Exosquad, probably one of the best Sci-Fi animated series ever, has made its way to DVD for the first time! NBC Universal is finally releasing this classic series in all its glory as Exosquad: Season One is now available.

By the year 2119, mankind has finally reached out to the stars and colonized Venus and Mars with the help of a new genetically created worker race called Neosapiens. These Neosapiens provide a large amount of the labor for the Terran (human) worlds. Additionally, humans have created a new form of technology called the EXO-FRAME (or E-Frame for short). These new robotic suits and vehicles allow the user to have a more direct interface allowing for faster response. When the Neosapiens revolt and take over the human worlds, humanity must now fight for its survival! This series was extremely dark in nature (especially for a 90's early morning cartoon). Prejudice, racism, and politics played heavy roles in the overall narrative of this epic series. The creators of Exosquad drew heavily from real world influences while making this series as elements from WWII shaped many elements of the series.

The first season featured 13 episodes and was broken into several story arcs:

Fall of the Human Empire (Parts 1-5)
The series opens with the Terran's main armada of star-ships (called the ExoFleet) being called in to stop an attack from Space Pirates lead by Jonas Simbacca. Admiral Winfield, commander of the fleet, dispatches an E-Frame group known as Able Squad, lead by Lt. J.T. Marsh, to investigate. When the pirates attack again the ExoFleet move in to stop this threat once and for all. While the fleet is diverted to stop the pirate menace, a Neosapien named Phaeton (think Hitler without the mustache and as a 10ft tall blue genetically created soldier) leads a surprise attack on the human worlds and quickly conquers all three planets. Now, with the home-worlds under Neosapien rule, the ExoFleet is humanity's last chance for hope. This story introduces all of the major characters including J.T. Marsh, Admiral Winfield, Phaeton, Sean Naiper, Able Squad, and more!

Veil of Doom (Parts 1-4)
A year has past since the Neosapiens took over the human worlds. The human resistance has been fighting on all fronts to stop the Neosapiens but have had little luck. Things go from bad to worse when it is discovered that the Neosapiens will be launching a new planetary defense system called the GRAF Shield to protect Earth and Venus…allowing ALL of their fleet to go after the remaining ExoFleet without having to worry about protecting the planets. When a traitor is discovered within the resistance, J.T. must decide a new course of action which leads him on a trip from Earth to Venus! Also, who would have thought that a human was the creator of the GRAF technology? This story introduces the leader of the Venus Human Resistance, who also has a surprising relationship to one of the key members of the Able Squad!

Into the Heart of Darkness (Parts 1-4)
Captain Marcus sends J.T. and his crew to Mars on a top secret mission…which gives him the time to lead a mutiny and take over the ExoFleet! With Admiral Winfield out of the way, Marcus decides to take the entire ExoFleet to Earth and attack while the GRAF technology is inoperable. Now that Marsh and his crew are stranded on Mars, they continue with their mission and attempt to destroy a Neosapien base, which turns out to be a massive Brooding center (the place where Neosapien babies come from). The ExoFleet moves into position to fight the Neo's main Earth fleet only to learn that their Mars Fleet has joined the battle as well! The ExoFleet Flagship, the Resolute, goes out in a blaze of glory while helmed by Marcus (who refuses to leave his post). With their main ship destroyed Admiral Winfield sends JT Marsh on his next mission, to form an alliance with the Space Pirates! TO BE CONTINUED!!!!!

For those of us who grew-up in the late 80's/early 90's, this was one of those series that aired Monday-Friday mornings before we went to school…so unfortunately a lot of people missed out on it. It really is quite epic in scale, especially with the audience it was meant for. It had space battles, weird creatures, robots and more! The writing is definitely solid and still holds up more than 15 years later. Two voices you might recognize on this series are Gary Chalk (Optimus Primal from Transformers: Beast Wars) and Teryl Rothery (Dr. Frasier from Stargate SG-1). I highly recommend this series. I cannot wait for Season 2 to be come available as the first season really does setup a lot of great stuff to come!

ComicsOnline gives Exosquad: Season One 5 out of 5 E-Frame suits!