Upper Left, Lower Left & Above: Pictures of the cast of Rocket Power. (Text is mine; pictures from Nick.Com; ©1999 Viacom.)

Rocket Power (Above; Nickelodeon titles it Nickelodeon Rocket Power for promotional purposes only; it was originally announced by Nick as Rocket Beach) -- Seen Mondays & Wednesdays at 8:30PM ET, it's a series about a group of friends set at Ocean Shores, a fictional, Santa Monica-esque community in southern California (according to Nick.Com, the venue is Rocket Beach), where the empasis is on extreme sports.

In this series, meet the "Rocket Power" gang:

Character:	Description:	Voiced By:
Oswald "Otto" Rocket ("Rocket Boy")	9-year old sports perfectionist and leader of the group, though his classroom citizenship in the 4th grade is in dire need of improvement.	Joseph Aston
Regina "Reggie" Rocket ("Rocket Girl")	Otto's 11-year old sister, born leader and zine publisher ("Reggie's Zine"); once won a figure skating competition without taking a single lesson.	Shanya Fox
Sam Dullard ("Squid")	A brainy, cautious kid from Kansas, trying to adjust to southern California life and Rocket Power's activities (more on him below); a fan of the "Shmoopy Woopy Bears", which is a children's TV show.	Sam Suletta
Maurice "Twister" Rodriguez	Otto's best friend and daredevil, always with a camcorder at the ready; loves to pick on Sam about Sam's embarassing traits. By the way, don't call him "Maurice" -- he hates that name.	Ulysses Cuadra

Other characters will include:

Character:	Description:	Voiced By:
Ray Rocket	Otto & Reggie's single father, veteran 60's surfer and proprietor of Rocket Power's hangout, The Shore Shack.	John Kassir
Tito Makani	Ray's best friend, Shore Shack chef and Rocket Power's Hawaiian sage, though his advice should be taken with a grain of salt.
Merv Stimpleton	The Rocket's cantankorous next-door neighbor, who consider Otto & Reggie thorns in his side.	Henry Gibson
Violet Stimpleton	Merv's wife, who's caring and knowledgeable; a perfect substitute for Otto & Reggie's mother.	Edie McClurg
Lars Rodriguez	Twister's older brother, who calls the Rocket Power gang "Munchkins".
Cleo Rodriguez	Twister's cousin, who likes to ice-skate.
Sam's Mother	A single, divorced parent who's a little too cautious for her own good.
Doug Dullard	Sam's father, who concentrates more on his work than him or his friends.
Tricia	Another one of Reggie's friends.
Scottie	Twister's cousin.
Conroy Blanc	Owner of "Madtown", a local skating rink.
Mackenzie	A whiny brat that occasionally appears in the show.
Tricia	Reggie's friends, and an expert surfer.
Cherry	Another one of Reggie's friends.
Oliver Van Rossen	One of Sam's friends.
Eddie	Frequently seen wearing a cape and a creepy mask, especially when he's on skates. Hangs out occasionally with the Rocket Power gang.
Officer Shirley	A well-known, Black police officer; enforces the law very strictly, especlially the curfew.

Music will be provided by Mark Mothersbaugh, who is becoming more and more prevalent in Klasky-Csupo circles, with his musical work in Santo Bugito, The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald, What's Inside Heidi's Head? (also, co-creator and co-producer), and of course, Rugrats and The Rugrats Movie.

Some of the music will also come from David Eccles, Klasky-Csupo's "Jack-Of-All-Trades". I call him that, as he's also sound effects editor for The Rugrats Movie, Audio Assistant and Dialogue / Effects editor for the Rugrats series and, of course, the voice of Krumm on Real Monsters.

According to Viacom's press release, the series follows this daring group of friends who "never tire of chasing the ultimate adrenaline rush; whether riding the ultimate wave, ramp or slope, the gang learns by taking risks, experiencing failure and sticking together through it all to form the kind of friendships that last a lifetime." They're the kind of kids "who play hard, eat fast, laugh out loud and never tire of chasing down fun; with boards, blades and bikes constantly in tow, the pre-teenagers learn by taking risks, experiencing failure and above all else, sticking together to form friendships they'll never forget." They celebrate "the freedom that exists in a kids' world on weekends, vacations or those precious hours between when the school bell rings and dinner time. The series features a pre-teen set who are energetic and entirely invincible in their own minds. Together they make the most of these magical times in this adrenaline charged Nicktoon."

Why this series was created

According to a New York Post interview with Klasky-Csupo, Rocket Power was created after noticing that their own kids are getting involved with extreme sports; Rugrats, as most of you know, was also based on their own kids, though they were still babies when Rugrats was created in 1989. Rocket Power was also based on Arlene Klasky's own childhood experiences in the beach towns of Orange County, CA, where surfing was, and still is, popular.

A Brief Note About Sam Dullard:

Sam Dullard is to Rocket Power as Chuckie Finster is to Rugrats; they both wear glasses; they both have turned-up noses; they're afraid of taking risks, and when they do, often get in trouble; and they both have single parents (though Chuckie's is a dad and Sam's is a mom).

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