Road Rovers was a short-lived animated series (1 season, 13 episodes), which told the story of "The Road Rovers". They were (stop us if you think that you've heard this one before) a group of ordinary animals who become anthropomorphicsuperheroes and use their special abilities and gadgets to fight crime.Specifically, the Rovers were a group of stray dogs who are temporarily turned humanlike by a mysterious scientist known as "The Master"*
. They save the world from villains including General Parvo, who was trying to take over the world by turning dogs and other animals into monsters, while in their free time acting as the beloved pets of world leaders (such as Queen Elizabeth II and President Bill Clinton). The fact that the dogs were all pets of world dignitaries at least added an interesting twist, as they sometimes had to work in their 'civilian' identities to convince their owners not to go to war.
The Cameo: One episode ends with a villain sent away to an insane asylum for megalomaniacs. The Brain's voice is heard among the inmates, followed by a closing shot identical to the one at the end of every Pinky and the Brain episode, complete with theme song.
Blitz:[insert statement involving his desire to bite the rumps of his enemies]
Exile: Don't be weird boy.
More running gags involve Shag pointing weapons backwards. Subverted when he has it right to begin with and someone tells him to turn it around, which he blithely does.
And when they release their Ax Crazy friend, Muzzle, on the bad guys with a shout of "Let's Muzzle 'em!" Cue Gory Discretion Shot.
Colleen pretending not to know Blitz's name and instead calling him other more amusing B names until the last episode.
"Yet Another Unexpected Twist!... Bummer."
Hunter had a ton of catch phrases, the above is just one of them. Other's include "I would not have predicted this!" and "[X], Cool."
The show pretty much runs on running gags. Some more include Colleen saying completely random and nonsensical things when doing her martial arts, Exile completely butchering several idioms at once, and the Russian Exile complaining about people always "rushin'" him.
And then there's General Parvo...
Parvo:[Coughing uncontrollably] Lozenge!
Cloud Cuckoolander: Many characters qualify for this, but Hunter and Colleen specifically stand out in this area.
Expository Theme Tune: Tells us how the dogs all got here, tells us what all their names are, what their super powers are, where they are from, and their personality all at INCREDIBLY rapid speed. Seen here.
Fake Nationality: Everyone but Hunter though Colleen could easily be taken for Australian given where her accent drifts off to sometimes.
Family Friendly Firearms: Extremely obvious in the second episode, where two attack helicopters are fitted with rocket pods. Guess what they shoot? Lasers.Mildly subverted in episode 6 when three F/A-18/Su-25 lookalikes open fire on our heroes with regular machine guns. They're about as realistic as a potato in a root beer factory, but they're there.
Fragile Speedster: Subverted with Hunter, who's not as strong as Blitz or Exile, but sturdier than Colleen or Shag and runs faster than all of them put together.
Fridge Brilliance: General Parvo's hatred of the Road Rovers and the reason he's always coughing makes perfect sense when you see his helmet removed and realize that he has cat ears, making him part cat and that he was coughing up hairballs the whole time.
Fridge Logic: How the Rovers react in the first episode, and several other places. It gets worse when the Rovers call attention to the fact that they haven't got any idea of how to fly jets or drive cars. That doesn't stop them from knowing what an ignition is, or how to stay on the road. Or how not to crash into the ground.
Also, in "A Hair Of The Dog That Bit You", if Colleen was the werewolf and not Exile, then how did giant claw marks end up on the inside of the door to Exile's room?
We probably don´t want to know...
The door wasn't even locked, so it could just be a simple frame-up.
In one episode, the leaders of the world were hypnotized into starting a war with each other once the moon came out. So how did the moon come out in several different parts of the world at the same time?
Glass Cannon: Colleen could use her martial arts to take down almost any opponent, but she was the smallest and least sturdy of the Rovers.
Gratuitous German: Averted with Blitz, who most of the time just talks like The Ahnold, but the chancellor of Germany in one episode ordered his men, over the phone, to "stop the Blitzkrieg!".
Genius Bruiser: Exile is quite muscular AND skilled with mechanics.
Getting Crap Past the Radar: It worked only once. While discussing Russian names they used the example of "Sonov". Add that to the patronymic suffix "-ovich" and you'll see why that song got cut for later airings. See the video here. To be fair, the dogs probably wouldn't see this as much of an insult, as they all are.
Rumors state that the Sonov thing was one of the reasons the show got CANCELED!
Though some claim the segment was done after getting word they would be canceled, as a Take That to the studio execs.
Or how about the magazine that Exile and Shag are ogling at, only to turn out to be about trees?
Also when Colleen calls Blitz a random name that starts with the letter B, he says "I'm getting tired of this bit" although it really sounds like he's saying "I'm getting really tired of this bitch".
The Ho Yay is particularly noticeable between Exile and Blitz. Besides the Mistaken Declaration of Love mentioned below, several episodes have some scene where one of the two is hugging, kissing, or getting in an unfortunate position with the other for comedic effect.
Leaving Audience: "Still a Few Bugs in the System": The wacko of the week talks about how bugs have lived for millions of years, and people leave as he talks about humans becoming bugs to allow for longer life.
Mandatory Twist Ending: Expect Hunter to call out "Another unexpected development! I would not have predicted this!" every single time there is a plot twist.
Meaningful Name: A rather disturbing one, too: General Parvo's name comes from Parvovirus, a serious disease that infects dogs and puppies.
Mistaken Declaration of Love: The Rover's plane is about to crash, and Blitz grabs the hand next to him and declares his love for Colleen. The hand was Exile's. His response?
Exile: Please seek therapy.
The Mole: Sport, but only because his master was held hostage by Parvo.
Oblivious to Love: Hunter, it is hinted at throughout the series, but in the last episode it is made quite obvious that Colleen has a crush on Hunter. She asks him if he would like to go for walk on beach to which he responds with an enthusiastic "You bet!" Cut to Hunter as a regular dog with Colleen holding his leash.
In the episode The Dog That Knew Too Much, Hunter points out that flirting while on missions is against the rules. He reciprocates somewhat toward the end of the episode, when Colleen is riding on his hover bike with him.
He also invites her to chase/chew on tennis balls with him at the end of Hair of the Dog.
Our Werewolves Are Different: Well, for one, even humanoid canines can become werewolves (if that sounded like it didn't make any sense, don't think too much on it).
Considering that lycanthropy can typically act normally upon both humans and wolves, and that dogs are just mutant wolves, it's not much of a stretch that it could work normaly on mutant dogs.
The Rovers, themselves could also be considered a type of lycanthrope.
Should perhaps be more noted for the fact that it made Colleen a better pilot.
Relax-o-Vision: Thankfully used almost all the time. We say "thankfully" because it's heavily implied that most of the Road Rover's enemies are killed in the most grisly ways possible, usually involving explosives or animal attacks.
Who's on First?: Hunter and Blitz do a funny bit in an episode when Blitz sees enemies approaching and Hunter offers him a doggy treat:
Hunter: Hey Blitz, you want a biscuit?
Blitz: Tanks.
Hunter: You're welcome.
Blitz: No, tanks.
Hunter: Are you sure? It's tasty. Try it.
Blitz: Tanks!
Hunter: You're welcome.
Blitz: No, tanks!
Hunter: What's with you? Do you want it or not?
Blitz: TANKS!
Hunter: You're welcome!
Blitz: NO, TANKS!
Hunter: WELL MAKE UP YOUR MIND!
(The enemy tanks bust in at that moment)
Hunter:(Giggles) Oh, tanks. Now I get it. Funny.
Yaoi Fan Girl: Exile tries to kiss Blitz, Blitz refuses, so instead Exile gives him a big hug. Soon Blitz is angrily shouting for him to just kiss him instead. Colleen then mentions in the background that this doesn't happen enough.
Though possibly also just referencing the fact that someone besides herself was hurting Blitz.
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