Big Bad Beetleborgs

Did You Know?

• In 1997, Acclaim Comics published a one-shot entitled Power Rangers Turbo vs. Beetleborgs Metallix featuring the Beetleborgs battling the Turbo Rangers before teaming with them against Divatox and Nukus.
• The show has never had any official soundtrack releases.

Synopsis

In the made-up town of Charterville, three kids—Drew McCormick, his sister Jo, and their friend Roland—take a dare from two rich bullies, Van and Trip, and go into the spooky Hillhurst Mansion. Inside, real monsters try to eat them. While running away, they bump into a pipe organ and free a phasm named Flabber, who was trapped inside. Grateful, Flabber gives them one wish. They wish to become their favorite comic book heroes, the Big Bad Beetleborgs. This wish also brings the Beetleborgs' enemies, the Magnavores, into the real world. The Magnavores' leader, Vexor, keeps calling monsters from the comics to fight the Beetleborgs. Later, Vexor makes Shadowborg, who takes away the Beetleborgs' powers for a while. The kids ask the comics' creator, Art Fortunes, to make the White Blaster Beetleborg and a new Mega Blue mode for Drew. A new kid named Josh Baldwin joins as a Beetleborg, but loses his powers when Shadowborg is destroyed. Near the end of the season, the Magnavores steal a picture of a new villain, Nukus, and bring him to life, hoping he'll help them. Nukus creates Borgslayer, but secretly tells Van and Trip how to beat it. The Beetleborgs destroy Borgslayer, and the Magnavores get sucked back into the comics. Then Nukus challenges the Beetleborgs. Even though Art warns them Nukus is too strong, they fight him anyway. Nukus wipes them out in one attack, destroying their armor, weapons, and powers.

Characters

Andrew "Drew" McCormick, played by Wesley Barker, leads the Beetleborgs as the Blue Stinger Beetleborg before becoming the Chromium Gold Beetleborg in season two. Flabber gives him telekinesis, which he triggers by nodding and pointing. Drew first upgrades to Mega Blue Beetleborg by applying the energy axis that powered Shadowborg to his original suit. Later, after Nukus and Vilor go Mega, he gets another upgrade to Mega Spectra Chromium Gold Beetleborg. His suit takes its design from a male Japanese rhinoceros beetle. Roland Williams, played by Herbie Baez, is the Green Hunter Beetleborg and later the Titanium Silver Beetleborg. He is the McCormick kids' best friend, and his family runs Zoom Comics, the local comic shop where he, Jo, and Drew often hang out. Flabber grants him super speed, activated by snapping his fingers. Roland also gets a Mega Spectra Titanium Silver Beetleborg upgrade after Nukus and Vilor go Mega. His armor is based on a male stag beetle. Josephine "Jo" McCormick, played by Shannon Chandler for the first 39 episodes and then by Brittany Konarzewski, is the Red Striker Beetleborg and later the Platinum Purple Beetleborg. She is Drew's younger sister and often wears a baseball cap backwards. Flabber gives her super strength, which she activates by cracking her knuckles. She receives a Mega Spectra Platinum Purple Beetleborg upgrade after Nukus and Vilor go Mega. Her Red Striker armor is modeled after a female Japanese rhinoceros beetle, while her Platinum Purple armor takes inspiration from a ladybug. A notable casting change happened without removing the character: in episode 39, Wolfgang accidentally casts a spell with a magic book that alters Jo's appearance. Brittany Konarzewski then takes over, playing the same Jo with a new look and voice. Flabber uses his magic to make her appear and sound as she always had, but this doesn't affect anyone who actually saw the spell being cast. Flabber, Drew, Roland, and Jo herself see her new appearance, while the Hilhurst monsters and everyone else still see her as she looked before.

Production

Like other Saban Entertainment adaptations, some original source footage from Juukou B-Fighter was altered for Beetleborgs. The Input Magnums, the B-Fighters' guns, were changed to Sonic Lasers colored bright red and purple because the original guns looked very realistic, though the colors sometimes changed due to blending in B-Fighter footage. In Metallix, the Data Laser's colors remained silver and black, but the toy line changed the weapons to a white-and-blue scheme. More violent scenes from B-Fighter were covered with large, Batman-esque sound effects or cut out through comic-book-panel transitions. The series ended after the Saban crew had no more Juukou B-Fighter and B-Fighter Kabuto footage to adapt, the same reason their predecessor VR Troopers ended. The theme music was performed by Jeremy Sweet and series star Billy Forester, with a newer version for Beetleborgs Metallix episodes. The background score was credited to Shuki Levy and Haim Saban (under the alias Kussa Mahchi), with compositions by Inon Zur, who had just joined Saban Entertainment. Several compositions were also used on Saban's concurrent Power Rangers Turbo. The show was filmed in various locations, much of it in Santa Paula, California.

Release history

After its two-season run on Fox, the series reran on UPN Kids from 1998 to 1999. In Australia, it began airing on Network Ten's Cheez TV morning block in February 1998. In Europe, it aired on the international version of Fox Kids, later rebranded as Jetix. On May 7, 2010, the copyright for Beetleborgs was transferred from BVS Entertainment to Saban Capital Group as part of the Power Rangers franchise sale. In 2018, the rights were transferred to Hasbro through its acquisition of the Power Rangers brand. All episodes were available on Netflix from June 15, 2011, to February 1, 2021. Three VHS releases occurred in the US and Australia: The Curse of Shadow Borg, The Vampire Files, and Metallix – The Movie, all by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Shout! Factory released the series on DVD in parts: Season 1, Part 1 on October 16, 2012; Season 1, Part 2 on February 12, 2013; Season 2, Part 1 on June 11, 2013; and Season 2, Part 2 on May 5, 2015. The series was added to Plex in 2025.