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Action Man (2000 TV series)

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Action Man
Also known asAction Man – The Greatest Hero of them All
Genre
Created byHasbro (original toys)
Developed byMarty Isenberg and Robert N. Skir
Starring
Theme music composerPaul Gordon
Opening theme
Ending theme
  • "Amp it Up, Action Man" (instrumental)
Composers
Country of origin
  • Canada
  • United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes26
Production
Executive producers
  • Ian Pearson
  • Paul Sabella
  • Jonathan Dern
  • Carol Monroe
ProducerMark Ralston
Running time30 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network
ReleaseAugust 5, 2000 (2000-08-05) –
August 20, 2001 (2001-08-20)
Related

Action Man is a 2000 animated television series based on the toy line of the same name.[1] Though unrelated to the 1995 version, it was the first Action Man series to be made in CGI. In this series, Alexander "Alex" Mann is an extreme sports athlete known as "Action Man" and is a member of Team Xtreme.

Synopsis

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Alex Mann, Action Man's civilian identity, is an extreme sports athlete of Team Xtreme, taking part in the Mastervision Network's Acceleration Games, a series of unconventional televised sporting activities all over the world. Danger and adrenaline trigger hidden mental powers called the "AMP (Advanced Macro Probability) Factor", a result of secret experiments by his former high school coach Simon Grey. With it, Alex is able to calculate all future possibilities, choosing the best course of action. Alex "Action" Mann, Desmond "Grinder" Sinclair, Agnes "Fidget" Wilson, and Ricky Singh-Baines must stop arch-enemy Doctor X, a brilliant geneticist and bio-engineer, who will stop at nothing to duplicate Alex's AMP Factor to rebuild Earth with the genetically enhanced neo-humanity.

Cast

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Main

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Supporting

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Episodes

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Season 1 (2000)

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Dr. X captured and physically tested Alex Mann repeatedly, as well as his longtime rival and best friend Brandon Caine. Dr. X also added nanotech enhancements to Brandon, making him superior to Alex in athletics, only for them to have side effects. The culmination of the experiments was to mind transfer Dr. X into Brandon's body, becoming his younger self and nanotech cyborg, able to change his appearance and infect others. Following the ninth episode the series becomes more simplified. Dr. X founded the Council of Doom with his evil cohorts: assassin Asazi and weather manipulating scientist Tempest. Dr. X's nanotech trilobites appeared to gain collective intelligence and rebel against him, but this was actually Brandon Caine's uploaded mind punishing Dr. X.

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"Competitive Edge"James TaylorMarty Isenberg & Robert N. SkirAugust 5, 2000 (2000-08-05)
First appearance of: Alex Mann (Action Man), Grinder, Fidget, Ricky, Brandon Kaine, Doctor X (original body) and Nick Masters. Coach Grey also makes an appearance only as a voice.
2"Building The Perfect Beast"Steve BallMarty Isenberg & Robert N. SkirAugust 12, 2000 (2000-08-12)
Cameo appearance by: Coach Grey (voice only).
3"Grey Areas"Steve SacksMarty Isenberg & Robert N. SkirAugust 19, 2000 (2000-08-19)
First appearance of: Coach Grey and Asazi. Cameo appearance by: Nick Masters.
4"Storm Front"Greg DonisSteve MelchingAugust 26, 2000 (2000-08-26)

A kid known as Templeton Storm has created a weather forecasting device which can control the weather in a bid to help Nick Masters with the sailboard cyclone event. Following an incident where he accidentally took Nick Masters off the air after Grinder crashed his helicopter into the satellite dish after being struck by lightning, Nick blames Templeton for the incident and purposely turning off the failsafe has Templeton electrocuted. After humiliating him further over the news by claiming he purposely tried to kill a number of athletes including Alex Mann, Templeton wants revenge on Nick. It's up to Alex and his team to stop Templeton before he injures or kills numerous innocent people including Nick Masters.

First appearance of: Tempest. Cameo appearance by: Nick Masters.
5"Gremlin In The Gears"Craig McEwenGreg Klein & Thomas PugsleySeptember 2, 2000 (2000-09-02)

After being sabotaged by an unknown rider during the Snow Eagle Challenge, Alex's snow eagle is infected by a number of Doctor X's NTB's. It's not long until they infect big air and take out the electrics while being on auto pilot. It's up to Alex to try and get rid of the NTB's from big air as well as prevent them from being shot down for entering restricted military air space.

Cameo appearance by: Coach Grey, Nick Masters and Doctor X (original body)
6"Double Vision"George SamilskiMarsha F. GriffinSeptember 9, 2000 (2000-09-09)

A number of crimes take place with what appears to be Alex Mann and following and second crime Agent Diana Zurvis is determined to have Alex locked behind bars. It is up to Alex and his team to try and prove his innocence.

First appearance of: Agent Diana Zurvis. Cameo appearance by: Doctor X (original body), Brandon Caine, Coach Grey, Nick Masters.
7"Into The Abyss"William LauKaaren Lee BrownSeptember 16, 2000 (2000-09-16)

Brandon Caine begins trying to prevent Doctor X from controlling him and seeks help from Alex and his team to try and stop X and his plans. This involves returning to the now sunken oil rig in a bid to access information, but all is not as quiet as first thought.

First appearance of: Doctor X (new body). Cameo appearance by: Coach Grey and Brandon Kaine. Final appearance of: Doctor X (original body).
8"Out Of The Shadows"Sebastian BrodinBrynne Chandler ReavesSeptember 23, 2000 (2000-09-23)

Now working on Alex's team as his partner, Brandon and Alex work together when taking part in the Human Pinball Biathlon. Believing that Doctor X is gone for good after witnessing his death at the oil rig, Alex refuses to speak with and believe information that Coach Grey kept secret from him. Doctor X had managed to succeed in downloading his AI programm into Brandon who is now a new younger version of Doctor X.

Cameo appearance by: Brandon Caine, Nick Masters and Agent Diana Zurvis.
9"Lost In The Funhouse"Steve SacksAndrew RobinsonSeptember 30, 2000 (2000-09-30)

During an event at the master dome an earthquake starts damaging the dome and almost kills Fidget and Ricky when the hoops almost land on them. It is found out that the earthquake was started by a mini ultrasonic wave device which can cause earthquakes and when a second one starts from a much bigger device it's down to Alex and his team to save innocent people's lives from death and destroy the device.

To make things worse two world leaders from country's which despise each other are attending the event and Doctor X wishes to broadcast fake news stories to each country saying that the other killed their leader in a bid to start war between the two countries.

Cameo appearance by: Nick Masters, Coach Grey and Asazi (regular from here).
10"The Hereafter Factor"Gio CorsiEric KartenOctober 28, 2000 (2000-10-28)
Cameo appearance by: Nick Masters, Tempest (regular from here), Coach Grey.
11"Cold War"Ezekiel NortonMarsha F. GriffinNovember 4, 2000 (2000-11-04)
Cameo appearance by: Coach Grey and Agent Diana Zurvis.
12"Swarm: Part 1"Gino NicheleKaaren Lee BrownNovember 11, 2000 (2000-11-11)
Cameo appearance by: Agent Diana Zurvis, Nick Masters and Coach Grey.
13"Swarm: Part 2"George SamilskiMarty Isenberg & Robert N. SkirNovember 18, 2000 (2000-11-18)
Final appearance of: Coach Grey, Branden Kaine and Agent Diana Zurvis.

Season 2 (2001)

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The Council of Doom continues to grow after Brandon was saved from Dr. X. The season features new villains: Gangrene & Quake.

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
14"Green Thoughts"Andrew DuncanEric KartenFebruary 26, 2001 (2001-02-26)
First appearance of: Gangrene. Cameo appearance by: Nick Masters.
15"Thirst"Sebastian BrodinMarsha F. GriffinMay 2, 2001 (2001-05-02)
Cameo appearance by: Nick Masters.
16"Ground Zero"Angela SteNick DuBoisMay 3, 2001 (2001-05-03)
Cameo appearance by: Nick Masters.
17"Tower Of Power"George SamilskiLen WeinMay 4, 2001 (2001-05-04)
Cameo appearance by: Nick Masters.
18"Rumble: Part 1"Gino Nichele & Colin AdamsAndrew RobinsonMay 11, 2001 (2001-05-11)
First appearance of: Quake. Cameo appearance by: Nick Masters.
19"Rumble: Part 2"Ezekiel NortonKurt WeldonMay 18, 2001 (2001-05-18)
20"Search and Destroy"Chuck JohnsonSean RocheMay 25, 2001 (2001-05-25)
Cameo appearance by: Nick Masters.
21"The Triton Factor"Steve SacksBrooks WachtelJune 22, 2001 (2001-06-22)
Cameo appearance by: Nick Masters.
22"Mann's Best Friend"Mark SchiemannMarsha F. GriffinJune 26, 2001 (2001-06-26)
Cameo appearance by: Nick Masters.
23"Mann Hunt"Sebastian BrodinNick DuBoisJuly 27, 2001 (2001-07-27)
Note: Grinder, Fidget and Ricky do not make an appearance in this episode.
24"Tangled Up in Green"Patrick CarrollEric KartenAugust 10, 2001 (2001-08-10)
Cameo appearance by: Nick Masters.
25"The Ultimate Doom - Part 1"Gio CorsiRobert N. Skir & Marty IsenbergAugust 17, 2001 (2001-08-17)
Final appearance of: Nick Masters.
26"The Ultimate Doom - Part 2"Sebastian BrodinRobert N. Skir & Marty IsenbergAugust 21, 2001 (2001-08-21)

Final appearance of: Alex Mann (Action Man), Grinder, Fidget, Ricky, Doctor X, Gangrene, Asazi, Tempest and Quake.

Note: This episode was dedicated to the memory of Todd Halford, who was a co-worker and friend of the crew of the show that died before the episode aired.

Home media releases

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In the United Kingdom, four VHS were released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and later reissued by Buena Vista Home Entertainment, containing three episodes per tape. One VHS release was also released by Maximum Entertainment.

There have also been VHS releases in other territories such as France.

VHS releases

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Release name Episodes Release date Running time Additional information
Action Man Vol. 1: The Call to Action "The Call to Action" (feature-length)
"Grey Areas"
July 9, 2001
April 29, 2002 (re-release)
64 minutes
Action Man Vol. 2: Storm Front "Storm Front"
"Gremlin in the Gears"
"Double Vision"
July 9, 2001
April 29, 2002 (re-release)
64 minutes
Action Man Vol. 3: Out of the Shadows "Into the Abyss"
"Out of the Shadows"
"Lost in the Funhouse"
July 9, 2001
April 29, 2002 (re-release)
64 minutes
Action Man Vol. 4: The Swarm "The Hereafter Factor"
"Cold War"
"The Swarm" (Double-Length)
July 9, 2001
April 29, 2002 (re-release)
85 minutes
Action Man Vol. 5: Green Thought "Green Thought"
"First"
"Storm Front"
14 April 2003 63 minutes
Action Man: Volume 1 "The Call to Action - Part 1"
"The Call to Action - Part 2
"Grey Areas"
October 4, 2004 66 minutes

DVD releases

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In the United Kingdom, The series also saw a few DVD releases as well, released in the UK by Maximum Entertainment.

Release name Episodes Release date Running time Additional information
Action Man: Volume 1
Action Man: Storm Front
"The Call to Action - Part 1"
"The Call to Action - Part 2
"Grey Areas"
"Storm Front"
"Gremlin in the Gears"
August 30, 2004
2005 (re-release)
110 minutes
Action Man: Volume 2
Action Man: Team Xtreme
"Double Vision"
Into the Abyss"
"Out of the Shadows"
"Lost in the Funhouse"
"The Hereafter Factor"
October 2004
June 4, 2007 (re-release)
110 minutes
Action Man: Competitive Edge - 2 Disc Set "The Call to Action - Part 1"
"The Call to Action - Part 2
"Grey Areas"
"Storm Front"
"Gremlin in the Gears"
"Double Vision"
Into the Abyss"
"Out of the Shadows"
"Lost in the Funhouse"
"The Hereafter Factor"
2005 220 minutes
Action Man: Cold War "Cold War"
"Swarm - Part 1"
"Swarm - Part 2"
March 21, 2005 66 minutes
Action Man: Ground Zero - Series 2 Entirety of Series 2 2008 276 minutes

Video games

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A video game named Action Man: Search for Base X was released based on the 2000 series.

Hasbro Interactive published the Windows game Action Man: Raid on Island X in the United States as a tie-in to the TV series, despite having nothing to do with it.

Awards

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In 2001, the show won a Golden Camera Award at the U.S. and International Film and Video Festival for 'Best Animation' in the episode "The Swarm: Part 2".

References

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  1. ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 4. ISBN 978-1538103739.
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