Vor-Tech: Undercover Conversion Squad (often referred to as simply
Vor-Tech or
Vortech) was an animated television series produced by
FoxThe Fox Broadcasting Company , commonly referred to as Fox , is an American television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, from 2004 to 2009 Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the 18–49 demographic...
and
Universal AnimationUniversal Studios , a subsidiary of NBC Universal, is one of the six major American movie studios. Its main motion picture production/distribution arm is called Universal Pictures. Its production studios are located at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California...
which also aired later on
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948...
's
The Power Block. This show also had a toy line.
The VOR-tech undercover conversion squad is a group of
secret agentSecret Agent is a 1936 British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on two stories in Ashenden: Or the British Agent by W. Somerset Maugham. The film starred John Gielgud, Peter Lorre, Madeleine Carroll and Robert Young...
s led by Hudson Roarke. Their mission is to stop Lord Matrix, Hudson’s older brother, and his evil Bio Mechs (much like the Phalanx creatures in the
X-MenX-Men is a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1 . Under a cloud of increasing anti-mutant sentiment, Professor Xavier creates a haven at his Westchester mansion to train young mutants to use their powers for the...
comic titles) from infecting the world with a techo-infectious plague.
Vor-Tech: Undercover Conversion Squad (often referred to as simply
Vor-Tech or
Vortech) was an animated television series produced by
FoxThe Fox Broadcasting Company , commonly referred to as Fox , is an American television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, from 2004 to 2009 Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the 18–49 demographic...
and
Universal AnimationUniversal Studios , a subsidiary of NBC Universal, is one of the six major American movie studios. Its main motion picture production/distribution arm is called Universal Pictures. Its production studios are located at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California...
which also aired later on
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948...
's
The Power Block. This show also had a toy line.
The VOR-tech undercover conversion squad is a group of
secret agentSecret Agent is a 1936 British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on two stories in Ashenden: Or the British Agent by W. Somerset Maugham. The film starred John Gielgud, Peter Lorre, Madeleine Carroll and Robert Young...
s led by Hudson Roarke. Their mission is to stop Lord Matrix, Hudson’s older brother, and his evil Bio Mechs (much like the Phalanx creatures in the
X-MenX-Men is a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1 . Under a cloud of increasing anti-mutant sentiment, Professor Xavier creates a haven at his Westchester mansion to train young mutants to use their powers for the...
comic titles) from infecting the world with a techo-infectious plague. In their battle with the Bio Mechs, VOR-tech agents use special computer systems with VOR-technology that imbue them and their vehicles with special powers. Similar to
M.A.S.K.M.A.S.K. was an animated television series directed by several uncredited Japanese studios, KK C&D Asia, Studio Juno, Studio World, Ashi Production , and produced by the French-American DIC Enterprises, Inc and also the toyline of the same name sold by Kenner.-History:A total of 75 syndicated...
agents, VOR-tech agents also had special masks and transforming vehicles.
One of the voice actors who did this show was
David SobolovDavid Sobolov is a voice actor. David first studied acting at the Banff School of Fine Arts then in New York with the legendary Sanford Meisner at The Neighborhood Playhouse...
who played the evil Lord Matrix (alias Damien Roarke), the other voice actor was Michael Donovan who played Shepard (aka Hudson Roarke) who led VOR-tech.
The other members were (Hardfire), John Payne voiced by Ian Corlett, Thomas Pickett, Scott McNeil (Stinger, the car),
Venus TerzoVenus Terzo is a Canadian actress best noted for her role as Detective Angela Kosmo in Da Vinci's Inquest and its spinoff, Da Vinci's City Hall. She was nominated in 2002 for the Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role in that same role...
who voiced (Miranda/FireFly), Pauline Newstone, Dale Wilson, Pauline Gitts, Jim Byrnes (Brad's brother Vance), Linda Boyd, Maine Miller, Colin Murdoch, Christopher Gray, Richard Newman, Mark Heldreth, Chris Turner, Andrea Libman (M.J. Sloan), Lenore Zahn, Saffron Henderson, and Elizabeth Carol Savenkoff (characters: Rick/Ace, Tate/Hacksaw, Mac/Gearhead, Brad/SnakeOil).
Vor-Tech ended on a cliffhanger, having been cancelled when it could not build up a large enough audience for the toyline or series. It would be many years before the concepts seen in either Vor-Tech or M.A.S.K would be seen again in the form of
A.T.O.M.A.T.O.M. is a French animated television series, which chronicles the adventures of five teenagers , set in the fictional Landmark City...
, an animated series developed by Kenner's eventual owners, Hasbro. A.T.O.M. has since become a successful franchise and series in Europe
Vor-Tech has yet to be released on DVD.
External links