Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors is a French/North American animated TV show which was first broadcast on September 16, 1985. It was produced by DIC Entertainment (originally distributed for syndication by SFM Entertainment) and animated by the Japanese animation studios Sunrise, Shaft, Studio Giants, Studio Look and Swan Production. The show, which extended to 65 thirty-minute episodes, was created to support Mattel's Wheeled Warriors toy line. The show has an ongoing plot. However, it does not have a finale, and thus the plot was left unresolved.

The show featured two duelling forces. The heroes are humans, called the Lightning League. They drive white and silver vehicles with assorted weaponry, and are led by a teenager named Jayce. The villains are organic plant-based creatures called the Monster Minds. They travel via large green organic vines which can grow in and across interstellar space, and sprout seeds that rapidly grow into further Monster Minds. They are led by the very first of the Monster Minds, Saw Boss.

Background

Most of the episodes were written by the French writers Jean Chalopin and Haskell Barkin. Writers at DIC also included Larry DiTillio, Barbara Hambly and J. Michael Straczynski. Straczynski wrote about a quarter of the episodes attempting, in his words, to "hijack a dopey concept and make it into something more." Haim Saban and Shuki Levy provided the music for the show, as well as the opening and ending theme songs (as the two have done for many of DIC's productions).

In the United Kingdom, it was screened on Sunday mornings on Channel 4 and Sky Channel. In France, a French language version of the show titled Jayce et les Conquérants de la Lumière (lit. "Jayce and the Conquerors of Light") was broadcast on Salut les p'tits loups !, a children's show on TF1, beginning on September 9, 1985. Its first showing in the US was seven days later. Nearly a decade later, it was rerun on USA Network's USA Cartoon Express block from July 3, 1994 to August 25, 1995.

Unlike He-Man, no backstory was given with the toys for the Lightning League and the Monster Minds doing battle, and so distinct characters were created by DIC and Straczynski to allow for a structured story (seen below).

Plot

The plot follows protagonists Jayce, Flora, Herc Stormsailor, Oon, and Gillian, in search of Jayce's father Audric, and opposing antagonist Saw Boss and his followers, the Monster Minds. The story's premise states that Audric was a botanist who did several experiments with biotechnology, one of which became Flora. In one certain expiriment, Audric attempted to create a plant that could prevent starvation. But when he succeeded, a nearby star exploded into a supernova. The radiation from the savage explosion changed this special plant and four other particular plants into the Monster Minds: a race of plant-like extraterrestrials who wished to conquer the Universe. Audric creates a root that could destroy the Monster Minds, but was forced to flee before he could complete the task, after which the Monster Minds made Audric's laboratory their headquarters (which can teleport to other places by means of a mysterious power source known as "the Power of the Black Light"). Audric kept half of the root himself and gave the other half to his servant, the Eternal Squire Oon, whom he sent to serve Jayce. Jayce and his friends are thereafter on a quest to find Audric and form the complete root.

The Movie

Due to less than successful toy sales, Jayce's 65 episode run was not followed up, and it ended unresolved. However, according to Straczynski, a movie had also been commissioned along with the series, following in the footsteps of other toy-based animated series such as Transformers and G.I. Joe; if the series had proven successful in toy sales, production would have begun. Straczynski wrote the script, but due to the failure of the toyline, preparation for the movie was shelved.

Had the movie been filmed, it would have provided a sense of closure on Jayce, with his Lightning League meeting with the original Lightning League and being trained on the home world of the Guardians. He would be reunited with his father Audric, but according to Straczynski, Audric would have been killed by Saw Boss as the Monster Minds began a final assault on the galaxy, and in a final battle, Jayce would unite the root and destroy Saw Boss, ending the Monster Mind threat forever.

List of characters

The Lightning League

• Jayce - Protagonist; bearer of the Magic Root and of the Legendary Ring Of Light, a constant deus ex machina to the League's adventures.

• Audric - Jayce's father and the original master of Oon; creator of the Magic Root, the Monster Minds, the character 'Flora', and the early Lightning League vehicles.

• Gillian - A wizard, mentor to Jayce and Flora; Flora's co-creator and the creator of all 5 Lightning League vehicles; implied to be centuries old.

• Flora - Supporting character, created by Gillian and Audric; she has telepathic powers, with which she can sense Monster Minds and can communicate with animals & plants.

• Oon - Oon is an Eternal Squire, created by Squiresmith Wixland. Oon originally served Audric, but has since been appointed to Jayce.

• Herc Stormsailor - A mercenary resembling Star Wars '​s character Han Solo; the proud owner and pilot of the space barge and the Lightning League's high flying mobile fortress, The Pride Of The Skies II. He used to have a close relationship with Pirate Queen Morgana and it is implied he once was a member of the Pirate Guild. In the episode "Affair of Honor", it is revealed that he once was an intergalactic commando before he quit.

• Brock - Flora's flying fish mount, which "speaks" in chirps and whistles.

• The Zoggies - A trio of robotic canines. They seem to have a liking for Oon, who is almost always being chased by them.

• Jal Gorda - Anthropomorphic alien spy who acts as a recurring guest character throughout the series. He was rescued by Audric from a Monster Mind invasion of his village and has been loyal to him ever since.

The Monster Minds

• Saw Boss - Saw Boss is the leader of the Monster Minds. He was spawned from the very plant that Audric had intended to end starvation.

• Gun Grinner - Sub-boss of The Monster Minds, he oversees the Gun Trooper clones.

• Terror Tank - Sub-boss of The Monster Minds, he oversees the Terror Trooper clones.

• K.O. Kruiser - Sub-boss of The Monster Minds, he oversees the KO Trooper clones.

• Beast Walker Commander - Sub-boss of The Monster Minds, he oversees the Beast Walker clones.

• Saw Trooper Commander - The only one (known) that can take a humanoid form like Saw Boss & the other Monster Minds. Smaller in stature than Saw Boss and notable by the stripes on his chest and the absence of a cape.

• Dr. Zorg â€" a scientist working with Saw Boss.

The Lightning League Vehicles

Every Lightning League Vehicle can be driven by members of the League, but can also operate on pre-programmed battle plans without drivers through commands issued on Jayce's communicator when talks to the vehicles, they response with a single phase "Command Acknowledged."

The 1st Lightning League AI Ground Vehicles created by Gillian:

• Armed Force - Armed Force is a vehicle with a large golden grappling arm mounted atop it. Gillian had intended it for Audric, but instead he gave it to Jayce, when Audric was unable to join the League. It seats two, unlike its toy counterpart. Armed Force's toy counterpart included a gimmick dubbed "Stack n' Attack". Any of the other smaller vehicles could detach their wheeled chassis and attach to the top of Armed Force. (A promotional comic in He-Man magazine showed two vehicles stacked atop Armed Force, though this was physically impossible using the toys, as only Armed Force featured two lined up holes suitable for another vehicle's underside to attach into.) This never happens in the show; instead, the phrase "stack n' attack" refers to the Lightning League vehicles being able to exchange weapons mid-battle. The pilots are Jayce and Oon, although in The Vase of Xiang, Flora and Brock drove it as they were attempting to rescue Jayce.

• Drill Sergeant - Drill Sergeant is a two-seater vehicle with a drill to dig tunnels. It is also equipped with two pop-out guns in the front of the cab. It is driven in the opening sequence by pilot Flora, who somehow seems to prefer it, as so does Gillian.

• Quickdraw - Quickdraw is a vehicle with a concealed gun in a shield atop the vehicle, and an extended arm at the front with a spiked wheel for digging. Gillian drives it in the opening sequence, but it has no regular driver in the series. It seats one, the pilot is Gillian.

• Spike Trike - Spike Trike is a three-wheeled vehicle built for speed. Similar to a half-tracked dune buggy, it has a pair of crunching spiked wheels at the front that lift on a single arm. Herc drives it in the opening sequence, and it is his vehicle of choice during the series as well, the pilot is Herc.

• Trailblazer - Trailblazer is a large, robotic, four-legged vehicle with a front-mounted battering ram, capable of carrying the smaller vehicles. It greatly resembles the four-legged AT-AT's from the Star Wars series. It usually seats one, but is occasionally seen with unused seating for four. Trailblazer is stronger and more durable than the other vehicles, but was used much less often for reasons never disclosed (unlike the expenditure of resources that served as an excuse for the more rarely used larger vehicle troopers of the Monster Minds). Trailblazer is depicted as much larger in scale with the other vehicles than the toy counterparts. While the toy version of Trailblazer could carry a single smaller vehicle on its back, the cartoon counterpart could carry four of the smaller vehicles within its body, via a platform that lowered from its underside, every member of the Lightning League can pilot the Trailblazer.

• Battle Base - Battle Base is a mobile fortress that houses all the other vehicles, and it is usually attached to the Pride as its bridge. The main weapon is a large elevating gun turret. Battle Base, like Trailblazer, is of a much larger relative scale in the animation than in its toy form. The toy for Battle Base had three garages that could each hold a single smaller vehicle, and its control bridge seated two. In the series, not only could Battle Base contain all of the smaller vehicles, but even Trailblazer was seen to be able to enter it. The bridge was a rather large full room; just like Trailblazer, every member of the Lightning League can also pilot the Battle Base as well too.

The 2nd Lightning League AI Ground Vehicles created by Gillian:

• Flingshot - Flingshot is a vehicle equipped with a catapult, built in "The Stallions of Sandeen." A toy was designed, but never produced.

• Spray Gunner - Spray Gunner is a vehicle with a cannon that sprays various fluids, that was added later in the series, but has no introduction episode. The toy did not reach the production stage.

• The Motor Module - Motor Module is a low-riding vehicle with a powerful drive system, often used to field repair other vehicles, or to haul loads in an attachable trailer. It was added later in the series, but has no introduction episode. The toy did not reach the production stage, but was designed to be motorized, and could "Stack n' Attack" as Armed Force could (the toy version of the gimmick remained unused in the cartoon).

The Lightning League AI Air And Space Vehicles (not reflected in the toy line):

• The Pride Of The Skies II - Also known as "The Pride" for short, it is the space barge owned by Herc Stormsailor and home to the Lightning League throughout the series.

• The Space Scooter - A small air-bike.

• The Emergency Cruiser - The Pride's seldom used shuttle craft.

The Monster Minds Vehicles

Generally, Monster Mind battles are carried out by clones of the main Monster Minds that are grown from vines. Saw Boss is able to communicate with these clones (and communicate with others with a clone as a medium) telepathically. These clones are referred to as "troopers"; Saw Trooper, Terror Trooper, K.O. Trooper, etc. The true Monster Minds change from their humanoid forms into vehicles upon leaving their headquarters, although they are significantly larger and more powerful than their mass-produced clones.

The 1st Monster Minds' Ground Legions

• Saw Troopers - A vehicle with a large buzzsaw on a rotating stalk.

• Gun Troopers - A vehicle with a cluster of cannons clenched in its teeth. The main weapon is a multi-headed spiked flail mounted on top of the body.

• Terror Troopers - A tank-like vehicle with a large, venus flytrap-like mouth mounted on the body.

• K.O. Troopers - A truck-like vehicle with a large wrecking ball-like stalk. The front grill and headlights look like an angry face.

• Beast Walkers - A large, four-legged vehicle with a front-mounted claw weapon that is the powerhouse of a Monster Mind clone army. They were seldom used, due to the greater energy required to spawn. Like Trailblazer, they greatly resemble the AT-AT's from Star Wars.

The 2nd Monster Minds' Ground Legions

• Flapjacks - A van-like vehicle with a catapult; they were designed, but not produced in the toy-line.

• Lurchers - A vehicle with a front ram; again, not produced in the toy-line.

• Snapdragons - A smaller four-legged walking vehicle with front-mounted "petals" that opened like a flower to expose a laser cannon.

• Battle Stations - The Monster Minds' answer to Battle Base, it was unproduced in the toy line. It was used in only one episode as it took enormous amounts of energy to spawn.

The Monster Minds' Air And Space Legions (unrepresented in the toy-line)

• Cruisers - A larger Monster Mind spacecraft.

• Scouts/Satellites - A smaller Monster Mind spacecraft. Both names referred to the same vehicle type in the animation.

• Drill Vines - A small rocket craft with a drill nose-cone, containing a Monster Mind vine cluster, which was used to penetrate targets and release a growth of vines.

• Pods - A plant-like insertion craft launched by Cruisers or Scouts, when Drill Vines were not called for.

• Space Fighters - A small Monster Mind starfighter, used much less commonly than Scouts.

The Monster Minds' Network Of Legions (unrepresented in the toy-line)

• Expansion Vines - A large vine growth used to infest a planet and spawn Monster Mind Troopers, also sometimes used to connect planets through open space.

• Spore Vines - Not as large as Expansion Vines, used to deploy biological weapons in the form of gases.

• Recepticles - A block-like plant that is used to form a teleportation point for Saw Boss's headquarters (originally Audric's lab).

• Brains - A small plant mass with a single central eye, used for communication by Monster Mind agents of other races.

Episode list

Voice Actors

• Darin Baker as Jayce
• Charles Joliffe as Gillian
• Luba Goy as Oon
• John Stocker as Gun Grinner
• Dan Hennessey as Audric, CK.O. Kruiser, and Saw Trooper
• Valerie Politis as Flora
• Giulio Kukurugya as Saw Boss
• Len Carlson as Herc Stormsailor, and Terror Tank
• Peter Lewis as The Opening Announcer
• Victor Lanoux as The Closing Announcer

DVD releases

The entire series exists in French as two DVD boxed sets released by Manga Distribution. In English, several compilations were available on VHS tapes in the 1980s, and ex-rental copies can occasionally still be found on eBay. Jade Entertainment once provided a Region 2 DVD entitled The Lightning League (6 episodes).

On March 6, 2007, NCircle Entertainment released a single disc release entitled Escape from the Garden of Evil, which contains four episodes from the series, on DVD in Region 1.

On December 6, 2007, Shout! Factory announced that they had acquired the rights to the series. They subsequently released Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors â€" Volume 1 with Vivendi Entertainment on March 25, 2008. The 4-disc set has the first 33 episodes of the series as well as bonus features. A second volume was to be released in the latter half of 2008; however due to poor sales of volume 1 it was cancelled.

On July 22, 2011, Mill Creek Entertainment announced that they had acquired the rights to the series and planned to release it in its entirety. They subsequently released Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors â€" Volume 1 on DVD in Region 1 on February 21, 2012. This 3 disc set contains the first 32 episodes of the series. They had also released a 10 episode best-of collection on the same day. Volume 2, featuring the final 33 episodes of the series was released on February 19, 2013.

Comic

An uncredited, unfinished comic based on the series was once published in the French comic magazine Pif Gadget #922. Strangely enough, the 13-page adventure ended on a cliffhanger, the next issue did not include the follow-up story, and in the end, the conclusion to that story was never published in Pif Gadget. It included characters created specifically for the comic, such as a white-haired young sorceress called Algora who was "an ally of Saw Boss". The story, entitled "Le Sortilège d'Algora" ("Algora's Spell") was later re-printed and completed in Poche Junior, a free supplement for younger readers to the French television listing magazine Télé Poche, in several installments: Poche Junior #1 (May 1987), Poche Junior #2 (May 1987), Poche Junior #17 (August 1987), Poche Junior n° 23 (October 1987), and Poche Junior n° 25 (October 1987).

References

External links

• Official site at Mill Creek
• Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors at the Internet Movie Database
• Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors at TV.com
• Cindy's "Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors" web page
• Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Ben Gali's Wheeled Warriors Toys â€" a list of many of the toys appearing in the series