Godzilla: The Animated Series

Godzilla: The Series is an American-Japanese animated television series developed by Jeff Kline and Richard Raynis, which originally aired on Fox Kids in the United States between September 1998 and April 2000, and a sequel to Godzilla (1998). Malcolm Danare, Kevin Dunn and Michael Lerner reprise their roles from the film.

## Plot

The series follows the Humanitarian Environmental (or Ecological, in "Area 51") Analysis Team (HEAT), a research team led by Dr. Nick Tatopoulos (voiced by Ian Ziering) as they battle giant mutant monsters that frequently appear in the wake of the events depicted in the 1998 film *Godzilla*. Dr. Tatopoulos accidentally discovers an egg that survived the aerial bombardment before it hatches, in a minor change from the ending in the 1998 film. The creature hatches after Nick Tatopoulos stumbles onto it and it assumes him to be its parent. Subsequently, Dr. Tatopoulos and his associates form a research team, investigating strange occurrences and defending mankind from dangerous mutations. Godzilla, the only hatchling of its species to survive in the movie, imprints on Nick and becomes the main weapon summoned against the other mutations encountered by the human characters. The series also introduces two new characters: Monique Dupre, a French secret agent assigned by Philippe Roache to keep an eye on Godzilla and H.E.A.T., and Randy Hernandez, an intern of Nick's who specializes in computer hacking.

## Home media

Columbia TriStar Home Video released two separate episode collections on VHS: *Trouble Hatches*, composed of the two-part pilot episode (which was actually titled "New Family" when it first aired), and *Monster War*, featuring the three-part episode of the same name. In 2006, Sony released nine episodes on DVD, spread out onto three separate volumes: *The Monster Wars Trilogy*, consisting of the same three-part episode previously released on the VHS version, *Monster Mayhem*, which included "What Dreams May Come", "Bird of Paradise", and "Deadloch", and *Mutant Madness*, which contained "S.C.A.L.E.", "The Twister" and "Where Is Thy Sting?".

In 2006, Sony released the "Monster Edition" DVD of *Godzilla* (1998), featuring three episodes of the TV series: "What Dreams May Come", "Monster War: Part 1" and "Where Is Thy Sting?". In 2014, Mill Creek Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in North America, including the two unaired episodes. The episodes were released in chronological order, not the broadcast order.

## Video games

Two video games were released for the Game Boy Color. They were developed by Crawfish Interactive and published by Crave Entertainment. *Godzilla: The Series* was released in 1999 and *Godzilla: The Series - Monster Wars* was released in 2000.

1. ↑ Template:Cite book
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Ultimate Guide to Godzilla: The Series. *SciFi Japan* (March 28, 2006).
3. ↑ Aiken, Keith (March 24, 2006). DVD Reviews: Godzilla: Monster Edition and Godzilla: The Series. *SciFi Japan*.
4. ↑ Jacobson, Colin (April 25, 2006). Godzilla: Monster Edition (1998). *DVD Movie Guide*.
5. ↑ Complete Godzilla: The Series on DVD from Mill Creek in April. *SciFi Japan*.
6. ↑ Godzilla: The Series for Game Boy Color (1999). Blue Flame Labs.
7. ↑ Godzilla: The Series - Monster Wars for Game Boy Color (2000). Blue Flame Labs.