''A.T.O.M. – Alpha Teens on Machines'' (known as ''

Action Man Action Man is an action figure launched in Britain in 1966 by Palitoy as a licensed copy of Hasbro's American "movable fighting man", G.I. Joe. Action Man was originally produced and sold in the United Kingdom and Australia by Palitoy Ltd of Co ...

: A.T.O.M.'' in some countries) is an English-language French

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

animated television series An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...

produced by

SIP Animation SIP Animation (known as Saban International Paris until 2002) was a French animation studio, and a former subsidiary of Saban Entertainment. By 2009, the company had produced over 390 hours of animated content. Despite the name, the company was n ...

in association with Jetix Europe. The series focuses on the adventures of five teenagers in the fictional Landmark City. The eponymous Alpha Teens, which consist of Axel Manning (the team leader), Catalina Leone, Crey Kingston, Zack Hawkes, and Ollie Sharker, test prototype vehicles and weapons for Lee Industries, and use these prototypes to combat criminals, particularly the nefarious and sadistic crime boss Alexander Paine. In countries such as Australia, France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, and in Latin America, the series was branded as ''

: A.T.O.M.'', with Panini Comics publishing a tie-in comic book series by that title.

Synopsis

Set in the fictional Landmark City, Janus Lee is the head of Lee Industries who holds a television contest as a front to recruit a group of talented teenagers. The winners of the contest, Axel, King, Lioness, Hawk and Shark are given prototype weapons, gadgets and vehicles and join forces to battle against the

crime boss A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, Don, gang lord, gang boss, mob boss, kingpin, godfather, crime mentor or criminal mastermind, is a person in charge of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss typically has absolute or nearl ...

Alexander Paine, who's also responsible for the death of Axel's father. Paine is assisted by his minions Spydah and Flesh, his daughter Magness, and the mysterious ninja Dragon. At the end of the first season, they manage to defeat Paine's group. However, it is revealed that Lee's true purpose was to use the teens' DNA to create clones powered with their respectful animal genes. During the second season, the Alpha Teens once again have to team up to stop Lee and his Mu-Team.

Episodes

Cast

* James Arnold Taylor as Axel Manning, Sebastian Manning, Tilian *

Alli Mauzey Alli Mauzey (born in Anaheim Hills, California) is an American actress and singer best known for her performance as Glinda in the Broadway and 1st national tour productions of ''Wicked'' and for originating the role of Lenora in the musical ''C ...

as Catalina "Lioness" Leone, Firekat * Aldis Hodge as Crey "King" Kingston, Wrecka * Charlie Schlatter as Zack "Hawk" Hawkes, Stingfly * Brian Donovan as Ollie "Shark" Sharker, Rayza * Tom Kenny as Janus Lee, Spydah * Clancy Brown as Alexander Paine * Kari Wahlgren as Samantha "Magness" Paine * Bill Fagerbakke as Albert "Flesh" * Keith Szarabajka as Dragon

Production

The series was first announced by Jetix on 6 September 2004 with the working title of ''The Insiders''. It was specifically designed to appeal to young boys ages 6 to 9 with an Autumn 2005 release. Originally, while the series was going to feature a team of rebellious teenagers, it was only going to focus on the main character who "has the task of tracking down and catching 100 of the worst villains and the mastermind who set them free from prison, the notorious Mr. Pain." Jetix Europe were confirmed to handle all worldwide TV rights for the series, while in France and other French-speaking territories, SIP Animation would handle the TV rights, with servicing through Buena Vista International Television. Hasbro was announced as the master toy licensee for ''The Insiders'' later the same month. Interim CEO of Jetix Europe, Paul Taylor said that "''The Insiders'' is a strong urban action-adventure series." On 15 November 2007, Jetix Europe announced their Year End results and stated in their report that they were not planning a third series of ''A.T.O.M.'', effectively cancelling the series.

Release

Broadcast

France

In France, ''A.T.O.M.'' first aired on

Jetix Jetix (stylized as JETIX) was a children's entertainment brand owned by The Walt Disney Company. The brand was for a slate of action/adventure-related programming blocks and television channels. Jetix programming mainly originated from the S ...

in 2005.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the show premiered on Jetix on August 27, 2005. Jetix Europe promoted the series' UK premiere with a celebrity launch party at the London Trocadero. The show was also promoted with a "Mr. Lee Needs You" school tour that showcased inventing, and a roadshow held at various shopping centres in the country The series later made its terrestrial premiere on

GMTV GMTV (an acronym for Good Morning Television), now legally known as ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited, was the name of the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor/licensee, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 ...

Toonattik ''Toonattik'' was the flagship children's strand of the British breakfast television station, GMTV (known on-air as CITV at weekends), which ran from 5 February 2005 to 26 December 2010. The strand aired on weekend mornings from 07:25 (some ...

children's block in September 2005, after being pre-sold by the broadcaster in April. In October 2005, the series became part of the Jetix Max strand alongside '' Power Rangers'' and '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''.

United States

In the United States, the series debuted on the Jetix block on

Toon Disney Toon Disney was an American multinational pay television channel owned by Disney Channels Worldwide, a subsidiary of Disney-ABC Television Group. The channel's target audience was children ages 2–11, and children ages 6–13 during the Jetix ...

on January 30, 2006.

Home media

In the United Kingdom, Volume 1: ''Feel the Paine'' was released on DVD on January 23, 2006 (and UMD Video on January 30) by Sanctuary Visual Entertainment, with a second volume titled ''The Terror Continues'' planned. However, volume 2 was cancelled for unknown reasons. In Australia, 7 DVD volumes were released on September 13, 2006 (volumes 1 to 5) and February 5, 2007 (volumes 6 and 7) by MRA Entertainment Group. In the United States, DVDs of the series have been distributed through Liberation Entertainment. The first two DVD volumes were both released on August 28, 2007, respectively titled "Vol. 1: Touch of Paine" and "Vol. 2: Enter the Dragon".

Streaming

The first season was previously available to stream on Tubi TV, as well as

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...

via Multicom Entertainment Group. Multicom formerly had the full series listed in its distribution catalogue, which was later changed to only one season before being removed entirely. According to US Copyright Database these series are still underlying property of Disney's defunct subsidiaries Jetix Europe and

but doesn't streaming on Disney+.

Reception

In Europe, ''A.T.O.M.'' was the second-most popular Jetix original series for third-party sales as of fiscal year 2007, when the second season was delivered. All of the major Jetix Europe originals, including ''A.T.O.M.'', ranked "as one of the top two shows in their timeslots in all of the markets in which they aired." Common Sense Media, in their review of the show said: "The animation here — a blend of classic comic book and anime — is pretty good." and that "because of its relatively high level of cartoon violence ..''A.T.O.M.'' is best for older grade schoolers." and awarded the series 2 out of 5 stars. The Brazilian comic book website Universe HQ took notice of the show, owning to its depiction of Lioness, who is of Brazilian ancestry.

Other media

Toyline

Hasbro launched a line of action figures to tie-in with the show, marketed as a reboot of Hasbro's discontinued ''

'' toy line. Distinctly different from other ''Action Man'' lines, A.T.O.M. figures were the standard size of normal action figures and not of a doll format. Much like ''Action Man'' however, these figures are sold individually, usually with figure accessories, from the vehicles distributed to accompany them. The franchise has vastly similar concepts to the 1980s' ''

M.A.S.K. M.A.S.K. (Mobile Armored Strike Kommand) is a media franchise created by Kenner. The main premise revolved around the fight between the titular protagonist underground task force and the criminal organization V.E.N.O.M. (Vicious Evil Network o ...

'' story line from Kenner (which Hasbro bought in 1991), even down to the code name lettering, as each vehicle for the A.T.O.M. members changes from one ordinary looking terrain vehicle to anything that ranges from a jet car with unfolding door wings, to a bike that soon propels its driver into the air as a helicopter. In 2007, Hasbro released 12-inch versions of A.T.O.M. action figures, similar to the original ''Action Man'' action figures. The toy series was composed mostly of several versions of Axel Manning, the main character, and Paine, Flesh and Tilian as the villains. A plane, a sport car and several minor vehicles were included for this line of A.T.O.M. toys. The line was discontinued shortly thereafter.

Comic book

Panini Comics published a tie-in comic book series in the United Kingdom from 2006 to 2007. This title replaced their long-running

series, and featured stories by Simon Furman and art by

Jack Lawrence Jack Lawrence may refer to: *Jack Lawrence (songwriter) (1912–2009), American songwriter *Jack Lawrence (artist) (born 1975), British comic book artist and animator * Jack Lawrence (bluegrass) (born 1953), American bluegrass guitarist * Jack Lawre ...

Video game

A video game based on the show was released for the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

in 2007, developed by Brain in a Jar and published by Mastertronic Group under their budget game label Blast! Entertainment. It is a racing and action game. Much like the Hasbro toy line and Panini comic book series, the video game was released as ''Action Man: A.T.O.M.'', and would be the final video game to be associated with the

franchise.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Jetix 2005 French television series debuts 2007 French television series endings 2000s French animated television series Action figures Anime-influenced Western animated television series English-language television shows French children's animated action television series French children's animated superhero television series French-language television shows Hasbro products Jetix original programming Teen animated television series Teen superhero television series Television series by Disney–ABC Domestic Television Television shows based on Hasbro toys