ReBoot: The Guardian Code
Four teen gamers become Guardians of cyberspace.
ReBoot: The Guardian Code is a Canadian television series that blends live-action with CGI animation. It was produced by Mainframe Studios as a teen drama and science fiction show. The project was first announced in 2013. The first "season" consisted of ten episodes and debuted on Netflix worldwide (outside of Canada) on March 30, 2018. A second and final ten-episode "season" followed on September 28 of the same year. In Canada, YTV broadcast all twenty episodes from June 4 to July 5, 2018.
The story follows four teenage gamers who are the top-scoring team in an online game. They meet in person on their first day at Alan Turing High School. Their enrollment was arranged by an artificial intelligence named Vera, who recruited them as "Guardians" to physically enter and protect cyberspace. Early in the series, Vera is given a human body and locked out of cyberspace, so she enrolls as an exchange student. The Guardians battle the Sourcerer, a human hacker who uses dark code as his primary weapon against computer systems. After his first encounter with the Guardians, the Sourcerer reactivates the computer virus Megabyte, the main antagonist from the original *ReBoot*, to help him from inside cyberspace.
The Guardians are high school students who enter cyberspace under pseudonyms. Ty Wood plays Austin Carter, also known as Vector, the red-clad leader and son of Adam Carter, the Sourcerer. Sydney Scotia plays Tamra, or Enigma, the yellow-clad ninja-like agility fighter. Ajay Friese plays Parker, or Googz, the green-clad brains and hacker. Gabriel Darku plays Trey Davies, or D-Frag, the blue-clad muscle and athlete. Hannah Vandenbygaart plays V.E.R.A. (Virtual Evolutionary Recombinary Avatar), an AI given a human body who leads the Guardians. Bob Frazer plays Adam Carter, Austin's father, who becomes infected by dark code and turns into the Sourcerer, an evil hacker aiming to revert the world to the early 1900s. He is Megabyte's master. Kirsten Robek plays Judy Carter, Austin's mother, unaware of his double life. Luvia Petersen plays Special Agent Nance of the Department of Internet Security (DIS), who once threatened Adam Carter and wants to weaponize Guardian tech. Nicholas Lea plays Mark Rowan, a DIS agent and friend of Adam Carter. Timothy E. Brummund voices Megabyte, a virus from the original series now upgraded by the Sourcerer.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Science fiction / Action-adventure / Teen drama / Cyberpunk
- Creator
- Michael Hefferon
- Developer
- Sean Jara
- Based On
- ReBoot · Gavin Blair · Ian Pearson · Phil Mitchell · John Grace
- Director
- Pat Williams / Michael Dowding
- Starring
- Ty Wood / Sydney Scotia / Ajay Parikh-Friese / Gabriel Darku
- Composer
- Rich Walters
- Country
- Canada
- Language
- English
- Num Seasons
- 1 (YTV) / 2 (Netflix)
- Num Episodes
- 20
- Executive Producer
- Michael Hefferon / Larry Raskin / Kim Dent Wilder / Bryant Pike
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The series follows four teenaged gamers—Austin Carter (Vector), Tamra (Enigma), Parker (Googz), and Trey Davies (D-Frag)—who are members of an online game's highest-scoring team. They meet in person on their first day at Alan Turing High School, their enrollment arranged by Vera, an artificial intelligence who recruits them as Guardians to physically enter and protect cyberspace. Early in the series, Vera is given a human body and locked out of cyberspace, so she enrolls as an exchange student. The Guardians battle the Sourcerer, a human hacker who uses dark code as his primary weapon. After his initial run-in with the Guardians, the Sourcerer reactivates the computer virus Megabyte, the main antagonist of the original ReBoot, to help him from inside cyberspace.
The cast includes Ty Wood as Austin Carter, Sydney Scotia as Tamra, Ajay Friese as Parker, Gabriel Darku as Trey Davies, Hannah Vandenbygaart as V.E.R.A., Bob Frazer as Adam Carter (the Sourcerer), and Timothy E. Brummund as the voice of Megabyte. Three voice actors from the original series reprise their roles: Michael Benyaer as Bob, Kathleen Barr as Dot, and Shirley Millner as Hexadecimal. The series was modeled, rigged, and animated in Autodesk Maya, and rendered in 4K resolution using Unreal Engine 4.
Reader's Guide
ReBoot: The Guardian Code represents a controversial attempt to revive the classic 1990s CGI-animated series ReBoot for a new generation. The series shifted focus from the original characters to a group of teenage Guardians who physically enter cyberspace, blending live-action with CGI animation. Its significance lies in its use of Unreal Engine 4 for real-time rendering, which allowed faster production than traditional pipelines. The series was not well received by fans of the original, as evidenced by the official trailer receiving 12,000 dislikes and 983 likes on YouTube by March 10, 2018. Critics also noted similarities to the premise of Code Lyoko. Despite the negative reception, the series introduced new characters and brought back original voice actors for cameo roles. Its legacy is as a short-lived revival that failed to capture the spirit of the original, ending after two seasons on Netflix.
Did You Know?
- The series was originally announced in 2013 and was initially planned for a 26-episode first season, later reduced to 20 episodes.
- Megabyte is voiced by Timothy E. Brummund, replacing the original voice actor Tony Jay, who died in 2006.
- A free-to-play mobile game titled ReBoot: The Guardian Code – Code Hacker was released on March 22, 2018, for iOS and Android.
- The series used Unreal Engine 4 to render frames in seconds or minutes, compared to 3 to 13 hours per frame in a traditional pipeline.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ReBoot: The Guardian Code?
It is a Canadian teen drama and science-fiction series produced by Mainframe Studios that blends live-action footage with CGI animation. The show serves as a modern revival of the original ReBoot franchise, centering on four teenage gamers who discover they have been chosen to protect cyberspace.
Who are the main characters in ReBoot: The Guardian Code?
The story follows a group of four teenage gamers who form the highest-scoring team in an online game. When they meet in person, they learn they have been selected as Guardians tasked with defending cyberspace from emerging threats.
How many seasons and episodes does ReBoot: The Guardian Code have?
The series consists of two seasons of ten episodes each, for a total of twenty episodes. Both seasons were released in 2018, with the first arriving on March 30 and the second on September 28.
Where and when was ReBoot: The Guardian Code released?
Outside of Canada, the show debuted on Netflix on March 30, 2018. In Canada, YTV broadcast all twenty episodes between June 4 and July 5 of the same year.
Why is ReBoot: The Guardian Code significant to the ReBoot franchise?
It represents the first major revival of the ReBoot brand, reimagining the cyberpunk universe through a live-action teen drama format rather than pure animation. The project was first announced in 2013 before finally reaching audiences in 2018.
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