ReBoot Gets Rebooted

Who here remembers ReBoot? Recognized as the first completely computer generated 30-minute television show, the show ran from 1994 to 2001 and followed the adventures of Guardians charged with protecting the citizens of a city called Mainframe from various threats. Some of these threats took the form of users. Bob, our hero, would enter games and reboot into characters from the game to defeat the users’ characters and keep sectors of Mainframe city from being destroyed. Other threats included evil virus characters like Hexadecimal and Megabyte.

ReBoot ended its TV run in a rather abrupt manner. The final five episodes were never produced, and this resulted in the series finishing on a cliff-hanger ending. Since the ending of ReBoot, series creator Gavin Blair has refused many interviewer requests to reveal the plans for the final episode should he ever have the chance to go back and actually give the series a proper ending.

After a few films that received lukewarm receptions from many fans, the fans may get another shot at enjoying the show they remember so fondly even as a new generation of fans gets to discover it. Rainmaker Entertainment has announced that its television department, Mainframe Entertainment, will be rolling out a “re-imagined” version of the show just in time for ReBoot’s 20th anniversary. Here’s what Rainmaker President Michael Hefferon had to say about the ReBoot re-launch.

“We are excited to focus our television production activities under the Mainframe brand with an all-new version of ReBoot as well as engage with celebrated children’s programming producer Jane Startz on Tiger’s Apprentice. ReBoot is certain to be embraced by a new generation of fans while Tiger’s Apprentice will provide a bold and unique television experience for kids everywhere.”

There’s no official word yet as to whether or not the new show will be accompanied by DVD and Blu-ray releases of the classic series, but one would think that if the show is successful the sets will follow.

Personally, I’m hoping to see some of the toys hit shelves again. The cool thing about a CG television show is that the toy line can look like it walked straight out of the television set. With all of the re-releases of toys this year (Power Rangers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles both saw releases tied to their original series), it seems like a no-brainer.

What are you hoping to see come from this reboot? Did you watch ReBoot during its original run? Share your Saturday morning cartoon memories in the comments below!