Episode 17 - Bad Bob

This is a very interesting episode of the show. Not just because it was initially rejected by BSNP (something we'll get onto later), but because it's origin story is rather fascinating. Amongst several drawings that he had been asked to do by Gavin and Ian, production designer Brendan McCarthy handed them a picture of Megabyte as a truck. Perplexed, the two asked McCarthy what this was for, to which he replied he just thought it was cool. The show's creators then built an entire episode around the 'Megabyte as a truck' concept, and the end result was one of the most memorable episodes of the entire series.

The episode begins with a shot that zooms in on the Principle Office from Ghetty Prime. At first, things seem peaceful but that peace is soon disrupted by Megabyte's tanks attacking the Principle Office. This causes an alert to sound, and one of the CPU's, Mainframe's Security Defence Force, orders the troops to scramble. They all climb into their vehicles and take to the skies to begin the dogfight. Meanwhile, at Dot's Diner, Bob is driving in his car only for it to break down just outside where a biker girl binome enquires about the issue. Then, Enzo arrives in his air cart that he mentioned he was building in High Code, excitedly telling Bob that he modelled it on an XMP 38, the number one method of transportation in the Super Computer. This is when Dot comes out, asking to have a word with Bob. She scolds him for telling Enzo his tales of the Super Computer since it’s bad enough that he follows Bob into Games. The conversation is then halted by an explosion as Phong contacts Bob to inform him of the attack only to be cut off. Luckily, one of the security binomes contacts Dot to inform her of the incident. Bob takes off in his car, and Dot decides to run ops from the Diner.

At the Principle Office, one of Megabyte's tanks fires missiles at the Principle Office energy sphere as Megabyte pulls up in his limo. Herr Doctor, Megabyte's chief doctor informs him that one more hit will destroy the sphere, allowing them to steal the core energy. Once the sphere has been destroyed, Hack and Slash move a device into position that stores the core energy. This is when Bob shows up, and Megabyte orders Hack and Slash to go after him. This doesn’t go well as Bob sneaks up behind the two of them and deactivates their jet packs, sending them crashing to the ground. Bob then uses Glitch to disable Herr Doctor's monitor, sending it crashing onto his fingers. Megabyte taunts Bob, telling him that he won’t be stopping him this time. This is when they’re interrupted by the system announcing a Game. However, unlike normally, the system voice is stuttering a lot.

Back at the Diner, Dot is monitoring the situation and giving orders. She tracks movement from the Baudway sector where she sees Enzo and Frisket flying towards the battle. She orders her troops to hold fire. Meanwhile, the Game Cube is snaking through the sky rather than dropping straight down as normal. Enzo knocks Megabyte into the vat of core energy by riding his air cart directly into him. Bob takes off in his car just as the Game drops directly on half of the Principle Office.

The Game takes place in a desert wasteland, where Bob's car has taken on a more post apocalyptic aesthetic. Bob ReBoots into Mad Max before driving off in his car. As he pulls away, we can see that the Principle Office is within the Game as well. Captain Quirk then references Planet of the Apes, stating 'The Maniacs, They Blew It Up!' We then pan round the Principle Office until we're outside the Game. A CPU contacts Dot and tells her that Megabyte has corrupted the Game. Dot orders him to monitor the area and attempt to get a new sub sphere from the archives, also pointing out that all of Mainframe has been affected by power surges.

Back in the Game, Phong is now the Gyro Captain from The Road Warrior. He contacts Bob and tells him that Megabyte stole the core energy, which is now in the game with them. Bob points out that even if he wins, the energy will leave in the game. Phong then gives him the order to keep the game going until they can get the energy back to the Principle Office, also informing him that Enzo is also in the Game, and is trying to beat The User.

Enzo has ReBooted as a feral kid, and is trying to overtake The User's car, which looks a little like the Batmobile. He eventually manages to do so upon exiting a valley, and now he only has to overtake a truck to reach first place. Upon catching up with this truck, he discovers that the truck is shaped like Megabyte's face. Enzo decides to go and find Bob, and we see that Hack and Slash are atop the truck, and are in a state of panic.

Bob's car has broken down, but Enzo quickly finds him and lets him know about the Megatruck, also telling him that it looks like it’s towing the core energy. Bob asks Enzo to get him to that truck, but he’s forced to sit in the back since a Frisket isn’t giving up his passenger seat. They eventually catch up to the truck, and Bob climbs on with Hack and Slash helping him up. Bob takes the wheel to find Herr Doctor in the passenger seat, who chastises him for injuring 'mein didgets!'  Bob is able to stop the truck and turn it around just before it reaches a massive power plant. Bob then begins to head back towards the Principle Office where he’s spotted by The User, who turns around in pursuit.

Outside The Game, Dot's 'Number One' (a literal Number One and a clear parody of Star Trek The Next Generation's Commander Riker) informs her that there’s not long until the core energy dissipates. A couple more CPUs ponder that Bob should have stayed outside the game to help evacuate the city. This angers Dot, and she orders them to be ready for when Bob wins the game and saves Mainframe's energy.

Back in the Game, the truck is heading back through the valley where it’s about to collide with the front of a jet plane being driven by Binky and Algy, two British Air Force binomes. Frisket takes the wheel of Enzo's car to swerve out the way, but Megatruck crashes straight through Binky and Algy's vehicle, leaving them unharmed but the vehicle has a massive hole in it.

Frisket navigates Enzo's car through a mine field, eventually reaching the top of a cliff. They end up driving right off, but luckily they are rescued by Phong in his Gyro Copter. Bob orders Herr Doctor to go out and give Hack and Slash the command to release the energy when he toots the horn. He’s reluctant to do so, so Bob throws him out the truck, giving him no choice but to comply. The User catches up and starts shooting Megatruck's tires. Luckily, Frisket is able to slow down the User enough for Bob to release the energy, transferring it back to the Principle Office and crushing the User, ending the game.

Outside the game, Megabyte is very displeased, declaring to Bob that it’s the last time he destroys his work, extruding his claws from his wrist ready to kill Bob. However, Dot, backed up by the entire Mainframe defence fleet, informs him that it’s best that he leaves. Knowing he's outnumbered, Megabyte flees in his limo. Enzo then shows up, and after checking if he’s okay, Dot angrily tells him to never pull a stunt like that again. Once she’s left, Bob tells Enzo that he shouldn’t follow him into games. Enzo is very downtrodden about this, but then Bob cheers him up by saying that he couldn’t have succeeded without him.

It goes without saying, but this is an incredibly good episode of the show, potentially the best we’ve had so far. The plot is incredibly action packed and full of great action sequences, with the main bulk of the episode centering around a parody of the Mad Max film series, specifically The Road Warrior. Much like with later references of this ilk, understanding the reference isn’t mandatory in order to enjoy the episode since it’s enjoyable in its own right, but if you’re familiar with Mad Max, the experience is enriched through the references.

Bob in this episode is given a lot to work with, finding himself in a situation he isn’t experienced in dealing with means he is out of his comfort zone for a lot of this episode, having to take a different approach to winning the game by ensuring the safe return of Mainframe's energy. He’s not separated from Glitch like he has been in previous episodes, but this is a situation where having Glitch wouldn’t fix the problem, hence why he doesn’t use it within the Game.

Another high point of this episode is Megabyte. His plan is fairly clever: draw the fire of Mainframe's security forces so he can sneak in and steal the core energy while the security forces have their attention diverted elsewhere. We also get another glimpse at the menacing side of his character at the end where he’s fully prepared to kill Bob in order to ensure the success of his future plans. The only thing stopping him from following through is the presence of the  CPU's at the end. He knows he won’t be able to take them on himself, so he flees. However, the next time him and Bob encounter each other, things might not end so pleasantly.

As great as this episode is, it didn't go over too well with BSNP initially. Sick of the mile long list of restrictions they had to comply to, the show's creators opted to put as many of the things they weren't supposed to do as they possibly could into the script. BSNP responded by sending back a note which simply stated 'Show Completely Rejected' (which Ian later framed). Ian then got on the phone with BSNP and explained that 'We made this show just for you. All the things you told us not to do are in this episode as an example of what we're not supposed to do' as well as pointing out that this was supposed to be their version of Wacky Races, referring to a previous meeting with the BSNP person who said she loved Wacky Races when asked by Ian what they'd like them to parody. With that, the episode was then approved with no alterations made.

This episode's legacy also extends beyond ReBoot, since it also lead to the creation of 2015's 'Mad Max: Fury Road'. Following the production of this episode, Brendan McCarthy got in touch with George Miller, the creator of the Mad Max franchise. The two then worked together to craft the story for Fury Road.

The only real downside to this episode is that Dot is kind of sidelined in this episode. While it's great to see her in charge of Mainframe's CPU security force, she doesn't really have a stake in the plot overall. It's not something that really hurts the episode too much, but it's a little disappointing given how involved Dot was in previous episodes.

In spite of that tiny nitpick, this is possibly the best episode of the show so far, giving us an engaging, high adrenaline plot full of great action sequences. This is a pretty good indication of where this show is heading going forward. Also, Enzo is now forbidden from going into Games. No big deal, I'm sure this will be forgotten about by the time of the next Game...

Next Time: Hexadecimal makes her long awaited return in 'Painted Windows'