Techtite's TV Reviews!

ReBoot !

A Techtite Review

The Show : Reboot is a type of rare phenomenon on TV; the first sign of a new concept in television. Using the same CGI tricks that made movies like A Bug's Life, Antz, and Toy Story, this 39-episode series was the first entirely computer-animated series, ever. However, its deserved respect stateside has been a bumpy ride; only two seasons of its three season run were shown on ABC, and while its third season has been shown off-and-on by The Cartoon Network, the best chance to see season 3 hasn't been available until now, with the entire season 3 available on four separate volumes!

The series' plotline is simple enough; a small city of cyber-people live within each computer, who help to keep your programs running (and their very lives). One such cyber-person is Bob; a guardian (ie, "policeman") from the Supercomputer, who was recently thrust into the smaller computer "city" called Mainframe. This is good news for the small cyber-city, because they need a Guardian to protect them from a pair of nasty viruses (ie, the arch-villains of the series). Bob agrees to help...and so the series begins.

The added problem? Video Games. Every time one is booted up by "the user" (the unseen controller of the world...ie, you), its "game cube" falls into their little world, forcing everyone in that area to play the game. this is bad for sprites, because death in the game means death, period; known by sprites as "nullification!" It is up to Bob and his friends to "REBOOT!" each episode, morphing into the characters of each game and making sure they win; the alternative is every sprite caught in the game becoming little worm-like slugs of data called "nulls." ...And here you thought you had it tough, when trying to get all the stars in Super Mario 64!

Such a unique plot had its share of hurdles along the way, however. Most of these was due to the "Unholy alliance" between ABC and the makers of this series, who each had different ideas of where the series should (and should not) go. ABC, owned by Disney, was very particular about the boundaries that this Canadian-import show would go, thinking that anything PG-rated was inappropriate for the Saturday mornings that they threw the show into. This was bad news for seasons 1 and 2, though great news for season 3, because without ABC to hold them on a leash anymore, they went all out in graphics, storyline, and emotional appeal. This makes it all the more enjoyable that this season is now available in its entirety on DVD, especially when many people may not have even had the chance to see season 3 at all.

The bottom line here is, Reboot is a fantastic sign of the types of cartoons/programs to expect in the new millenium. In time, it may seem a bit dated (as new computer technology enters the scene), though it was the first such attempt at a completely computer animated series. Let's just hope there are many similar series in later years...

The DVD (s) : There isn't much on the DVDs other than the episodes themselves, though that is a very good thing just the same. Having four episodes each DVD means you can keep these shows for as long as you like, and you may very well want to see them over and over. While the DVDs do offer a small amount of conceptual art and initial animation tests, the episodes are about all there is on each DVD...though that's enough.

Volume 1 is titled, "To Mend and Defend," and chronicles Enzo's first moments as a young boy in Mainframe city, trying to take on the role made absent by Bob (who was thrown into the web vortex by the villainous virus, Megabyte. This is, coincidentally, also the volume that includes "Firewall," perhaps one of the best episodes of the entire series. The only "minus" here, is that this volume ends in an unhappy cliffhanger, with Enzo losing in an unbeatable opponent's game, with his weherabouts unknown. Suffice to say, when put on DVD this way, this "cliffhanger" is a meager way to make you buy the other Volumes, though let me just say the obvious; DUH, with 12 more episodes left to the season, of course main-character Enzo is not dead!

Volume 2 chronicles Enzo's early adult years through the game world he escaped into. Sure, he survived the unbeatable game by pretending to be a "game sprite" and travelling with the other game data, though game data's destination is uncontrollable, and leaving the game world could mean entering any number of cyber-worlds...none of them Mainframe. After some very amusing (and well animated) game worlds, Enzo "Matrix" and his longtime love, AndrAIa, finally decide to reach their home world via the Web itself...and perhaps save Bob while they're at it.

Volume 3 chronicles this Web voyage, via a ship of pirates (software pirates, get it?). They meet up with "The Surf Baud," a web surfer who is sort of a cybernetic beach bum. This leads to an amusing love triangle of sorts, between Enzo, AndrAIa, and the surfer. It also leads to some amusing web-world exploits, including the return of Bob.

Volume 4 --perhaps the biggest must-have of the collection-- chronicles the final episodes of the whole series, including a fantastic, happily-ever-after finale. It is a dark journey getting there though, when the Web pirates finally reach Mainframe, only to find it almost completely destroyed; without Guardian Bob, or Guardian-apprentice Enzo to help them, Mainframe fell prey to the powers of the viruses MegaByte and Hexadecimal. With them back in the picture, however, they all make a last stand, and after a "reset" of the systems, everythings happy again, and longtime just-friends Bob and Dot share their first kiss; an awesome series finale!

Should you buy all the above volumes? Maybe not, though fans may be very, very interested in Volumes 1 and 4. They aren't distributed by a major company, so they may not even last for very long; get them while you still can! If you're a longtime fan of the series, or of CGI animation, you won't be disappointed.

	Final Rating : Large Crater. Close to Deep Impact, though some episodes aren't as classic as some others. "Firewall" alone is reason for a thumbs-up, making Volume 1 of the DVD collection, a possible must-have!
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