Roger Ramjet

Roger Ramjet
Genre animated
Written by Gene Moss, Jim Thurman
Directed by Fred Crippen
Voices of Gary Owens, Bob Arbogast, Dick Beals, Gene Moss, Jim Thurman, Joan Gerber, Paul Shively, Ken Snyder
Narrated by Dave Ketchum
Theme music composer Charles Koren (music), Paul Shively (lyrics)
Composer(s) Ivan Ditmars
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 5
No. of episodes 156
Production
Executive producer(s) Kenneth C.T. Snyder
Producer(s) Fred Crippen
Editor(s) Dee Futch
Camera setup Roger Brown, Jerry Smith, Larry Hogan
Running time Around 5 minutes 20 seconds
Production company(s) Pantomime Pictures
Hero Entertainment
Distributor Image Entertainment
Release
First shown in 1965
External links
Website

Roger Ramjet is an animated American children's television comedy series that first ran in 1965 and has aired in syndication since. Starring Roger Ramjet and the American Eagle Squadron, the show was known for its crude animation, frenetic pace, and frequent references to popular culture, which allowed the show to entertain various age groups.

Plot

Roger Ramjet is a patriotic and highly moral — if not very bright — hero, who is typically out to save the world, with help from his Proton Energy Pills ("PEP"), which give him "the strength of twenty atom bombs for a period of twenty seconds". The world is invariably saved by defeating the various recurring criminals who populated the series.

On government missions assigned by General G.I. Brassbottom, Ramjet encounters various nemeses during his missions. Typically he is caught, and must be rescued by his crew of sidekicks, the American Eagles: Yank, Doodle, Dan and Dee (a play on Yankee Doodle Dandy). Although his Eagles appear to be children, each of them, except for Dee, flies his own individual ramjet aircraft expertly, and they are obviously much more savvy than their leader.

The various recurring criminals include:

Most of the criminals had nearly identical bands of three or four henchmen who all mumbled different phrases at once, resulting in incomprehensible chatter. Another recurring, non-criminal character in the series was sportscaster Vincent Yafnarro, who appeared in several sports-related episodes. Roger's mother, Ma Ramjet, appeared in several episodes; her voice was an imitation of Jonathan Winters' "Maude Frickert" character, and she had her own variation on her son's Proton Pills, "Ma Ramjet's Atomic Vitamins, for Old People Whose Get-Up-and-Go Got Up and Left."

Along the way, Lance Crossfire (a parody of actor Burt Lancaster), Ramjet's rival for the affections of Lotta Love, is also likely to get in the way. When Lance and Roger cross paths, neither wins: in one episode, Lotta ends up going out with General Brassbottom, who promises the two men that he will take care of her. As is his way, Roger does not realize that they have both lost—unlike Lance, who inevitably ends these cartoons with the phrase, "Oh, Roger — shut up!"

Episodes

Season one

  1. "Dr. Ivan Evilkisser"
  2. "The Sheik"
  3. "Bat Guy"
  4. "The Shaft"
  5. "Kokomo"
  6. "Baseball"
  7. "The Cowboy"
  8. "Dee Kidnap"
  9. "Drafted"
  10. "TV Crisis"
  11. "Miss America"
  12. "The Pirates"
  13. "Revolution"
  14. "Torture"
  15. "The Race"
  16. "Jack the Nipper"
  17. "Ma Ramjet"
  18. "The Cockroaches" - this episode is a parody of The Beatles
  19. "Moon"
  20. "Hi Noon"
  21. "Bank Robbers"
  22. "Sun Clouds"
  23. "Football"
  24. "Bullfighter"
  25. "Bathysphere"
  26. "Skydiving"
  27. "Monkey"
  28. "Dr. Frank N. Schwein"
  29. "The Martins and the Coys"      
  30. "Planets"
  31. "Orbit"
  32. "Tennis"

Season two

  1. "Werewolf"
  2. "Flying Saucers"
  3. "Skateboards"
  4. "Scotland Yard"
  5. "Long Joan Silver"
  6. "Moonshot"
  7. "Treasure in Sierra's Mattress"
  8. "Tarzap"
  9. "Comics"
  10. "Jet Boots"
  11. "Little Roger"
  12. "Cycles"
  13. "Air Devil"
  14. "Spy in the Sky"
  15. "Hollywood"
  16. "Track Meet"
  17. "Surf Nuts"
  18. "Dry Dock"
  19. "Machines"
  20. "Coffee"
  21. "Stolen"
  22. "Assassins"
  23. "Genie"
  24. "Airplane"
  25. "Woodsman"
  26. "K.O. at the Gun Fight Corral"      
  27. "Mars"
  28. "Puck"
  29. "Pirate Gold"
  30. "Fox"
  31. "Super Mother"
  32. "Dr. What"

Season three

  1. "Party"
  2. "Large Leslie"
  3. "Gamey"
  4. "Time Machine"
  5. "Horse"
  6. "Pool"
  7. "Ancestors"
  8. "Hoop-dee-Doo"
  9. "Big Woof"
  10. "Robot Plants"
  11. "Robot Plot"
  12. "Turkey"
  13. "Fishing"
  14. "Purloined Pinky"
  15. "Snow"
  16. "Ripley"
  17. "Monster Masquerade"      
  18. "Lompoc Diamond"
  19. "School"
  20. "Vaudeville"
  21. "Coffee House"
  22. "Pirate Games"
  23. "Horse Race"
  24. "Missing"
  25. "Dentist"
  26. "Rip Van Ramjet"
  27. "Desert Ox"
  28. "Ad Game"
  29. "Lotsa Pizza"
  30. "Land Rush"
  31. "Show Business"
  32. "The Catnapper"

Season four

  1. "Opera Phantom"
  2. "Pies"
  3. "Small World"
  4. "Cousin"
  5. "Doodle League"
  6. "Ark"
  7. "Sauce"
  8. "Whale"
  9. "For the Birds"
  10. "Abominable Snowman"
  11. "Hero Training"
  12. "Lompoc Cannonball"
  13. "Safari"
  14. "Tiger"
  15. "Rodeo"
  16. "Dumb Waiter"
  17. "Blast Off"
  18. "Twas the Night Before"
  19. "Portrait of Roger"
  20. "Prince and the Doodle"
  21. "Water Sucker"
  22. "Volcano"
  23. "Limberlost"
  24. "General Kidnap"
  25. "Drought"
  26. "How's Your Pass?"
  27. "Rabbit Man"
  28. "Pill Caper"
  29. "Three Faces of Roger"
  30. "Private Eye"
  31. "Espionage Express"
  32. "Winfield of the Infield"      

Season five

  1. "Branch Office"
  2. "Wedding Bells"
  3. "Bunny"
  4. "Hynochick"
  5. "Doctor"
  6. "Jolly Rancher"
  7. "Little Monster"
  8. "Flying Town"
  9. "Daring Young Man"
  10. "Crown Jewels"
  11. "April Fool"
  12. "Dry Sea"
  13. "Pay Cut"
  14. "Killer Doodle"
  15. "Polar Bear"
  16. "Ruggers"
  17. "Nut"
  18. "The Law"
  19. "Hassenfeffer"
  20. "Manhole"
  21. "Blockbuster"
  22. "Sellout"
  23. "Scout Outing"
  24. "Love"
  25. "Decorator"
  26. "Lompoc Lizards"
  27. "Blunderosa"
  28. "General Doodle"

Cast and crew

Air dates

Roger Ramjet first aired on syndication in 1965, then on Nickelodeon in 1988 to 1994 and on Cartoon Network in 1994 to 1997. The show was also on the BBC from 1979 to 1994 in the UK and Europe wide on Sky Channel from 1985 to 1989 and Bravo from 1992 to 1993. In Australia, in 1966 the show appeared on the ABC in the afternoon, and has been shown regularly on Australian television ever since. Selected Minisodes of the show are available to view for free on Crackle.

Production notes

Other credits

DVD release

On February 8, 2005, Classic Media (distributed by Sony Wonder) released Roger Ramjet: Hero Of Our Nation (Special Collector's Edition), a 3-Disc box set containing 119 of the 156 episodes of the series (although the box incorrectly states that 120 episodes are included). Another company, Image Entertainment, previously issued two single DVDs (Roger Ramjet: Hero Of Our Nation and Roger Ramjet: Man Of Adventure), each including 15 cartoons not featured in the three-disc set. This leaves seven cartoons unreleased on DVD (as of November 2007): #36 (Scotland Yard), #125 (Bunny), #128 (Jolly Rancher), #152 (Air Devil), #154 (Dry Dock), #155 (Machines), and #156 (Stolen).

References

  1. ↑ Pierce, Leonard. http://www.tv.com/news/roger-ramjet-a-cartoon-for-the-ages--22053/

External links

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