The early 90s were an odd time to grow up, specifically when it came to the subject of animated entertainment programming, much of which would undoubtedly be unacceptable by today’s standards. This was during a time where No Fear was the defacto cool brand, everyone was drinking Surge and going batshit crazy on a dangerous sugar rush while slinging Yomega Fireballs and sporting chain wallets and Airwalks. And, for some inexplicable reason, this was also a time when the entertainment industry was obsessed with anthropomorphic (human traits in non-humans, like animals and such) animated shows.
While the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were and are, without question, the most popular of that niche genre even to this day, there were several other lesser franchises that tried desperately to follow in their half-shell footsteps. This includes, but is not limited to, the Street Sharks, the C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa, and of course my personal favorite, the Biker Mice from Mars.
In a time when frosted tips were all the rage and 50 Cent was still a nickel, Saturday morning television featuring anthropomorphic heroes kicking ass and saving the day reigned supreme. And kids absolutely went crazy for that shit. As for me specifically, I found the Biker Mice the most fun, probably because I loved motorcycles and not because my furry kink was awakened at an early age.
Created by Rick Ungar, Biker Mice from Mars consisted of 65 episodes spread across three seasons and ran from 1993-1996, a simpler time. The show featured three badass space mice with rippling muscles and a love for leather and motorsports. You know, all the things that young boys enjoy. The three Martian mice, Throttle, Modo, and Vinnie, in a desperate attempt to flee their home planet of mars, which was ravaged by war, arrive on earth. Together, the last three survivors of mars take to protecting the earth from the same invaders who destroyed their homeworld.
Plus the show had one hell of an intro with some totally radical rock music, which was very typical of children’s animation at the time.
I remember as a kid that I had a Throttle action figure complete with a motorcycle, leather vest, and neck scarf action, that I would play with non-stop. I had the other two Biker Mice as action figures but Throttle was my boy. I remember riding him across the coffee table of my grandmother’s home, taking him on the kitchen counter, and riding him extra hard along the walls in our hallway… I hear it now…
Anyway, one cool feature the motorcycle had was that it shot two little plastic projectiles out of the exhaust at the press of a button. As I played with Throttle and had him riding away to safety on his motorbike, I would have him eject those projectiles at would-be pursuers. My grandmother, who was not a fan of violence and constantly protested at my aggressive imaginary battles between a Martian bipedal mouse and my stuffed animal collection, threatened to take Throttle away from me if I wasn’t more responsible in my playtime.
As I assured her that I would be, I immediately shot the projectiles out of the back of Throttle’s bike and hit our living room television. Needless to say, she confiscated my awesome shredded mouse action figure and his bike and placed them on a shelf just out of my reach. This was, at a time, when I was too short to reach. Now, I am 6’1″ and she’s dead so she can’t do that anymore but back then, this was devastating. It would not be until many years later that I remember what she had taken from me and retrieved Throttle, only to have outgrown playing with toys by this time. There is a life lesson in here somewhere but I don’t really know what it is.
The series consisted of a lot of puns or on-the-nose references to biker and mouse culture, especially among the names of supporting characters like Harley, General Carbine, Greasepit, and my personal favorite Charlene “Charley” Davidson. Get it? The show also had a handful of recognizable names like Rob Paulsen as the voice of Throttle, Dorian Harewood as Modo, and Ian Ziering as Vinnie. The supporting cast included other names you have heard of like Leah Remini, Brian Austin Green, Brad Garrett, Luke Perry, and even Mark Hamill. I am telling you, this show was stacked.
Another big part of what makes the Biker Mice different is that it was one of the only few series to get a revival. Back in 2006, the show was picked up with a continuation with 28 additional episodes that eventually made their way to North American television sets in and around 2008 or so. The continuation took place a few years after the events of the original series with many of the recurring cast returning to voice the same characters.
The most recent action the series has seen was back in 2015 when an iOS game was released for mobile devices. None of us here have played it but apparently, Ungar himself has positive things to say about it.
Despite being a part of Fox Kids Worldwide and being acquired by Disney some years ago, the Biker Mice from Mars is not available on Disney+ or any other streaming service presently. So if you want to watch it, you will likely have to find bits and pieces scattered throughout YouTube and various other video share sites or just opt to buy the DVD collection on Amazon or something.
That said, we did manage to find the first episode over on YouTube, courtesy of user MT-TM. It’s poor quality but that is to be expected from a show that has not been remastered or digitally enhanced since its original release.
