After getting the greenlight from YTV for a third season of ReBoot, co creators Gavin Blair and Ian Pearson as well as former head of children's television at ABC Dan DiDio (who was brought on to be story editor for this season) got together at a steak house in Santa Monica. While they were there, they began planning the plot for the third season, writing their ideas down on a paper table cloth. While this initial plan differed slightly from the finished season, the overall planned structure for the season remained the same. Much like how the last four episodes of Season 2 were four separate episodes that formed one story arc, Gavin, Ian, and Dan decided to continue using that format, but on a much larger scale; each set of four episodes would be it's own separate story arc, but all four arcs would come together to make one big arc.
One marvel of the internet is that, while a lot of things end up getting lost, the majority of things posted on there remain available for prosperity. If you look through the Google group alt.tv.reboot (formerly a Usenet group that has been absorbed), you will be able to look at several conversations between fans from when the internet was in it's infancy. It's pretty fascinating looking through all the posts following the second season. There was a lot of speculation with regards to the future of ReBoot and what would happen in Season 3 that all makes for a fascinating read along with fan's first reactions to seeing these episodes for the first time. Eventually, Season 3 made it's premiere when the first episode debuted on CITV in the UK on the 17th July 1997, a month prior to it's broadcast on YTV in Canada on the 20th August 1997. This first episode alone manages to set the precedent for the rest of the season going forward as well as making it clear that the days of Mainframe being restrained by BSNP are long gone.
The episode begins with a new intro recapping the events of Web World Wars. This time around, Bob's narration is replaced by Megabyte's. This is a great way to establish the tone of this first arc, as with Bob gone, Megabyte is now effectively in control with little standing in his way.
Following the intro, we pick up after the events of Web World Wars with the CPU's being chased and gunned down by Megabyte's ABC's. We pan around Mainframe until we reach the Hardware being manned by Hexadecimal. Megabyte ascends from an elevator, and orders Hexadecimal to fire when ready. She fires a blast at the Principle Office that hits the shields. We then cut to the Principle Office war room, which is shaken by the blast. Phong says that the shields are starting to fail, so Mouse begins attempting to fix the issue. Specky, one of the binomes, informs Dot that the remaining CPU's are requesting landing clearance, adding that there's only 9 CPU's left. Dot is clearly upset about this, but quickly begins planning a way to get them home. She orders Specky to contact the CPU's, and get them to proceed in a single file formation without breaking rank. Specky is confused about this, telling Phong that they'll be sitting ducks. Phong, however, says that it's best to do what Dot asks since he suspects that she has a plan.
They are then interrupted by Megabyte contacting the Principle Office via Vid Window. He tells them that their city is almost a mere memory but they can still save themselves by surrendering the Principle Office to him and taking their place at his feet. Enzo retaliates by assuring Megabyte that they'll never surrender to him. This doesn't phase Megabyte, who remarks that never is a long time, and that he awaits their unconditional surrender before singing off. Mouse then manages to get the shields back to full power, and Dot orders the binomes to patch her through to the CPU's in order to bring them home.
The CPU's go into single file formation, flying in between two rows of buildings. The ABC's then split into two separate ranks, flying each side of the CPU's. This then puts them in range of the Principle Office defence cannons, who begin opening fire on the ABC's, destroying them. The CPU's all make it home, but the shields stop functioning, meaning they are now defenceless from Megabyte's weapon.
Megabyte orders Hex to power down, since now the Principle Office is defenceless, the city is theirs for the taking. Hexadecimal doesn't care about this, since she just wants to destroy the Principle Office, even after Megabyte reminds her that doing so will destroy the entire system, including them. Hex fires anyway, but her shot is blocked by a small temporary shield that Mouse has managed to generate. Dot remarks that Bob would say 'this is not good' if he was here. Mouse reminds Dot that he's not here, and don't have a Guardian. Enzo then reminds them that he is a Guardian, but Dot is against this idea. Mouse feels that they have no choice but to take on Megabyte and Hexadecimal directly, tapping her icon and changing into a Samurai esque outfit. Dot joins her, switching her icon around to change from her usual attire to a more military looking outfit. They leave along with a handful of CPU's, ordering Specky to stay on the shields. Phong consoles a sombre Enzo, telling him that his time will come. Enzo says that Dot's right, he's not a real Guardian like Bob was.
Back on the platform, Hexadecimal begins recharging the cannon for another blast. Megabyte then tries to intervene, not wanting Hex to destroy 'my city'. However, Hex knocks him off the platform with an energy blast. Megabyte falls, but is caught by Hack and Slash before he can reach the ground. The system voice then announces 'Warning, Incoming Game!' Hexadecimal aims her shot, but just as she fires, the game cube descends on the weapon. This ends up causing power to surge through the cannon (and her), and the cannon explodes.
This is observed by Dot and Mouse, who then spot Enzo and AndrAIa heading for the game. They immediately give chase after the two. Dot says Enzo can't help himself because of the Guardian protocol, and Mouse says while that's fine, AndrAIa's a game sprite, meaning that even if they win the game, AndrAIa would stay with the game. Mouse is able to grab AndrAIa before she's able to reach the game, and Dot joins Enzo in the game.
Dot and Enzo find themselves in a misty graveyard. Three CPU's are also in the game, and have already ReBooted into zombies. Enzo uses Glitch to find out information about the game, learning that they are on the final level of a game called 'Malicious Corpses', and that their objective is to prevent the User from gathering all the pages of the 'Manual of Mortality' (which is stored in a cabin up ahead). The user is currently one level below them, and Enzo tells Dot that it's best not to ReBoot until they can see what they're up against. Outside the Game, Herr Doktor finds Hexadecimal's incredibly wounded form, and orders some Binomes to carry her to the back of the van.
Back in the game, a gravestone near the Mainframers begins to crack and eventually explodes only for Frisket to jump out at them. Enzo is happy to see him, but this joy fades when the User appears. This user is a human with a large chin, armed with a shotgun and a chainsaw for a hand. He also tends to use the word 'groovy' a lot.
Now the User's here, Dot, Enzo, and Frisket ReBoot. Frisket is now a hell hound, Enzo is a Zombie wearing Michael Jackson's Thriller outfit, and Dot is a cross between Morticia Addams and Elvira. The User immediately starts shooting at them, and they take cover behind a tombstone. Enzo orders the CPU's to try and find the User's ammo and hide it. They are reluctant to listen to him, remarking that he's a kid and 'hardly a Guardian'. Suddenly, skeletons start coming out of their graves. These a game sprites, which Enzo thinks will give the User something to shoot at instead of them. Enzo asks again for the CPU's to hide the ammo, but they don't do anything until Dot shouts at them to do so. Dot then asks Enzo what they do next, referring to him as 'Guardian'.
At Silicon Tor, Megabyte is watching an interview with a binome who is giving her thoughts on Enzo as a Guardian. She doesn't seem confident in him defending the system based on him being a little sprite. This gives Megabyte an idea, and he turns to Cyrus, telling him that he has a job for him. Back in the game, the User is still shooting at the skeletons, and when Enzo tells her the next wave of Game Sprites will be Zombies with flesh on their bones, Dot remarks 'what kind of sick creature gets enjoyment out of playing this sort of game?!', giving a fourth wall breaking glare to the audience. One of the binomes manages to find a box of ammo and hide it, but then he's met by the zombie game sprites, who then all get shot at by The User.
In the lower depths of Silicon Tor, Hexadecimal is tied up to some contraption. Megabyte orders Herr Doktor to lower her down, telling him that he wants her to have 'the best treatment'. Back in the game, the User is faced by a menacing tree who has the last page. He simply cuts the tree down with his chainsaw and grabs the page. Enzo orders the CPU's to stay out of the way while they head for the cabin. Frisket, however, runs straight at the User who shoots Frisket, seemingly killing him. Dot drags Enzo into the cabin, and reminds him that they can only help Frisket by winning the game. Enzo then begins planning, telling Dot they need to barricade the door and hide the book.
Enzo decides to trap the User down a trap door in the cabin. Since it's chained shut, he decides to use Glitch to cut the chain. However, Glitch just short circuits and stops working. The User then starts using his chainsaw to cut through a hole in the wall. As soon as he enters, Dot smashes a lamp over his head, and Enzo plugs it in, this electrocutes him. During this, he ends up breaking the chain locking the trap door through shooting it. As soon as he gets up, he starts shooting Enzo, who dodges his attacks by dancing like Michael Jackson. Dot manages to disarm him of his gun, leaving him with just his chainsaw. He traps Enzo and Dot behind a piano, and begins slicing it with his chainsaw. This renders it useless as now it's covered in wires. Dot and Enzo manage to evade him and he ends up tripping over Frisket, who has wandered into the cabin. The User lands headfirst onto a sofa, and Dot and Enzo instantly begin tying him up with tape. Dot then opens the trap door, and Enzo scares him in. As he falls in, he's sucked into a whirlwind, and re emerges as a zombie, shouting 'I'm dead before dawn! I'm dead before dawn!', ending the game.
Outside the game, paramedic binomes arrive and take Frisket away. Dot requests particular doctors since she wants him to have the best treatment. Back at the Principle Office, the shields are now operational again, and Enzo is greeted by AndrAIa rushing at him. Phong has a message for Enzo from the hospital, showing that Frisket is back to full strength. Dot tells Enzo that he did a great job in the game, but he needs to be train if he wants to be as good as Bob was, cutting off before she can finish her sentence. Enzo then promises to Dot that he'll find Bob and bring him home. Mouse the interrupts with a surprise for Dot, saying that AndrAIa and her found Cecil in the wreckages of Dot's Diner.
As the starting point to this season, this episode does a great job of establishing the new status quo of the series following the massive cliffhanger we were left with at the end of the last season, setting up seeds for the rest of this first story arc, and setting the overall tone for how the rest of this season is going to go.
At the end of Web World Wars, Bob was gone, and now only Young Enzo stands in Megabyte's way. This episode starts right after the events of that one, showing how Megabyte is incredibly close to victory with little standing in his way. While he may have finally bested Bob, but he still needed to take over the city. However, the rest of the cast weren't going to go down without a fight, even if their resistance seemed somewhat futile at times. If it wasn't for Hexadecimal and her chaotic agenda, it's possible that Megabyte might have been able to succeed.
With Bob gone, Enzo is effectively forced into the role of the show's protagonist. However, unlike Bob, Enzo isn't prepared. As the binomes say, he's only a young sprite. He lacks the training that Bob had, but still has to shoulder the responsibility of protecting Mainframe. While he's more than enthusiastic to help, even he knows he isn't ready. However, in the Game he begins to get used to being a Guardian, being a little more assertive and thinking on his feet in order to find a way to stop the User. Even then, he's nowhere near ready to take on Megabyte directly. We have another new voice actor for Enzo, this season. This time, we have Christopher Grey. This is probably my favourite voice for Enzo. His voice is noticeably deeper than the other voice actors we've had for Enzo, which I feel is pretty fitting given his Guardian upgrade, also suggesting that Enzo is ageing a little.
It's great to see Dot fully in control of Mainframe's defence forces. In Season 2, we got hints of her position within Mainframe's security forces, but this time, she is effectively their leader, with Phong being there to advise and support rather than command. She's also clearly upset about losing Bob, and her reluctance to let Enzo defend Mainframe and enter games is somewhat linked to this since she doesn't want to lose him, as well.
We also get other hints of plot points going forward, mainly involving Megabyte's schemes. The first of which is the job he's given Cyrus, which relates somewhat to propaganda. What this entails is something that will play out in later episodes along with his plans for Hexadecimal. We know he intends to help her recover, but what are his intentions?
The game this time around is probably the most intense game we've had so far. This works in the episode's favour, both at showing us what to expect in the season, and reinforcing the idea that no one is safe in this universe anymore. The sinister nature of this game allows for Enzo's development as he needs to figure out how to beat the game without Bob, and also presenting the user as a genuine threat. In previous games in the series, the user has mostly been defeated with relative ease and hasn't been seen as much of a threat. This time, we've got a user who's incredibly deadly and could do serious damage to our heroes, which he of course, manages with Frisket.
The main point to talk about the game, however, is how it's obviously a reference to Sam Raimi's 'Evil Dead' franchise, particularly 'Evil Dead 2'. The User this time around is Ash Williams, the protagonist of the Evil Dead franchise. There's also several nod's to the franchise through the cabin being very similar to the one from the films (complete with the talking deer head, who remarks 'it's only funny until someone loses an eye', a line that will make a lot more sense in a couple of weeks), and the sentient tree (thankfully nothing like the trees from the first Evil Dead).
As great as this sequence is, it ended up getting ITV/Meridian Broadcasting in trouble when they initially aired it in July 1997. After it aired, 19 parents complained to ITC (now Ofcom), the UK's broadcasting authority about how they felt this episode was unsuitable for children and shouldn't have been broadcast at 4:45 on a Thursday afternoon when children could watch it. ITV actually made a decent case to defend the show, but the main point of contention that the ITC had with the episode was the use of characters from a film which was rated '18' (the UK equivalent to the 'R' rating), and they were advised that this episode was unsuitable for the time that it was broadcast. I'll probably talk more about this in a later post since I plan to cover the UK broadcast of ReBoot in a later post, but I'd feel I was missing something if I didn't at least mention it in this post.
One noticeable change from Season 2 to Season 3 is the animation. In between seasons, Mainframe's software capabilities got better, leading to much more detailed animation and visuals. Characters now had eyelashes and shadows, and looked a little less polygonal. While in some areas, it is a little dated, I feel the animation in this season largely holds up pretty well by today's standards. Mainframe had the capability of rendering the show in HD, and rendered several HD still shots to be used for publicity. Looking at these shots compared to their respective shots from the episodes, it's crazy how much detail they were able to put in. Of course, it would have been impossible for Mainframe to render the whole season in HD since each shot took at least 90 minutes to render, plus no networks were broadcasting in HD at the time so there was no point doing so.
Overall, as the start to the season, this does a great job of hitting the ground running after the last season and giving fans an idea of where the show would be going from this point. Sure, Bob is gone for now, but it means we get to spend more time with the characters who haven't had as much focus at this point. Megabyte might have the upper hand for now, but our heroes aren't going to go down without a fight.
Next week: Megabyte puts his plan to turn Mainframe against it's new Guardian into full effect in 'Between a Raccoon and a Hard Place'
