The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police
Series, 1997, The late '90s, Set in Their office, and everywhere
The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police is #16 of 22 in release order and #16 of 22 in chronological order in the Fox Kids Classics.
The story
Sam & Max are freelance police and view the world as their own personal theme park.
The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police recap
The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police (1997) follows a canine detective and a hyperkinetic "rabbity thing" who take bizarre cases in New York City. Steve Purcell created the pair in his comics, and Nelvana's cartoon, developed by J.D. Smith, ran for one season of 13 episodes (24 segments) on Fox Kids and Canada's YTV from October 4, 1997, to April 25, 1998. Sam (Harvey Atkin) is the calm, wordy six-foot dog; Max (Robert Tinkler) is the excitable three-foot rabbit. Missions from the mysterious Commissioner (Dan Hennessey) take them to the Moon, Mount Olympus, the centre of the Earth and the mutant waters of Bohunk Lagoon, between holiday episodes, time travel and Bigfoot hunting. The show adds Darla "The Geek" Gugenheek (Tracey Moore), a new sidekick created for television, and the clingy Lorne, the Friend for Life (Patrick McKenna). Fox's standards removed Sam's revolver and much of the comics' harder humour, but Purcell reviewed the scripts from California and wrote four episodes. The series won the 1998 Gemini Award for best animated series, yet it was cancelled after one season, with Purcell citing personnel changes at Fox and Atkin citing budget disputes between Fox and Nelvana.
The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police ending explained
The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police ends with "The Final Episode," aired April 25, 1998, in which Mack Salmon gathers the Mad Thespian, the Uglion High Ruler, Herzog, Lactose the Intolerant and Deadly Dangly Deever to strap Sam and Max to a bomb and drop them into a volcano, while the pair relive flashbacks of their early life as they fight their way free. The show had already been cancelled. Sam and Max returned in Telltale Games' episodic adventure games, beginning with Sam & Max Save the World in 2006.
Where to watch The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police
The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police is streaming on Pluto TV, Darkroom, and Tubi in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon.
Ratings
IMDb 7.7/10
Where it fits
- Release order: after Big Bad Beetleborgs, before Godzilla: The Series.
- Chronological order: after Big Bad Beetleborgs, before Godzilla: The Series.
Cast
- Harvey Atkin as Sam (voice)
- Rob Tinkler as Max (voice)
- Tracey Moore as The Geek (voice)
- Dan Hennessey as The Commissioner (voice)
Created by Steve Purcell.