Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa

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Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa is an American animated television series for children created by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book artist Ryan Brown. It was produced by Greengrass Productions and animated by Gunther-Wahl Productions for its first season and then handed to Ruby-Spears Productions for its second season. C.O.W.-Boys aired Saturday mornings on the American Broadcasting Company television network.

First broadcast on September 18, 1992 to coattail the staggering success of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the C.O.W-Boys of Moo Mesa became a popular hit, spawning an arcade game, two seasons of comic books, and several lines of merchandise. However, the series only ran for two seasons, spanning 26 episodes, before the show was canceled on May 26, 1994 with Disney's acquisition of ABC.The series was then re-broadcast for 3 additional years on the Toon Disney Channel from April 1998 to April 2001.

The show's theme song was by famous country music star Billy Dean. Star Wars veteran Mark Hamill and Kate Mulgrew (of Star Trek: Voyager) both supplied voices for the show. Two time Emmy winning beauty and former Mrs. David Cassidy, Kay Lenz voiced the character Cowlamity Kate and Saturday Night Live veteran Joe Piscopo was the voice of Sheriff Terrorbull.

The television series is owned by the CBS Corporation and was produced by the CBS owned company King World Productions, Inc. King World is also home to the Oprah Winfrey Show, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy! and the Dr. Phil Show. DIC Entertainment currently holds some rights to the series through the acquisition of Greengrass Productions.

Contents 1 Characters 2 Episode guide 3 Arcade Game 4 Comic book series 5 Merchandise 6 Action Figures 7 Puns 8 Other Appearances 9 External links

[edit] Characters

Like many cartoons during its time, The C.O.W.-Boys dealt with a mutation of some kind; in this case, an irradiated meteor struck the late 1800's western plains creating a miles high mesa shrouded in clouds. Everything trapped on top of the mesa was "cow-metized" by the light from the "cow-met" and "evolved" into a "bovipomorphic" state. Inspired by old tales of the Wild West, this new bovine community developed to the point where they emulated that era's way of life, including the requisite ruffians and corrupt sheriffs. However, their knowledge of Wild West living was limited, and as such, many things about their culture had to be improvised to 'fill in the blanks'.

The series focuses on trying to keep justice in the frontier territory. The lawbreakers were too much for the regulators of Cow Town - Mayor Bulloney and Sheriff Terribull - to handle by themselves. Helping them out were a group of peacekeepers known as C.O.W. Boys, short for "Code of the West." Led by bull Marshal Moo Montana, the C.O.W. Boys also included the outspoken Tenderfoot, the strong, silent Dakota Dude and the Cowlorado Kid. The muscle-bound Marshal and his deputies had their hands full with the two outlaw gangs that plagued the otherwise peaceful town: the Wild Wild Bullies and the Gila Hooligans.

The main characters are:

• Marshal Moo Montana: leader of the C.O.W-Boys and marshal of Moo Mesa. Courageous and quick on his hooves Moo Montana "battles the bad guys and makes the West a safer place to graze". Lives by the Code of the West, which he seems to make up as he goes along (episode 12: Dances with Bulls). (Voice: Pat Fraley).
• The Dakota Dude: the soft-spoken muscle of Montana's posse, Dakota possesses a cool temperament and rarely gets mad, even in near death experiences (episode 12: Dances with Bulls). Dakota agreed to marry Cowlamity Kate in Wedding Bull Blues to save her father's inheritance. (Voice: Jim Cummings).
• The Cowlorado Kid: the youngest of the group and a self-proclaimed ladies' man with a good singing voice, regardless of his skill with the lasso and guitar, Cowlorado isn't a deputy yet. In Stolen on the River, he tries to prove he's worthy of being a deputy by catching Five Card Cud only to be rescued by Dakota and Moo Montana. (Voice: Jeff Bennett).
• Sheriff Terrorbull/The Masked Bull: selected by the corrupt Mayor Bullony, Terrorbull uses his sheriff front to conceal his evil intentions.
• Mayor Oscar Bulloney: the greedy and corrupt mayor of Moo Mesa, Bulloney rigs elections (episode 2: Stolen on the River) and makes taxes so high that the Masked Bull compares it to stealing.
• Lily Bovine: bartender for the local saloon.

Secondary characters include:

• Horribull [Sheriff Terrorbull's brother]
• Cowlamity Kate Cudster
• Five Card Cud
• Cody Calf
• Jake
• Carly
• Josey Rey [J.R.]
• Tejua
• Hole in the Ground Gang
• Six Gun Clucky
• BullFrog Durham
• Gila Hooligans
• Puma
• Jacque Le Beefe
• Geronimoo
• Buffalo Bull
• Colonel Cudster
• Saddle Sore
• Boot Hill Buzzard
• Skull Duggery
• Mules Burne
• Swifty Buckhorn
• Big Bucks
• Evil Eye
• Shock Holiday
• Roy Beans
• Boar Brothers
• Bat Blastagun
• Sid Arachnid
• Gil A. Monster
• The Rawhide Rattler
• Dr. Wolfgang Wolfenstein
• Judge O. Verrule
• The Cacklin' Kid
• The Scavenger
• Chomp
• Sawbones
• Warden Gordon Borden
• Fast Willie Weasel
• Stinky & Cheesy
• Dog-Eared Earle
• Cow Belle
• Butch Cowsiddy
• The lone Grunger
• The Sundazed Kid
• Don Juan Iguana
• The Great Bovini
• Bulloono the evil clown
• Captain Long Horn Silver
• River Rat Rosie
• Cawford
• Rocky Bovine
• Chester & Lester
• Wild Bill Barker
• Barbara Clawson [aka "Barbwire Babs"]
• Sister Slim
• Bess and Tess the Buffalo Gals
• Grits Grizzly
• Rooster Cogbull
• Blackjack
• Digalong Dan
• Stub "Ernie" Mule
• Slippery Sam
• Governor Cudsworth
• Sadie Wowcow
• Miss Cowleen
• Sheriff T-Bone
• Frank & Beans

[edit] Episode guide

Season One:

1. Another Fine Mesa: No one cares that it is Moo's 10th anniversary as marshal. Then, Moo receives a telegram from his hometown of Miller Glen, where the sheriff wants Moo to take over. Now Moo must decide between Miller Glen and Cowtown.
2. A Sheepful of Dollars: Cowlorado volunteers for Miss Lily's cattle drive, only to find out his cattle are bad tempered sheep.
3. A Snake in Cow's Clothing: A mysterious bull arrives in town who has all the women drawn to him and Moo and Dakota are suspicious of him, especially after Miss Lily is robbed.
4. Bang'em High: Mayor Bulloney and The Masked Bull make a plan to get rid of Moo.
5. Bulls of a Feather: During an attack on the stagecoach Puma sees that The Masked Bull is actually Sheriff Terrorbull. In order to save his identity the sheriff must break his brother Horribull out of jail.
6. Dances with Bulls: Moo and Terrorbull get in a mess when they both try to capture the Gila Gang.
7. Legend of Skull Duggery: When Cody, Carly and Jake find a treasure map in Cowlamity Kate's attic, they decide to follow it to find Tom Duggery's lost silver.
8. School Days: A new teacher has the children help The Masked Bull commit crime through her strange assignments.
9. Stolen on the River: In an attempt to get his own deputy star, Cowlorado decides to catch Five Card Cud all by himself, only to fail in a shot of embarrassment as he's rescued by Dakota and Moo.
10. The Big Cow Wow: Cody is really excited about going to the Pueblo's annual Cow-Wow with J.R. and Tejua, but a string of robberies by the Hold in the Ground Gang could disrupt the whole fiesta. When Moo and the other C.O.W.-Boys run into some trouble trying to catch the gang Cody and Tejua help to bring them to justice.
11. Wedding Bull Blues: When Cowlamity Kate's doesn't receive a letter from her father who has been exploring the Mesa for 7 years, Mayor Bulloney claims he will be taking all her property since her father had no will. But when a page of one of her father's old letters shows up, stating Kate and her husband will inherit the ranch and his gold, Kate plans to marry Dakota.
12. Westward, Whoa: Cowtown dries up and only Mayor Bulloney has water. When Cody finds the real reason for this it is up to him to bring water back everyone.
13. Thoroughly Moodern Lily: When Mayor Bulloney discovers a hidden secret buried deep beneath Lily Bovine's Tumbleweed Saloon he quickly dispatches Lily's arch-rival Sadie Wowcow to run her out of town.

Season Two:

1. Billy the Kidder: While the bulls are out on the trail, Miss Lily receives a message from her Uncle Rocky who has found a lost treasure. But when she's taken hostage by Billy the Kidder, the Cowboys and Cowlamity Kate ride out to rescue her.
2. Boom Town or Bust: Cowlorado discovers gold on the Mesa and every bull, cow, and calf is looking to get rich quick. Keeping the peace prooves difficult enough without Big Bucks and his band of outlaws robbing claims at gun point.
3. Circus Daze: The Cowboys are in charge of the Cowlanor Diamond awaiting the stagecoach to Jersey City when The Great Bovini's Circus rolls into town. But when everyone who attends the circus starts acting funny, Moo has to do double duty to protect the diamond while spying on the circus with a little help from Boot Hill.
4. Cow Pirates of Swampy Cove: Longhorn Silver and his band of buccaneers have been robbing trains and causing touble on the Mesa's waterways. With a gold shipment and Cody's money for new boots in their possession the Marshal and the Cowboys have to go to Newportleans to track these scoundrels down.
5. How the West was Shrunk: Bat Blastagun and the boys are back, and bent on revenge. They find a shard of the comet and take it to Dr. Wolfgang Wolfenstein, who unleashes its powers.
6. Night of the Cowgoyle: In search of an outlaw, Marshal Montana, Dakota, Cowlorado and Cody accompany a wagontrain through the Valley of Darkness where a mysterious creature has been attacking them and everyone's a suspect.
7. No Face to Hide: Shock Holiday and his gang haven't just been stealing from trains, they've been stealing the whole dadburn train. Over a drink, Moo makes a beat that he can catch Holiday before Sheriff Terrorbull or he'll resign his post as Marshal. But when the Sheriff gets to Holiday first, Montana and the Cowboys have no choice but to leave town.
8. No Way to Treat a Lady: Moo is stunned when the shipment of gold bullion they are guarding is left by thieves in favour of stealing supplies from The Cowtown Gazette. However he's distracted by a house warming for a new lady in town.
9. Skull Duggery Rides Again: Risen from the undead, Skull Duggery and his super-natural posse head to Cowtown to wreak havoc and disrupt the Halloween celebrations.
10. The Cacklin Kid: After defecting from the Bayin' Bunch, the Cracklin Kid argees to help the lawcows find his former friends in exchange for not serving jail time. But after a few days on the trail his gift for gab is almost more than the cowboys can bare.
11. The Down Under Gang: The cowboys are dumbfounded as every outlaw they chase seems to disappear into thin air. With Cowlorado hidden in a strongbox, they hope to find the location of Sidewinder City.
12. The Fastest Filly in the West: The Annual Cowtown Cross Country Race is coming up quick and Cowlorado's interest leaves Marshal Montana and Dakota short handed. Competing for first place and Cowlamity's cousin's effections he's little help in stopping Fast Willie from robbing the Pony Express.
13. The Wild Wild Pest: Airship capitain Mules Burne seeks payback from the inventors at the Invention Convention. Once he's captured Moo Mesa's scientific community, he uses them as a workforce to build his most diabolical creation yet.

[edit] Arcade Game

In 1992 Konami released Wild West C.O.W.-Boys Of Moo Mesa, an arcade game based on the series. The game was never ported to a home console like many arcade games would be and still are. The game allowed characters to play as the Cowlorado Kid, the Dakota Dude, Marshall Moo Montana and, introduced for the first time, the shotgun-toting Buffalo Bull. C.O.W.-Boys creator Ryan Brown worked closely with Konami on the game's development.

The game had a simple story - the kidnap of Lily Bovine by The Masked Bull, requiring a rescue. The game was a co-operative side-scroller similar to Konami's classic franchise-based side-scrollers for The Simpsons and X-Men (both of which shared the C.O.W-Boys' fate of never coming to a home console), allowing up to four players to play at once. The game had a simple two button control system; the player could either attack (in this case shoot) or jump.

As well as simply shooting, the player could use both attack buttons together to charge at enemies and obstacles (normally barrels) and spin upward, hitting enemies above. Shooting the chickens that flutter past grant the player with additonal power-ups. Some, like the boxing glove power-up, use the same two-button command; others make you invincible or give you additional bullets or increased weapon power.

Each level wass made up of a scrolling (though only 3, 'Sheeza Butte' 'Jane Meadow' and 'Mine' automatically scroll) main level, each with a different theme and often level-specific dangers and enemies, a sub-boss (or in 'Cowtown's case many) that requires a good deal of shooting, all of which are fought in this main level area, then a boss area, the size of the screen, where the boss does battle. Most enemies will only need to be shot once, though some will need to be shot out of their hiding places or disguises (some are cacti, some barrels, etc.). The skeletal cows in 'Ghost Town' require multiple shots; however, only the player and bosses have life bars.

The player's life bar is split into three sections, each needing multiple hits to deplete entirely. Boss life bars are not split, but they will react differently (and more desperately) as their health bars become a third, half, and almost depleted.

While the game forced the player to start at the 'Hideout' level every time, one could afterward choose the order in which he played the following five levels before opening the final seventh level once all of these were completed. This was unusual at the time, when most games tended to move the player on from one level to the next in a certain order.

Several fans had tried to homebrew port the game to Sega Mega Drive and Super Nintendo.

The Levels:

Hideout: A simple short level in a western themed town. Boss Sheriff Terrorbull is fought in a barn.

Mine: The main level is set on a constantly-moving and jumping mine cart line with enemies firing from a parallel line above. This comes to a sudden end and throws the player back down to a saloon where he fights Five Card Cud (called Five Card Stud in the game). Cud fights with cards, and even turns into a giant one which takes damange when shot, with you on a platform below that swings more as Cud takes more damage.

Ghost Town: The first part of Ghost Town is a ghost town, with a ghostly green sub-boss. After defeating him, the player moves on to a graveyard overlooked by a demonic cow head and featuring skeletal undead cow enemies, culminating in a fight with Boothill Buzzard. Buzzard has bombs and a shovel/gun as well as a 'buzzard swing,' a swing held aloft by a flock of purple buzzards that the player must shoot down.

Sheeza Butte: An all-flying level, the player is held aloft by an eagle, giving him movement of the whole screen to avoid some level-specific enemies such as swarms of bees, chomping jaw rockets, and hot air balloons. The level is set alongside a railroad track until Saddle Sore's giant scorpion boss area. Saddle jumps around and shoots at the player.

Jane Meadow: The level consists of walking and flying sections (the flying section being almost identical to Sheeza Butte). The boss is 'Bullet Train,' a locomotive that has to be taken apart piece by piece.

Niagra Desert: A three-part level, beginning in a desert, then moving to a cave for a large snake sub-boss, before entering an enemy-filled fort, and finally culminating in a fight against the Mexican spider villain Sid Arachnid who attacks only from above, firing down with webs or knives.

Cowtown: Though the final boss is, eventually, The Masked Bull (in Skull Mountain), the player must first fight his way through Cowtown's buildings, where there are literally dozens of enemies per room and section.

[edit] Comic book series

Archie Comics released both a mini-series and regular series of Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa comic books. The first issue of the mini-series came with an exclusive pull-out wanted poster available only through the direct sales market.

The C.O.W.-Boys teamed up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to stop a wild western menace from Moo Mesa in issue #21 of the Mirage Studios title "Tales of the TMNT."

[edit] Merchandise

Action figures and vehicles were made by Hasbro. Story books, coloring books and VHS home videos were put out by Random House. Halloween costumes were made by Collegeville/Imagineering LP. Farley Candy came out with a line of themed fruit snacks. Bath products by Tsumura International were also available, as well as lunch boxes by Thermos Company. Figural coin banks were made by Toy Dreams. Plastic dinnerware was available from Betras Plastics. Kid's Meal promotional items (3" action figures, collectible cups) were made by Kid Stuff.

[edit] Action Figures

In 1991 Hasbro Toys produced a series of ten action figures and one vehicle. Marshal Moo Montana was produced heaviest while the character Boothill Buzzard is the rarest of the set with only a limited number released. Of the three main heroes the Dakota Dude is the scarcest.

In 1999, a company called Kid Stuff manufactured a set of 3 inch tall action figures for it's Moo Mesa Kid's Meal promotion. Articulated at the shoulders,neck and waist the assortment consisted of Marshal Moo Montana, The Dakota Dude, The Cowlorado Kid, Miss Cowlamity Kate, Cody Calf and the Masked Bull. These were available at participating restaurants.

[edit] Puns

The C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa is filled with witty bovine-related jokes and word humour including:

• Moo: Marshal Moo Montana, Geronimoo (Geronimo)
• Bovine: "Brave bovines," bovine (benign) benevolence, Lily Bovine
• Bull: Sheriff Terrorbull (terrible), The Masked Bull, Mayor Oscar Bull'oney (baloney or bologna)
• Cow: C.O.W stands for "Code of the West"

[edit] Other Appearances

In issue #21 of the Mirage Studios Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the C.O.W.-Boys chase Sheriff Terrorbull through a portal that leads them into New York City. There they meet Master Splinter and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles who aid them in capturing the villainous Terrorbull.

The C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa make a cameo appearance in episode #120 of the 2003 TMNT animated series. The turtles visit the Tumbleweed Saloon in Moo Mesa in the form of a virtual simulation, where they fight a cast of Cowtown villains and play a hand of cards with heroes Marshall Moo Montana, the Dakota Dude, and the Cowlorado Kid. The featured Moo Mesa villains are Sheriff Terrorbull, Boothill Buzzard, Shock Holiday, Big Bucks, Lone Grunger, Butch Cowsiddy, Stub and Slick Willie Weasel, all of whom first appeared in the 1992-1994 Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa animated ABC television show.

First airing on Saturday, August 12 of 2006, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Fast Foward's third episode involved young Cody O'Neill's Robodojo being taken over by a living computer virus. The Robodojo was similar to the Danger Room in Marvel's X-Men, generating holographic settings and characters to interact with. In this third episode, the virus created a wild west setting, which featured several characters and settings from the Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa television series.

[edit] External links

Unofficial Sites and Fan Sites

• http://www.moomesa.us
• http://www.cafepress.com/moomesa
• Cow Boys of Moo Mesa