brief period of time, episodes of Godzilla: The Series were either never repeated, or skipped over and rescheduled. There was a brief period where the show was taken off the schedule to accommodate new shows for midseason, resulting in two episodes that were never broadcast in the U.S.

The series was more positively received by critics and fans than the film on which it was based, being considered more faithful to the original Godzilla. Critics also praised the improved writing.

Video games

Two video games were released for the Game Boy Color. They were developed by Crawfish Interactive and published by Crave Entertainment. Godzilla: The Series was released in 1999 and Godzilla: The Series - Monster Wars was released in 2000.

References

  • Godzilla: The Series at the official Godzilla website by Toho Co., Ltd.
  • Godzilla: The Series at Sony Pictures (archived 1999-02-02 via Wayback Machine)