Police Academy (TV series)

Police Academy
Title card
Also known as	Police Academy: The Animated Series
Genre	Animated comedy police comedy
Based on	Police Academy, by Pat Proft & Neal Israel
Directed by	Cosmo Anzilotti Bill Hutton Tony Love Charles A. Nichols (supervising director)
Voices of	Ron Rubin Dan Hennessey Howard Morris Greg Morton Len Carlson Don Francks Denise Pidgeon Tedd Dillon
Theme music composer	Scott Thomas Canfield
Opening theme	"They Wear the Blue", performed by The Fat Boys
Composer	John Debney
Country of origin	United States Canada
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	65 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Joe Ruby Ken Spears Paul Maslansky
Producer	Larry Huber
Running time	22 minutes
Production companies	Ruby-Spears Enterprises Warner Bros. Television
Original release
Network	Syndication (United States)
Release	September 10, 1988 (1988-09-10) – September 2, 1989 (1989-09-02)

Police Academy (also known as Police Academy: The Animated Series) is a 1988 animated television series based on the Police Academy series of films.^[1] The show was produced by Ruby-Spears Enterprises for Warner Bros. Television. It aired weekdays and lasted two seasons for a total of 65 episodes.^[2]

Some episodes feature a crime boss named Kingpin. His keen intelligence, girth, and stature are very similar to the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Other new characters were added to the show as well. Among them were a group of talking police dogs called the Canine Corps. They were made up of Samson (the bulldog leader), Lobo (the noble yet clumsy husky), Bonehead (the dimwitted giant St. Bernard), Chilipepper (the excitable chihuahua), and Schitzy (the only female golden retriever with an identity crisis). The theme song is performed by the Fat Boys, who also make an appearance in two episodes as House's Friends: Big Boss, Cool and Mark. Robert Folk's theme for the movies is used, uncredited, over the closing credits.

The animated series was more popular in Europe, especially in Italy. It was especially popular in the Arab world, where it was broadcast on Spacetoon and Al Aoula. In Japan, the animated series was shown on TV Tokyo and then TV Asahi.^{[citation needed]}

Synopsis[edit]

The animated series takes place chronologically between the fourth and fifth films.

Thirteen characters are re-created for this animated version, including a team of Academy graduates led by Carey Mahoney, a likeable rogue bachelor boy, who unconsciously—and consistently—does his best to make life miserable for Captain Harris and his knucklehead assistant Sgt. Proctor.

Mahoney's friends include the aptly named Moses Hightower, sound effects master Larvell Jones, trigger-happy Eugene Tackleberry, sweet and timid Laverne Hooks, hardened Debbie Callahan, colossal House, and the duo of reformed gang member Zed McGlunk and his best buddy, Carl Sweetchuck.

Eric Lassard is the highly respected (albeit dreamy) Commandant, and Academy newcomer The Professor is also on hand, and also the cadets new friends, the K-9 Corps, a group of police dogs, and stocking the crime-fighting heroes with an endless supply of wacky gadgets as they combat a motley crew of Kingpin and other recurring villains such as Numbskull, The Claw, Mr. Sleaze, Lockjaw, and Amazona.

Characters[edit]

• Cadet Carey Mahoney – The most clever among the officers. Mahoney is always ready to lend a hand to his companions. He is the patrol partner of Larvell Jones.
• Cadet Larvell Jones – Mahoney's usual sidekick. He is a martial arts master, but his main talent is beatboxing – he is able to imitate all manner of noises, including sirens, gunfire, helicopters, and so forth.
• Cadet Carl Sweetchuck – Sweetchuck is the most cowardly of the group. He is very accident prone and oblivious to the harm caused by his clumsiness. His patrol partner is Zed.
• Cadet Zed McGlunk – Zed is the messy and unkempt member of the group. Zed usually drags his partner along in his wily and erratic pursuits.
• Cadet Moses Hightower – Hightower is known for his great size and physical strength. His stature often comes into play when the characters find themselves in situations in which bars must be bent or walls need to smashed through. He is patrol partner with Laverne Hooks.
• Cadet Laverne Hooks – Hooks is small, soft-spoken, and passive. However, she has shown herself capable of being extremely forceful and loud in situations in which she is provoked.
• Cadet Thomas "House" Conklin – "House" is known for his large frame and his congenial nature. He is always hungry and proves himself to be cowardly. He patrols with Sweetchuck and Zed and often accompanies them in their escapades.
• Cadet Eugene Tackleberry – Characterized by a pronounced jaw and almost always wears sunglasses and helmet, Tackleberry is a weapons fanatic. He has a weakness for his fellow patrol Callahan. He often uses the armored car of the police which he usually wrecks. He is fond of using a bazooka.
• Sergeant Debbie Callahan – Is the statuesque beauty of the group who is extremely resilient and has a beautiful singing voice.
• Captain Thaddeus Harris – Always carries a walking stick and is almost always in the company of his sidekick Proctor. He often tries to humiliate the officers in order to gain a promotion, but fails miserably.
• Sergeant Carl Proctor – Is Capt. Harris' dimwitted lieutenant.
• Captain Ernie Mauser - Is a captain and head of the K-9 corps. He became good friends with Mahoney and his gang. He acts similar to Hurst when facing up to Harris' shenanigans.
• Commandant Eric Lassard – The easygoing and idealistic commandant.
• Professor – He is the inventor of numerous devices.
• K-9 corps – They are trained dogs. They can talk, but only to themselves and other animals.

Other characters[edit]

Villains (criminals)[edit]

• Kingpin – He is the largest of all the bandits of various episodes of the series, and together makes a great ceremony to the Council of Crime. He is a parody of Marvel Comic's Kingpin. He is drawn as overweight, bald and always wearing a white suit.
• Weasel and Wooley – Kingpin's henchman.
• Numbskull – A not-too-bright criminal who uses a trick helmet to bash through the walls of his robbery targets.
• Phoenix Amazona – A roller derby star turned thief. She is a childhood friend of Callahan's.
• The Incredible Shandar – A magician who uses reflective material to make his targets seem to disappear.
• Robin Good – A parody of Robin Hood, who claims to give his stolen goods to the poor, but in fact he just keeps it.

Voice cast[edit]

Main[edit]

• Ron Rubin as Sgt Carey Mahoney
• Dan Hennessey as Officer Zed McGlunk / Sgt Eugene "Tack" Tackleberry
• Howard Morris as Officer Carl Sweetchuck / The Professor
• Greg Morton as Sgt Larvell Jones / Sgt Moses Hightower
• Len Carlson as Captain Thaddeus Harris
• Don Francks as Officer Thomas "House" Conklin / Lieutenant Carl Proctor
• Denise Pidgeon as Lieutenant Debbie Callahan / Sergeant Laverne Hooks
• Tedd Dillon as Commandant Eric Lassard

Additional[edit]

• R. Nelson Brown as Elwin Bixby
• Dorian Joe Clark
• Anthony Correa
• Gary Crawford
• Catherine Gallant
• Charles W. Gray
• Rex Hagon as Captain Ernie Mauser
• Elizabeth Hanna
• Suzette Myers as Anchor
• Greg Swanson
• Frank Welker
• Noam Zylberman as Bobby / Bill

Crew[edit]

• Howard Morris - Voice Director

In other languages[edit]

• Italian: Scuola di polizia (Police School)
• Spanish: Loca academia de policía/locademia de policía (Crazy Police Academy)
• Hungarian: Rendőrakadémia (Police College)
• Lithuanian: Policijos akademija (Police Academy)
• Arabic: أكاديمية الشرطة (Police Academy)

Other media[edit]

Home video releases[edit]

VHS[edit]

Police Academy was released through chronological volumes on VHS. At least 6 volumes were released, each including two episodes:

• 1° The Good, the Bad, and the Bogus + Cops and Robots
• 2° The Phantom of the Precinct + My Mummy Lies Over the Ocean
• 3° Worth Her Weight Gold + Westward Ho Hooks
• 4° Numbskull's Revenge + Mr. Sleaze Versus Lockjaw
• 5° Proctor, Call a Doctor! + Puttin' on the Dogs
• 6° Little Zed & Big Bertha + Lights, Action, Coppers

DVD[edit]

On December 11, 2012, Warner Archive released Police Academy: The Animated Series - Volume 1 with 30 episodes on DVD in region 1. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.^[3]

Action figures[edit]

Kenner produced a line of Police Academy action figures based on the animated series. Each features multiple points of articulation and comical accessories. Two accessories, included with Claw and Eugene Tackleberry, would be reused for the Joker figures in Kenner's Dark Knight Collection.^[4] Five of the vehicles and playsets planned were left unproduced; however, the Copper Corner playset would later be released through the Argentinian company Josca.^[5]

Series 1 (1988)[edit]

• Carey Mahoney and Samson Dog
• Claw with Mouser Cat
• Eugene Tackleberry with Armed Flak Vest
• Larvell Jones and Bullhorn
• Moses Hightower and Meter Reader Scooter
• Mr. Sleaze with Fodo Dog
• Numbskull with Smashing Helmets
• Zed and Police Skateboard

Series 2 (1988)[edit]

• Captain Harris (mail-away)
• S.W.A.T. Eugene Tackleberry with Fistzooka
• Flung Hi with Crazy Karate Gear
• Kingpin with Thief-Trap Safe
• Karate Larvell Jones

Special Assignment Rookies (1989)[edit]

• Undercover Carey Mahoney
• Snack Attack House with Hoagie Blaster
• Stakeout Sweetchuck (mail-away)
• Sky Glidin' Zed with Hang Glider

Vehicles and playsets (1988)[edit]

• Crazy Cruiser
• Crash Cycle
• Precinct Police Station
• Copper Corner (released through Josco)

Comic books[edit]

Based on the cartoon series, Marvel Comics released six issues of a comic book series that published under the main company's name but also featured a "Star Comics Present' byline on the spash page.

Stations[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• STA: Police Academy (Kenner)
• Police Academy:The Series at IMDb