''Buzz Lightyear of Star Command'' is an American animated
science fiction comedy television series produced by
Walt Disney Television Animation and co-produced by
Pixar Animation Studios
Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney S ...
. It is a spin-off of Pixar's ''
Toy Story
''Toy Story'' is a 1995 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the first installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise and the Firsts in animation, firs ...
'' franchise and presents a fictionalized account of the in-universe character
Buzz Lightyear
Buzz Lightyear is a fictional character in the The Walt Disney Company, Disney–Pixar Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise. He is a superhero action figure from an Story within a story, in-universe media franchise. Buzz is recognizab ...
. The series was preceded by the direct-to-video film ''
Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins,'' and aired on
ABC and
UPN from October 2, 2000, to January 13, 2001, as part of
Disney's One Saturday Morning and
Disney's One Too programming blocks, respectively.
["] While the series is 2D animated, Pixar animated the CGI opening title sequence at the beginning of each episode. The program was animated by Walt Disney Animation Japan, Tama Productions,
Sunwoo Entertainment,
Sunmin Image Pictures, Sae Hahn Productions, Hana Animation, Jade Animation,
Wang Film Productions
Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd. (also known as Hong Guang Animation (宏廣) and Cuckoos' Nest Studio) is a Taiwanese animation studio that was founded in 1978. The company, based in Xindian, Taipei with offices in Los Angeles, California, is one ...
and
Toon City.
Developed by
Bob Schooley and
Mark McCorkle, who would later create ''
Kim Possible'' for
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...
, the series follows the adventures of Space Ranger
Buzz Lightyear
Buzz Lightyear is a fictional character in the The Walt Disney Company, Disney–Pixar Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise. He is a superhero action figure from an Story within a story, in-universe media franchise. Buzz is recognizab ...
. The character first appeared as an
action figure
An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game, television program, or sport; fictional or historical. These figures are usually ...
(voiced by
Tim Allen) in the 1995 film ''
Toy Story
''Toy Story'' is a 1995 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the first installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise and the Firsts in animation, firs ...
''.
Patrick Warburton voices the character in the television series. A
video game of the same name based on the series was released in 2000.
This was the last ''Toy Story'' production for nearly a decade until the release of ''
Toy Story 3
''Toy Story 3'' is a 2010 American animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The third installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' series, it was directed by Lee Unkrich, the editor ...
'' in 2010.
Premise
''Buzz Lightyear of Star Command'' is set in the far future. Capital Planet is the forefront of the Galactic Alliance, a peaceful union of various planets, home to various alien species that coexist in harmony. Star Command is a peacekeeping organization consisting of Space Rangers, who investigate threats to galactic peace. The primary enemy of Star Command is
Emperor Zurg, an intergalactic
crime boss
A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, mafia don, mob boss, kingpin, or godfather is the leader of a criminal organization.
Description
A crime boss has absolute or nearly absolute control over the other members of the organization and is ...
and
warlord
Warlords are individuals who exercise military, Economy, economic, and Politics, political control over a region, often one State collapse, without a strong central or national government, typically through informal control over Militia, local ...
that rules Planet Z, with an empire of heavily armed robots and slave races forced to work in opposition to the Galactic Alliance.
The series follows
Buzz Lightyear
Buzz Lightyear is a fictional character in the The Walt Disney Company, Disney–Pixar Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise. He is a superhero action figure from an Story within a story, in-universe media franchise. Buzz is recognizab ...
, an experienced and famous Space Ranger who takes a crew of rookies under his wing as he investigates criminal activity across the galaxy and attempts to thwart Zurg's evil plots to overthrow the universe.
Characters
Star Command
Team Lightyear
*
Buzz Lightyear
Buzz Lightyear is a fictional character in the The Walt Disney Company, Disney–Pixar Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise. He is a superhero action figure from an Story within a story, in-universe media franchise. Buzz is recognizab ...
(voiced by
Patrick Warburton) is a famed Space Ranger and the leader of Team Lightyear. Buzz often suggests that his archenemy Emperor Zurg is behind every evil plot and is often proven correct. Like his ''Toy Story'' incarnation, Buzz is idealistic and a stickler for procedure, but will tell a cover story if he needs to. However, he has few people skills, and at times displays a lack of integrity.
* Mira Nova (voiced by
Nicole Sullivan) is a rookie ranger and heir to the throne of the planet Tangea who possesses
intangibility and
telepathy
Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...
. She acts as Buzz's co-pilot and second-in-command. Mira also has an estranged relationship with her father, King Nova, who disapproves of her choice of being a Space Ranger, though she still cares about him.
* Booster Sinclair Munchapper (voiced by
Stephen Furst) is a frog/dinosaur-like alien from the agricultural planet of Jo-ad. He has a big appetite and incredible strength, but is sweet and occasionally naive. He is in awe of Buzz Lightyear and has encyclopedic knowledge of his prior adventures.
* XR: Xperimental Ranger (voiced alternatively by
Larry Miller and
Neil Flynn) is a small robot who was originally emotionless and programmed to learn from Buzz, but was destroyed by Agent Z during his first mission. The LGMs rebuilt him with a slicker, more emotional personality and a variety of attachments. XR is destroyed on nearly every mission he goes on, but is easily rebuilt. He considers Commander Nebula his father due to him unintentionally signing the paperwork authorizing his creation and is always seeking his approval.
Other personnel
* Commander Nebula (voiced by
Adam Carolla) is the Space Rangers' commander and Buzz's superior, whose left leg was replaced by a
pegleg-like plasma cannon. He is rather short-tempered and constantly speaks with a loud voice.
* LGMs, or Little Green Men (voiced by
Patrick Warburton) are small, three-eyed aliens who maintain the technology and equipment of Star Command.
* Ty Parsec (voiced by
Steve Hytner) is an old comrade of Buzz Lightyear, who is fed up with Buzz always coming to his rescue. In the episodes "Wirewolf" and "Revenge of the Monsters", Parsec is temporarily transformed into the Wirewolf, a robotic
werewolf
In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshifting, shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a Shapeshifting, therianthropic Hybrid beasts in folklore, hybrid wol ...
, after being bitten by NOS-4-A2 and exposed to radioactive rock from the moon Canis Lunis.
* Rocket Crocket (voiced by
Phil LaMarr) is a member of Star Command and leader of Team Rocket. He has been Buzz's rival since their academy days.
* Fop Doppler (voiced by
Rob Paulsen) is a Tangean like Mira. He initially joins the Rangers as a challenge to win her hand in marriage.
* Petra Hammerhold (voiced by
Nikki Cox) is Senator Hammerhold's daughter. She joins Star Command when her father forces her to do so, largely to keep her from her boyfriend Plasma Boy. She was initially resentful of this, but was moved by Buzz's heroism during a crisis.
* Plasma Boy (voiced by
Michael Showalter) is Petra's boyfriend, who can transform into a plasma monster. Booster competed against him for Petra's affection. Mira and XR inadvertently destabilize Plasma Boy's body, but stabilize him and prevent him from exploding, after which he joins Star Command.
* 42 (voiced by
Joy Behar) is Buzz Lightyear's ship. In her self-titled episode, "42", 42 gains a sentient artificial intelligence that is later transferred into a robotic body.
Villains
*
Emperor Zurg (voiced by
Wayne Knight): The main antagonist of the series and Buzz's archenemy. Rules an empire on Planet Z and wants to rule the entire universe while destroying Star Command. His feet double as rockets and he can transform his arms into a variety of weapons.
** The Grubs (both voiced by
Frank Welker) are Zurg's equivalents to the LGMs of Star Command, though far less competent. They perform mechanical and technical duties. The Grubs work for Zurg against their will and desire freedom, but many of them are too afraid to try to defect.
** Brain Pods (various voices for each one) are brains in mobile jars, who serve Zurg as scientists and researchers. Although they take pride in their creations, they secretly harbor a desire to escape from Zurg's control.
** The Hornets are Zurg's
robotic foot soldiers. They are incompetent and easily destroyed. Hornets come in different models, but the most frequently seen are yellow and of average height.
* Warp Darkmatter (voiced by
Diedrich Bader) is a former member of Star Command who worked as a double agent for Zurg and eventually began working for him full-time as Agent Z. His right arm is robotic with various weapon attachments and was grafted to his body after he became Agent Z.
* Evil Buzz Lightyear (voiced by
Patrick Warburton) is an evil counterpart of Buzz Lightyear from an alternate universe where he is an evil emperor instead of Zurg.
* Gravitina (voiced by
Kerri Kenney-Silver) is a large-headed female villain with mental control over gravity and an ally of Zurg. She is in love with Buzz and later his evil counterpart.
* (voiced by
Craig Ferguson) is a robotic
vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...
created by Zurg who can drain electricity and control any machine he bites. In the episode "Revenge of the Monsters", NOS-4-A2 attempts to transform everyone in the galaxy into robots for him to feed on, but is defeated and destroyed. His name is a parody of
Nosferatu
''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' () is a 1922 silent film, silent German Expressionism (cinema), German Expressionist vampire film directed by F. W. Murnau from a screenplay by Henrik Galeen. It stars Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who ...
.
* Torque (voiced by
Brad Garrett) is an alien with four arms and five eyes who has committed various crimes, including
terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
,
smuggling, and
arson. He possesses a mechanical chest implant created by Zurg that enables him to clone himself.
* XL (voiced by
Bobcat Goldthwait) is XR's predecessor, who was shut down due to his villainous attitude. When he was reactivated by Zurg, XL rebuilt himself into a larger, more powerful robot with stolen parts. In the episode "Revenge of the Monsters", XL reforms and becomes an office-managing robot.
Galactic Alliance
* Madam
President (voiced by
Roz Ryan) is the head of the Galactic Alliance. Her real name is unknown.
* Senator Aarrfvox (voiced by
Jim Cummings) is a Shragorakian senator.
* Senator Banda (voiced by
Dan Castellaneta) is a Bathyosian senator.
* Senator Hammerhold (voiced by
Corey Burton) is Petra Hammerhold's father.
* Senator Phlegmex (voiced by
Frank Welker) is a slime-emitting senator.
Other
* Becky (voiced by
Russi Taylor) is a little alien girl from the planet Roswell. She befriends Booster (whom she calls Pickles) when Team Lightyear's ship crashes on her planet.
* Brent Starkisser (voiced by
Corey Burton) is the Galaxy's reporter.
* Cosmo (voiced by
Paul Rugg) is an alien and the owner of a diner that Team Lightyear frequents. He has a mechanical arm as well as a foreign accent.
* Dr. Animus (voiced by
Tony Jay) is the Galaxy's therapist.
* Ozma Furbanna (voiced by
Linda Hamilton
Linda Carroll Hamilton (born September 26, 1956) is an American actress. Known for portraying tough, resilient characters, she made her film debut in 1979 before achieving fame with her starring role as Sarah Connor (Terminator), Sarah Connor i ...
) is a naturalist on the planet Karn. She favors all animals (even lethal carnivores) and hates to have them hurt, no matter what.
* Ed (voiced by
Paul Rugg) is a courier who somehow always knows how to track down Buzz Lightyear.
* Officer Panchex (voiced by
Brian Doyle-Murray) is a fish policeman who helped Buzz Lightyear fight Minister Gularis.
* Professor Triffid (voiced by
Joel Murray) is a scientist from Rhizome. He cares a lot for the plants there.
* Savy SL2 (voiced by
Cree Summer): Her adopted robot parents were attacked by NOS-4-A2 in "The Slayer", which lead her to hunting him down for revenge.
* Sheriff of Roswell (voiced by
Stephen Root) is Becky's father and an ally of Team Lightyear.
* King Nova (voiced by
John O'Hurley
John George O'Hurley Jr. (born October 9, 1954) is an American actor and game show host. He played Jacopo Peterman, J. Peterman on the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld'', provided the voice for King Neptune on ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', and hosted the game s ...
) is Mira's father and the ruler of Tangea. Being more tradition bound he clearly disapproves of his daughter being a Space Ranger and therefore has a complicated relationship with her as well as Buzz. But regardless of his pompous nature he still cares about his daughter and is willing to aid her.
*
Santa Claus
Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...
(voiced by
Earl Boen) is the holiday figure, who delivers presents to all the good people in the galaxy during Christmas. He uses a sleigh powered by belief and later time manipulation to accomplish this.
* The Fixer (voiced by
Ed Asner) is a trader from Trade World who sells robotic parts.
* Crumford Lorak (voiced by
Jon Favreau
Jonathan Kolia Favreau ( ; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as ''Rudy (film), Rudy'' (1993), ''PCU (film), PCU'' (1994), ''Swingers (1996 film), Swingers'' (1996), ''Very ...
) is a conman, informant, and criminal commonly seen on Trade World.
* Rentwhistle Swack (voiced by
French Stewart) is an unscrupulous conman who will do anything for money.
* Guzelian (voiced by
Eric Idle) is the leader of a race called the Heed, who tries to trick the entire galaxy into dismantling their defense systems under the guise of ushering in an era of peace. Buzz and Zurg are the only ones not fooled by this, and they form a temporary alliance to investigate, ultimately foiling Guzelian's plan.
Episodes
''Production codes were taken from the Library of Congress.''
Broadcast and syndication
The series was aired during
UPN's
Disney's One Too programming block from October 2000 to August 2003. One episode, "Super Nova", aired twice during its original run. It also aired on
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...
from June 5, 2006, to May 16, 2008, when it was taken off the air in the U.S. Two episodes, "Conspiracy" and "Inside Job", were rarely seen after the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
. The show also aired on
Toon Disney from August 31, 2003 to May 27, 2007 as well as on the network's
Jetix block for a brief time in 2004.
Production
In May 2000, it was announced
Walt Disney Television Animation would be producing an animated series based on the character of
Buzz Lightyear
Buzz Lightyear is a fictional character in the The Walt Disney Company, Disney–Pixar Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise. He is a superhero action figure from an Story within a story, in-universe media franchise. Buzz is recognizab ...
from ''
Toy Story
''Toy Story'' is a 1995 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the first installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise and the Firsts in animation, firs ...
'' with
Patrick Warburton set to voice the titular character.
65 episodes were announced for broadcast in fall of that year, 52 of which would be broadcast on
UPN's
Disney's One Too while the other 13 would be broadcast on
ABC's
Disney's One Saturday Morning.
While the majority of the animation was done by Disney Television Animation,
Pixar
Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...
did provide animation for the show's opening sequence.
Awards and nominations
*
Daytime Emmy Awards
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...
:
2001
The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
– ''Outstanding Sound Editing - Special Class'' – Jennifer Mertens,
Paca Thomas, Otis Van Osten, Rick Hammel, Eric Hertsguaard, Robbi Smith, Brian F. Mars, Marc S. Perlman, and Dominick Certo (won)
Video game
A video game titled ''
Buzz Lightyear of Star Command'' was developed by
Traveller's Tales
Traveller's Tales is a British video game developer and a subsidiary of TT Games. Traveller's Tales was founded in 1989 by Jon Burton and Andy Ingram. Initially a small company focused on its own games, it grew in profile through developing game ...
and published by
Activision
Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...
, and released for
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...
,
Game Boy Color
The (GBC or CGB) is an 8-bit handheld game console developed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on October 21, 1998, and to international markets that November. Compared to the original Game Boy, the Game Boy Color features a color TFT scre ...
,
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
, and
Dreamcast in 2000. The gameplay revolves around Buzz chasing down the various villains from the show, and defeating them using different color coded weapons.
See also
* ''
Lightyear'', 2022 Pixar film
References
Notes
External links
*
{{Pixar Animation Studios
2000 American animated television series debuts
2001 American television series endings
2000s American animated television series
2000s American children's television series
2000s American comic science fiction television series
2000s American superhero comedy television series
American animated television spinoffs
American Broadcasting Company animated television series
American children's animated action television series
American children's animated comic science fiction television series
American children's animated space adventure television series
American children's animated science fantasy television series
American children's animated superhero television series
American English-language television shows
Animated television series set on fictional planets
Animated television shows based on films
Buzz Lightyear
Disney animated television series
Disney's One Too
Television series about outer space
Television series based on Disney films
Television series by Disney Television Animation
Television series by Pixar
Television series created by Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle
Toy Story
UPN animated television series