VR Troopers Episode 18 Save The Trees

Well hello there everybody welcome to another Magic Happy VR Troopers Review, and today we are looking at Save The Trees written by J.K. Richards, and directed by Worth Keeter.

So we start off with today’s “My dad taught me” moment where Ryan talks about how his dad taught him about the importance of trees, and nature.

Then we see the Troopers biking through the woods while this weird slo mo effect that looks like it came from some 80’s music video (I seriously for a sec thought maybe Netflix wasn’t working when I watched it) plays, and then Ryan tries to sneak in another “My dad used to” moment.

Meanwhile at Ziktor industries Ziktor is bullying Mayor Rooney into letting him clear out the old growth forest, and at first Rooney tries to argue that he can’t do that but then Ziktor threatens him, and he leaves.

Then Ziktor transforms into Grimlord, and we find out from Decimator who’s looking at a clear plastic map that no surprise they need to destroy Crossworld forest because i the reality barrier is weakest there.

Later at the Underground Voice Daily Woody explains to the Troopers what’s going on, and Percy explains why so the Troopers themselves decide to confront Ziktor personally, and the weird thing is when they confront him he actually tries to pretend to be nice to them, and even crazier still the Troopers believe him.

Anyway later at Tao dojo Ryan, and JB are practicing, and Kaitlin finally remembers that they don’t trust Ziktor so they go back to the forest to see for themselves what’s going on, and so Kaitlin can take pictures but Ziktor watches them, and after a brief comedy bit from Jeb a bunch of random hikers show up, and turn into Skugs.

First the Troopers hit the Skugs with their bikes as they all dismount then the Skugs jump at the Troopers then JB, and a Skug kick each other then Ryan tries to karate chop a Skug but gets punched instead, and Kaitlin kicks, and punches one.

Then JB kicks, and punches his Skug, Ryan also punches, and kicks his Skug, and Kaitlin flips hers over then JB, and Ryan do the same then finally the Troopers with Jeb’s help kick the Skugs into each other destroying them.

Then the Troopers go back to the Underground Voice Daily where there’s a comedy bit with Percy getting his tie stuck in the copier, and Woody trying to get him out while the Troopers decide to go to the lab, and see if the Professor has a solution while Jeb complains about fleas.

At the lab the Troopers ask the Professor for help, and he mentions that Ryan’s father was interested in the forest, and has files on it but nothing that can help then Jeb mentions his fleas, and the Professor knows that he’s talking about blue fleas, which JB points out is an endangered species which could get the forest protected by the government so JB puts one of Jeb’s fleas into the Lab’s scanner, and it proves to be a blue flea.

Then just as a lumberjack has his chainsaw revved up the Troopers show up with a paper, and a sign labeling the forest a protected reserve but Ziktor is undaunted, and transforms into Grimlord, and asks for a mutant who can destroy the forest, and Decimator recommends a black, and white mutant with a weird brown face named Chainbot while Grimlord also orders Ivar to assist with his tank as well.

While at the lab Ryan in Trooper mode experiments with a new machine called the image multiplier that enables him to turn into three Ryan’s at once, and after Ryan turns back into Brad Hawkins the Professor asks for some more blue flea samples but Jeb doesn’t want to volunteer so it’s back to the forest but when they get their they hear noises, and split up to investigate, and Ryan runs into Chainbot, and transforms.

Chainbot tries to attack Ryan with a spiked ball, and chain but Ryan dodges it so Chainbot summons some mutant Skugs but Ryan fights them off but then gets attacked by Chainbot but then is able to handle Chainbot, and the mutant Skugs at once.

Meanwhile Kaitilin, and JB find the rest of Grimlord’s army trying to clear through the forest so they transform as well, and we get to see some cool American footage of JB using the Vortex command, and then we get a part where it looks like JB, and Kaitlin are going to fight Ivar but he instead sends Skugs after them.

Ryan is being pushed to the edge of a seaside cliff, and Chainbot hits him of with his spiked ball but Ryan summons the VR Turbo Cycle then jumps off, and uses the image multiplier to become four Ryan’s at once so Chainbot pulls out a sword, and slashes at the multiple Ryan’s but because their holograms it can’t hit them then Ryan kicks Chainbot’s sword out of his hands then Ryan jumps around, and hits Chainbot with a backwards kick.

Meanwhile Kaitlin is fighting off Skugs while JB fights Ivar with his sword but Ivar keeps slashing at him but JB, and Kaitlin team up, and use their lasers to blow up Ivar but he escapes in a flying turtle shaped airship, and Grimlord once again shames his minions for failure.

Later at the Underground Voice Daily Woody congratulates Kaitlin on her story about the forest, and the Troopers in general for saving it, and then we get one last comedy bit where Jeb’s fleas have now moved to Percy.

Anyway “I miss you dad” the end.

Final Thoughts

Honestly I just wasn’t really feeling this episode mostly because a lot of it felt like a mishmash of various parts from earlier episodes.

I thought the parts where Ziktor tried to pretend to be nice, and the Troopers believed him was all right I wouldn’t have cared if he was like that all the time but up until this point he’s been open about his assholeness, and only gotten away with anything by bullying the Mayor which he still does.

Another problem that it reminds me of that I should talk about if I haven’t already have is how in Metalder a lot of the bad guys that Metalder spared would later show up as good guys either making it out okay or getting destroyed by their former allies.

Well the reason I bring this up is because in the Metalder episode this was based on the Japanese version of Hammerbot returned as a good guy to help Metalder fight Chainbot.

It makes me whish they swapped out Hammerbot in Grimlord’s Challenge for another Metalder monster, and combined this episode with say another episode with a give a hoot don’t pollute episode that maybe either didn’t have a Metalder monster or had one that could easily swapped out as way to justify having Hammerbot switch sides.

It also bugged me that they didn’t even show Ryan actually destroying Chainbot even when the footage was perfectly usable.

I did like the fight with Ivar though it made me think that maybe one alternative to using a Metalder monster, and a Spielban monster in the same episode was maybe having it where when the monster is from Metalder JB fights Ivar or Icebot but if it’s a Spielban monster Ryan fights Decimator, Zelton, or Toxoid but then you would probably have to recycle more footage that way.

Tune in next time everyone for more Magic Happy VR Troopers Reviews.

VR Troopers Episode 17 Dogmatic Change

Well hello there everybody welcome to another Magic Happy VR Troopers Review, and today we are looking at Dogmatic Change written by Sam Orkun, and directed by John Grant Weil.

So we start off with today’s “My dad taught me” moment where Ryan once again talks about how his dad taught him that appearances are deceiving, and how you need to give someone time to show their true colors.

At the animal shelter Kaitlin is taking pictures for a story she hopes will get people to adopt the homeless animals while she, and the other Troopers along with Jeb go on about how sad it all is.

Meanwhile at Ziktor industries Ziktor once again takes a page from the Power Ranger villain handbook when Kaitlin’s article gives him the idea to transform into Grimlord, and order Icebot to create a potion that will turn pets in mutants so he can turn Crossworld City’s stray animals into his own personal army.

At Tao dojo JB is practicing a technique while Ryan, Kaitlin, Tao, and a little girl named Lindsay watch, and after a brief bit where Lindsay isn’t sure if she can do it, and JB tells her she can.

Kaitlin gets a call from Ziktor who gives a fake accent, and tells her he’s from a dog food company, and wants Kaitlin to take pictures for a new commercial, as well as bring a dog to star in it, and naturally she chooses Jeb who’s excited to star in his own commercial but Ziktor has one of his Skugs in the form of smarmy Hollywood director to be there when Kaitlin, and Jeb show up.

Later at the virtual dungeon Grimlord is messing with a weird old computer looking machine, and explains that as soon as Jeb has taken the mutagen Grimlord will summon him with a teleportation machine while the machine he’s messing with will control Jeb, and Toxoid will be in charge of the mission.

At the dog food commercial Kaitlin is taking pictures while Jeb eats the dog food, Ryan, and JB watch, and the producer secretly sips the mutagen in one of the plates of food for Jeb to eat, and afterwards the producer calls Ziktor on the phone to let him know the plan worked.

Later at the Underground Voice Daily the Troopers are looking at the pictures, and congratulating Jeb who’s already turning evil from the mutagen, and snaps at them before running off to scare a random pair of joggers.

Then the producer shows up, and Jeb teleports away while the Troopers wonder what happened to Jeb, and find the producer, and confront him but he transforms into an army of Skugs.

Ryan kicks one Skug, and punches another, JB throws one, and Kaitlin kicks two more Ryan kicks his Skugs while JB throws his Skug again, and Kaitlin keeps kicking her Skugs then Ryan, and Kaitlin kick their Skugs some more while JB punches kicks, and throws his Skug.

Then Ryan punches, and flips his Skugs while JB kicks his Skugs while Kaitlin kicks, and punches her Skugs, and destroys them then Ryan throws one Skug, and kicks the other into it destroying it, and JB just kicks his Skugs into each other destroying the last of them.

After the battle the Troopers realize what’s going on, and decide to take Jeb’s bowl to the lab for analysis while at the virtual dungeon Jeb has just finished mutating, and teleports into the mutant transporter, and for his first mission he, and Toxoid will go to the Zoo, and release the animals.

At the lab Kaitlin puts a sample on the microscope tray so that the lab’s scanner can see what it’s made out of, and the Professor explains that it contains a mutagen so the Troopers decide to look for the plant that makes the mutagen, and destroy it.

But a news report appears showing mutant Jeb rampaging at the Zoo so the Troopers transform with Ryan going after Jeb while the others destroy the mutagen plant.

Jeb jumps at Ryan who does a jump kick, and then flips Jeb over, and pins him down to try to reason with him but Jeb throws Ryan, and bites him so Ryan tries to reason with him some more but Jeb starts throwing him a bunch of times while JB, and Kaitlin find the mutagen plant but are attacked by jet fighters.

Then Jeb jumps at Ryan who punches Jeb but Jeb grows a drill, and tries to attack Ryan so Ryan asks the Professor to create a non mutated dog to remind Jeb of who he is while JB, and Kaitlin destroy Grimlord’s jet fighters.

Then Ryan kicks off Jeb who then tries to jump at Ryan but he jumps out of the way, and grabs Jeb, and takes him to some nearby water while the Professor sends the virtual image of a talking St. Bernard to where Jeb, and Ryan are just as Jeb is biting Ryan, and the virtual St. Bernard reminds Jeb of who he is but when he turns on Toxoid Toxoid sprays Jeb with some acid foam.

Kaitlin, and JB destroy the chemical plant that made the mutagen, and Ryan takes Jeb who’s returned to normal back to the lab to save him from the acid foam while Grimlord once again swears vengeance.
Then there’s one more scene at the animal shelter where the Mayor gives a speech while we get one last comedy bit where Jeb steals Mrs. Rooney’s purse, and tricks her into getting locked in a cage.

Anyway “I miss you dad” the end.

Final Thoughts

Well this was another one of those episodes that wasn’t as good as a lot of previous episodes but wasn’t as bad since it was pretty much like the last episode but with Jeb instead of the other Troopers except this time he was the actual MOTD instead of just under it’s control.

I did like Jeb’s mutant form as well.

And I can’t think of anything that really got skipped from the Metalder episode other than some parts where the Japanese version of mutant Jeb fought Metalder’s human form which they obviously couldn’t use, and brief part where the bad guys turned a cat into a mutant but it got destroyed as soon as it was created so it’s not like it got a fight or anything.

One thing I did notice is how like The Dognapping was to it’s Metalder episode, and Virtual V6 was to it’s Spielban episode this episode is surprisingly similar to it’s source footage episode with the only real difference was that the bad guys used the machine that became a teleporter here, and the monster was a different dog than Jeb’s Japanese counterpart.

Tune in next time everyone for more Magic Happy VR Troopers Reviews.

VR Troopers Episode 16 No One's Friend

Well hello there everybody welcome to another Magic Happy VR Troopers Review, and today we are looking at No One’s Friend written by Mark Litton, and directed by Worth Keeter

So we start off with today’s “My dad taught me” moment where Ryan talks about how his dad told him it was important to keep your friends close.

Then we see Ryan at the Underground Voice Daily when some stereotypical masked thug tries to get him from behind but he flips over the thug, and pins him down to the delight of Kaitlin, Woody, and various other reporters.

Then Ryan pulls up the thug who’s really JB, and it turns out the whole thing was just an act to promote free self defense classes at Tao dojo, and Woody wants every reporter to show up, and wants Kaitlin to do a story on it.

Just then Mrs. Rooney shows up with another stereotypical nerdy looking guy, and goes up to Woody, and it turns out that the nerdy looking guy is Mrs. Rooney’s spoiled nephew Percival Rooney who despite his protest will henceforth simply be called Percy.

Mrs. Rooney wants Woody to hire Percy but Woody initially doesn’t want to until Mrs. Rooney brings up how much they paid for campaign ads so Woody begrudgingly hires him but passes Percy off to Kaitlin.

Meanwhile at Ziktor industries Ziktor is talking to a random young Asian man who’s obviously one of his Skugs in human form, and tells him to infiltrate the self defense class, and spar with JB, and Kaitlin, and we see the Skug holding some green energy between his hands.

Then the Skug leaves, and Ziktor transforms into Grimlord, and goes to the virtual dungeon where he, and Ivar, and Icebot explain the evil plan of the day which is that when the Skug touches JB, and Kaitlin it will infect them with a spell from today’s monster a white robot with shoulder mounted guns named Polarbot, and put them under Polarbot’s control turning them against Ryan.

Later at the self defense class Ryan, JB, and Tao are helping out the people who came while Kaitlin takes pictures, Percy takes notes, and Grimlord’s stares menacingly (though it looks more like he’s stoned).

Then we get a comedy bit where Percy tries to get out of participating in the class by claiming he has a topaz belt but Tao quickly calls out his bluff

While it’s the Skugs turn to spar with JB, and when JB bows the Skug kicks him into Kaitlin infecting both of them with Polarbot’s spell, and when Ryan tries to catch the Skug but fails then we see the spell is working because Tao tries to offer some tea, and they tell him it’s new age hippy bullshit.

Then Grimlord asks Polarbot to have JB, and Kaitlin fight Ryan while we can see S, and K the two female villains from Metalder who weren’t adapted (unless you count spiritually as Ziktor’s secretaries) because they couldn’t be passed off as robots in the background if you look hard enough.

Then JB starts insulting Ryan claiming that if he was in charge they would have found his dad already, and proceeds to fight Ryan while Kaitlin cheers on, and Tao tries to get them to stop, and everyone else just watches, and Ryan pins JB, and JB, and Kaitlin just leave.

Later at the Underground Voice Daily Ryan is confused by what’s happened to JB, and Kaitlin so he, and Jeb go to see Kaitlin who’s eating cake with Percy listing off how he’s allergic to everything then we get a comedy bit with Jeb causing Percy to get cake on his face.

Then Kaitlin yells at Ryan for bringing over Jeb, and Ryan apologizes, and aske Kaitlin what’s wrong, and she says the same thing as JB which is that they’re tired of taking orders from Ryan, and Ryan wants to talk to JB to get this sorted out, and Kaitlin decides to take Ryan to JB who’s out in the middle of nowhere, and it turns out to be a trap to get Ryan ambushed by Skugs.

First one tries to kick Ryan but he kicks it then two more try to kick him but he blocks, and punches one while kicking the other, then a Skug comes after him but he throws it away, and kicks it while he wonders why JB, and Kaitlin aren’t helping.

Then he kicks one Skug, flips over another, and then kicks, and punches the third then pins one down punches, and kicks away another, and then punches one before flipping it over on the first one destroying them so Grimlord decides to take the fight to the Battle Grid.

Then we get another Battle Grid segment with just Ryan that’s more or less the same as the one from Virtual Spy except just before the Searching for Tyler Steele footage there’s some recycled footage from The Dognapping before we get some new footage of the Skugs surrounding Ryan before we get a cool part where one of the Skugs jumps in the air, and Ryan punches it mid air.

Anyway afterwards Ryan returns to reality, and asks JB, and Kaitlin what’s wrong, and they just transform but he doesn’t want to fight his friends so he escapes in Kaitlin’s car so Grimlord orders them to go into the Skybase while Polarbot fires at Ryan in Kaitlin’s car.

Then Grimlord orders Air Striker, and Fighterbot to assist Polarbot, so Ryan tries to escape in Kaitlin’s car’s flight mode but Grimlord’s mutants, and the evil Troopers fire at him but he tricks JB, and Kaitlin into destroying Air Striker, and Fighterbot, and escapes to the lab.

At the lab Ryan messes with some machines at the lab, and when JB, and Kaitlin try to get in the lab JB moves a joystick, and it activates a force field that cuts off their VR Trooper powers, then the Professor explains to Ryan how their linked to Polarbot, and that Polarbot is in the real world but also has three other mutants helping so Ryan transforms.

Ryan first fights off three mutants The Blade, an unnamed silver skeleton themed robot who will later be known as Chrome Dome, and a blue horned robot who later be called Minotaurbot.

After fighting off The Blade, Chrome Dome, and Minotaurbot Ryan goes after Polarbot, and they both teleport to a rock quarry where Polarbot just fires lasers at Ryan but Ryan dodges them, and jumps into the air, and does a flying kick at Polarbot.

At the lab JB, and Kaitlin play into Jeb’s ego, and trick him into letting them out of the force field then transform again, and get back in the Skybase to help Polarbot destroy Ryan.

But Ryan kicks the cliff Polarbot is standing on causing him to fall off allowing Ryan to kick him, and then perform a corkscrew attack that destroys Polarbot turning JB, and Kaitlin good again so Grimlord orders Ivar to destroy Ryan but JB destroys Ivar’s tank instead, and Grimlord once again shames his mutants for failure.

Later at the Underground Voice Daily the Troopers are glad everything is back to normal, and then Woody shows up to explain he’s making Percy do another self defense class, and we get one last comedy bit where Percy tries to show off his karate skills but messes up.

Anyway “I miss you dad” the end.

Final Thoughts

Honestly I think this more than even some of the other episodes my all time favorite so far.

I like the idea of Grimlord turning JB, and Kaitlin against Ryan I just think the idea was bigger than what they could I actually do since Ryan came from a different Metal Hero show then JB, and Kaitlin, and it wasn’t like there was a Chojinki Metalder vs Jikku Senshi Spielban back in 1987.

Then again since this episode had a Battle Grid segment I wished they had found a way to make it where Ryan had to fight JB, and Kaitlin in the Battle Grid since even if the suits were meant more for toys than footage it still would have been a good way to at least see Ryan fight JB, and Kaitlin in some transformed hand to hand combat.

I did like the one we did get from a purely visual production stand point even if all it really did was add a clip that wasn’t in the last one.

I also like how this episode introduces Geek Nation columnist, and the first VR Troopers cast member to appear at Morphicon Aaron Pruner as one of my favorite characters on the show Percy who will more or less become the main comic relief character alongside Woody, and Jeb though Poindexter, and Percy’s aunt, and uncle will still make occasional appearances.

I’m guessing he was created to more or less combine elements of the Mayor, and his wife (spoiled rich person who’s the target of Jeb’s antics) with Poindexter (stereotypical nerd).

It also has a brief appearance by actor Crispin Alapag as the Skug who puts the spell on JB, and Kaitlin.

I also liked how they didn’t waste anything from the Metalder episode in fact they actually used multiple little fights from various episodes for this which I thought was cool.

I also liked the brief appearance of S, and K from Metalder in the background during the parts where Polarbot, and Grimlord where in the virtual dungeon.

Tune in next time everyone for more Magic Happy VR Troopers Reviews.

VR Troopers Episode 15 The Virtual Spy

Well hello there everybody welcome to another Magic Happy VR Troopers Review, and today we are looking at Virtual Spy written by Mark Litton, and directed by John Gran Weil.

So we start off with today’s “My dad taught me” moment where Ryan talks about how his dad taught him to be ready for an attack from any direction even from someone you trust.

At the lab Ryan is practicing on a virtual mutant combat simulator using a vr visor so we can see some Metalder footage of him fighting a blue mutant skug like robot while Kaitlin, and Jeb just stand around, and watch.

Meanwhile at Ziktor industries Ziktor gets the idea to have one of his virtual mutants befriend the Troopers to infiltrate, and destroy them so he transforms into Grimlord, and summons Ivar, and Icebot who recommend a shape shifting skeleton like mutant called Greybot who proceeds to transform into a young white guy with long brown hair.

At the Underground Voice Daily Kaitlin is sitting at her desk when a remote controlled car with a follow me note attached runs up to her so she follows, and Woody introduces her to Graybot’s human form who calls himself Jeremy Gibson, and has just moved to Crossworld City, and gotten a job as a reporter, and Kailtin agrees to take him to lunch with the others.

Ryan, and JB try to bond with him but Ziktor realizes he needs something for the Troopers to trust Jeremy so a random young woman drops her hotdog, and when the Troopers try to help she, and several other people transform into Skugs, and there’s a brief battle with the Skugs, and the Troopers, and Jeremy just kicking, and dodging each other until the Troopers, and Jeremy knock them into each other.

After the fight the Troopers congratulate Jeremy who explains the he doesn’t have any formal training so Kaitlin invites him to the dojo but Ryan, and JB are suspicious of him.

At the dojo Ryan practices on some boards, and JB practices with a bo staff, and Jeremy then shows off some moves, and Kaitlin is impressed but Ryan, and JB are still suspicious of how he can be so good without training.

Then JB tries to explain to Jeremy how he’s been trying to convince Tao to raise the price of enrollment, and Jeremy is able to figure out how much JB thinks it will make.

And while JB figures it out on the computer Jeremy reaches into his back, and scans the VR disc with his hand, and absorbs the data while Ryan, and JB are further suspicious, and Kaitlin however remains impressed, and later at Ziktor industries Jeremy shows Ziktor the data in his hand, and Ziktor gives a title drop.

At the Underground Voice Daily Kaitlin is talking to Jeremy who says he’s doing a story on the VR Troopers, and mentions that he’s figured out they have secret lab near Crossworld City, and this finally makes Kaitlin suspicious enough to look him up but can’t find any records on Jeremy so she calls JB to go to the lab with her but Ryan’s busy with an errand while Jeremy hacks into the lab’s computers.

At the lab Kaitlin, and JB try to research who Jeremy really is, and are able to figure out he’s a virtual being but when they try to leave the doors are locked, and the alarms are going off, and Jeremy appears on the lab’s monitor to tell them that he’s put an energy dampener that prevents them from transforming, and has rigged the portal to send who ever goes through to a virtual combat zone.

Ryan leaves the Dojo to go to the lab while Grimlord orders Graybot to transform into his true form, and battle Ryan in the Battle Grid while JB, and Kaitlin are helpless as Ryan walks into the portal, and we’re treated to a Battle Grid segment with just Ryan.

First we get a full portal sequence with Ryan then he lands in the Battle Grid wondering why he’s there, and then the Skugs show up so he jumps into the air doing some cool scissor kick then some Skugs try to come after him so punches them into each other.

Then we get some recycled footage from Searching for Tyler Steele before Ryan destroys the rest of the Skugs, and we get a return to reality sequence with just Ryan then he appears in a field as Brad Hawkins again.

Ryan wonders where he is then Graybot shows up, and Ryan figures out who he is from his voice, and transforms into Trooper form Graybot then fires arrows at him but Ryan jumps out of the way, does a jump punch on him.

At the lab JB, and Kaitlin find out that Graybot also activated the Labs self destruct sequence but JB is able to deactivate it, and get the lab working normally again so he, and Kaitlin transform, and use the Skybase to rescue Ryan but are attacked by Air Fighters.

Meanwhile Graybot taunts Ryan before shooting his arrows, and hits Ryan but then Ryan uses lighting laser to block them but Graybot fires some more, and pins Ryan but Ryan summons the Turbo cycle which JB and Kaitlin who are still fighting Air Fighters use to find Ryan.

Then the Turbo Cycle appears, and Graybot fires arrows at it but they bounce off, and Ryan gets on, and rams Graybot with it but Graybot fires missles from his chest but Ryan keeps dodging them so Graybot just grabs the Turbo Cycle with his bare hands, and throws it at Ryan but Ryan gets out of the way, and does a jump kick, and breaks Graybot’s arrows.

But Graybot makes spikes come out of his arm, and tries to hit Ryan but Ryan blocks, and then they both roll down a hill then Ryan kicks Graybot who then hits Ryan with his arm spikes but Ryan finishes with Lighting Laser but after some dramatic pacing Graybot gets back up, and fires one more arrow but Ryan catches, and throws it away, and Graybot falls back down, and blows up, and Grimlord chastitises his mutants for failure.

At the Underground Voice Daily Kaitlin gets another RC-gram but it turns out to be Ryan, and JB, and then we get another comedy bit from Woody.

Anyway “I miss you dad” the end.

Final Thoughts

Today’s episode was pretty good I thought.

I liked the idea of Grimlord sending in one of his robots disguised as a human to infiltrate the Troopers.

And I liked the design behind by him as well.

I also liked seeing the Battle Grid fight with Ryan since we actually got to see him win, and once again it was pretty cool to see another Battle Grid fight that didn’t come right after the Skug fight.

Really I only have one complaint, and it’s more of a nitpick, and a really strange nitpick at that since it ties back into stuff I said back in The Dojo Plot about wanting that episode to be a two parter or something

You see this episode skipped footage from the Metalder episode but you see in the Metalder episode Graybot was an old repair robot, and Cannonbot was his apprentice, and he escaped to fight Metalder personally to prove himself to the other robots.

Well the reason I bring this up was that they showed Graybot beating up, and blowing up other robots, and talking to Cannonbot, and it made me want to see something similar in VR Troopers with the master/apprentice switched with Graybot being a rookie mutant trying to prove himself to Grimlord with the parts where he beats up, and destroys other robots being him training, and then he gets destroyed by Ryan so in the next part Cannonbot tries to avenge Graybot.

It’s also because I remember when PRangerX on Power Rangers Online once made a thread about this very episode because Jeremy reminded him of Tommy when he first showed up, and how he wished Jeremy would turn out to be a real person who would join the Troopers.

And I only bring this up because it reminds me off a couple of similar things I tried to come up with for VR Troopers fanfics.

For instance when I found out that in Spielban Col Icebot, and Red Python where the hero’s father, and sister before being turned into bad guys.

And in Metalder The Armor Army were just human warriors, magicians, and athletes who just wore power armor, and I heard that even the Robot Army started out as humans who had their brains put into robot bodies, and the Monster Army started out as people who were genetically altered into mutants.

Plus there are a lot of later episodes where Grimlord either turns people into mutants or has existing ones disguise themselves as people.

Anyway that gave me the idea to want to see it where all of Grimlord’s mutants at least the high ranking ones where really humans like Ivar or Decimator being his head of security.

Also I wanted to see other Metal Hero shows besides just Metalder, Spielban, and Shaider become VR Troopers.

As well as wanting everything that was multi parters, and story arcs in the Metal Hero shows to be multi parters in VR Troopers but with the VR Troopers storylines.

So I came up with this crazy story where they used the footage for this episode for The Dojo Plot which was a two parter, but they still used the actual story but saved for Season Two, and combined it with Rise of The Red Python, and Kaitlin through the looking glass, and made Jeremy start out as Mad Gallant but turn into Juspion.

I don’t know I’m just throwing out ideas.

Tune in next time everyone for more Magic Happy VR Troopers Reviews.

VR Troopers Episode 14 Virtual V6

Well hello there everybody welcome to another Magic Happy VR Troopers Review, and today we are looking at Virtual V6 written by Doug Sloan, and directed by Worth Keeter.

So we start off with today’s “My dad taught me” moment where Ryan talks about how his dad taught him that it’s everyone’s responsibility to stop pollution, and protect the environment.

At the Underground Voice Daitly a stereotypically nerdy looking guy steps in carrying a brief case, and there’s comedy bit where he quite literally bumps into Kaitlin, and he explains that his name is quite literally Ulysses T. Poindexter.

He also explains that he’s invented an engine that runs on plant extracts instead of gasoline but nobody will buy it so Kaitlin agrees to show the plans to the others, and do a story about the engine if it works, and Poindexter agrees, 

But it turns out Grimlord has a mole in the Underground Voice Daily as one of the reporters who was secretly watching Kaitlin, and Poindexter turns out to be a Skug, and secretly transforms, and teleports to tell Ziktor.

Ziktor is not surprisingly worried about Poindexter’s engine since it could ruin his energy company so he transforms into Grimlord, and orders Ivar, and a drill themed mutant called well Drillbot to destroy Poindexter’s plans.

Meanwhile Kailtin, Ryan, and JB are at the swimming pool again, and the Mayor, and his wife are nearby so we get a comedy bit where Jeb knocks the mayors wife into the pool.

Then we see the Troopers heading to the lab and when they get to the lab JB tells the Professor they want to create Poindexter in virtual reality, and put it in JB’s Sky Cycle to see if it works, and the Professor agrees, and JB creates the engine on the computer using some weird game controller looking things.

While Air Striker spies on them, and tells Grimlord at the virtual dungeon that he thinks the disk with Poindexter’s plans is at Tao Dojo so Zelton sends a Skug platoon to Tao dojo to retrieve it. 

Then at Tao dojo we see Tao practicing karate when Ziktor’s secretaries show up in karate gis, and change into their true forms, and a Skug fight breaks out.

First two of them try to kick Tao but he blocks, and and punches both back then the third Skug tries to kick him but he catches it’s leg, and punches it then one tries to punch, and kick Tao but he grabs, and throws it then one tries to kick him but he grabs, and kicks it while the third one searches the dojo’s computer.

Then the other Skugs try to kick Tao but he grabs, and throws, and kicks them, and Jeb trips one, and finally one tries to punch Tao but he blocks, punches it, and throws it at the other Skug destroying them both, and the remaining Skug leaves with what it thinks are the plans.

At the lab JB has just finished putting the engine in his Sky Cycle so he transforms to test it out while Ryan, and Kaitlin watch on the visors, and it works perfectly, and while JB keeps testing the engine the others head back to Tao Dojo.

At the virtual dungeon Grimlord is furious because not only did the Skugs fail to steal the plans but the Troopers have already built a prototype of the engine while at the dojo Tao explains what happened, and Ryan, and Kaitlin figure out that Grimlord knows about the engine.

Then Kaitlin gets a call explaining that Skugs have kidnapped a bus full of children which we then see for ourselves as Grimlord explains he plans to use the children as bait to destroy the Troopers, and the engine. 

Ryan, and Kaitlin then use the VR disc to contact the Professor, and inform him of the kidnapped children, and the Professor uses the lab’s scanners to find the bus, and informs Ryan, and Kaitlin that he’ll send JB to rescue the children, and that Grimlord has also sent Air Fighters so they transform.

Ryan goes into the Skybase to fight the Air Fighters while Kaitlin battles with Skugs who throw hatchets at her but she punches, and kicks them, and blast them with her laser while JB goes after the bus but Skugs try to throw bombs at him but he fires lasers, and them, and finds the bus but it’s empty.

JB searches for the missing children, and gets attacked from behind by a floating drill then two more try to attack but he punches them out of the way but they go back into Drillbot then a group of Skugs appear but JB fights them off but gets punched by Drillbot’s drill arm but successfully dodges repeated attempts, and continues fighting off Drillbot, and the Skugs.

Then Grimlord orders the Skugs to take JB’s bike, and destroy it, and one of them pushes a button, and JB’s bike is lowered down on a platform, and tied with metal ropes while JB gets beaten up by Drillbot but then turns the tables.

Then JB, and the Professor use a scanner to track the bike while Kaitlin uses her own scanner to find the missing kids, and there’s a brief American original fight where Kaitlin defeats the Skugs, and rescues the children who just refer to her as “A VR Trooper”.

Then Skugs try to destroy JB’s bike but he activates it remotely, and it drives itself away knocking off the Skugs, and the metal ropes, but the Professor informs JB that the building has a self destruct mechanism that’s off now, and he escapes on the Sky Cycle while Ryan tells Kaitlin to help JB deal with Drillbot.

Drillbot tries to punch JB with his drill arm but then Kailtin appears but Drilbot punches her away then Skugs show up, and and JB, and Kaitlin fight them off then JB fights Drillbot who keeps punches him.

But JB then jumps, and takes one of Drillbot’s drills, and hits him with it before getting on his bike to do some overdrive attack, and then finishing off Drillbot with Laser Lance while Ryan destroys Grimlord’s Jet Fighters, and Grimlord once again swears vengeance.

At the Underground Voice Daily Kaitlin’s story of Poindexter’s engine is out, and Poindexter himself come to congratulate the Troopers, and there’s some more comedy bits.

Anyway “I miss you dad” the end.

Final Thoughts 

Today’s episode was pretty good I think.

For starters I like the plot of the Troopers trying to make a clean burning engine, and Grimlord trying to steal it to protect his energy company.

I also like Poindexter since I thought he was funny.

And I liked the stuff with Grimlord’s spy at the Underground Voice Daily.

I also liked Drillbot’s design, and powers though I wonder if he was maybe more appropriate for another episode like Digging for Fire or Who’s King of the Mountain.

Heck once again nothing was left out of the Spielban episode.

In fact there was probably like one scene that was like a second I would have liked to have seen but at the same time it brought up something I might talk about a lot if I haven’t already where a lot of things I have problems with are more due to the source footage then VR Troopers itself.

In this case they show Diana using some sword against a holographic swordsmanship teacher for like a second , and it just reminded me of how I whished they had used that as an actual finisher for Diana, and thus Kaitlin.

Come to think of it they did give her a brief American original fight, and the Swordsman teacher’s costume didn’t look all that hard to reproduce so maybe we could have gotten something I don’t know.

Tune in next time everyone for more Magic Happy VR Troopers Reviews.

VR Troopers Episode 13 Computer Captive

Well hello there everybody welcome to another Magic Happy VR Troopers Review, and today we are looking at Computer Captive written by Robert Hughes, and directed by Worth Keeter.

So we start off with today’s “My dad taught me” moment where Ryan talks about how his dad told him to use his skills only to defend himself, and others which leads to a surprising heavy moment where he outright says he had to save his friend’s life in this episode.

We then go to the city pool where the Troopers, and Tao are diving of a board while Jeb gives commentary, and Ryan, Kaitlin, and even Tao have impressive dives while JB just flubs it, and then JB, and Kaitlin dry off so they can go to the Underground Voice Daily, and help Woody install a graphic program while Ryan, and Tao stay.

Meanwhile at Ziktor industries one of Ziktor’s secretaries hands him a profit, and loss report, and this just by itself leads him to go on about how wonderful it is that computers can do anything.

Then he transforms into Grimlord, and after a backhanded compliment to his monsters summons Icebot who informs Grimlord that he’s invented a device that can capture someone through a computer, and Grimlord decides to use it on the VR Troopers.

At the Underground Voice Daily there’s a brief comedy bit where Woody is playing a Footbal game on the computer while wearing it, and gets so excited he throws down the controller, and breaks it when he scores a touch down then JB goes to install the graphics program while Kaitin works on her photo layout.

While in virtual reality Icebot has completed the computer abduction device, and Grimlord orders him to use it on JB and just as JB has finished installing the graphics program Icebot appears on the screen to talk to JB, and then we see Icebot’s hands come out, and pull JB through the computer screen, and Kaitlin tires to help but Icebot almost abducts her as well so she turns off the computer, and seeks Ryan’s help.

At the virtual dungeon JB is being held in the air with ropes made out of electricity while in the Metalder footage Grimlord, and his mutants explain that the electricity ropes will drain JB of his VR Trooper powers, and give them to Grimlord’s mutants.

At Tao dojo Ryan, and Tao are practicing karate when Kaitlin comes in, and explains to Ryan what happened to JB so they use the VR disc to contact the Professor but instead get Icebot who tries to capture them but they turn off the computer before he can.

Grimlord scolds Icebot for failing to capture Ryan, and Kaitlin, and JB points out it was because they were too smart for Grimlord, and Icebot but Grimlord decides to send a Skug fleet after Ryan, and Kaitlin, and the two are about to head to the lab when three guys in karate gis show up, and turn out to be the Skugs.

One Skug kicks Ryan a whole bunch of times while another tries to punch Kaitlin but she blocks, and punches it, and then the Skugs try to hit Ryan, and Kaitlin but they keep dodging then Ryan uses his backpack to block a Skugs hits, and then throws it at the Skugs while Kaitlin kicks, and flips over another Skug then finally Ryan hits one with a punching back, and punches, and kicks another before throwing them into some bleachers, and Kaitlin punches her Skug into the others destroying them.

At the lab Ryan, and Kaitlin explain everything to the Professor, and Jeb, and the Professor tells Ryan, Kaitlin, and Jeb to put on the visors, and after a 90’s screen saver effect they see JB trapped in Grimlord’s Dungeon.

Ryan decides to go to Grimlord’s dungeon himself to rescue JB but the Professor informs him his powers won’t let him access it directly so Ryan decides to transform, and let Icebot capture him, and Kaitlin wants to go too but Ryan, and the Professor tell her to stay, and monitor things until Ryan needs help.

After being teleported to Grimlord’s dungeon Ryan sees JB who’s almost completely drained, and tries to get him out but Grimlord mocks Ryan, and his dad so Ryan tries to attack Grimlord but Grimlord sends out all his mutants, and teleports away.

Ryan fights off Grimlord’s mutants, and rescues JB, and the two escape through a portal but Grimlord’s mutants chase them, and the Gunbots open fire on them while at the lab Kailtin, Jeb, and the Professor see that Ryan has rescued JB.

Ryan tells JB to hide by a tree, and rest while a samurai themed mutant named Slashbot tells the Gunbots to return to the dungeon while he deals with Ryan personally.

First Slashbot tries to stab Ryan with his sword but Ryan dodges so Slashbot takes the crescents off his helmet, and throws them, and hits Ryan but then Ryan starts blocking them so Slashbot tires his sword again but then Ryan does a jump kick, and kicks the sword out of Slashbot’s hands.

Then he makes a scythe with two crescent edges appear, and hits Ryan but then dodges, and throws Slashbot’s own sword at him but Slashbot blocks with the scythe but gets disoriented allowing Ryan to finish him off with a spinning kick, and Grimlord scolds his mutants for failure.

Ryan takes JB back to the lab, and he, and Kaitlin put JB on one of the lab’s machines, and it restores his powers then everyone has a tender moment, and that leads to today’s “I miss you dad” moment.

Final Thoughts

Today’s episode was all right it reminded me of Kaitlin’s Front Page in the sense that not only the plots of Grimlord capturing one of the Troopers as bait to destroy the others but also how they both do some things good, and some thing bad but for different reasons.

Like in Kailtin’s Front Page Kailtin got a Battle Grid fight by herself, and JB got to fight an MOTD but they cut off Kaitlin’s Battle Grid fight at the end, and cut the Spielban fight for JB in half.

Whereas here you almost have the opposite problem in that nothing was really wasted in that stuff was skipped but it was all just stuff that either ended up in Defending Dark Heart anyway or would be better off in Fiddler on The Loose which I haven’t got to yet.

However the problem is that at the same time they don’t find anything for JB, and Kaitlin to do which might make sense for JB since he gets captured but they can’t find anything for Kaitlin to do even when she’s not kidnapped.

I did like Slashbot with his samurai motif, and weapons

And I did like the idea of the villains capturing the heroes through a computer though it reminds me of something I forgot to talk about in Error in the System.

Where one of the things I was always confused by was how the show seemed to play it both ways whether or not virtual reality meant it was just a universe that had been created through technology or was supposed to refer to it being the universe inside machines.

And like I said the only things wasted production wise where things that were better saved for other episodes any way.

Tune in next time everyone for more Magic Happy VR Troopers Reviews.

VR Troopers Episode 12 Grimlord's Challenge

Well hello there everybody welcome to another Magic Happy VR Troopers Review, and today we are looking at Grimlord’s Challenge written by Margo McCahon, and directed by Worth Keeter.

So we start off with today’s “My dad taught me” moment where Ryan talks about how his dad taught him about determination.

We then go to Crossworld City park where Ryan, JB, and Kailtin are goofing off on roller blades with Ryan giving commentary, and then they decide to take a water break, and after a brief comedy bit from Jeb a policewoman named Officer Johnson goes up to the Troopers with a troubled girl named Randy who will end up in reform school unless Ryan can teach her Karate.

So he bets that they can get enter her in an upcoming tournament, and if she wins anything she won’t go to reform School, and Officer Johnson, and Randy agree with Johnson agreeing to donate a 1,000 if they succeed.

Meanwhile at Ziktor industries Ziktor watches the Troopers, and once again in typical Power Rangers villain fashion proceeds to transform into Grimlord, and announces he’s going to have a tournament with the winner fighting Ryan.

At Tao dojo Randy sees various other kids practice Karate, and almost leaves the Dojo when Tao goes up to her, and reminds of what will happen if she leaves, and she decides to give it a chance, and then there’s a brief comedy bit at the Undergound Voice Daily with Woody, Kaitlin, and Jeb when Kaitlin pitches her story about Randy.

Then there’s a brief training montage where Randy tries to practice but keeps messing up, and then we see the Troopers in the park with Ryan trying to encourage them to keep training Randy when one of Ziktor’s secretaries comes up to him with a challenge to fight Grimlord’s most powerful mutant, and proceeds to transform into her true form, and a Skug battle breaks out.

Not much happens other than the Skugs try to punch the Troopers but the Troopers keep blocking, and punching back then they hide in some playground equipment, and Ryan flips over a Skug, Kaitlin kicks another, and JB just dodges his Skug then they all kick the Skugs into each other, and destroy them.

At the virtual dungeon only two mutants are left in Grimlord’s tournament Hammerbot, and The Blade, first Hammerbot swings his hammer at The Blade but then the Blade turns his arms into a sword (hence his name), and a claw, but Hammerbot blocks both, and hits The Blade with his Hammer, and decapitates The Blade earning him the Right to fight Ryan.

Back at Tao dojo Tao encourages Randy to keep practicing while at the lab the Troopers intercept one of Grimlord’s messages that in addition to Hammerbot he’s going to send another robot called Spiderbot after Ryan while Ivar sends fleet against our reality so the Troopers decide to transform, and split up.

Ryan does a jump kick against Hammerbot who throws mini axes at Ryan but he just doges them, and then Ryan scans Hammerbot but can’t find any weak spots then Hammerbot almost hits Ryan with an axe, and tires to hit him with his hammer.

Meanwhile JB pulls out his laser saber to attack Spiderbot who gives some rather funny comments about hating kids with attitude, and fires a laser at JB who dodges, and leaps at Spiderbot who catches him, and kicks him away.

Hammerbot tries to hit Ryan with his hammer but Ryan keeps getting out of the way while Spiderbot, and JB fire lasers at each other, and JB blows Spiderbot’s arms off but Spiderbot traps him with a laser disc from his back.

Hammerbot keeps trying to hit Ryan with his hammer but Ryan is still dodging but Hammerbot hits him, and Ryan tries to block with a Shovel but Hammerbot breaks it , and Ryan can barely keep dodging Hammerbot’s swings.

Quantum Cruisers, and jet fighters try to attack the Skybase but Kaitlin destroys them with missles while JB breaks out of the laser disc, and Laser Lances Spiderbot into oblivion.

Ryan once again dodges Hammerbot’s hammer swings, and does a jump kick knocking away his hammer, and breaking his helmet (and if you pause, and look for it you can see that he’s really a Japanese guy underneath), and Ryan is about to finish off Hammerbot with his own hammer when Hammerbot’s pleas for mercy remind him that’s not the right way, and Grimlord once again swears vengeance.

Later at the tournament has just one more match against a random boy named Kowalski, and if she wins it she can still make 3rd place, and at first it looks like she might lose but with some encouragement from Tao she wins, Tao congratulates her, and Officer Johsnon gives the check to Ryan.

Anyway “I miss you dad” the end

Final Thoughts

Well today’s episode was really good.

I liked the idea of Grimlord having a tournament for his Robots since it gave them an excuse to use the monster vs monster fights from Metalder.

I also liked the designs, and powers of both Spiderbot, and Hammerbot.

And believe it or not nothing was skipped from the Metalder, and Spielban footage except for a base invasion that was already used in The Battle Begins part 2.

So I like that it seems like they were starting to figure out how to use footage.

I thought the stuff with Randy was okay it just reminded me of a fast food version of that The Next Karate Kid movie with Hillary Swank which I think either came out before or right around when this did not bad but not really good either

Tune in next time everyone for more Magic Happy VR Troopers Reviews.

John Carpenter's The Thing 1982

So I decided to try my hand at movie reviews, and since we live in an age where Halloween is everything after July but before November I thought screw it why not try horror movies. For my first one I decided to look at my own personal favorite horror movie John Carpenter’s The Thing John Carpenter’s The Thing 1982.

Just the facts:

It’s the first week of Winter in 1982 at Outpost 31 an American research base in the Antarctic, and it looks like the worst thing the boys at Outpost 31 will have to deal with are boredom, each other’s crap, and cheating chess computers.

But out of nowhere a helicopter full of seemingly mad Norwegians appears shooting at a seemingly innocent dog but the men at Outpost 31, and the Norwegians’ own incompetence quickly do them in

 Attempts to look for answers only reveal the nearby Norwegian research outpost to be in charred ruins with no survivors, and a bizarre but seemingly human upon autopsy body.

It’s only later when the rescued dog mutates into a hideous tentacled abomination, and tries to both devour, and clone the other dogs, and a return trip to the ruins of the Norwegian outpost that the men at Outpost 31 discover that the Norwegians accidentally freed some strange alien creature.

A creature capable of not only devouring another lifeform cell by cell from the inside but also capable of changing it’s own cells to duplicate it’s prey, and worse if it leaves Antarctica it will assimilate all life on Earth within years. Not only that but the paranoia over who’s still human, and who’s an alien is getting to the men, and their greatest threat may not be the alien but each other.

My %100 completely honest, biased, and subjective opinion:

First things first I remember for the longest time never actually watching this movie mostly because I was only familiar with the 1951 Howard Hawkes movie on which this is based.

And because while I thought the actual creature looked scary I was confused about whether it ate people, and turned into them, and turned people into more aliens.

It was only when I found out that both movies where based on the same book John W Campbell Jr’s Who Goes There, and that if anything Carpenter’s version actually closer that I gave it a chance.

And now that I have I can honestly say that this is my personal favorite horror movie.

For starters it has all the things that creep me out the most. You have a tentacled abomination from outer space that reproduces by turning other beings into more of itself.

You have paranoia over who’s still human, and who’s an alien.

And not only that but the setting reminds me of when I still lived in Cheyenne Wyoming so even I now live in Eureka California it still feels like something that could have happened to me if I stayed there.

Another reason I like it is because the eponymous Thing is not only an Eldritich Abomination but one that feels like it’s only slightly outside the realm of possibility.

No one knows what it actually is, or where it came, no one’s sure if it’s a complex life form like an animal that works like a disease or a simple life form like a disease that works like an animal, and even the smallest cell of it is an independent creature.

At the same time it’s not completely immortal because fire can destroy it, it has to rely on deception because if it goes around acting Willy nilly it will get killed, and the same every cell is an individual Thing creature itself rule means that you can take cells from someone, and expose them to heat, and find out who’s a Thing.

I also like how there’s tension, and not everything is thrown at us right away but at the same time it never gets very boring either because it feels like there’s a rhythm to it like they’ll be five minutes of talking, and everyone wondering who’s The Thing, and then all of a sudden BAM someone turns out to be The Thing.

I think if I have a problem it’s that in trying to make the main hero MacReady look like a cool bad ass it makes him a helicopter pilot seem smarter than an entire team of actual scientists, especially when he does things that are supposed to be harsh but necessary when he does them but are crazy, and suicidal when others do them.

But even that I can chalk up to this being a John Carpenter’s movie with Kurt Russell at a time when Kurt Russell was the cool bad ass in John Carpenter’s movies, and the fact that supposedly the original story Who Goes There? was almost a Doc Savage story, and MacReady himself was supposed to be Doc Savage.

In the end The Thing in my opinion truly lives up to it’s claim as the ultimate alien terror.

VR Troopers Episode 11 Error in The System

Well hello there everybody welcome to another Magic Happy VR Troopers Review, and today we are looking at Error in the System written by Mark Litton, and directed by Worth Keeter.

So we start off with today’s “My dad taught me” moment where Ryan talks about how his dad taught him that things aren’t always what they seem, and how that ties into today’s episode.

We then go to Crossworld City park where Ryan, and JB are goofing off on roller blades when they realize they have to meet Kaitlin for lunch, and decide to make a race out of it.

When they get there there’s some comedy bits but then Kaitlin’s computer acts weird, and JB finds out a virus has wiped out her computer, and Woody informs them that all the computers in Crossworld City are down making the Troopers worry about the Professor, and the lab.

Meanwhile at Ziktor Industies we find out that no surprise Ziktor is behind it, and plans to use the virus to access the VR Troopers secrets, and destroy them, and then he transforms into Grimlord to brag about it,

Then we see the Troopers driving in Kaitlin’s car when Air Striker, and Fighterbot attack them but Kaitlin transforms her car into flight mode, and they evade the mutants then they arrive at the lab, and check the machines.

Then JB recommends a system scan which JB monitor on the VR visors, and after being treated to random Metalder clips JB finds the Proffesor, and explains the situation to him but the Professor just acts like an asshole about it, and the Troopers are still worried about the virus.

Meanwhile at the virtual dungeon show some Spielban footage to explain how not only is he transmitting the virus from a secret underwater installation but the professor currently in the lab is an imitation created to distract the Troopers.

Grimlord then demonstrates by having the fake Professor send the Troopers to the Battle Grid under the guise of a reality break at the lab.

To be honest though it’s literally just The Dognapping’s Battle Grid segment in a different order with a full portal sequence, some parts shortened or removed, a different return to reality scene, and different dialogue but otherwise the exact same fight.

When the Trooper return to the lab the Professor tells them there’s another reality break nearby, and JB tries to confirm it but the Professor snaps at him, and tells the Troopers to investigate the reality break while he restores the lab’s computers but of course he’s really evil, and only Jeb of all creatures knows.

Then we see the Troopers flying in Kaitlin’s car to the reality break when they see a stalled car down where the fake Professor say the break is going to occur, and land to help the stranded people but this is all part of Grimlord’s plan, and a Skug fight breaks out.

Skugs try to kick Ryan but he blocks then JB kicks another Skug while Kaitlin does some back flips before kicking another then Ryan kicks two of the Skugs while JB, and Kaitlin punch the other two then Ryan kicks his Skugs into each other while JB, and Kaitlin finish off the other two.

The Troopers don’t see any sign of a break, and blame the whole thing of a system error (not quite a title) brought on by the virus.

At Tao dojo JB is helping Tao bring back the dojo’s books then puts the VR disk in when Kaitlin comes in, and explains that the virus appeared out of nowhere making it a virtual virus, and call the Professor for help but get a pathway inoperative message which JB explains means they can’t talk to the Professor there or at the lab, and the Troopers figure out what’s going on.

Just then the Professor appears, and tells them to go to virtual reality, and destroy the virus transmission site, and since he’s using the Professor’s pathway this time the Troopers decide to take the risk, and transform.

The Troopers then go into the Skybase where the Professor tells Ryan, and JB to go to virtual reality, and destroy Grimlord’s hidden base while JB stays in the real world.

But of course this all really a trap by Grimlord so he has Ivar, and Icebot send Quantum Cruisers, and a robot called Metaborg after JB.

Then we see Metaborg himself run over JB while Cruisers fire at him but JB fires his laser at Metaborg but it does nothing, and Metaborg fires his own laser while the Quantum Cruisers fire theirs.

Meanwhile Ryan, and Kaitlin can’t find Grimlord’s base,a nd figure out the trap, and return to reality to help JB by blowing up the Quantum Cruisers with lasers but there’s still the matter of Metaborg.

Metaborg proceeds to run over JB some more before transforming into his robot form, and punching JB, and ramming him with his head while the fake Professor gloats, and Ryan tells Jeb to leave the lab.

Metaborg then flips JB over, and over like a ragdoll while the Skugs cheer on, and in if you look hard enough it looks like their smoking some kind of hookah so Kaitlin gets into the battle cruiser, and fires at Metaborg, and the Skugs before recharging JB’s powers.

JB, and Kaitlin combine laser power to weaken Metaborg, and JB finsishes Metaborg off with Laser Lance but surprisingly Grimlord is chill about it because he hacked their systems, and will learn everything but the Trooper find the real base in virtual reality, and destroy it bringing Grimlord back to his grumpy self.

Later at the lab JB has deleted Grimlord’s virus, and brings back the Professor who congratulates them for solving their own problem, and JB returns to Tao’s dojo to fix Tao’s computer, and Kaitlin returns to the Underground Voice Daily where Woody is making the reporters use old typewriters, and Ryan is just glad to have the Professor back.

Anyway “I miss you dad” the end

Final Thoughts

I still remember when I first heard about this very show back on Labor Day weekend when my family was staying in a hotel on the way to San Francisco when I first saw a commercial for VR Troopers, and I was hooked.

Now at the time I didn’t live in a place that got VR Troopers so for the longest time I had to go off just video tapes, and books until direct downloading, and Youtube became a thing before I actually was able to watch the show in it’s entirety.

Now my whole point is that the very first episode I saw was a video tape I got for my ninth birthday back in 1994, and that tape was this very episode.

That’s right kids this was the first episode of VR Troopers I ever saw so how does it stack up?

Well pretty good all things considered.

I like the plot of using a fake version of the Professor to lead the Troopers onto fake missions designed to distract, and destroy them.

I also liked Metaborg, and his design, and powers since he could transform from a vehicle to a robot like a Transformer.

I also liked seeing Kaitlin’s power transfer ability since she’s the only Trooper who can heal anyone though I think it was an attempt to compensate for not giving her a finisher move.

I think the only thing that really bugged me was the Battle Grid segment, and that was only because it was all recycled footage instead of anything new,

And even then I thought it was interesting to see the Battle Grid fight before the regular Skug fight instead of the usual other way around.

Heck there was nothing useable in the Spielban episode they used that didn’t get carried over so there’s that.

Honestly while I still think Searching for Tyler Steele is the episode I would show someone who never saw VR Troopers before to explain the show I still think this is one of my favorite episodes.

In a perfect universe the tapes would have had two episodes each with one having both parts of The Battle Begins, one having Searching for Tyler Steele, and this episode, the next having The Dogapping, with Lost Memories, then Kaitlin’s Front Page, with Battle for the Books, and finally The Dojo Plot with Oh Brother.

Tune in next time everyone for more Magic Happy VR Troopers Reviews.