Fish Police (TV series)

Fish Police

Angel Jones voiced by JoBeth Williams, Crabby voiced by Buddy Hackett, Chief Abalone voiced by Ed Asner & Det. Catfish voiced by Robert Guillaume
Based on Fish Police created by
Steve Moncuse
Developed by Jeanne Romano
Voices of John Ritter
Héctor Elizondo
Edward Asner
Jonathan Winters
Tim Curry
Robert Guillaume
Buddy Hackett
Megan Mullally
JoBeth Williams
Frank Welker
Georgia Brown
Charlie Schlatter
Composer(s) James Horner (theme)
Steve Bramson (score)
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 6 (3 unaired) (list of episodes)
Production
Producer(s) Melissa Goldsmith
Larry Huber
Don Rhymer
Jeanne Romano
Paul Sabella
David Kirschner
Benjamin Melniker
Michael Uslan
Production company(s) Hanna-Barbera Productions
Distributor Warner Bros. Television
Release
Original network CBS[1]
Original release February 28, 1992 – March 13, 1992

Fish Police is an animated television series from Hanna-Barbera based on the comic book series created by Steve Moncuse. It first aired on CBS in 1992, lasting six episodes over one season. In February of that year, three episodes of the series aired, but the show was promptly axed after failing in the television ratings. The remaining three episodes have never been aired in the U.S. However, the show was aired in its entirety for the European syndication market. The show had a decidedly more mature tone than most other animated Hanna-Barbara shows. Episodes would often be filled with innuendo and cases of mild language.[2][3]

The series was part of a spate of attempts by major networks to develop prime time animated shows to compete with the success of Fox's The Simpsons, alongside ABC's Capitol Critters (co-produced by Fox, which also produced The Simpsons) and CBS's own Family Dog. Hanna-Barbera Productions (which also worked on Capitol Critters) pitched the series to CBS Entertainment, which quickly agreed to pick it up.[3] All three were canceled in their first season.

Characters

Guest characters

Episodes

No. Title Original air date
1"The Shell Game"February 28, 1992 (1992-02-28)
A wealthy casino owner, Clams Casino, is found murdered, and Angel is the primary suspect. Gil, however, senses something more sinister behind the murder, suspecting a link between Calamari and Clams's widow.
2"A Fish Out of Water"March 6, 1992 (1992-03-06)
Gil is partnered with a new Casanova of a cop, Inspector C. Bass, much to his chagrin. When their first investigation together goes bust, Gil becomes convinced that Bass, despite his clean record, is on the take.
3"Beauty's Only Fin Deep"March 13, 1992 (1992-03-13)
A beauty contest nears Fish City, with the grand prize being a year's worth of holidays, and a jealous Pearl immediately schemes to ensure Angel wins the contest. Meanwhile, a bitter assassin begins targeting the competitors.
4"The Codfather"Unaired
A high-ranking mob boss, the Codfather, is found murdered shortly after attempting to "do business" with Calamari, with one of Calamari's signature napkins on the crime scene. Calamari is arrested, but Gil begins to voice doubts about Calamari's guilt when the Codfather's tax records come up.
5"The Two Gils"Unaired
Calamari employs Bill, a doppelgänger for Gil, to impersonate the real Inspector Gil and take his place in Fish Police as his mole. But things start to get complicated when Gil's personal life and Bill's greed are involved.
6"No Way to Treat a Fillet-dy"Unaired
Calamari brings his three nephews to Fish City, and around the same time, a mugger steals the Charity Ball savings from Goldie. Gil turns his eyes to Calamari's nephews, but they appear to be innocent after they and Calamari are robbed, while having to deal with accidentally having asked both Pearl and Angel to the Charity Ball.

Cast

Critical reception

Critics' opinions were mixed to negative. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly gave the show a "C", saying that the "comics are a lot more varied and better constructed — their plots worked as mysteries, whereas here the stories are just excuses for more fish humor."[4] Marion Garmel of the Indianapolis Star thought that the show lacked the "dark edge" of the comics.[5] In a 2010 interview, Moncuse said of the show, "The less said about the animated series the better."[6]

References

  1. "CBS tries to hook a live ~`Fish' Toons moving into prime time, but Will `Fish' float?". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
  2. Lee Margulies, TV Ratings `Fish Police' Can't Get Arrested, Los Angeles Times, February 28, 1992, accessed January 20, 2011.
  3. 1 2 Daniel Cerone, 'Fish Police' on Endangered Species List, Los Angeles Times, February 28, 1992, accessed January 20, 2011.
  4. Tucker, Ken (28 February 1992). "Fish Police review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  5. "Three shows to premiere, and one's a little fishy". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. 1992-02-27. Retrieved 2012-05-24.
  6. "Moncuse's "Fish Police" Are Back on Patrol". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2012-05-08.

External links

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