"G.I. Joe" (1985) TV series 1985-1986

Writers:

Larry Hama (character development)
Denny O'Neil (writer)

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

16 September 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Adventure

Plot:

An elite special missions force fights against the terrorist forces of Cobra.

Plot Keywords:

Military | Based On Toy

Cast

Chris Latta	...	Cobra Commander / ... (77 episodes, 1985-1986)
Michael Bell	...	Duke / ... (67 episodes, 1985-1986)
Neil Ross	...	Shipwreck / ... (62 episodes, 1985-1986)
Arthur Burghardt	...	Destro / ... (56 episodes, 1985-1986)
Frank Welker	...	Torch / ... (55 episodes, 1985-1986)
Mary McDonald-Lewis	...	Lady Jaye / ... (49 episodes, 1985-1986)
Bill Ratner	...	Flint / ... (45 episodes, 1985-1986)
Zack Hoffman	...	Zartan / ... (36 episodes, 1985-1986)
Kene Holliday	...	Roadblock (36 episodes, 1985-1986)
Morgan Lofting	...	Baroness / ... (35 episodes, 1985-1986)
Corey Burton	...	Tomax / ... (32 episodes, 1985-1986)
Pat Fraley	...	Ace / ... (31 episodes, 1985)

Series Writing credits
Buzz Dixon		(15 episodes, 1985-1986)
Ron Friedman		(10 episodes, 1985-1986)
Flint Dille		(7 episodes, 1985-1986)
David Carren		(5 episodes, 1985-1986)
Carla Conway		(5 episodes, 1985-1986)
Gerry Conway		(5 episodes, 1985-1986)
Christy Marx		(5 episodes, 1985)
Sharman Divono		(4 episodes, 1985-1986)
Steve Gerber		(4 episodes, 1985-1986)
Martin Pasko		(4 episodes, 1985-1986)
Michael Charles Hill		(3 episodes, 1985-1986)
Mary Skrenes		(3 episodes, 1985-1986)
Gordon Kent		(3 episodes, 1985)
Ted Pedersen		(3 episodes, 1985)
Beth Bornstein		(2 episodes, 1985-1986)
Steve Mitchell		(2 episodes, 1985)
Barbara Petty		(2 episodes, 1985)
Roger Slifer		(2 episodes, 1985)
Richard Merwin		(2 episodes, 1986)
David Schwartz		(2 episodes, 1986)
Larry Hama		(unknown episodes)
Denny O'Neil		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
Joe Bacal	....	executive producer (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Jim Duffy	....	producer (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Tom Griffin	....	executive producer (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Michael Charles Hill	....	co-producer (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Don Jurwich	....	supervising producer (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Margaret Loesch	....	executive producer (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Dan Thompson	....	producer (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Sam Weiss	....	producer / supervising producer (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
John Ahern	....	producer (55 episodes, 1985)
Doug Booth	....	associate producer (55 episodes, 1985)
Chuck Downs	....	producer (55 episodes, 1985)
Art Vitello	....	producer (55 episodes, 1985)
Mark Glamack	....	producer (30 episodes, 1986)
Larry Houston	....	producer (30 episodes, 1986)
Alex Lovy	....	producer (30 episodes, 1986)
George Singer	....	producer (30 episodes, 1986)
John Walker	....	producer (30 episodes, 1986)
John Grusd	....	producer (unknown episodes)

Series Original Music by
Johnny Douglas		(85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Robert J. Walsh		(85 episodes, 1985-1986)

Series Production Management
Jim Graziano	....	director of production (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Lee Gunther	....	executive in charge of production (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Carole Weitzman	....	production manager (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Geraldine Frerks	....	production manager (55 episodes, 1985)
Stephanie Graziano	....	production manager (55 episodes, 1985)
Eric Early	....	post-production supervisor (30 episodes, 1986)
Jean Frye	....	production manager (30 episodes, 1986)
Steven Heth	....	post-production supervisor (30 episodes, 1986)

Series Art Department
Jim Fletcher	....	storyboard director / storyboard artist (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Larry Houston	....	storyboard director / storyboard artist (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Boyd Kirkland	....	storyboard director / storyboard artist (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Frank Paur	....	storyboard director / storyboard artist (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Mario Piluso	....	storyboard director / storyboard artist (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Douglas Vandegrift	....	storyboard director / storyboard artist (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Mike Vosburg	....	storyboard director / storyboard artist (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Gary Graham	....	storyboard director (55 episodes, 1985)
Glen Hill	....	storyboard director (55 episodes, 1985)
Rick Hoberg	....	storyboard director (55 episodes, 1985)
Will Meugniot	....	storyboard director / storyboard artist (55 episodes, 1985)
Don Sheppard	....	storyboard director (55 episodes, 1985)
Hank Tucker	....	storyboard director (55 episodes, 1985)
Pat Agnasin	....	storyboard artist (30 episodes, 1986)
Del Barras	....	storyboard artist (30 episodes, 1986)
Bill Barry	....	storyboard artist (30 episodes, 1986)
Norman Cabral	....	storyboard artist (30 episodes, 1986)
Kurt Conner	....	storyboard artist (30 episodes, 1986)
Romeo Francisco	....	storyboard artist (30 episodes, 1986)
Jim Gomez	....	storyboard artist (30 episodes, 1986)
Adrian Gonzales	....	storyboard artist (30 episodes, 1986)
Warren Greenwood	....	storyboard artist (30 episodes, 1986)
Sherman Labby	....	storyboard artist (30 episodes, 1986)
Doug Lefler	....	storyboard artist (30 episodes, 1986)
Alan Shean	....	storyboard artist (30 episodes, 1986)
Jim Shull	....	storyboard artist (30 episodes, 1986)
Romeo Tanghal	....	storyboard artist (30 episodes, 1986)
Keith Tucker	....	storyboard artist (30 episodes, 1986)
David Russell	....	storyboard artist (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
Jim Blodgett	....	sound effects editor (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Michael L. DePatie	....	sound effects editor (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
John Detra	....	sound effects editor (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Karen Doulac	....	sound effects editor (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Ron Fedele	....	sound effects editor (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Jerry Jacobson	....	sound effects editor (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Michael Tomack	....	sound effects editor (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Richard C. Allen	....	sound effects editor (55 episodes, 1985)
Bruce Elliott	....	sound effects editor (55 episodes, 1985)
Richard S. Gannon	....	sound effects editor (55 episodes, 1985)
Ellen Burr	....	voice recording coordinator (30 episodes, 1986)
Ted Chapman	....	sound effects editor (30 episodes, 1986)
Allison Cobb	....	sound effects editor (30 episodes, 1986)
Heather Elliott	....	sound effects editor (30 episodes, 1986)
Jacquie Freeman Ross	....	dubbing supervisor (30 episodes, 1986)
Leonard T. Geschke	....	sound effects editor (30 episodes, 1986)
Brad Gunther	....	sound effects editor (30 episodes, 1986)
David Hankins	....	sound effects editor (30 episodes, 1986)
John Hart	....	dubbing supervisor (30 episodes, 1986)
Joel Iwataki	....	voice recording engineer (30 episodes, 1986)
Richard Raderman	....	sound effects editor (30 episodes, 1986)
Joseph G. Sorokin	....	sound effects editor (30 episodes, 1986)
Warren Taylor	....	sound effects editor (30 episodes, 1986)
Peter Tomaszewicz	....	sound effects editor (30 episodes, 1986)
Susan L. Vovsi	....	sound effects editor (30 episodes, 1986)
Larry Goodwin	....	sound re-recording mixer (unknown episodes)
Nicholas James	....	sound effects editor (unknown episodes)
Doug Madick	....	foley artist (unknown episodes)
Peter Reale	....	sound re-recording mixer (unknown episodes)

Series Animation Department
William Draut	....	model designer (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Paul Gruwell	....	layout artist (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Russ Heath	....	model designer (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Boyd Kirkland	....	layout artist (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Carol Lundberg	....	model designer (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Frank Paur	....	layout artist (55 episodes, 1985)
Bruce W. Timm	....	model designer (55 episodes, 1985)
Pat Agnasin	....	layout artist (30 episodes, 1986)
Eufronio R. Cruz	....	layout artist (30 episodes, 1986)
Lindsay Dawson	....	layout artist (30 episodes, 1986)
Jim Fletcher	....	model designer (30 episodes, 1986)
Romeo Francisco	....	layout artist (30 episodes, 1986)
Lee Go	....	layout artist / model designer (30 episodes, 1986)
Ernie Guanlao	....	layout artist (30 episodes, 1986)
John Koch	....	model designer (30 episodes, 1986)
Alex Mann	....	layout artist (30 episodes, 1986)
Warren Marshall	....	layout artist (30 episodes, 1986)
Andrew Phillipson	....	background designer (30 episodes, 1986)
Jeff Richards	....	background designer (30 episodes, 1986)
Robert Schaefer	....	background designer (30 episodes, 1986)
Dennis Venizelos	....	background designer (30 episodes, 1986)
Fred Warter	....	background designer (30 episodes, 1986)
Jim Willoughby	....	model designer (30 episodes, 1986)

Series Editorial Department
Robert T. Gillis	....	supervising editor (55 episodes, 1985)
Steven C. Brown	....	supervising editor (30 episodes, 1986)
Rick Gehr	....	assistant to supervising editor (30 episodes, 1986)
Andrew Golov	....	telecine supervisor (30 episodes, 1986)
Sarah Swiskow	....	telecine supervisor (30 episodes, 1986)
Larry Whelan	....	assistant to supervising editor (30 episodes, 1986)

Series Music Department
Peter Collier	....	music editor (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Johnny Douglas	....	conductor (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Ford Kinder	....	composer: title song (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Spencer Michlin	....	composer: title song (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Mark Shiney	....	music editor (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Robert J. Walsh	....	conductor (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Joe Siracusa	....	music editor (55 episodes, 1985)
Richard C. Allen	....	music editor (30 episodes, 1986)
Robert Mayer	....	music editor (30 episodes, 1986)
Robert Randles	....	music editor (30 episodes, 1986)
Michael Charles Hill	....	lyricist (2 episodes, 1985-1986)

Series Other crew
Jay Bacal	....	creative director (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Warren Batchelder	....	sequence director (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Wally Burr	....	voice director (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Brad Case	....	sequence director (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Joan Case	....	sequence director (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Gerry Chiniquy	....	sequence director (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Buzz Dixon	....	story editor (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Bob Kirk	....	sequence director (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Bob Matz	....	sequence director (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Norm McCabe	....	sequence director (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Hildy Mesnik	....	production assistant / production coordinator (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Margaret Nichols	....	sequence director (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Karen Peterson	....	sequence director (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Tom Ray	....	sequence director (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Robert Shellhorn	....	sequence director (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Bob Treat	....	sequence director (85 episodes, 1985-1986)
Flint Dille	....	story editor (55 episodes, 1985)
Bill Exter	....	sequence director (55 episodes, 1985)
Steve Gerber	....	supervising story editor (55 episodes, 1985)
John Gibbs	....	supervising director (55 episodes, 1985)
Terri Gruskin	....	production assistant (55 episodes, 1985)
Don Jurwich	....	voice director (55 episodes, 1985)
Al Kouzel	....	sequence director (55 episodes, 1985)
Terry Lennon	....	supervising director (55 episodes, 1985)
Will Meugniot	....	title designer (55 episodes, 1985)
Larry Parr	....	story editor (55 episodes, 1985)
Lizabeth Aguiar	....	production coordinator (30 episodes, 1986)
Robert Alvarez	....	sequence director (30 episodes, 1986)
Myrna Bushman	....	assistant to director (30 episodes, 1986)
Rudy Cataldi	....	sequence director (30 episodes, 1986)
Chuck Downs	....	sequence director (30 episodes, 1986)
Lillian Evans	....	sequence director (30 episodes, 1986)
John Freeman	....	sequence director (30 episodes, 1986)
Milton Gray	....	sequence director (30 episodes, 1986)
Bill Knoll	....	sequence director (30 episodes, 1986)
Ray Lee	....	supervising director (30 episodes, 1986)
Nellina Lombardo	....	production coordinator (30 episodes, 1986)
Francesca Stipicevic	....	production coordinator (30 episodes, 1986)
Keith Tucker	....	title designer (30 episodes, 1986)
Douglas Vandegrift	....	title designer (30 episodes, 1986)
Mike Vosburg	....	title designer (30 episodes, 1986)
Neal Warner	....	sequence director (30 episodes, 1986)
Lisa Wilson	....	assistant to director (30 episodes, 1986)

Production Companies

• Sunbow Productions
• Marvel Productions
• Hasbro
• Toei Animation Company

Distributors

• Claster Television
• Family Home Entertainment (FHE) (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Rhino Video (1999) (USA) (video)
• Sunbow Productions Inc. (1985) (worldwide) (TV)
• Veronica Omroep Organisatie (1988-1989) (Netherlands) (TV)
• WEA Corp. (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• WEA Corp. (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Starwild Music Inc.  music
• Wildstar Music Inc.  music

Also Known As:

Action Force (UK)
Chijô saikyô no Expert Team G.I. Joe (Japan)

Runtime:

30 min | 30 min (85 episodes)

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Australia:G | USA:TV-Y7 | UK:PG

Company:

Sunbow Productions

Trivia:

In one episode, Destro has to recite an ancient incantation to defeat a monster. If the incantation is recorded and played backwards, it says "Anyone listening to this message backwards is a real dweeb."

Goofs:

Continuity: Midway through "Cobra's Candidate", Storm Shadow tells Buzzer that Cobra Commander has sent him a communique about the pep rally, to which Buzzer replies "Come on mate; Cobra Commander knows I can't read." Per his file-card, however, Buzzer was a college professor prior to becoming a Dreadnok, and as such would most certainly know how to read.

Quotes:

Sgt. Slaughter: Give your hearts to America, Joes, 'cause your butts belong to me!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "South Park: Imaginationland: Episode III (#11.12)" (2007)

A cartoon series that takes me back.

I have fond memories of watching G.I. Joe. I was in junior high when it became a regular series, and still remember coming home from school just in time to watch it.

It has plenty of action, there's no question about that. Nonetheless, one would gripe that, despite all the battle scenes, no one gets killed. But I suspected that the producers had managed to sneak some fatalities into the show every now and then. For example, I recall one occasion where a Cobra trooper falls during a gunfight, only to never get back up. And at other times, some characters (mainly Cobra troopers) stumble near explosions. I believe that they pulled off some casualties in such a way that many viewers are unlikely to notice.

One of my favorite episodes is the two-parter, "There's No Place Like Springfield." That's the one where Shipwreck supposedly had amnesia. Though weak in some respects, it's a very good mystery story.

Besides Shipwreck, my other favorite characters include: Lifeline, Duke, Snake Eyes, Zartan, Dr. Mindbender, Barbecue, and Blowtorch.

One interesting thing about Lifeline is that he is a medic, and refuses to touch a weapon. But one has to wonder why the toy action figure came with a pistol.