Street Sharks Origin

Street Sharks is an American superhero animated series about the adventures of crime-fighting half-man/half-sharks. It was produced by DIC Productions, L.P. and Bohbot Entertainment, and aired from 1994 to 1997, originally as a part of Bohbot's Amazin' Adventures programming block, before moving to ABC for its final season. The show promoted a line of action figures by Mattel. The creators were David Siegel and Joe Galliani of Mr. Joe's Really Big Productions.

In 1996, the Street Sharks were paired with the Dino Vengers and the show was retitled Dino Vengers Featuring Street Sharks. The Dino Vengers would later receive their own short-lived spinoff, where they were renamed the Extreme Dinosaurs.

The series features theme music by Michael Benghiat and Lois Blaisch. Additional songs were written by Megan Cavallari and David Goldsmith.


Street Sharks Story

A university professor named Dr. Robert Bolton and his partner Dr. Luther Paradigm create a machine known as the "gene-slammer" which is capable of changing aquatic animals into anthropomorphic hybrids by combining their DNA. In his attempt to prevent Paradigm from using this machine for personal power, Bolton is transformed into an unseen monstrosity, but escapes. Later, Paradigm gives Bolton's four sons John, Bobby, Coop, and Clint the likeness of four different sharks. When Dr. Paradigm captures their friend Bends, the resulting "Street Sharks" rescue him and the resulting battle causes Paradigm to be combined with piranha DNA (for which he is often nicknamed "Dr. Piranoid" by other characters). While the Street Sharks are known to enjoy eating hot dogs, hamburgers, and shakes, they have shown a disdain for pizza when they shoot down that suggestion to Bends and Lena Mack.

In subsequent episodes, Dr. Paradigm creates a variety of mutant animals to destroy the Street Sharks while attempting to persuade the inhabitants of their native metropolis of Fission City to imprison them. Of these mutant animals, a few sided with the Sharks themselves: namely Rox, Moby Lick, Mantaman, and El Swordo.

The final few episodes introduced the Dino Vengers: a group of extraterrestrial dinosaurs allied with the Street Sharks against their own rivals in the Raptor Gang. When Dr. Paradigm wanted to get a sample of the Raptors' DNA to improve himself, they trick him by giving him iguana DNA which transforms him into "Dr. Iguanazoid" leading to him working with the Raptors where they will reward him by correcting the DNA mistake they gave him. In the end, Paradigm is captured and imprisoned while the Raptor Gang leaves Earth.

The Dino Vengers later had their own series called Extreme Dinosaurs where they and the Raptors had different backgrounds.


Street Sharks family

  • Ripster (voiced by Lee Tockar) – John Bolton is the smartest, the leader, and oldest of the four brothers who enjoys creating inventions. He has taken up most of his knowledge and skills from his father. He is also an avid pool player. In the first episode of the show, John rides a motorbike. When transformed into Ripster, he becomes a great white shark able to bite through steel as well as having extrasensory abilities.
  • Jab (voiced by Matt Hill) – Clint Bolton is the laziest of the Street Sharks, but enjoys boxingand appears to have some talent with mechanics. When transformed into Jab, he becomes a hammerhead shark and uses his head as a battering ram.
  • Streex (voiced by Andrew Rannells) – Robert "Bobby" Bolton Jr. is a level-headed, cool, and self-proclaimed ladies' man. He is always shown wearing his rollerblades and appears to enjoy parachuting and snowboarding and later plays drums professionally. When transformed into Streex, he becomes a tiger shark named after the purple streaks on his body. In the toyline, he was originally called "Blades" for his skills as a rollerblader.
  • Big Slammu (voiced by D. Kevin Williams) – Coop Bolton is the strongest and youngest of the four. He is also a football player in high school. In the first episode, he uses a skateboard. When transformed into Big Slammu, he becomes a whale shark and his most prominent maneuver is the "Seismic Slam" in which he may shake or crack the ground with his fists.
  • Dr. Robert Bolton (voiced by D. Kevin Williams) – a university professor and the father of the Bolton Brothers who invents the gene-manipulation device for peaceful uses. He is only seen on-screen in the first episode where he tries to stop Dr. Paradigm's experiments only to become changed into an unseen inhuman creature. Afterward, he is only ever represented by a shadow cast on the wall (either as a humanoid or as an animal-like monstrosity). It is suggested through the series that Dr. Bolton secretly assists his sons. The episode "Shark Source" shows him defeating Dr. Piranoid to rescue a kidnapped mutant crocodile. Despite the fact that he helps them, Dr. Bolton is never reunited with his sons, but he does contact his sons through a TV screen where the transmission keeps even the viewers from seeing his current appearance.
  • Sir Thomas Bolton - an ancestor of the protagonists who is encountered in the episode "Sir Shark-a-Lot". He is the target of Paradigm's time-travel excursion to destroy the Bolton family.

Street Sharks Episodes (40 total)

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1
13September 7, 1994November 28, 1994
2
19January 5, 1995May 29, 1995
3
8October 3, 1996May 18, 1997