Bureau of Alien Detectors
Bureau of Alien Detectors (commonly initialized as BAD) is a 1996 American animated series by Saban Entertainment that aired on the UPN network's weekend-morning cartoon block UPN Kids.[2] It was touted as "X-Files meets the A-Team,"[2] and only lasted for one season.[3]
| Bureau of Alien Detectors | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Science fiction Horror Action Adventure |
| Developed by | Eric Lewald Julia Lewald |
| Directed by | Ron Myrick |
| Starring | Michael McConnohie Bree Anderson Peter Spellos Reuben Daniels Sammy Lane Walter Rego Tyrone Week |
| Composers | Shuki Levy Kussa Mahchi Larry Seymour |
| Country of origin | United States France |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Joel Andryc Eric S. Rollman |
| Producer | Ron Myrick |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company | Saban Entertainment[1] |
| Distributor | Saban International |
| Release | |
| Original network | UPN |
| Original release | 1996 |
Plot
The series follows the exploits of the Phalanx Squad of the titular organization, led by war veteran Ben Packer, and consisting of resident psychic Casey Taylor, biologist Shane Sanderson, computer expert Colin Marcus, and super powered alien encounter survivor Moose Trengannu. But as they protect humanity from threats beyond the stars, some of the higher ups in B.A.D. have their own plans for the aliens.
Cast
- Michael McConnohie as Ben Packer
- Bree Anderson as Casey Taylor
- Peter Spellos as Moose Trengganu
- Reuben Daniels
- Sammy Lane
- Walter Rego
- Tyrone Week
Broadcast history
Bureau of Alien Detectors aired on UPN during the fall of 1996 in the US, and was also shown throughout 1997 in the country.[4] Repeats later aired on Fox Family Channel in 1999 and as part of Jetix on Toon Disney in 2006. In Australia, the series was shown on Network Ten's Cheez TV block beginning in May 1998. In the UK, it aired during 2004 as part of the international Fox Kids channel.
Episodes
| No. | Title | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Hunt" | Francis Moss Ted Pedersen | September 8, 1996 | |
| The team must defend an extraterrestrial ambassador nicknamed "Crystal Eve" from alien terrorists who are opposed to the sharing of knowledge and technology between species. | ||||
| 2 | "Hothouse" | Cary Bates | September 15, 1996 | |
| A renegade scientist's attempt at solving world hunger using spores "gifted" to Earth by aliens goes awry, and results in a Costa Rican jungle being overrun by otherworldly flora. | ||||
| 3 | "The Encounter" | Eric & Julia Lewald | September 22, 1996 | |
| B.A.D. investigates a spaceship crash near a small South Dakota town, the residents of which are acting secretive and strange. | ||||
| 4 | "Freezer Burn" | Bruce Reid Schaefer | September 29, 1996 | |
| When a hazmat team disappears in the frigid Canadian wilderness while looking into a spaceship sighting, B.A.D. is dispatched to locate them. Along the way, they find clues to the disappearance of a fellow agent named Miguel. | ||||
| 5 | "The Awakening" | Chuck Wagner | October 6, 1996 | |
| Long-gestating subterranean monstrosities hatch and begin terrorizing rural Kansas. | ||||
| 6 | "The Curse of Tassim" | Francis Moss Ted Pedersen | October 13, 1996 | |
| Two separate archaeological digs, one in Egypt and the other in Arizona, unleash a pair of ancient, malevolent energy beings known as "The Fiends of Tassim." | ||||
| 7 | "Always Faithful" | Russell Wiederspahn | October 20, 1996 | |
| Sanderson is left in charge when Packer vanishes while investigating a spike in possible paranormal phenomena in the Bermuda Triangle that may involve Miguel. | ||||
| 8 | "Twinkle, Twinkle Part 1" | Steve Melching David McDermott | October 27, 1996 | |
| Earth's communications array is thrown into disarray and its military cemeteries pillaged by the Martians, a marauding race that uses cyborg zombies to conquer planets, destroying any that refuse to submit to their rule. | ||||
| 9 | "Twinkle, Twinkle Part 2" | Brooks Wachtel | November 3, 1996 | |
| As the Earth is overrun by the undead, it is up to Casey and Moose to take out the Martian mother ship under the guidance of the benevolent alien Peytar. | ||||
| 10 | "Gifted" | Mark Edens | November 10, 1996 | |
| A California town finds itself at the mercy of a troubled, genetically-enhanced child. | ||||
| 11 | "Grease Trap" | Barry Hawkins | November 17, 1996 | |
| A radioactive meteorite lands in a Louisiana swamp, and mutates the resident larvae into creatures that grow and multiply rapidly by ingesting oil. | ||||
| 12 | "And Then Comes the Rain" | Diane Fresco | November 24, 1996 | |
| A freak heatwave in North Dakota precedes a torrential downpour that prematurely ages and mutates anyone exposed to the rainwater, which originates from a giant, cloud-like alien. | ||||
| 13 | "Bone Deep" | Don Glut | December 1, 1996 | |
| Alien radiation originating from beneath the Nevada desert has produced a race of sentient, animate dinosaur fossils. | ||||
Reception
A 1997 report on violence in television by UCLA identified Bureau of Alien Detectors as one of the most violent children's programs to debut during the 1996-97 television season. It states "The show’s protagonists are a humorless lot who are principally characterized by their brooding natures and desire to 'kick alien butt.' This is consistent with the menacing and intense tone that permeates the program. Consisting principally of heavy amounts of laser gunfire and alien attacks, scenes of violence are almost non-stop throughout the show and occasionally result in characters being killed. This latter point is especially surprising since characters are virtually never killed in children’s cartoons."[5]
In its entry for B.A.D. (Bureau of Alien Detectors; 1996-1997), the 2018 book The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows states "Despite being promoted as both educational and entertaining, it was neither, borrowing too many tropes and concepts from live-action predecessors to be enjoyable on its own. Clearly, it was a series designed to fill its time slot—and do nothing else."[1]
References
- Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781538103746. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- "TV's Fall Animation Lineup".
- Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 107–108. ISBN 978-1476665993.
- Syracuse Post Standard Newspaper, Jun 29, 1997, p. 271
- "Television violence report" (PDF). www.digitalcenter.org. 1997. Retrieved 2020-01-10.