Roger Ramjet is a 1965–1969 American animated television series, starring Roger Ramjet and the American Eagle Squadron. The show was known for its simple animation, frenetic pace, and frequent references to pop culture which appealed to adults as well as children.[1] During its original run, the show aired on NBC. Reruns of the show aired on Cartoon Network from 1996 to 1998.[2]
Plot
Roger Ramjet is a patriotic and highly moral 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 populate the series.[3]
Ramjet encounters various nemeses during his missions, assigned by General G.I. Brassbottom. 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", which also is the tune of the theme song). His Eagles appear to be children, yet each of them flies his own individual ramjet aircraft expertly (except for Dee), and they are obviously much savvier than their leader.
The various recurring criminals include:
Pint-sized gangster Noodles Romanoff and his evil organization N.A.S.T.Y. (National Association of Spies, Traitors, and Yahoos). Noodles wears dark glasses, a fedora, and a trench coat. His hands are always jammed into his jacket pockets. Noodles' has several lookalike henchmen clad in hats and coats who simultaneously utter incomprehensible phrases of agreement to whatever he says.
The Solenoid Robots, green metal gas mask-faced evildoers from outer space who have a wheel instead of legs and talk in barely understandable electronic voices.
Red Dog the Pirate, a redheaded squat scourge of the seven seas with an eye patch, peg-leg and a wise-cracking parrot named Carl Bob for a sidekick.
Jacqueline Hyde (a play on Jekyll and Hyde) is a blond, long-nosed, Zsa Zsa Gabor-accented foreign spy femme fatale who is aided by other spies and gangsters. She tries to get information on plans and documents for her foreign government agency.
Dr. Frank N. Schwine, a Boris Karloff sound-alike mad scientist who is helped by his purple propeller beanie-wearing assistant Sidney. The two create hulking Frankenstein-style monsters, only to have Roger defeat them and turn them into American football players.
Sexy senorita Tequila Mockingbird (play on To Kill a Mockingbird) who teams up with her bandito boyfriends the Enchilada Brothers, Beef and Chicken, to stir up revolution in the tiny Latin American country of San Domino.
Episodes
Season one (1965)
"Dr. Ivan Evilkisser"
"The Sheik"
"Bat Guy"
"The Shaft"
"Kokomo"
"Baseball"
"The Cowboy"
"Dee Kidnap"
"Drafted"
"TV Crisis"
"Miss America"
"The Pirates"
"Revolution"
"Torture"
"The Race"
"Jack the Nipper"
"Ma Ramjet"
"The Cockroaches" - this episode is a parody of The Beatles
Gene Moss and Jim Thurman were the writers of the series.
Paul Shively wrote the lyrics for the show's theme song.
Airdates
In the United States, Roger Ramjet first aired on NBC from 1965 to 1969, and later on Cartoon Network from 1996 to 1998.[4] It also aired on KTV from 2017 to 2019.
Selected "minisodes" of Roger Ramjet are available to stream free on Sony's Crackle.
Production notes
The creators of the series were from Lompoc, California and worked in many references to the town into the series,[5] including setting several episodes there. Invariably, the name of the town was mispronounced.
The name "Roger" came about after producer Fred Crippen had an interview with a reporter named Roger Smith. Smith asked Crippen about his new TV show and then joked that the main character should be named Roger.
The theme song's lyrics are sung to the melody of "Yankee Doodle".
Many of the production personnel would go on to be involved with Sesame Workshop after Roger Ramjet's run.
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).
