Reboot

OK, this is the last time I cheat by including a kid's program.  Probably.

Reboot rarely seems to end up on "best of" lists, and I actually don't know why.  I suspect it's due in large part to a very, very troubled distribution history.  I think it goes something like this:

1)  Canadian program is hugely successful thanks to an original idea and (at the time) groundbreaking animation techniques
2)  American network picks it up, introducing the show to a large audience
3)  American network is bought out, and drops the show due to corporate nonsense (Thanks Disney!)
4)  Canadian production continues, and is eventually bought once more by Americans, but since there is a HUGE, three-year gap, nobody understands what is going on or cares.

Which is a terrible, terrible shame.  I know that Canadian audiences ate this show up, and I think Americans did too in the first year.  Reboot was the first fully computer-animated series, and though the earliest graphics are dated, they still have a bright, cartoonish flair to them.


The premise behind Reboot doesn't sound all that interesting on paper:  "What if the bits and bytes of information in computers...had their OWN REALITY?"  It sounds like Tron.  But quite unexpectedly, this show is bursting with creativity, memorable characters, and some of the funniest material I've seen in a kid's show.  The bare bones of the plot is this:  Inside a system called Mainframe, three sprites - the Guardian Bob, Dot Matrix and her little brother Enzo - routinely combat the evil machinations of two computer viruses:  the totalitarian Megabyte and the insane Hexadecimal.

When it started out, there were a LOT of puns to groan at, and the content in the first season was at times so incredibly hokey as to almost be cringeworthy.  However, these minor faults were counterbalanced by such remarkable creativity that the puns and hokeyness ended up being charming all over again.

Besides which, Reboot can't be dismissed as mere light-hearted camp.  The true appeal of this show was that it grew up with its audience.  After season 1, episodes grew progressively darker and more mature in content, art style and character.

People who haven't seen the show will notice that the first picture I posted features a young, wee, green lad.  That's Enzo.  This bulky mofo with the goddamn trident?  SAME CHARACTER.  Enzo (or, as he orders everyone to call him, Matrix) undergoes an epic character arc throughout the series, from spunky young sidekick, to plucky but nervous hero, to dark anti-hero, to straight up asskicker.

Reboot doesn't per se have a "main character" but, as Enzo is the only lead who remains consistent in the entire series, the emotional journey he traverses has to be the strongest.  The writers pull it off with flair, giving teenagers everywhere some heavy, angsty, powerful material to chew on.

Also noteworthy are the villains.  As mentioned before, Megabyte and Hexadecimel are polar opposites:  the first stands for order, the second for chaos.  These are two of the best villains I have ever seen on television, animated or otherwise.  That is part in parcel to how they're written, but kudos has to be given to voice actors Tony Jay (Megabyte) and Shirley Millner (Hexadecimel) for giving these characters their all.


They plot, they cackle, they curse their enemies!  But they also grow and change as well.  I won't reveal much of what happens, but suffice it to say that these two, Hexadecimel in particular, showed audiences how villains can have real depth and shifting motivations to boot.

What's extremelly gratifying about Reboot is that it's a show that I can go back to as an adult and still enjoy.  Very few cartoons from my youth have that honour.  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Real Ghostbusters, G.I. Joe... when an adult goes back to these shows they realize just how dated they are, and sadly they are purely juvenile.

Reboot had something for everyone.  I go back now and I laugh until my side hurts at the weird, random computer references that only the most uber-nerds will understand.  I enjoy the storylines, the relationships, and the quirky dialogue.  Even the graphics look dated, the sheer work that was put into them is measurable in the facial expressions of characters and the environments the creators came up with.

Reboot may yet live up to its name as well, in the form a feature film from Rainmaker Studios.  Praise the User!  It's a treasured piece of nostalgia for me and a great work of science fiction all around, with plenty for adults and children alike to grab onto.  If you haven't seen it yet, be sure and check it out.