No Godzooky! Everything you didn't know about Godzilla: The Series

In the '90s, Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were on a roll with Stargate and Independence Day, with the latter turning into a summer blockbuster. Therefore, the duo's attempt to modernize Godzilla was the box office event of 1998... until it actually arrived. But in the wake of that film, a new king of the monsters arose in Fox Kids' Godzilla: The Series.

Jeff Kline and Richard Raynis developed the show, which is a direct sequel to the film. While the previous Godzilla animated series from 1978 had a lighthearted approach for the title character and his "nephew," Godzooky, the new Godzilla series struck a more serious tone. This Godzilla was the lone surviving child of the previous Kaiju, but he took after his father when he rapidly grew up.

Malcolm Danare, Kevin Dunn, and Michael Lerner all reprised their roles from the '98 Godzilla film. However, future Sharknado star Ian Ziering replaced Matthew Broderick as Dr. Niko Tatopoulos. The new Godzilla imprinted upon Niko in the first episode, and he considered the doctor to be his dad. That's why young Godzilla became protective of his father and the rest of humanity as new threats emerged. Niko also had his own team backing him up: Humanitarian Environmental Analysis Team, or H.E.A.T., if you prefer.

Because it would have been cost prohibitive for the animated series to get the rights to TOHO's other iconic monsters, Godzilla: The Series slightly repackaged them. Take, for example, Cyber-Godzilla, the poor man's MechaGodzilla. But in a dark twist, Cyber-Godzilla was actually made from the body of the dead Godzilla from the movie.

Unfortunately for the makers of the show, poor toy sales from the movie meant that Godzilla: The Series didn't get action figures of its own. That proved to be a fatal blow for the cartoon, which ran only two seasons before coming to an end. Regardless, it is perhaps the best thing that came out of the '98 Godzilla movie.

For more trivia about Godzilla: The Series, check out the latest episode of SYFY WIRE's Everything You Didn't Know!