Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chronicles 

The missions of a Mobile Infantry squad as they participate in a war of survival against a ferocious alien insectoid invader.

Creators:

Duane Capizzi, Jeff Kline, Richard Raynis

Stars:

Nicholas Guest, James Horan, Alexander Polinsky

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Nicholas Guest	...	Maj. Zander Barcalow 14 episodes, 1999-2000
James Horan	...	Cpl. Richard 'Doc' LeCroix 13 episodes, 1999-2000
Alexander Polinsky	...	Robert Higgins / ... 13 episodes, 1999-2000
Rino Romano	...	Johnnie Rico / ... 13 episodes, 1999-2000
Elizabeth Daily	...	Pvt. Isabelle 'Dizzy' Flores 12 episodes, 1999-2000
Bill Fagerbakke	...	Cpl. Jeff Gossard / ... 12 episodes, 1999-2000
Jamie Hanes	...	Lt. Jean Razak 12 episodes, 1999-2000
Rider Strong	...	Carl Jenkins / ... 12 episodes, 1999-2000
Dee Bradley Baker		11 episodes, 1999-2000
David DeLuise	...	Sgt. Francis Brutto 11 episodes, 1999-2000
Tish Hicks	...	Lt. Carmen Ibanez 9 episodes, 1999-2000
Thomas Wagner	...	Commander Marlow 6 episodes, 1999-2000

Storyline

In this adaption of Robert Heinlein's novel, we follow the adventures of a squad of troops as they fight in a war of survival against merciless alien invaders. Facing constant danger, they are the ones who have to do the thankless task of facing the enemy head on, and for the sake of humanity, they must prevail.

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Plot Keywords:

outer space | alien | based on film | computer animation | women soldiers | 

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Genres:

Sci-Fi | Animation | Action | Adventure

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for sci-fi action violence

Details

Official Sites:

Sony / Columbia [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 August 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Starship Troopers

Company Credits

Production Co:

Adelaide Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rino Romano said that when recording the voice-over session of Carmen kissing Rico on the final episode of the Tesca campaign, Susan Blu was the one that gave a kiss instead of Tish Hicks.

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Goofs

In "Funeral for a Friend" after Higgins and Redwing get captured, and remaining roughnecks start to make plans. Higgins and Redwing are standing with the group.

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Quotes

Pvt. Isabelle 'Dizzy' Flores: [while standing next to Brutto] Jeez, Sarge will it kill you to shower once in a while? You smell like the south end of a north-bound plasma bug!
Sgt. Francis Brutto: Hey babe, REAL men smell, and REAL women like it.
T'Phai: That is true. My mate chose me for my scent.
Sgt. Francis Brutto: Colonel, you're my type of guy.

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Connections

Referenced in The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs: A Very Joe Bob Xmas: Phantasm Ravager (2018)

User Reviews

Better than the movie, not as good as the book

I first read the book STARSHIP TROOPERS when I was ten years old (now some 25+ years ago) and I have always loved that book. So much of modern SF has come from that novel, like the movie ALIENS, and novels such as ARMOR and THE FOREVER WAR. STARSHIP TROOPERS is more than just a great story, it's actually about the US island hopping campaign in the Pacific during WW2 (Heinlein was a Naval Academy graduate who served in troopships moving soldiers and Marines into battle), and it speaks eloquently about a society and its military, their roles and what is right and wrong with them. It also addresses such things as force structure, officer training, and the "tooth to tail" ratio. This book is even on the USMC reading list for NCOs, as much of the book deals with the interactions within a small, platoon-sized unit. Realizing this, it gives a different perspective on ROUGHNECKS than it does for someone who has never read the book and maybe only seen the movie. ROUGHNECKS does attempt to keep faith with the book, especially with the addition of the Skinnies, even in portraying them as they are in the book--allies, then enemies, then allies again. It also blends in the movie characters, like Zander Barcalow, with new characters like Brutto and Doc. It even leaves Dizzy as a girl (in the book, Dizzy is a guy, and he dies in the first chapter). Also, there is an attempt to add in what made the book so special to begin with--the battle armor. I saw about a dozen episodes in whole or in part, mostly on the local channel that showed it. I can only hope that SCI-FI channel will reshow them, or maybe another cable network, like TNN, could pick it up. New episodes would also be good. One person said that there was more character development in ROUGHNECKS than in five seasons of VOYAGER. That's true, especially as all the characters in ROUGHNECKS were allowed to evolve, whereas on VOYAGER only Seven or the Doctor were really allowed to expand and grow. And for all those out there who have never read the book, or any of Heinlein's work, I would highly recommend it. You'll gain a new insight into this show, the movie, and maybe even more.