Talk:SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron

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[edit] Wikipedia:EL

These links keep getting removed, but after reviewing WP:EL I'm failing to see why. Fan sites are not preferable, but there's not much else out there, and as others have already noted, sites like IMDB either have insufficient or inaccurate information, and before anyone says "prove it wrong," under WP guidelines it can't because either A. it would involve original research or B. it would require citing a fan site. This show is dead and there's not much outside of the fan sites which have archived information from now non-existent official sources in addition to anything conjectural. Other shows in a similar genre such as The Real Ghostbusters, Road Rovers and Batman: The Animated Series are allowed to have fan sites listed in their external links section, and I'm having difficulty understanding why SWAT Kats is treated differently. It's really confusing, and I thank you for your time in advance for any clarification you can offer.--Modad (talk) 23:16, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Is there a specific section on the talk pages of the article you mentioned that have permission to allow post fansites? I agree that IMDB is not an RS. What exactly do the websites actually offer that cannot be added to improve this article? --  ShadowJester07  ►Talk  01:15, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

The Web site http://www.swatkats.info has scanned copies of an Animato article written by Mark Lungo from back in 1995 that includes plot details and explanations of the show episode by episode, of which has been transferred into text on the site's episodes section. It also features transcripts and a bonus episode review by Mark Lungo that was not in the original article. Other details relating to show merchandise, official HB model sheets, episode clips and actual episodes (which are embedded on the site, but not actually hosted), official show opener storyboards, a scan of a published review of the video game and an interview with show writer Lance Falk can be found here. These are the "official" things, in addition to other speculative materials that are either obviously speculative (because it says so) or obviously fan made, or would fall under the category of original research.

The SK Zone (http://www.kishikat.com/zone/) additionally has audio, video and images of the series for reference, a separate interview with Lance Falk, a complete voice list (though this may count as original research), animation cells, additonal official model sheets and additional official storyboards. And yes, there are also other speculative materials that are either obviously speculative (because it says so) or obviously fan made.

SWAT Kats.us (http://www.swatkats.us) is a center of the fan community where discussion of the show can take place, in addition to hosting episodes of the show for reference. These three sites, run by different people (so as to reduce bias), should be linked because they can offer more official details that pertain to the topic, but that would also not necessarily fall under Wikipedia's standards to be included in the article (as trivia sections are discouraged), but would fall under an acceptable external link. Though they may not be preferable, they're all that's left, so preference isn't really an option at this time. Again, thank you for your time.--Modad (talk) 13:29, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

The case sounds feasible to me; I'll undo my edit, though I cannot guarantee that another editor will not remove them. I can see that the links have been posted for the best interest of the encyclopedia, and not there to merely advertise the sites. Thanks. --  ShadowJester07  ►Talk  13:37, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

Thank you. Your discretion is appreciated.--Modad (talk) 13:42, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Character Pages

Err, what happened to the character pages?


- They're still accessible. You just have to know how to find them. —Preceding unsigned comment added by BlackNemesis (talk • contribs) 22:43, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

That does not answer the question. Angie Y. (talk) 01:19, 25 November 2007 (UTC)

They were all merged and redirected. There is no content on them now. Thanks!, Codelyoko193 (T/C) 16:52, 25 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Odd links

I find it odd that fansites with lots of resources are not listed in the links and whenever they are added they are removed again and again. Why are informational fansites not allowed in the links while big-name encyclopedic sites which contain erroneous information are? It looks pretty silly to me!

  • Per WP:RS, fansites are not considered reliable sources as they also tend to have speculation. Information from official sources are much preferred. 147.70.242.40 23:32, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Except that the official sources are -wrong- on some points and there is no way to correct those errors.  :\

If the official sources are wrong, it should be noted, with linked evidence, on this article. Lots42 20:23, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Brining it back?

"It was confirmed by Cartoon Network that a new version of the SWAT Kats was in production, ready to be released in the Summer of 2007. It was confirmed also that most of the characters from the original series were coming back. Some of the villains like Dr. Viper, The Metallikats, Dark Cat and The Pastmaster are going to make a return, with a new visual. It isn't known yet if the new cartoon series is a totally new series, or if it it has anything to do with the original show."

Where is proof of this?

I do not see a source, and this is somthing really really big.

--Cuddles32 23:55, 24 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Megas Inspiration?

This show may have been an inspiration for Megas:XLR ... research needs to be done.

But the Sawt Kats was inspired by many movies/shows AFAIK. --GatesPlusPlus 06:52, 7 May 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Cancelled? Why?

It says that SWAT Kats was cancelled, but for what reason? I heard it was because of the violence. Is that true? It was an awesome show. I don't like Megas: XLR, but I do see a similarity. 71.250.68.129 16:27, 17 December 2005 (UTC)

GatesPlusPlus, It Was Because Of Low Ratings. Tomjerry9 17:46, 30 December 2006 (UTC) -- No, smart guy. Swat Kats was cancelled when hanna-barbara wen out of buisness, thanks to Jhonny Quest. --Cuddles32 01:41, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

Low Ratings and pending bankruptcy from overextending the studio resources were the key factors to the ending of the series. Successful series were spared, the not-so-good were trimmed to keep the studio afloat. HB Still ended up being bought up by WB in the end though. Johnny Quest was -one- of -many- shows that were failures. You cannot just chalk it up to one thing.  :P

--

Yep. I AM Pretty Smart. Tomjerry9 17:46, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

The show did NOT have low ratings (it surpassed all other shows at the time), so the only reason the show was cancelled was either bankruptcy or minimal sponsoring/interest in the show from the creators and or sponsors. --White Mage Cid —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.167.234.84 (talk) 18:22, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Erroneous cast listings...

John Stocker, Brad Garrett, Michael Stark, Rodger Bumpass, and Edward Hibbert were never voice actors on this show. I own all of the officially produced episodes on videotape and I know the cast lists. These people were never listed as playing any "Evil Robots" in any of the episodes' closing credits. I have removed them from the cast listing and I ask that whoever added them back not do so again; this is false information. - Kooshmeister

  • And someone did it again, saying John Stocker did the voices for Zed and Morbulus (misspelling his name as "Morbulis"). I removed this. - Kooshmeister

[edit] Theme Song

The theme song for the show sounds similar to at least two songs I can think of; Iron Maiden's 'The Clairvoyant' and Joe Satriani's 'Summer Song', or at least strongly reminiscent. Who performed the theme?PolarisSLBM 07:16, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

The music for the show was made by Nick Brown, Randall Crissman and John Zuker. I don't think they're similar. It can sound like a certain song if you know what to think about. Maybe, they have some similar styles, but I don't think it's a ripoff.Starstream 26 December 2006

[edit] Characters?

Is it OK if the individual character articles are moved to this page? They are already short, and this article needs update anyway.

It's not really needed. Most of the articles have enough substantial information to stand by themselves. Merging all the articles here would just add clutter the page and add an extra +15kb. --ShadowJester07 21:47, 25 December 2006 (UTC)
Er Never mind, I was looking at the Enemies article. Seeing as you moved the page, you should probably listed the unneeded articles for deletion :p --ShadowJester07 21:56, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Kat Ears

Have you noticed that the skull of a Kat has ears? When the Pastmaster brings forth skeletons, they have ears. When Razor and the "Old man" in Razor's Edge battle and go through X-Rays (Kat Scan) they have ears. When the SWAT Kats go underground and find skulls in Cavern of Horrors, they have ears. From all this, plus the fact that they are not regular cats, I believe their ears are supported by or are bone. Who agrees? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.224.11.191 (talk) 02:10, 27 February 2007 (UTC).

I think they give them ears to simply let the viewers know they're meant to be cat skulls. - Kooshmeister

[edit] "Interesting" logic

From the trivia section:

Since the characters of the series are known as "kats", we can assume that they evolved from Sabertooth Cats, just like humans evolved from apes.

Neither of the statements in this sentence (that the characters are called "kats," and that they can probably be safely assumed to have evolved from some early big cat) is inaccurate, but I don't see how the former is evidence for the latter. --152.7.49.159 00:08, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

While there is a sabertooth tiger in one episode (The Pastmaster Always Rings Twice), that same episode's production artwork for the museum interior depict an exhibit about a "Cave Cat." I'm unsure if this wound up in the actual episode however. What I wanna know is how in the world spelling "cat" with a "K" serves as "evidence" that they came from saberooth tigers. - Kooshmeister

"Evolving" from Sabertooth cats makes no sense. Besides, evolution from apes is still just a theory.

[edit] Episodes Pages

Hey, I noticed that for a lot of series, the Wikipedia standard seems to be different from the almost stub-quality pages we have for the Swat Kats episodes. Some episodes are missing pages all together, and I also think better images could be used on the character pages (T-Bone, for example, seems to have a mugshot taken with a digital camera off a television screen). Anyone object to me changing these pages around a bit so they're all somewhat uniform? Recalcitrancy 21:24, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

  • I think if you have something to contribute then do it. Mpete510 21:26, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Episode premises

What's the source for these episode premises?

The Madkat's Revenge The Vampire She-Kat Robotic Madness Past vs. Present The Dark SWAT Kats Return

"The Vampire She-Kat" sounds suspiciously like it's just another alternate title for The Curse of Kataluna, while the others are, well, pretty generic, title-wise. "The Dark SWAT Kats Return" sounds like wishful fan thinking. I'm willing to entertain the idea that these are all for real, but I'd like some sources. And while I'm at it, I also need to post sources for Blackout and Coldwar. - Kooshmeister

[edit] Characters

They cannot meet the standards of the site, so there is no need for them to be separate topics. Small descriptions should be added here. Those should eventually be converted into prose. TTN 19:31, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Other languages

Could anyone please verify the "SWAT Kats in other languages" section? I can confirm that the Russian title is correct (uh, actually, the translation is lame, but it's the official translation), but I doubt whether the Italian, Hindi and Polish titles are accurate. For example, Google shows that "Gatti Volanti" refers to Catwings, and "Chwaty Koty-Koty Chwaty" just looks weird. --Ambidexter 12:34, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Deaths?

Weren't there a lot of on-screen deaths? Like tanks being smashed to bits with the crews still inside? Lots42 20:21, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

Well, I'm not really surprised if there were a lot of on-screen deaths piling up on our screens. I mean, this is not a perfect world we're talking about; there's lot's psychotic bad guys plotting and doing evil deeds, giant-monsters stomping around the city, alien invasions, undead wizards and robotic undead kats shooting about on a rampage... to name a few.

I will be VERY surprised if 0 "on-screen" deaths has occurred on the series, Kat or otherwise.

That's normal for the SWAT KAT's world.

While visible deaths were depicted, they were never revealed. This was often inflicted on Enforcer tanks and choppers, as well as MegaKat civilians and other characters who disappear after a calamitous scene (such as in The Giant Bacteria and Caverns of Horror). 23:12, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Linda Gary

In watching Swat Kats on youtube recently, I was surprised to hear Linda Gary's voice in Ep. 1. Double-checking the credits, she is certainly listed there. I decided that even though her character might only show up in that episode, Ms. Gary is a prestigious enough voice actress to deserve being listed here regardless. --Yoshiaki Abe 04:12, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Plot timeline

I watched the "Ghost Pilot" episode again, which revolves around the Mega War II (equivalent to World War II), and it's explicitly stated that MegaKat City is in its 1990s by hearing a security guard comment on the "Red Lynx"'s plane after "50 years". 1945 + 50 = 1995 is what I figured the show takes place in. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.167.234.84 (talk) 03:27, 3 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Incorrect character listing

Callie Briggs was listed under "Heroes", which is a fatal error. I've moved her description into "Supporting characters", which fits her more properly. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.167.234.84 (talk) 00:00, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Requesting rewrite

I went through the article again, and the factual accuracies are horribly off. This article needs a complete re-write from someone who is a genuine expert who knows the cartoon show in question. 13:38, 28 March 2008 (UTC) White Mage Cid

You should note that you can challenge un-sourced material a {{Fact}} tag to each fishy statement, or ultimately removing it per WP:A. --  ShadowJester07  ►Talk  14:32, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Objection, comrades!

  • The last unfinished episode title is not Doctors of Doom. It's The curse of Kataluna
  • The Dark SWAT Kats were killed when a bomb they were carrying exploded. Didn't you notice, that the explosion was suspiciously weak? (The bomb was desinged to destroy the enforcers headquaters) Why if the explosion have merely catapulted them into another alternate dimension (in our's for example)Why if they are under your bed now?(Boo-oo-oo!)
  • What's with that Cold War? You are still afraid of our's MiG-29?

--80.235.65.82 (talk) 18:35, 10 June 2008 (UTC)