Introduction

As promised in my last PRfan93 Reviews Power Rangers, here is one of two blogs that reviews two other shows Saban made to cash in on Power Rangers' success: VR Troopers and Beetleborgs.

Now...on with the show!

The Episode

Part 1

The episode begins at a haunted house, where two kids are running out, screaming their little heads off. These kids are Van and Trip, two rich jerks who act as the Bulk and Skull of this series.

Trip (played by Todd Hurst) - Van's smarter brother who enjoys pulling get-rich-quick schemes and flaunting his "superiority".

Van (played by Patrick Seaborn) - A less smarter version of Trip. Need I say more?

Anyways, the next day, we are introduced to our three main heroes: Drew, Jo, and Roland. Unlike the Power Rangers, however, these three are grade school-middle school age. All three are fans of a comic book series starring the Beetleborgs, three Ranger-like superheroes.

Drew McCormick (played by Wesley Barker) - Jo's older brother, and leader of the Beetleborgs. Roland is his best friend, and has a crush on Heather, a girl who works at the comic shop.

Jo McCormick (played by Shannon Chandler in Big Bad Beetleborgs, played by Brittney Konarzewski in Beetleborgs Metallix) - Drew's younger sister, and the youngest of the trio.

Roland Williams (played by Herbie Baez) - The only minority of our trio, Roland is an African-American kid, whose family owns the local comic shop.

When the trio get to the comic shop, we are introduced to Roland's family, mother Abbie, father Aaron, and grandmother Nano.

Abbie Williams (played by Channe Nolan) - Roland's mother, who works in real estate, and in Beetleborgs Metallix, runs the comic shop when her husband goes away on business. She doesn't see eye-to-eye with her mother-in-law...at first.

Aaron Williams (played by Kim Delgado) - Roland's father, who owns the comic shop. He does not like his mother's "dangerous" lifestyle.

"Nano" Williams (played by Vivian Smallwood) - Roland's grandmother (and quite an awesome one at that) who enjoys ridin' Harleys and messing with her son Aaron. She co-owns the comic shop.

Trip and Van arrive, tease the trio, and then make a bet: see who can last the longest at the old Hillhurst mansion, which we had seen earlier. They agree, knowing full well that their opponents have no spines.

Soon, after a bit of exploring, our trio encounters the three (later four in this season, and five in the second) house monsters: Mums, Frankenbeans, and Fangula.

Mums (played by Blake Torney) - an ancient mummy with 703 siblings, his bandages reveal a Nightmare Fuel-inducing Grim Reaper form underneath.

Frankenbeans (played by David Fletcher) - A Frankenstein-like creature with no brain (literally), Frankenbeans is the stupidest of the monsters.

Count Fangula (played by Joe Hackett) - A vampire based on Dracula, Trip and Van are actually the first ones to encounter him, and chicken out of the bet because of it.

While being chased by Mums and Frankenbeans, Jo accidentally activates the entrance to another room, which is empty, except for a mysterious organ...which begins to play on its own. Shocked by this, the kids try to get away...only to be confronted by Flabber, a ghost who was trapped in the organ.

Flabber (played by Billy Forrester) - A phasm (ghost) combining elements of Elvis, Liberace, Jay Leno, Discord, and the Joker. He serves as the Zordon to the kids, albeit a much more comical one.

In gratitude for releasing him, Flabber offers the kids a single wish. After a bit of thinking, the kids finally decide what they want: to become the Beetleborgs.

Part 2

After a bit of comical misunderstanding (such as turning the kids into rats and trapping them into the comic book), Flabber grants their wish, transforming the kids into the three Beetleborgs:

Drew, the Blue Stinger Beetleborg

Jo, the Red Striker Beetleborg

Roland, the Green Hunter Beetleborg

After fending off the three house monsters, the trio demorph, and see three flying flames fly out, and once they leave, the flames become a group of evil aliens. These are the Megnavores, led by the evil Vexor.

The Magnavores:

Vexor (played by Joey Pal) - The leader of the Magnavores, Vexor seeks to rule the world, and creates his monsters via summoning them out of the comics.

Typhus (played by Dave Footman) - Vexor's second-in-command who wields a sword.

Noxic (played by David Umansky) - An android who is able to control machines and use them to his advantage.

Jara (played by Rajia Baroudi) - Vexor's whip-wielding, Russian-accented third in command, she can't eat or drink anything due to her mouth staying two-dimensional.

After summoning Vexor, the Monster of the Week is released, requiring the Beetleborgs to fight it. Rather than use giant robots, however, they use ATVs and tanks. With these new weapons, the trio fight the monster, then head back to Hillhurst. Flabber tells them that until the Magnavores can be put back into the comic book, they'll need to defend their home of Charterville from Vexor. When they get back to the comic shop, Trip and Van brag how they won the bet, but Jo informs them that they lost. Humiliated, Trip and Van leave, swearing revenge.

My Opinion

While I initially didn't like this show for its comedic tone and younger protagonists, I grew to liking the concept after watching the episode for the second time.

Final Score

6/10