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Street Sharks
Title card
Genre	Action Adventure Superhero
Created by	Phil Harnage Martha Moran
Developed by	Phil Harnage (season 1) Douglas Booth (season 2) Martha Moran (season 3)
Directed by	Ron Myrick (season 1) Ron Harris (seasons 2–3)
Starring	Lee Tockar Matt Hill Andrew Rannells D. Kevin Williams Tony Wike Terry Berner J. Michael Lee Pam Carter Jim Hoggatt
Theme music composer	Michael Benghiat Lois Blaisch
Composer	Reed Robbins
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	40
Production
Executive producers	Allen Bohbot Mark Freedman Andy Heyward Robby London
Producer	Michael Maliani
Running time	22 minutes
Production company	DIC Productions, L.P.
Original release
Network	Syndication (Amazin' Adventures) (Seasons 1-2) ABC (Season 3)
Release	September 7, 1994 (1994-09-07) – May 18, 1997 (1997-05-18)
Related
Extreme Dinosaurs

Street Sharks is an American superhero animated series about the adventures of crime-fighting half-man/half-sharks. It was produced by DIC Productions, L.P. and Bohbot Entertainment, and aired from 1994 to 1997, originally as a part of Bohbot's Amazin' Adventures programming block. The show promoted a line of action figures by Mattel. The creators were David Siegel and Joe Galliani of Mr. Joe's Really Big Productions.

In 1996, the Street Sharks were paired with the Dino Vengers and the show was retitled Dino Vengers Featuring Street Sharks.

Plot

A university professor named Dr. Robert Bolton and his partner Dr. Luther Paradigm create a machine known as the "gene-slammer" which is capable of changing aquatic animals into anthropomorphic hybrids by combining their DNA. In his attempt to prevent Paradigm from using this machine for personal power, Bolton is transformed into an unseen monstrosity, but escapes. Later, Paradigm gives Bolton's four sons John, Bobby, Coop, and Clint the likeness of four different sharks. When Dr. Paradigm captures their friend Bends, the resulting "Street Sharks" rescue him and the resulting battle causes Paradigm to be combined with piranha DNA (for which he is often nicknamed "Dr. Piranoid" by other characters). In subsequent episodes, Dr. Paradigm creates a variety of mutant animals to destroy the Street Sharks while attempting to persuade the inhabitants of their native metropolis of Fission City to imprison them. Of these mutant animals, a few sided with the Sharks themselves: namely Rox, Moby Lick, Mantaman, and El Swordo.

The final few episodes introduced the Dino Vengers: a group of extraterrestrial dinosaurs allied with the Street Sharks against their own rivals in the Raptor Gang. When Dr. Paradigm wanted to get a sample of the Raptors' DNA to improve himself, they trick him by giving him iguana DNA which transforms him into "Dr. Iguanazoid" leading to him working with the Raptors where they will reward him by correcting the DNA mistake they gave him. In the end, Paradigm is captured and imprisoned while the Raptor Gang leaves Earth.

The Dino Vengers later had their own series called Extreme Dinosaurs where they and the Raptors had different backgrounds.

Characters

Bolton family

• Ripster (voiced by Lee Tockar) – John Bolton is the smartest, the leader, and oldest of the four brothers who enjoys creating inventions. He has taken up most of his knowledge and skills from his father. He is also an avid pool player. In the first episode of the show, John rides a motorbike. When transformed into Ripster, he becomes a great white shark able to bite through steel, as well as having extrasensory abilities.

• Jab (voiced by Matt Hill) – Clint Bolton is the laziest of the Street Sharks, but enjoys boxing and appears to have some talent with mechanics. When transformed into Jab, he becomes a hammerhead shark and uses his head as a battering ram.

• Streex (voiced by Andrew Rannells) – Robert "Bobby" Bolton Jr. is a level-headed, cool and self-proclaimed ladies' man. He is always shown wearing his rollerblades and appears to enjoy parachuting and snowboarding and later plays drums professionally. When transformed into Streex, he becomes a tiger shark, named after the purple streaks on his body. In the toyline, he was originally called "Blades" for his skills as a rollerblader.

• Big Slammu (voiced by D. Kevin Williams) – Coop Bolton is the strongest and youngest of the four. He is also a football player in high school. In the first episode, he uses a skateboard. When transformed into Big Slammu, he becomes a whale shark and his most prominent maneuver is the "Seismic Slam" in which he may shake or crack the ground with his fists.

• Dr. Robert Bolton (voiced by D. Kevin Williams) – A university professor and the father of the Bolton Brothers who invents the gene-manipulation device for peaceful uses. He is only seen on-screen in the first episode where he tries to stop Dr. Paradigm's experiments only to become changed into an unseen inhuman creature. Afterward, he is only ever represented by a shadow cast on the wall (either as a humanoid or as an animal like monstrosity). It is suggested through the series that Dr. Bolton secretly assists his sons. The episode "Shark Source" shows him defeating Dr. Piranoid to rescue a kidnapped mutant crocodile. Despite the fact that he helps them, Dr. Bolton is never reunited with his sons. However, he does contact his sons through a TV screen where the transmission keeps even the viewers from seeing his current appearance.

• Sir Thomas Bolton - An ancestor of the protagonists who is encountered in the episode "Sir Shark-a-Lot". He is the target of Paradigm's time-travel excursion to destroy the Bolton family.

Allies

• Lena Mack (voiced by Pam Carter) – A student of Dr. Paradigm's who suspects him of crime, and therefore assists the Street Sharks. She is later reduced to a background role and has a younger brother named Malik.

• Bends (voiced by Jim Hoggatt) – Fission University's technical genius and a source of comic relief who supplies the Street Sharks with their motorbikes and weapons and conceals them underneath the University's ice skating rink. In episode 16, it is revealed that he cannot be mutated by a gene-slamming airborne virus. This genetic trait was passed down to his great, great, great grandson who is a member of the resistance against Dr. Paradigm in an alternate future as seen in "Shark to the Future".

• Moby Lick – Jets Taylor is a good friend of the Bolton Brothers and Bends. Under Dr. Paradigm's mind-control, Jets is combined with a killer whale by Dr. Paradigm in order to make him his latest Seaviate. Becoming Moby Lick, he later broke free of Paradigm's mind control and became an ally of the Street Sharks. Moby Lick has a long prehensile tongue (the source of his name), great strength, and the ability to inhale water and expel it through his blowhole; and later demonstrated the ability to communicate with other killer whales. In "Shark Hunt", it is revealed that Moby became an eco-conservationist in the Everglades National Park.

• Rox (voiced by Lee Tockar) – Melvin Kresnik is an up-and-coming musician mistakenly combined with a bull shark who exposes Dr. Paradigm's plan to change Kresnik's audience into mutants. Thereafter, Rox continues as a rock star by explaining his altered form as a costume and remains a friend of the Sharks. He was dropped from the series after Season Two. In the toyline, Rox is labelled as a mako shark instead of a bull shark.

• President David Horne (voiced by Tony Wike) – The President of the United States. The Street Sharks save him from Dr. Paradigm before he can be "gene washed" like he did with Vice-President Russell. Following this incident, President Horne secretly leaks information to the Street Sharks.

• El Swordo (voiced by Garry Chalk) – A circus performer who worked with a large marlin named Spike. The two were eventually "fused" together by Dr. Paradigm resulting in a combination of memories under the man's personality. El Swordo remains active in entertainment as a professional swordsman.

• Mantaman (voiced by D. Kevin Williams) – A flying dinosaur-like alien specimen was found encased in stone by Dr. Terrence "Terry" Morton and reactivated by Dr. Paradigm. Dr. Morton then deliberately gene-slammed himself with a combination of the alien's DNA and manta ray DNA to help the Street Sharks fight the original alien. He has a younger brother named Ryan who appears in "Shark Jacked" when he gets captured by Dr. Paradigm. By the end of the episode, Mantaman's parents learn of what became of their son and accept his appearance. Around the "Ancient Sharkonauts" episode, Mantaman returns under the control of the Raptors when it was revealed that they were behind the flying dinosaur-like alien whose DNA is part of Mantaman. He is later liberated by the Street Sharks.

• The Dino Vengers – A military unit from an exoplanet inhabited by anthropomorphic dinosaurs. Allied with the Street Sharks. Once ordinary members of their race, the four volunteered to receive genetic enhancements that made them far larger and stronger to better combat Bad Rap and his gang of terrorists.
  • T-Bone (voiced by Ian James Corlett) – A Tyrannosaurus and the leader of the Dino Vengers.
  • Stegz (voiced by D. Kevin Williams) – A Stegosaurus.
  • Bullzeye (voiced by Ian James Corlett) – A Pteranodon.
  • Spike (voiced by Garry Chalk) – A Triceratops.

Antagonists

• Dr. Luther Paradigm (voiced by J. Michael Lee) – The main antagonist of the series and arch-enemy of the Street Sharks. A professor at Fission City University, he is easily identified by his metal eyepatch and later by a giant yellow robotic exoskeleton, with offensive capabilities including the ability to fire harpoons. In the second episode, Dr. Paradigm is injected with piranha DNA meant for the Street Sharks who nicknamed him Dr. Piranoid. Afterwards, Paradigm's face assumes inhuman attributes at moments of strong emotion. When in public, Dr. Paradigm wears a robe to hide his exoskeleton. When Dr. Bolton defeated Dr. Piranoid to rescue a captive mutant crocodile and damaged his armor, it was shown that parts of his body were fish-like. During episodes featuring the Dino-Vengers, Dr. Paradigm injected himself with iguana DNA which was given to him by the Raptors instead of Velociraptor DNA and was renamed Dr. Iguanazoid as a result. He has since helped out the Raptors with their plots hoping that they will actually give him Velociraptor DNA. By "Shark-apolypse Now!," Dr. Iguanazoid is apprehended by the Street Sharks.

• • SharkBot (voiced by Steve Gibbs) – Dr. Paradigm's experimentation with robotics. It was used to free the monster Repteel from prison and frame the Street Sharks for the crime. The Sharks ultimately reprogrammed SharkBot to destroy Paradigm's laboratory. SharkBot was later rebuilt into SharkBot 2.0, which fought the Street Sharks until the end of the series' second season.

• • Tentakill – A biped creature of unknown origins and species, first seen in the episode "Sir Shark-a-Lot" as Paradigm's newest weapon. It is incapable of speech, shows limited intelligence, and was not utilized often.
  • Seaviates – A group of mutant sea creatures that serve Dr. Paradigm.

• • • Slobster (voiced by D. Kevin Williams) – An anthropomorphic monster created by injecting a lobster with the DNA of Genghis Khan and Thomas Blood. He and Slash only appear in season one (although they still appear in the opening credits).

• • • Slash (voiced by Terry Berner) – A swordfish injected with the DNA of villains like Genghis Khan and Thomas Blood like Slobster. Thus, he becomes an anthropomorphic fish with a drill bit on its nose who speaks in a hissing lisp. Slash is usually defeated by immobilization of his nasal drill. He and Slobster only appear in season one (although they still appear in the opening credits).

• • • Killamari (voiced by D. Kevin Williams) – An anthropomorphic squid able to project natural "spears" or "harpoons" from his mouth and the many suckers covering his body. In the episode "Lone Shark," he almost kills Jab with his venom. Lena and Bends concoct an anti-venom which has since reduced his threat.

• • • Repteel (voiced by Tony Wike) – The only one of Dr. Paradigm's Seaviates to have originally been human. Mr. Cunneyworth is the aged owner and hotel manager of a run-down hotel accidentally demolished by the Street Sharks during a fight with Dr. Paradigm's Seaviates. As he had nowhere else to go, Mr. Cunneyworth willingly allowed Dr. Paradigm to merge his genetic codes with those of a moray eel and an electric eel. As Repteel, he feeds on electricity and shoots miniature eels (also charged with electricity) from his hands and wears a special pack to store energy.

• • • Shrimp Louie (voiced by Andrew Rannells) – A mutated shrimp and one of Paradigm's later Seaviates. Though it is unclear if he was human first or not. He is not very strong, is quite the coward, and his primary weapons are big blaster guns. He only appears in seasons 2 and 3.

• Maximillian Greco – An aged mafioso who blackmails Dr. Paradigm into gene-slamming him with the DNA of a rhinoceros (upon its nose-hair samples being obtained) and the DNA of a desert tortoise upon learning of his illegal and secret experiments. This granted Greco the strength of a rhinoceros and the longevity of a desert tortoise which rejuvenated Greco to half his real age. He later resurfaced as the owner of a casino.

• • Zeus and Apollo (vocal effects provided by D. Kevin Williams) – Maximillian Greco's pet Chihuahuas. Like their owner, they were also genetically enhanced by Dr. Paradigm which made them larger than normal.

• Malcolm Medusa III (voiced by J. Michael Lee) – A rich, business-owning big game hunter who frequently targets endangered animals. The Street Sharks and Moby Lick expose him. In "Shark Hunt", Malcolm Medusa III traps Moby Lick and the Street Sharks in a hunting enclosure. He is eventually imprisoned in an island prison as he plans his revenge.

• • Clammando (voiced by D. Kevin Williams) – A mutant clam who is Malcolm Medusa III's right-hand man. He started out as a dock worker for Malcolm Medusa III who fell into a toxic waste part of the water where there were clams. As a result upon being fished out by Malcolm, he turned into a mutant clam. In "Shark to the Future," Clammando's appearance was first used as a Seaviate that worked for Dr. Paradigm during the Street Sharks' visit to the future.

• The Raptors – A trio of rogue Velociraptor-like criminals.

• • Bad Rap (voiced by Doug Parker) – The leader of the Raptors, who has a metal brace-like device on his mouth and a rocket launcher on his right hand.

• • Haxx (voiced by Doug Parker) – A Raptor with implants on the backs of each wrist that produce green blades, whose tail has been replaced with a blade capable of spinning like a drill.

• • Spittor (voiced by Doug Parker) – The scientist and brains of the Raptors. Spittor carries a tank with various liquids released from nozzles on his hands, tail, and mouth.

• Dr. Tecno-Piranoid (voiced by J. Michael Lee) – A future counterpart of Paradigm. He is more evil and quite possibly more powerful than the regular. He could also be consider the worst villain of the show. He first appears in the episode, "Shark to the Future" and then returns in "Shark Wars". Like how Paradigm has SharkBots serving him, this version has Mechosharks as his mechanical army.

• • Mechosharks – Dr. Tecno-Piranoid's army of mechanized shark monsters.

Recurring characters

• Guy in the Sky (voiced by Tony Wike) – Fission City's top air radio reporter and paparazzo. He was never fully seen, but recognized by a yellow helicopter. The Guy in the Sky was later dropped from the show after first season.

• Detective Michael Brock – The police detective who investigates the Sharks' activities. He was later dropped from the show after first season.

• Mayor Neutrino - is the mayor of Fission City.

• Danielle Lafon - is Fission City's news reporter.

Series overview

Episodes

Season 1 (1994)

Season 2 (1995)

Season 3 (1996–97)

The third season of the series received a retooling, introducing a fellow team of characters titled the Dino Vengers. This season aired on ABC's Saturday-morning cartoon block during the fall of 1996.

Home video releases

United States

In 1995, Buena Vista Home Video released a VHS titled The Gene Slamming Begins, which featured the first 3 episodes of Season 1: "Sharkbait", "Sharkbite" and "Sharkstorm" combined into a feature-length format. Buena Vista followed this release with two tapes featuring Season 1 episodes: "Shark Quest", which had the episodes "Shark Quest" and "Lone Shark", and the other: "Shark 'n' Roll" which featured the episodes "Shark 'n' Roll" and "Fresh Water Shark". Unusually, these releases were branded as regular BVHV releases rather than being released under the DIC Toon-Time Video label, unlike other DIC VHS's released by the company at the time.

In late September 2012, Mill Creek Entertainment announced they would release the series to DVD during early 2013.

On February 19, 2013, Mill Creek Entertainment released Street Sharks – The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time. This release has been discontinued and is out of print.

On January 16, 2018, Mill Creek Entertainment re-released the complete series to DVD in Region 1.

On December 13, 2021, Discotek Media announced they would release the series for the first time on Blu-ray under license from WildBrain and 41 Entertainment sometime in April 2022. This will be Discotek Media's first release of a Western animated series that is not based on a video game.

United Kingdom

In 1996, BMG Video released three VHS tapes in the United Kingdom, featuring the same episodes as the U.S. VHS's, although the first tape was retitled as Jawsome!.

In 2004, Anchor Bay U.K. released a single-DVD/VHS volume featuring the first 4 episodes.

In 2005, Avenue Entertainment released two DVD volumes containing two episodes each: Volume 1 featured "Sharkbite" and "Shark Fight" and Volume 2 featured "Sky Sharks" and "Shark of Steel".

Tie-in products

In 1996, Archie Comics released a short-lived comic book series based on Street Sharks. They published a three-issue miniseries which was based on the first three episodes of the series, and a regular comic series, which lasted three issues.

From 1994 to 1997, Mattel released a line of Street Sharks action figures.

See also

• List of anthropomorphic animal superheroes
• Extreme Dinosaurs – a spin-off TV series
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series)

References

1. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 601. ISBN 978-1538103739.
2. "Amazin' Adventures on". Tv.com. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
3. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 796–797. ISBN 978-1476665993.
4. David Lambert (25 September 2012). "Street Sharks – DVD Plans Come to Light for the Popular Mid-'90s DiC Animated Series". TV Shows on DVD. Archived from the original on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
5. "Street Sharks DVD news: Announcement for Street Sharks – The Complete Series". TVShowsOnDVD.com. 11 December 2012. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
6. "Street Sharks – The Complete Series". TV Shows on DVD. 19 February 2013. Archived from the original on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
7. David Lambert (18 October 2017). "Street Sharks – Swimming Back to DVD: 'The Complete Series' from Mill Creek". TV Shows on DVD. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
8. "Street Sharks – The Complete Series". TV Shows on DVD. 16 January 2018. Archived from the original on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
9. "Discotek Licenses Skull-Face Bookseller Honda-san, Tales of Phantasia, As Miss Beelzebub Likes It, Yowamushi Pedal New Generation, More Anime". Anime News Network. December 13, 2021.
10. "Street Sharks (mini series) (1996)". Comic Book Database. Retrieved 17 August 2009.
11. "Street Sharks (1996)". Comic Book Database. Retrieved 17 August 2009.
12. "Lifestyles: Street Sharks are Chompin' Good!". Electronic Gaming Monthly #69 (April 1995), pg. 137.

1. Animation outsourced to Plus One Animation, Rainbow Animation Group, Hong Ying Animation and Han Yang Animation.

External links

• Street Sharks at IMDb
• Official website (via Internet Archive)
• Street Sharks at the Big Cartoon Database

• 1990s American animated television series
• 1990s American science fiction television series
• 1994 American television series debuts
• 1997 American television series endings
• American children's animated action television series
• American children's animated adventure television series
• American children's animated science fantasy television series
• Animated television series about fish
• Animated television series about teenagers
• Discotek Media
• Fictional sharks
• First-run syndicated television programs in the United States
• Superhero teams
• 1990s toys
• Television series by DIC Entertainment
• USA Action Extreme Team
• English-language television shows
• Television shows based on Mattel toys