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Exosquad
Phaeton, the Leader of the Neosapiens
Format	Space opera / Animated series
Run time	19:54 min (per episode)
Creator(s)	Will Meugniot
Starring	Lisa Ann Beley Robby Benson Janyse Jaud David Kaye Richard Newman Teryl Rothery
Country	USA
Network	USA network Fox Broadcasting Company
Original run	September, 1993 – May, 1995
No. of episodes	52

Exosquad was a science fiction animated television series that ran on the USA network and Fox from September 1993 to May 1995. It was created as a response to anime. Although it was advertised and marketed as a Saturday morning cartoon for children, it found most acclaim among teenagers and young adults. Because of this misdirected marketing, the ratings never lived up to their potential, and the show was cancelled after only two seasons. One third season episode was produced, "Beyond Chaos", but since the series had been cancelled, this episode was aired at the end of the second season.

Contents 1 Opening Narration 2 Plot Summary 2.1 Themes 2.2 Episode List 3 Cast and Characters 4 External links

Opening Narration

"It was a golden age for all mankind. Using the incredible exoskeletons called E-frames, we had successfully terraformed Venus and Mars, and were now poised to move on to the outer planets. Suddenly, it all ended. We were pressed into a nightmarish war on a scale previously unimagined. We were attacked by our own creations, the Neosapiens, a race of artificially created humans. Led by Phaeton, they had seized control of Venus, Earth and Mars. This is Lt. J.T. Marsh, member of the Exofleet, leader of a small band of E-frame pilots dedicated to freeing humanity from Neosapien rule. We are... the Exosquad."

Plot Summary

The series takes place in the 22nd century (around 2118-2120). Humans (ofter referred to as "Terrans") have expanded their presence beyond Earth, terraforming and colonizing Venus and Mars ("the Homeworlds"). At the start of the series, the Homeworlds were in conflict with the Pirate Clans, a group of rebel humans occupying parts of the outer solar system. After the Clans raided one too many unarmed homeworld freighters, the Earth Congress dispatched the entire Exofleet, humanity's space-based military, against them.

While war with the Pirate Clans loomed, a revolt was about to begin among the Neosapiens. The Neosapiens were a genetically engineered humanoid race, bred to be physically stronger and smarter than humans and used primarily as slaves during Mars and Venus colonization. The maltreatment of the Neosapiens led to their first revolt 50 years earlier, but that rebellion was crushed. The new insurrection has been thoroughly planned by the Neosapien Governor of Mars, Phaeton, and began shortly after the Exofleet went after the Pirate Clans (of course, its absence was a part of the plan, as well). The Neosapiens captured the Homeworlds without much effort.

The two seasons that the series was on the air followed the progress of the war, as seen through the eyes of Able Squad, an elite E-frame squad, composed of J.T. Marsh, Nara Burns, Maggie Weston, Kaz Takagi, Alec DeLeon, Rita Torres, Wolf Bronski, and Marsala (a Neosapien).

The second season ends with the defeat of the Neosapiens and the liberation of the Homeworlds. The series was cancelled soon afterwards. However, Exosquad ended with a cliffhanger, suggesting that the third season would have been about a war against a new alien race, and that the Terrans and the Neosapiens would have been forced to ally with each other.

Themes

Created as a response to anime, Exosquad has up to date remained one of the few Western cartoons that, according to many critics, could compete with Japanese animation. Most of animated series produced in the West using the developments of Japanese styling lack a certain dramatic undertone and this makes them less appealing to teen and young adult viewers.

Exosquad, despite being drawn in the traditional American fashion, had a very serious approach to the plot with several intertwined storylines and a number of memorable characters displaying a full spectrum of human relationships, such as friendship, love, hatred, personal tragedies, treachery, taking responsibility for others, etc. The same dramatic combination is credited with making Robotech a success in the US, and later made Disney's Gargoyles a fan favorite.

Interplanetary politics and space war were presented with an assumption of the history of the Solar System up to that point. The Able Squad's duties became more spread out as the second season unfolded. There were separate story arcs on Mars, Venus, Earth, and in space, running simultaneously. Espionage and intrigue were often featured instead of straightforward battles.

The Exo-Frames a.k.a. E-frames were multi-purpose mecha-like exoskeletons, mostly utilized as armored combat vehicles or enforced body armor in the series, although before the war, they were used for peaceful purposes, as well. Sources of inspiration for them may have been Robotech, Battletech, and, most likely, Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers.

Episode List

• 1.01 - Fall of the Human Empire Pt. 01 - Pirate Scourge
• 1.02 - Fall of the Human Empire Pt. 02 - Seeds of Deception
• 1.03 - Fall of the Human Empire Pt. 03 - Hidden Terrors
• 1.04 - Fall of the Human Empire Pt. 04 - Blitzkrieg
• 1.05 - Fall of the Human Empire Pt. 05 - Resist!
• 1.06 - Veil of Doom Pt. 01 - Target: Earth
• 1.07 - Veil of Doom Pt. 02 - A Traitor Among Us
• 1.08 - Veil of Doom Pt. 03 - Scorched Venus
• 1.09 - Veil of Doom Pt. 04 - Sabotage
• 1.10 - Into The Heart of Darkness Pt. 01 - Abandoned
• 1.11 - Into The Heart of Darkness Pt. 02 - The Brood
• 1.12 - Into The Heart of Darkness Pt. 03 - Betrayal
• 1.13 - Into The Heart of Darkness Pt. 04 - Defying Olympus

• 2.01 - The Gathering
• 2.02 - The Embassy
• 2.03 - Pirate's Ransom
• 2.04 - Ultimate Weapon
• 2.05 - Expendable
• 2.06 - Mindset
• 2.07 - The Last Man
• 2.08 - Dragon's Rock
• 2.09 - Inner Dark
• 2.10 - The Dogs of War
• 2.11 - The First Step
• 2.12 - The Greatest Fear
• 2.13 - Flesh Crawls
• 2.14 - Behind the Shield
• 2.15 - Venus Rising
• 2.16 - Miracle
• 2.17 - Under the Skin
• 2.18 - Ultimatum
• 2.19 - Warrior Brood
• 2.20 - The Dream War
• 2.21 - No Surrender
• 2.22 - Fire Ship
• 2.23 - Martian Luck
• 2.24 - The Lost Patrol
• 2.25 - Call of the Unknown
• 2.26 - Heart of Mars
• 2.27 - Winged Fury
• 2.28 - Night of the Traitor
• 2.29 - Trial by Combat
• 2.30 - The Perfect Warrior
• 2.31 - The Price of Courage
• 2.32 - Dark River
• 2.33 - The Art of War
• 2.34 - The Fall of the Neosapien Empire Pt. 01 - One Small Step
• 2.35 - The Fall of the Neosapien Empire Pt. 02 - Fifth Column
• 2.36 - The Fall of the Neosapien Empire Pt. 03 - The Last Jump
• 2.37 - The Fall of the Neosapien Empire Pt. 04 - A Night Before Doomsday
• 2.38 - The Fall of the Neosapien Empire Pt. 05 - Abandon Hope

• 3.01 (2.39) - Beyond Chaos

Cast and Characters

See also Exosquad characters

Lisa Ann Beley	Lt. Nara Burns
Robby Benson	Lt. / Wing Cmdr. J.T. Marsh Mayor of Chicago
Michael Benyaer	Kaz Takagi
Gary Chalk	Marsala General Shiva
Michael Donovan	Wolf Bronski
Janyse Jaud	Sgt. Rita Torres
David Kaye	General Draconis Lt. Hallas Senator X Prakash
Wally Marsh	Alec DeLeon
Rob Morton	General Typhonus
Richard Newman	Phaeton
John Payne	Sean Napier
Teryl Rothery	Lt. Maggie Weston

External links

• Exosquad at the Internet Movie Database
• Episode Guide (Tv.com)
• The ExoSquad Universe, a fan site containing bios, summaries and technical data

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