Fish Police
Fish Police characters and their voice actors from left to right: Angel Jones voiced by JoBeth Williams, Crabby voiced by Buddy Hackett, Chief Abalone voiced by Ed Asner, and Det. Catfish voiced by Robert Guillaume
GenreComedy Police procedural
Based onFish Police
by Steve Moncuse
Developed byJeanne Romano
Voices of
ComposersJames Horner (theme)
Steve Bramson (score)
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6 (list of episodes)
Production
Producers
Production companyHanna-Barbera, Inc.[a]
Original release
NetworkCBS[1]
ReleaseFebruary 28 (1992-02-28) –
March 13, 1992 (1992-03-13)

Fish Police is an American adult animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera for CBS. It is based on the comic book series of the same name created by Steve Moncuse.[2] It first aired in 1992, broadcasting three episodes before being axed for low ratings.[3] A further three episodes never aired in the United States, although the entire series ran in European syndication.

The show has a decidedly more mature tone than most other animated Hanna-Barbera shows; episodes often contained innuendo and mild profanity.[4][5]

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 (also produced by Hanna-Barbera) and CBS's Family Dog. Hanna-Barbera Productions pitched the series to CBS Entertainment, which agreed to pick it up.[5] All three were canceled in their first seasons.

Plot

Beneath the ocean, a fish named Inspector Gil works for his police department under Chief Abalone. He solves the various crimes in his city while tangling with Biscotti Calamari.

Characters

Main characters

Guest characters

Episodes

No.TitleOriginal 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"April 4, 1992 (1992-04-04)
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"May 5, 1992 (1992-05-05)
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"June 16, 1992 (1992-06-16)
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".[6] Marion Garmel of the Indianapolis Star thought that the show lacked the "dark edge" of the comics.[7] In a 2010 interview, Moncuse said of the show: "The less said about the animated series the better".[8]

See also

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. ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 207–208. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  3. ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 330–331. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  4. ^ Lee Margulies, TV Ratings 'Fish Police' Can't Get Arrested, Los Angeles Times, February 28, 1992, accessed January 20, 2011.
  5. ^ a b Daniel Cerone, 'Fish Police' on Endangered Species List, Los Angeles Times, February 28, 1992, accessed January 20, 2011.
  6. ^ Tucker, Ken (28 February 1992). "Fish Police review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 10 January 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  7. ^ "Three shows to premiere, and one's a little fishy". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. 1992-02-27. Retrieved 2012-05-24.
  8. ^ "Moncuse's "Fish Police" Are Back on Patrol". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  1. ^ Animation outsourced to Fil-Cartoons, Mr. Big Cartoons, Karen Johnson Productions and Jaime Diaz Studios.

External links

Hanna-Barbera
Categories