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Saban's VR Troopers was the first official "sister series" to the most popular "action fighting kid show" at the time, Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. Much like it, this was an Americanization of a Japanese tokusatsu children's program by Toei Company LTD.

The show focused on three young adults in their late teens, Ryan Steele, Kaitlin Star, and J.B. Reese, living in the fictional West Coast town of Cross World City. They regularly attended and were teachers at "Tao's Dojo", a karate studio. Ryan was the most focused martial artist; J.B. was the computer wizard; while Kaitlin was a photographer & budding reporter for the local newspaper, the Underground Voice Daily. One day, Ryan's search for his long-missing father led him and his two friends to a strange laboratory. Inside, a digitized head of Professor Horatio Hart, a friend of Ryan's father Tyler, explained the truth about his life's work of having developed extremely advanced virtual reality technology in secret. "VR" is a dimension existing alongside our own; within it lie mutants and monsters bent on conquering both worlds. The main ruler of these is a creature known as Grimlord, who, unbeknowst to anyone on Earth, has a human identity as billionaire industrialist Karl Ziktor. As Karl Ziktor tries to overcome the barriers of the true reality to allow his armies easy passage from virtual world, the responsibility falls to Ryan, Kaitlin, and J.B. of defending the planet on both sides of the dimensional barrier. They have assistance in the form of armored bodies having incredible firepower. This included eventual additions to their arsenal, such as a Turbo Cycle, Techno Bazooka, and a flying, laser-blasting Skybase. used hockey skates

Other regular characters on the show included Jeb, Ryan's hound dog, who, after an accident in Prof. Hart's lab, is now capable of human speech; Woody Stocker, Kaitlin's wacky hat-loving boss at the Underground Voice Daily; Percy Rooney, the local mayor's nephew and Kaitlin's bumbling rival reporter; and Tao, the wise martial arts sensei who owns the dojo and a family friend of the Steele Family. Recurring villains include General Ivar, a vicious rocket-shaped monster with his own tank; Colonel Icebot, a cold-blooded virtual menace; Decimator, a sword-wielding warrior; the Skugs, gold-headed foot soldiers, and more throughout. hockey skates for sale

During the second season, the show changed format very slightly. Ryan's father was finally found (having been restored to normal off-camera) and quickly left to help the government research further Virtual Reality-based technology. With him came an upgrade to Ryan's V.R. armor and powers. Grimlord's base of operation switched from a dungeon to a massive spacecraft, and added new Generals such as DoomMaster and his Vixens, Oraclon, and Despera. The Skugs now had the ability to become more powerful in the form of Ultra-Skugs.

Cast

Main article: List of characters in VR Troopers

Cybertron

The show was originally called Cybertron, but was changed to VR Troopers later because of a copyright issue with Hasbro ("Cybertron" being the name of the title characters' home planet in the various Transformers properties). The production studio kept the name Cybertron Productions for the show's lifespan, similar to how Power Rangers kept the name of its original season ("MMPR Productions") until it closed in 2002. Jason David Frank was originally cast in the part of Ryan Steele. However, he had to withdraw due to his popularity on Power Rangers, prompting a return to that series. The theme to Cybertron would be reworked and became the Green Ranger theme ('Go Green Ranger Go') on Power Rangers.

He filmed one episode back when the show was known as Cybertron. At the time, Frank's character was called Adam Steele. Rough promotional reels of Cybertron drew its source footage from Metalder. Adam Steele was depicted as a solo hero going up against an entire army of sentient robots known as War Drones who were led by the evil Grimlord. Grimlord's alternate identity in the pilot was known as Cyrus Riktor (Gardner Baldwin) who also had a son named Percy Riktor, Adam's martial arts rival. Tao Chong (Richard Rabago) was also present, but played a more vital role in the show. Tao was not only Adam's caretaker and sensei, he also served the role of Cybertron's mentor; this was dropped and the character Professor Hart occupied the role. Tao also had a daughter named Mia, and Doug Sloan played the part of Tyler Steele. Also featured were a pair of bumbling news reporters named Elmo (played by Jamie Kennedy) and Scuzzy, who would've served as the series' comedy relief.

Production

According to early VR Troopers promotions, Kaitlin had a different last name. Instead of "Star", her surname was referred to as "Hall". Also in these early promos (seen at the beginning of many Power Rangers home videos), Professor Hart was played by a different actor, and had an entirely different voice and personality than the Professor that was later used.

Like Power Rangers, VR Troopers used a combination of American footage spliced with fight scenes from Japanese shows. The Japanese shows adapted in to VR Troopers are Space Sheriff Shaider, Dimensional Warrior Spielban, and Super Machine Metalder. All three come from Toei's Metal Hero Series. Specifically, Ryan's first season suit was that from Metalder and his second season suit was from Space Sheriff Shaider. Both JB's and Kaitlin's suits came from Spielban.

Out of all of Saban's tokusatsu adaptations, VR Troopers uses the oldest source-footage of any series. Shaider was aired from 1984 to early 1985, making it 11 years old when first used for VR Troopers in 1995; Spielban was aired from 1986 to early 1987, making it eight years old when originally used in 1994; and Metalder was originally aired in 1987 to early 1988, making it seven years old when it was adapted in 1994.

Because more than one Japanese show was used in an episode at any given time, Ryan's alter-ego was never in the same action scene as JB or Kaitlin's (since they were taken from two different shows). Due to this, many episodes involved some sort of plot device that separated Ryan from the other two, forcing them to fight separately. Almost every episode ended with either Ryan or JB destroying the monster of the day (Kaitlin never got to destroy any on her own), at which point his missing comrade(s) would come running up to inquire how the fight went. The only time the group fought "together" or in battle grid mode was all original American footage.

VR Troopers as an adaptation is different in many ways from Power Rangers and Big Bad Beetleborgs. Because it was syndicated, the monsters were destroyed more violently; mutant/robot destructions included the monster being split in half, impaled, and decapitated. None of the VR Trooper forms were given names since none of them had one main color.

The show lasted two seasons (1994-'95 and '95-'96) with nearly 100 episodes before it was cancelled in favor of Big Bad Beetleborgs, which continued to use footage from the Metal Hero Series Juukou B-Fighter and B-Fighter Kabuto.

The series was cancelled because all the fight footage was used up. All three of the Metal Hero shows used in the series had a lot of human vs. human battles. However, because the fights featured close-ups of Japanese actors, it was deemed unusable. Distance shots were usable in some of the fights, and battles with the monster footage were also kind of limited (splicing up to 2-3 episodes), but otherwise such footage was limited. In addition, because many episodes of fight footage from Metalder/Shaider and Spielban were being used in a single episode, the footage ran out faster.

In Season 1, the show would open with the traditional "Today on Saban's VR Troopers" teaser, showing scenes from the episode and narrated by Dave Mallow. After the "Quest For Power" mini-series in Season 2, however, Ryan, Kaitlin, or J.B. took over the part and narrated the teaser (and in the first-person to boot).

Various voice actors were listed under different pseudonyms in this series. For example, in the Season 1 end credits, Kerrigan Mahan was credited under his pseudonym, Ryan O'Flannigan (which was also the name credited for doing the voice of Goldar in the early seasons of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers); in Season 2, he would be credited under his real name and was properly identified as Jeb's voiceover. Likewise, Richard Epcar was occasionally listed in the end credits under a pseudonym of his own, Richard George (although he was credited under his real name for the first two episodes of the series), and Mike Reynolds was credited under the name Ray Michaels.

Episodes

Season 1

Title

Original Airdate

#

"The Battle Begins, Part One"

September 3, 1994

1

"The Battle Begins, Part Two"

September 10, 1994

2

"Error in the System"

September 14, 1994

3

"Lost Memories"

September 15, 1994

4

"Battle For the Books"

September 16, 1994

5

"Oh Brother"

September 19, 1994

6

"Grimlord's Challenge"

September 20, 1994

7

"Computer Captive"

September 21, 1994

8

"Kaitlin's Little Helper"

September 22, 1994

9

"The Virtual Spy"

September 23, 1994

10

"The Virtual V-6"

September 26, 1994

11

"No One's Friend"

September 27, 1994

12

"Dogmatic Change"

September 28, 1994

13

"Searching For Tyler Steele"

September 30, 1994

14

"Save the Trees"

October 3, 1994

15

"A Dirty Trick"

October 4, 1994

16

"Kaitlin's Front Page"

October 5, 1994

17

"The Dognapping"

October 7, 1994

18

"My Dog's Girlfriend"

October 10, 1994

19

"Digging For Fire"

October 11, 1994

20

"The Great Brain Robbery"

October 12, 1994

21

"The Dojo Plot"

October 14, 1994

22

"Grimlord's Greatest Hits"

October 19, 1994

23

"The Disappearance"

October 25, 1994

24

"Nightmares"

October 31, 1994

25

"Secret Admirer"

November 3, 1994

26

"Grimlord's House of Fear"

November 4, 1994

27

"Three Strikes"

November 7, 1994

28

"Danger in the Deep"

November 8, 1994

29

"Small But Mighty"

November 9, 1994

30

"Defending Dark Heart, Part One"

November 14, 1994

31

"Defending Dark Heart, Part Two"

November 15, 1994

32

"Defending Dark Heart, Part Three"

November 16, 1994

33

"Defending Dark Heart, Part Four"

November 17, 1994

34

"Ghost Biker"

November 18, 1994

35

"Endangered Species"

November 21, 1994

36

"Field Goal"

November 22, 1994

37

"The Littlest Trooper"

November 23, 1994

38

"The Reality Virus"

November 29, 1994

39

"Friends in Need"

November 30, 1994

40

"Good Trooper, Bad Trooper"

February 6, 1995

41

"The Transmutant"

February 7, 1995

42

"Who's King of the Mountain?"

February 8, 1995

43

"The Couch Potato Kid"

February 9, 1995

44

"The Old Switcharoo"

February 10, 1995

45

"Race to the Rescue"

February 13, 1995

46

"Fiddler on the Loose"

February 14, 1995

47

"Virtually Powerless"

February 15, 1995

48

"New Kids on the Planet"

February 20, 1995

49

"Message From Space"

February 22, 1995

50

"The Rise of the Red Python, Part One"

February 27, 1995

51

"The Rise of the Red Python, Part Two"

February 28, 1995

52

Season 2

Title

Original Airdate

#

"Mutant Mutiny"

September 11, 1995

53

"Trooper Out of Time"

September 12, 1995

54

"Secret Power"

September 13, 1995

55

"Quest For Power, Part One"

September 18, 1995

56

"Quest For Power, Part Two"

September 19, 1995

57

"Quest For Power, Part Three"

September 20, 1995

58

"Quest For Power, Part Four"

September 21, 1995

59

"Quest For Power, Part Five"

September 22, 1995

60

"Fashion Victims"

September 25, 1995

61

"Game Over"

September 26, 1995

62

"Watered Down"

September 27, 1995

63

"The Negative Factor"

October 2, 1995

64

"Kaitlin Through the Looking Glass, Part One"

October 3, 1995

65

"Kaitlin Through the Looking Glass, Part Two"

October 4, 1995

66

"Kaitlin Goes Hollywood"

October 9, 1995

67

"Grimlord Takes Root"

October 10, 1995

68

"The Disk"

October 11, 1995

69

"Virtual Venom"

October 16, 1995

70

"New World Order"

October 17, 1995

71

"Grimlord's Children"

October 18, 1995

72

"The Millennium Sabre"

October 24, 1995

73

"Grimlord's Dark Secret, Part One"

November 2, 1995

74

"Grimlord's Dark Secret, Part Two"

November 3, 1995

75

"On the Wrong Track"

November 6, 1995

76

"Forward Into the Past"

November 7, 1995

77

"Into Oraclon's Web"

November 8, 1995

78

"Santa's Secret Trooper"

November 13, 1995

79

"The Charmeeka Invasion"

November 14, 1995

80

"Dream Battle"

November 15, 1995

81

"A Hard Day's Mutant"

November 20, 1995

82

"Magnetic Attraction"

November 21, 1995

83

"Get Me to the Lab on Time"

November 27, 1995

84

"Grimlord's Big Breakout"

November 28, 1995

85

"Field and Scream"

February 5, 1996

86

"The Duplitron Dilemma"

February 6, 1996

87

"Despera Strikes Back"

February 7, 1996

88

"The Ghost of Cross World Forest"

February 12, 1996

89

"Grimlord's Dummy"

February 13, 1996

90

"Time Out"

February 20, 1996

91

"Galileo's New Memory"

February 21, 1996

92

See also

Virtual Dungeon

Virtual Dark Fortress

List of Mutants and Cyborgs in VR Troopers

VHS & DVD Release

In the US five VHS videos were released: Lost Memories, Oh Brother, Computer Captive, Error in the System and Virtual V6.

In the UK four DVDs were released by Jetix Films. They included three single disc Volumes and a Mega Disc DVD that contained 8 various episodes that were released across the first three Volumes. At this time there are no plans for a US DVD release.[citation needed]

External links

VR Troopers at the Internet Movie Database

TVShowsOnDVD.com, vote for VR Troopers to be released onto DVD.

References

^ May 1994 issue of Disney Adventures

v  d  e

 

Metal Hero Series

Space Sheriffs:

Gavan   Sharivan   Shaider   (The Space Sheriff Spirits)

1980s:

Juspion   Spielban   Metalder   Jiraiya   Jiban

Rescue Police:

Winspector   Solbrain   Exceedraft

1990s:

Janperson   Blue SWAT   Juukou B-Fighter   B-Fighter Kabuto   Kabutack   Robotack

See also:

Super Sentai  Kamen Rider Series  VR Troopers  Big Bad Beetleborgs  Zaido: Pulis Pangkalawakan

v  d  e

Power Rangers

Media:

TV series:

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Alien Rangers)  Zeo  Turbo  in Space  Lost Galaxy  Lightspeed Rescue  Time Force  Wild Force  Ninja Storm  Dino Thunder  S.P.D.  Mystic Force  Operation Overdrive  Jungle Fury  RPM

Films:

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie  Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie

Video

games:

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers  The Movie  The Fighting Edition  Zeo: Battle Racers  Lightspeed Rescue  Time Force  Wild Force  Ninja Storm  Dino Thunder  S.P.D.  Super Legends

Characters:

Rangers  Villains  Allies  Other characters

Miscellany:

List of episodes  Zords  Cast members  Power Chamber  Theme song  "The Official Single"  A Rock Adventure  World Tour Live on Stage  Collectible Card Game

Related Saban

series:

VR Troopers  Masked Rider  Big Bad Beetleborgs  The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog  Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation

See also:

Haim Saban  Shuki Levy  Tony Oliver  Fox Kids  ABC Kids  ABC Family  Toon Disney  Jetix  Saban  Disney  Super Sentai

Categories: Metal Hero Series | VR Troopers | 1994 television series debuts | 1996 television series endings | 1990s American television series | American science fiction television series | Virtual reality in fiction | Superhero television programs | Martial arts television series | First-run syndicated television programs in the United States | American children's television seriesHidden categories: Articles lacking sources from March 2009 | All articles lacking sources | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from December 2008