Road Rovers: Trivia (Part 2)

And now, as I promised earlier, here's part 2 of "Road Rovers: Triva".

9. Hunter and Colleen:
As I mentioned earlier, I always thought that Hunter and Colleen had a lot going for each other in this series. Not just in terms of them being close comrades, but also for them developing their romantic relationship. Yes, I'm aware that some fans say that Colleen should be paired with Blitz. But, given Colleen's obvious contempt and disregard for Blitz, I don't see that working out too well between them. If anything, Blitz and Colleen should just be friends. That is if Colleen would let go of her bitter feelings towards Blitz and come to accept him as a teammate instead of treating him like garbage like she normally does. And of course Blitz would have to stop flirting with her, so maybe that way she would respect him more. But anyway, I always saw a lot of potential for Hunter and Colleen to develop their relationship as soul mates. Heck, I even had dreams where I was attending their wedding. In fact, I can actually see that happening had the series lasted longer. And who knows what their children would be like? As far as I know, there has been several fan fiction series in which Hunter and Colleen gave birth to a few children. But I most certainly would love to see that be made cannon so that way we would move onto the next chapter in the Road Rovers saga. So in someway it would seem like a graphic novel, or even a comic book series. One thing's for sure though; if Road Rovers was remade into an anime, the series would follow one continuous storyline in which characters develop over time and different plots are involved in each episode, rather than having the series be a “rinse and repeat” sort of show. But anyway, I think you get what I mean. Hunter and Colleen most definitely had something special going on. And had it not been for Warner Bros' decision to end the series and leave it in the darkness, then Hunter and Colleen's relationship would have been further developed. But oh well, that can always be explored in the form of fanfiction, and if possible, in fan comics. That is if someone was willing to do that. Anything would make up for that disturbing and perverted porno comic I saw. I can definitely see their romance going somewhere.

10. The Space Rovers:
This is a subject that often goes unexplored even in fanfiction. But I think there's no better time than now to talk about the Space Rovers, who unfortunately only appeared in episode 12, and have had no other appearances before or after. As far as I know, the Space Rovers are allies to the Road Rovers, and I assume that their job is to patrol outer space in search for any suspicious or hostile alien activity that could threaten Earth. And judging by their fashion sense, I'd say they were inspired by the cast of Star Trek. But there are many questions about them which go unanswered to this day. So far, only their leader Persia was named and given any attention and screen time. Whereas everybody else was just part of the background and served little to no importance to the story. Much like Lupe and the Wolfpack Freedom Fighters from the Sonic universe. However, my friend MetalExveemon has given names to each of the anonymous Space Rovers who are apart of Persia's team. Interestingly enough, most of the Space Rovers are all females, and only one of them is a male. Not that I have a problem with this because the Road Rovers' team consists mostly of males and only one female. So I guess it's only fair that they have one team that consists of mostly females as opposed to the latter. Judging by what I've seen in MetalExveemon's submission of the Space Rovers, one member is named Molly, and the sole male member is named Duke. Though, there was one other member on board the ship who kind of resembled a Schnauzer. But I can't really make it out due to the poor and grainy quality picture of the video I extracted from YouTube. But surely Persia has more members on her team than just three. But anyway, I always wanted to see more of these guys and what their adventures could have been like. I can easily see the Space Rovers' expeditions being similar to that of Star Trek, with some horror themed elements like in Aliens, Dead Space, or even John Carpenter's The Thing. Though, since the Road Rovers were seen piloting the Space Rover at the beginning of episode 11, then I guess it would only make sense that the Road Rovers themselves would inevitably encounter real aliens as well. But still, I can see the Space Rovers having their own spin off series if Road Rovers in general were to see a revival.

11. Professor Hubert:
This character (much like Fluffy and Spot) doesn't get enough love from the fans. And much like Persia and the Space Rovers, he sadly only appeared in one episode. Particularly, episode 3. He was voiced by the late David Doyle, who sadly passed away on February 26, 1997, just shortly after Road Rovers bit the dust and came to its abrupt end. So, if the series were to be remade (and hopefully last longer), a new voice actor would be required for Professor Hubert. Anyway, as I remember, Professor Hubert was only a one shot character whose had no other appearances before or after "Hair of the Dog That Bit You". However, he did play an important role when the Road Rovers went up against the werewolves in London. And I can easily see him playing more important roles in later episodes. If you remember from my first Road Rovers fanfiction, “Enter Geist”, MetalExveemon and I put Hubert to good use, and he helps the Road Rovers out of an otherwise inescapable death trap that would have been the end of them. And not only that, but I can see Hubert solving certain problems such as finding a cure to a deadly plague, analyzing and studying robotics, and even making repairs on the Rovers' vehicles. What I'm trying to say here is that Professor Hubert deserves more attention and screen-time than he's ever gotten in the TV show. And I see a lot of room for him to shine. Just the same as I see a lot of room for Blitz to shine even though some fans couldn't care less for him.

12. Other Challengers:
This is a subject I tend to bring up a lot from time to time. But I thought I'd go over this once more. I already stated that in the TV show, most of the Road Rovers' enemies are just the typical run of the mill villains. And I also tend to gawk at how much of a joke they are since most of the Rovers' enemies are so easily disposed of. Granted, there were a few exceptions in which the heroes fought against villains who were actually worth a greater effort. Some of the few I can think of being the canomutant duo, the ninja dogs, and the giant mutated insects. But most of the times, the Road Rovers fought against enemies who are so weak and pathetic, that it made some of their adventures seem dull and unsatisfying. Villains like Captain Storm and Gustav Havoc need henchmen to do all their work for them. And if it wasn't for their high and mighty ego and ambition, then they wouldn't even be qualified as true villains. Yes, I get that Road Rovers was more of a comedy than it was anything else. But that doesn't take from my opinion that even the Road Rovers deserve to be challenged. Let's take Capcom's highly acclaimed 1991 arcade game “Street Fighter II” for example. Street Fighter II was a huge hit in the arcades, and it was the game that revolutionized fighting games that we know and love today. And due to its success, it was ported to every home console that was around at the time. But what really made the game special besides its impressive graphics, smooth controls, addictive gameplay and catchy as hell soundtrack, is the difficulty. The first time I played that game in the arcades, I got my ass kicked. But as time went on, I got better at it. And I finally made it to the final boss; M. Bison. And he was one tough son of a bitch. But here's the thing; Bison was one of the toughest final bosses in video game history. And it's a good thing that Capcom made him that way. If he was too easy, then the final fight would be disappointing and unfulfilling. And what about the final fight between the T-800 and the T-1000 in Terminator 2? As I remember, T-1000 pretty much handed Arnold's ass to him towards the end of the movie. And it was only in the last minute when Arnold emerged victorious against his rival when he used the missile launcher to finish him off. And also, if you count shows like TMNT, X-Men, and even the original Transformers cartoon, the good guys had some close calls which really added to the intensity of their situation. Mind you, the heroes did survive, but with some help from their allies. And that's what I'm aiming for in my fanfiction series; I want to give the Road Rovers a run for their money through some of my OCs. And that's where Geist and the MAS (Mutant Assassination Squad) come into play. In giving the heroes a challenge, I make things more intense, just to show that even the Road Rovers can survive otherwise impossible odds. If the Autobots, X-Men, and the Ninja Turtles could overcome big challenges, then so can the Road Rovers.

13: Blitz's Origin:
This is a subject which very few fans ever bothered to go over. But as far as I'm concerned, Blitz's background and life story was never explored, and nor was it ever referenced at any point in the entire series. Mainly due to the fact that the show was barely even about Blitz to begin with despite him being part of the main cast of characters. But now that I think of it, I think Blitz's background should be explored. And that's pretty much what I'm doing right now so to speak. Even though his family was never revealed in the series, fans have come up with original characters who were established as Blitz's biological family. In past fanfictions, Blitz was revealed to have a few brothers and sisters. And in one fanfiction written by a different person, he was revealed to have a father. In my series, Blitz is revealed to have a father named Krieger, and a brother named Geist. Recently, I helped TheSims65 develop a character named Gerald Schneider, who will act as the original owner of Krieger, Geist, and Blitz. Krieger will also serve an important part in my stories. But because he is long dead in the main story, he is seen mostly in flashbacks, and also appears as a spirit in Blitz's dreams. Geist will serve as one of the main villains. And although I've been misjudged for creating this character out of some negative speculation that I want to “satisfy dark desires”, I can assure you all that that's clearly not the case. Geist was created for three reasons, to give the Road Rovers a real challenge, to have a villain who would truly live up to the term “villain”, and so that the Road Rovers will see Blitz in a more positive light. Because as I said in my "Poor Blitz" entry, there are some fans who either hate Blitz, or just don't give two shits about him whatsoever. Before I had my DA account, I got into an argument with some one who goes by the username "Omnitrix12", and sadly we did not see things eye to eye. This guy firmly believed that Blitz has no potential whatsoever, and should just remain the loser and the scapegoat of the team due to how many flaws he has. He argued saying if everyone's a hero, no one's a hero. Well I say screw that. Because everybody deserves to have a chance for redemption. Even if its a character who you hate, loath, despise, and put above everything else. If you've seen the 1986 Transformers film, you may remember that Rodimus Prime had a chance to redeem himself when he became the next Prime, and used the Matrix to destroy Unicron. And think about Michelangelo from TMNT. He is often depicted as the comic relief in all three of the shows he appeared in. But at least he wasn't abused and mistreated as badly as Blitz was. And he's had many chances to prove his worth and value to his brothers. And the same can even be said for Antoine from Sonic SatAM. Whereas Blitz never had a chance to redeem himself at all, and endured constant abuse throughout the entire series, regardless of whether or not he asked for it. Yes, abusing him is a running gag in the show. And despite what few chances he's had to shine (episode 7), he is widely considered by fans as the black sheep of the Road Rovers. Well, in my series, he gets better treatment, and he is given more importance and development. Although Blitz retains a few of his quirks and such, he becomes friendlier, more loyal, and does not follow the negative stereotype that is often associated with Germany. I think it's time we put World War II behind us in regards to what happened during that point in time.  

14: Luka:
For those of you who have forgotten, Luka was the blind Brazilian kid who appeared exclusively in episode 10. And he was the owner of Oso, his seeing eye dog. I always found Luka to be interesting to some degree. For one reason, he bares somewhat of a resemblance to Mowgli from the Jungle Book, a classic Disney film from the 60s. What made Luka so special was his ability to see things beyond what the human eye can comprehend. At the beginning of the episode, he predicted the arrival of the Road Rovers, and saw brief images of them in his vision. In fact, this kind of gives me the impression that the boy is psychic, and can possibly see into the future as well. What I found confusing at first is that when Blitz was shooting off his big mouth in a sarcastic sort of manner, Luka was easily able to tell where Blitz was standing when he commented “You're the weird boy.” despite the fact that he was blind at that time. At first I wondered; how was Luka able to tell where Blitz was standing if he's blind? Because “blind” means you're completely sightless and you can't see at all. But then I remembered although sightless, the blind rely on their other senses such as their sense of touch, hearing, and smell. So I guess the boy used his ears to determine where the Doberman was standing before he came up to him and called him by Exile's favorite insult to him. After all, the blind are sensitive to such things.

15: Jeffrey:
Now some of you might be wondering; who is Jeffrey? Well, I'll tell you. He's not an OC that I invented. But rather, he was a cannon character who made his first and only appearance in episode 11, which is highly regarded as the most confusing and inconsistent episode in the show. Jeffrey was Professor Shepherd's lab assistant who helped him develop the transdogmafier prototype in the flashback scenes in episode 11. You might remember him as the guy who eventually went nuts and sided with General Parvo after subjecting him to the transformation process. Jeffrey wanted to assist in Parvo's goals for world conquest. But after their failed attempt to mutate Muzzle, Parvo told Jeffrey that he was done with him, and that it was time to get new help. And that's when Groomer came in through a time portal, Introduced herself to Parvo, shaved Jeffrey bald, and chased him out of the farmhouse. And after that, Jeffrey was never seen or heard from again. MetalExveemon and I have discussed this together, and he suggested the idea of Jeffrey turning out to be Dr. Psycho in later stories. Quite frankly, I haven't decided on this yet. But I'm putting some thought into it so to speak. But I guess this would make sense if Jeffrey and Dr. Psycho were the same person since Jeffrey was kind of losing his sanity just before he ran off and disappeared from the series for good. But of course, he'd have to spend a great deal of time away from civilization in order to better himself as a scientist, and to perfect the transformation technology. And not only that, but something would have to explain how Jeffrey became Dr. Psycho. But since this topic is currently under development, I guess I'll save the surprises for later. Because again, I have not yet decided if they should be the same person or not. Although admittedly, that would give a good explanation as to why he's working for Parvo. Because I can imagine he must have something personal against Professor Shepherd, the creator and father figure of the Road Rovers.

16: Other Faces:
This is not too important. But I thought I'd go over this now since I didn’t talk about this in my earlier review. But as I remember, Road Rovers featured several cameos from not only other characters (Fluffy, Spot, and Snuggles), but also from real live celebrities. At the beginning of episode 3, we get a brief (and I do mean brief) cameo appearance from Princess Diana, who was actually a real person. And keep in mind, this episode aired only a single year before Diana's tragic death on August 31st, 1997. And that was only a few months after the show ended. Based on what I remember, she was killed in a car accident in Paris, France. I have to admit that was most unfortunate. And it was just as tragic as the death of Selena, who was murdered back in 1995. But anyway, moving on, one of the other guest appearances Road Rovers had was Bill Clinton, who was the 42nd president of the United States, and served in office from 1993 to 2001, which was almost a whole decade. I always found it funny that they would reference a real live president. But assuming that Road Rovers took place in the 90s, I guess it only makes sense that they would reference Bill Clinton just to coincide with the time the show first aired, or for laughs. But, let's assume if the show had lasted beyond the first season. This would beg the question as to whether or not Bill Clinton would have remained president through the remainder of the series. Because if you ask me, I think it would a better idea if they used an entirely fictional president to fill in the shoes of an existing person, who is no longer the president of the United States. It's a different time now. And should this show see a remake, this would be one of the things I would change.

17: Cameos/Easter Eggs:
As far as I know, Road Rovers had several cameo appearances from not only characters who existed in the show as well as real live people (Princess Diana and Bill Clinton), but the show even made at least several references to other characters from other (and more popular) Warner Bros cartoons. As I mentioned in my earlier review, the Brain from Pinky and the Brain made an unseen cameo at the very end of episode 12. Particularly when we hear his voice hollering “No, it is I who shall rule the world! Yes!” Okay, I know that Warner Bros was trying to be funny with this unseen cameo. But in all honesty, I thought that was pretty random and out of place. But oh well, I guess it doesn't matter that much. Because at least the Brain made his unseen cameo at the very end of the episode. If you ask me, I'd much prefer that than to have an absolutely disappointing and meaningless guest appearance where we never see the character at all throughout the entire episode. You know, like that one Bonkers episode where Mickey Mouse is kept in a carrier cage the entire time, and we never see him. That was a major slap in the face for me as a viewer, and as a Mickey Mouse fan. But anyway, moving on. In the final episode, we see another cameo appearance from one of the minor characters from Animaniacs. Most notably, the blonde haired surfer dude who works at a fast food restaurant. Believe it or not, I remember seeing him in at least several episodes of Animaniacs. Particularly, the ones that involved Yakko, Wakko, Dot, and Dr. Scratchinsniff. And this makes me curious to know what other cameo appearances they might have had if Road Rovers were to last for multiple seasons. Who else could they have referenced in the series? Bugs Bunny? Daffy Duck? Yosemite Sam? Yakko, Wakko, and Dot? Wilford? Arnold the Pitbull? The list goes on and on. And if you ask me, any of those characters could have appeared in the series. 

Part 3: mdtartist83.deviantart.com/jou…