What the Gritty Power/Rangers Film Can Teach Us

Yesterday morning, I sat down at my desk to put up the daily Ace of Geeks article, and turned on my Facebook to publish it. I was immediately inundated by friends sharing, discussing, and telling me that I absolutely needed to see the Power Rangers fanfilm that had just broke the internet in half. As a major Power Rangers fan, I was pretty excited to check it out. And I did. And I....liked it? There's a lot to say about this particular piece of viral content, and in order for me to do so, you're going to need some background.

Why Marvel isn't Rebooting their Universe.

It's a striking image, to be sure. After weeks and weeks of throwing us bones both exciting (X-men '92!) and confusing (Age of Ultron vs Marvel Zombies? Why?), it seems the endless teasers from Marvel for their Summer 2015 event, almost certainly Jonathan Hickman's Secret Wars, have ended. They've ended on the above image, promising that everything will end. Before we get into what it could possible mean, let's talk about what we know.

Kikaider: Reboot!

A friend of mine just brought this to my attention - and yes, it's kinda late but... it excited me so much I wrote a post about it. Wanna read it? Here it goes...

It's westernized spelling is Kikaider, but the katakana for it says "Kikaida." The poster for it says:

 Kikaider Reboot!!!

JN Productions, Inc. has announced a licensing agreement with Toei for the subtitling and distribution of the new Kikaider reboot movie. 

ReBoot getting a Rebo- I mean Sequel?

     Of the many cartoons that rocked some form of computer graphics in the nineties, such as Spider-Man and Beast Wars, none were as all encompassing, versatile , or as heartfelt as ReBoot. ReBoot used physical comedy, puns, and complex metaphors to depict life for programs inside a home computer. It, uniquely, portrayed the user not as a god but a malevolent force of chaos. When games were opened, whole sections of the cityscape sectioned off and our protagonists had to act as the forces acting against the user in the game. The show had a strange and often dark sense of humor and style. It was also, on occasion, silly. At one point, entire seasons were summarized to an all-cast chorus. Of course, they sung to the tune of "Modern Major General." Glorious.

Fans Love ReBoot!

     Well now, ReBoot may be coming back. Rainmaker Entertainment is bringing back its television entertainment wing, called Mainframe Entertainment, with two shows; a new ReBoot and a show based off of the Tiger's Apprentice book series, which will also be created with CGI. They have also announced that Jane Start, Producer of Tuck Everlasting and The Indian in the Cupboard, will be working with Mainframe. After two decades of  development in computer animation and the advance of computer literacy, this may be the perfect time to renew (and, hopefully, not) ReBoot.

Netflix announces a reboot of the Magic School Bus

Holy crap, not only is Netflix potentially launching a Star Trek TV series, but they have officially announced a reboot of the Magic School Bus.  While I'm more than happy to re-watch my static-y VHS recordings of this show, it is so referential to the 90s.  Modern day kids and my future children will not get the same joy and sense of wonder that I used to get watching the show because they won't be able to relate to the kids. Their classroom life will be so different from Arnold's.  So thankfully Netflix is taking on the challenge of revitalizing and modernizing this fabulous series.

This show and book series in conjunction with Bill Nye the Science guy defined educational TV focused on science for kids in the 90s. (And Beakman. - Ed)  It is because of these shows that I became a science teacher and I still subject my students to the chants of "Bill!  Bill!  Bill!"  It truly gladdens my heart that my children will be able to be exposed to a modernized version of my favorite educational program.  So Netflix, in the words of Ru Paul, "don't f*ck it up!"