''TigerSharks'' is an American

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...

developed by

Rankin/Bass Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City. It was known for its seasonal television specials, ...

and distributed by

Lorimar-Telepictures Lorimar-Telepictures Corporation, Inc. was an entertainment company established on February 19, 1986 with the merger of Lorimar Productions, Inc. and Telepictures Corporation. Headquartered at the former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (now Sony Pi ...

in 1987. The series involved a team of heroes that could transform into amalgams of

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

and

marine animal Marine life, sea life or ocean life is the collective ecological communities that encompass all aquatic animals, aquatic plant, plants, algae, marine fungi, fungi, marine protists, protists, single-celled marine microorganisms, microorganisms ...

s and resembled the series ''

ThunderCats ''ThunderCats'' is a media franchise, featuring a fictional group of cat-like humanoid aliens. The characters were created by Tobin Wolf and featured in an animated television series named ''ThunderCats'', running from 1985 to 1989, whic ...

'' and '' SilverHawks'', also developed by Rankin/Bass.

Production and development

Rankin/Bass followed up their successful ''

'' and '' SilverHawks'' series with this series about a team of powered up man/marine form hybrids called the "TigerSharks". This third series also featured many of the same voice actors who had worked on ''

'' and '' SilverHawks'' including Larry Kenney, Peter Newman, Earl Hammond, Doug Preis and Bob McFadden. The series lasted one season with 26 episodes and was part of the show ''

The Comic Strip The Comic Strip are a group of British comedians who came to prominence in the 1980s. They are known for their television series ''The Comic Strip Presents...'', which was labelled as a pioneering example of the alternative comedy scene. The c ...

'', which consisted of four

animated shorts Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

: ''TigerSharks'', ''Street Frogs'', ''The Mini-Monsters'', and ''Karate Kat''. The animation was provided by Japanese studio

Pacific Animation Corporation The Walt Disney Company has owned and operated several animation studios since the company's founding on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio; the current Walt Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, Cal ...

Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Animation Inc. (abbreviated as WBA) is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Group, a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery and serves as the animation divis ...

currently owns the series, as they own the 1974–89 Rankin/Bass library, which was incorporated into the merger of Lorimar-Telepictures and

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

Story

In a futuristic time, the TigerShark team were

s and unidentified

aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, a lifeform with ext ...

who had to use a device called the Fish Tank in order to transform between their humanoid forms and their powered-up marine forms. The TigerSharks' base was a spaceship that could also function underwater. The ship was called the SARK and contained the Fish Tank, its own A.I., and other research facilities. The action took place on the fictional world of Water-O (pronounced Wah-tare-oh), which was almost completely covered by water. The planet was inhabited by a race of fish-men called the Waterians. The TigerSharks arrived there on a research mission and ended up serving as the protectors of the planet against the evil Mantannas led by T-Ray who had arrived there beforehand. To make matters worse, T-Ray ended up freeing Captain Bizzarly and his pirate crew from their icy imprisonment..

Characters

TigerSharks

Protectors of Water-O, the team members are: * Mako (voiced by Peter Newman) - A gifted

scuba diver Scuba, originally SCUBA, often expanded to scuba set, is any self contained underwater breathing apparatus, a source of breathing gas used for underwater diving which is carried by the diver. Scuba may also refer to: * Scuba diving Scuba ...

, he is considered the field leader of the TigerSharks. Mako is not only a good mediator, but also an excellent fighter. He transforms into a human/

mako shark ''Isurus'' (meaning "equal tail") is a genus of mackerel sharks in the family Lamnidae, commonly known as the mako sharks. They are largely pelagic, and are fast, predatory fish capable of swimming at speeds of up to . Fossil history and evolu ...

hybrid, which grants him incredible speed underwater. Mako also uses his forearm fins and head fin to slice through metal. * Walro (voiced by

Earl Hammond Erwin Saul Hamburger (June 17, 1921 – May 19, 2002), known professionally as Earl Hammond, was an American actor who appeared in several films and television series. He was best known for voicing Mumm-Ra and Jaga in ''ThunderCats'' and Mon*Sta ...

) - The scientific and mechanical genius who created the Fish Tank. He acts as the advisor of the team and is very respected by his comrades. Walro turns into a human/

walrus The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large pinniped marine mammal with discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. It is the only extant species in the family Odobeni ...

hybrid. He wields a cane that has a wide variety of weapons. * Rodolfo "Dolph" (voiced by

Larry Kenney Larry Kenney (born August 5, 1947) is an American voice actor and radio personality. Early life Larry Kenney was born August 5, 1947 in Pekin which is south of Peoria, Illinois, the son of George and Joyce Kenney. He has a brother, Steven, an ...

in an Irish accent) - Second-in-command and also an experienced scuba diver. Dolph has a knack for jokes and fooling around, but he knows when to joke and when to work. Dolph turns into a human/

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

hybrid, which makes him very maneuverable underwater and can shoot a strong jet of water from his blowhole. However, it also makes him unable to breathe underwater in his aquatic form causing him to head to the surface to replenish his air supply. * Octavia (voiced by

Camille Bonora Camille Bonora (also known as Camille Kampouris; born May 13, 1956) is a former Muppet performer. She currently serves on the board of BibleMesh online theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with ...

) - Captain of the SARK, communications technician and main strategist. Octavia turns into a human/

octopus An octopus (: octopuses or octopodes) is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, and nautiloids. Like oth ...

hybrid with tentacles instead of hair. * Lorca - The team's mechanic and often helps Walro to repair or build new machines. He's also the team's strongest member. Lorca turns into a human/

orca The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopol ...

hybrid. Like Dolph, he cannot breathe underwater in his aquatic form and thus must surface to replenish his air supply. He speaks with an Australian accent. * Bronc - A teenager who, along with his sister Angel, works as an assistant aboard the SARK. Bronc is very adventurous and sometimes reckless. He turns into a human/

seahorse A seahorse (also written ''sea-horse'' and ''sea horse'') is any of 46 species of small marine Osteichthyes, bony fish in the genus ''Hippocampus''. The genus name comes from the Ancient Greek (), itself from () meaning "horse" and () meanin ...

hybrid, hence his name, which is derived from "

Bronco A bucking horse is any breed of horse, male or female, with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock. The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for ro ...

". * Angel - Another teenage member of the SARK's crew. Angel is more serious and responsible than her brother. She turns into a human/ angelfish hybrid, hence her name. * Gupp - The TigerSharks' pet

Cocker Spaniel Cocker Spaniels are dogs belonging to two breeds of the spaniel dog type: the American Cocker Spaniel and the English Cocker Spaniel, both of which are commonly called simply Cocker Spaniel in their countries of origin. In the early 20th century, ...

. While his name might imply that he turns into a

guppy The Greater Underwater Propulsion Power Program (GUPPY) was initiated by the United States Navy after World War II to improve the submerged speed, maneuverability, and endurance of its submarines. (The "Y" in the acronym was added for pronouncea ...

, his features, including flipper-shaped legs and pin teeth, more closely resemble an unidentified

pinniped Pinnipeds (pronounced ), commonly known as seals, are a widely range (biology), distributed and diverse clade of carnivorous, fin-footed, semiaquatic, mostly marine mammals. They comprise the extant taxon, extant families Odobenidae (whose onl ...

. * SARK A.I. - The

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

of the SARK.

Villains

The show featured two major antagonists, both with teams of followers. Both are in alliance to conquer Water-O and destroy the TigerSharks, but plan to betray each other once these goals are met. They are: * The Mantannas - A race of alien sea creatures who arrived on Water-O after their home planet dried up. Because they can't breathe air, the Mantannas have to wear a water-breathing apparatus to survive on land. ** T-Ray - T-Ray is a human/

manta ray Manta rays are large Batoidea, rays belonging to the genus ''Mobula'' (formerly its own genus ''Manta''). The larger species, ''Giant oceanic manta ray, M. birostris'', reaches in width, while the smaller, ''Reef manta ray, M. alfredi'', reac ...

hybrid-type creature and the leader of the Mantannas. In seeking to conquer Water-O, he freed Captain Bizzarly and his crew from their iced prison on Seaberia. T-Ray is bent on conquering the Waterians and destroying the TigerSharks. He wields a whip. ** Wall-Eye (voiced by Peter Newman) - A human/

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

hybrid who is T-Ray's aide-de-camp. He can hypnotize people by spinning his eyes. ** Shad (voiced by

) - A bad-tempered human/

grouper Groupers are a diverse group of marine ray-finned fish in the family Epinephelidae, in the order Perciformes. Groupers were long considered a subfamily of the seabasses in Serranidae, but are now treated as distinct. Not all members of this f ...

hybrid. He wears a belt that can shoot electrical blasts. ** Dredge - A human/

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 20 families, 164 genera, and about 1000 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

-like mutant who carries a purple pet

electric eel The electric eels are a genus, ''Electrophorus'', of neotropical freshwater fish from South America in the family Gymnotidae, of which they are the only members of the subfamily Electrophorinae. They are known for their electric fish, ability ...

on his back. ** Carper and Weakfish - Two

mermen Mermen may refer to: * The Mermen, a music group *Merman A merman (: mermen; also merlad or merboy in youth), the male counterpart of the mythical female mermaid, is a legendary creature which is human from the waist up and fish-like from the w ...

with frog-like faces. Identical twin brothers who (as befitting their names) whine and complain about everything. Carper has green skin while Weakfish has purple skin. They are also shown to have a fear of dogs as seen in the first episode when they are frightened away by Gupp. * Captain Bizzarly (voiced by

) - The captain of a crew of

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

with

aquaphobia Aquaphobia () is an irrational fear of water. Aquaphobia is considered a specific phobia of natural environment type in the ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders''. A specific phobia is an intense fear of something that poses ...

who controlled all crime-related activities on the vast oceans of Water-O until the Waterians froze him and his crew in ice many years ago. T-Ray freed Captain Bizzarly and his crew expecting them to join forces even though they each secretly plan to betray the other once their goals are accomplished. Captain Bizzarly now constantly tries to get rid of the TigerSharks and regain control of the oceans of Water-O from his base at Castle Dragonstone. ** Dragonstein - A winged sea

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

-like creature with bolts in its neck who is Captain Bizzarly's pet and bodyguard. He can fly, breathe fire when above the water, and maneuver underwater where his fire attack can convert to a powerful underwater steam attack. ** Spike Marlin - A wrinkly-faced humanoid who is Captain Bizzarly's first mate. Presumably named after a

marlinspike A marlinspike (, sometimes spelled marlin spike, marlinespike, or rchaicmarlingspike) is a tool used in marine ropework. Shaped in the form of a narrow metal cone tapered to a rounded or flattened point, it is used in tasks such as unlaying r ...

, he wields a customized

polearm A polearm or pole weapon is a close combat weapon in which the main fighting part of the weapon is fitted to the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, extending the user's effective range and striking power. Polearms are predominantly melee we ...

. ** Long John Silverfish - A humanoid with fish-like features. He wields an electrified whip. ** Soulmate - A humanoid and only female member of Captain Bizzarly's crew who dresses like a

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

. She wields a sword, among other weapons. ** Lump - A slimy shapeshifting blob-like creature. Even though Lump can't swim, he can still float as seen when he assumes the form of a raft in the event of the different pirate ships getting sunk by the TigerSharks. ** Grunt - An towering

ape Apes (collectively Hominoidea ) are a superfamily of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (though they were more widespread in Africa, most of Asia, and Europe in prehistory, and counting humans are found global ...

-faced humanoid who grunts like an ape and is the largest of the pirates. He's the muscle of Bizzarly's crew.

Other characters

* Pappagallo - A Waterian who is a member of Water-O's ruling council. * Hydra - A female Waterian who is a member of Water-O's ruling council. * Goby - A Waterian who is a member of Water-O's ruling council. * Bowfin - A young Waterian.

Episodes

In other media

The TigerSharks made a cameo in an episode of the 2011 ''

'' remake called "Legacy." They are among the animals that were forced to work under

Mumm-Ra The following is a list of characters that appear in the American animated series ''ThunderCats'', its 2011 reboot, ''ThunderCats Roar'', and its related media. Original ThunderCats Lion-O Lion-O (voiced by Larry Kenney in the original se ...

Merchandise

A TigerSharks

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 ...

line was made by

LJN LJN Toys Ltd. was an American toy company and video game publisher founded by Jack Friedman in 1967. MCA Inc. acquired the company in 1985, and sold to Acclaim Entertainment in 1990. The toy division of the company was closed by Acclaim and a m ...

, which also made toys for ''

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tigersharks 1987 American animated television series debuts 1987 American television series endings 1980s American animated television series 1980s American children's television series 1980s American superhero television series First-run syndicated animated television series Television series by Lorimar Television Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Animated television series about shapeshifting American English-language television shows Animated television series about pirates Rankin/Bass Productions television series American children's animated action television series American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated science fantasy television series American children's animated superhero television series Nautical television series Warner Bros. Television Studios franchises Animated television series set on fictional planets Television series about sharks