| Genre | Science fiction |
|---|---|
| Runtime | 22 minutes |
| Developer | Michael Edens Mark Edens |
| Producer | Larry Latham |
| Director | Larry Latham |
| Voices | Mark Hamill Tom Wilson Malcolm McDowell Dana Delany |
| Composer | Alexander van Bubenheim |
| Country | United States |
| Company | Universal Cartoon Studios USA Studios |
| Language | English |
| Network | USA Network |
| First aired | September 21, 1996 |
| Last aired | December 21, 1996 |
| Num seasons | 1 |
| Num episodes | 13 |
Wing Commander Academy is a 1996 American animated television series produced by Universal Cartoon Studios, along with a team led by Larry Latham.[1] The show was based on the Wing Commander franchise and loosely served as a prequel to Wing Commander. The show's aired from September 21[2][3] to December 21, 1996, on the USA Network's "USA Action Extreme Team" block.[4]
Cast
Main cast
- Mark Hamill as Christopher 'Maverick' Blair
- Thomas F. Wilson as Todd 'Maniac' Marshall
- Malcolm McDowell as Commodore Geoffrey Tolwyn
- Dana Delany as Gwen 'Archer' Bowman
Additional voices
- Lauri Hendler as Maya McEaddens, Lindsay 'Payback' Price
- Kevin Schon as Prince Thrakhath nar Kiranka, Hector 'Grunt' Paz
- Pat Fraley as Dr. Guthrig Andropolos, Gharal nar Hhallas
- Ron Perlman as Daimon Karnes, Krulan nar Ragitagha
- Jeff Bennett as Bokh nar Ragitika
- Dorian Harewood as Jazzman
- Jessica Walter as Admiral Rhea Bergstrom
- Joan Van Ark as Dr. Bronwyn Sing
- Jim Cummings as Emil 'Easy' Zoharian
- Tom Kane as Kilrathi Pilot
- Earl Boen as Kilrathi Commander
- Jennifer Hale as Princess Zukara nar Kiranka
- Andrew Prine as Vidkun
- Michael Dorn as the Warrior King
Spacecraft featured in the series
The series featured many spacecraft introduced in the Wing Commander video games. The Scimitar and Broadsword were the primary fighters and bombers flown by the main characters, with the Dralthi and Grikath fulfilling those roles for the Kilrathi. As in Wing Commander I, the TCS Tiger's Claw was a Bengal class strike carrier. Individual episodes also featured cameo appearances from ships introduced in later games such as Wing Commander III's Arrow, Hellcat and Longbow and Wing Commander IV's Avenger. None of these ships are mentioned by name. A number of new capital ships were introduced by the series including the Achilles class destroyer and the Agan Ra Sivar class dreadnaught.
Home media
In March 2012, Visual Entertainment released Wing Commander Academy - The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 for the first time.[5] The series became available on the Peacock streaming service in July 2020.
References
- ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003. 2nd ed. McFarland & Co. pp. 909–910. ISBN 978-1476665993.
- ^ "Electronic Arts Origin Inspired Wing Commander Academy Cartoon Series Premieres Saturday; Universal Cartoon Studios' Production Debuts on USA Network". Business Wire. September 20, 1996. Archived March 5, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 3, 2021. – via The Free Dictionary
- ^ "America's Most Wanted Ends Its Run With Special". Los Angeles Times. September 21, 1996. p. 222. Retrieved September 3, 2021. – via Newspapers.com (subscription required)
- ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 699–700. ISBN 978-1538103739.
- ^ "Wing Commander Academy DVD news: Date Change for Wing Commander Academy - the Complete Series | TVShowsOnDVD.com". Archived from the original on 2011-10-15. Retrieved 2011-10-14.