"Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future" (1987) TV series

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Creators:

Tony Christopher
Gary Goddard

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

1 September 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A group of guerilla fighters battle the evil machine forces that dominate a future Earth.

Plot Keywords:

Resistance | Based On Toy | Cyborg | Computer Animation | Post Apocalyptic

Awards:

2 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Tim Dunigan	...	Captain Jonathan Power / ... (22 episodes, 1987-1988)
Peter MacNeill	...	Major Matthew 'Hawk' Masterson / ... (22 episodes, 1987-1988)
Sven-Ole Thorsen	...	Lt. Michael 'Tank' Ellis (22 episodes, 1987-1988)
Maurice Dean Wint	...	Sgt. Robert 'Scout' Baker (22 episodes, 1987-1988)
Jessica Steen	...	Cpl. Jennifer 'Pilot' Chase (22 episodes, 1987-1988)
David Hemblen	...	Lord Dread / ... (22 episodes, 1987-1988)

Runtime:

30 min (22 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Landmark Entertainment Group

Trivia:

The Program was part of a Toy-Tie in created by Mattel. The toys consisted of action figures of all the major characters and Captain Power's and Lord Dread's ships. The Ships had the ability to pick up infra-red signals from glowing panels on enemy characters and thus score hits, as well as receive damage hits from enemy fire. When a players ship sustained enough simulated damage the canopy would fly open ejecting the action figure contained within. There were also crossover animated episodes that were packaged with the electronic fighter ships that had the same ability. Despite the interactivity of the toys the series was too expensive to continue production and with dropping sales of Captain Power toys the series and toys were scrapped.

Quotes:

Narrator: Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future. Earth, 2147. The legacy of the Metal Wars, when man fought machine and machines won. Bio-Dreads, monstrous creations that hunt down human survivors and digitize them. Volcania, center of the Bio-Dread empire...

Movie Connections:

Edited into Captain Power: The Beginning (1989) (TV)

Gone, but not forgotten, a jewel of 80's Sci Fi TV

I loved this show as a kid. Granted it is a bit short (20 mins per episode) but it was big budget and had some pretty mature themes for a "family" program (which made it appealing to children and adults).

Great fun even today, though it can be a bit campy at times. Unfortunately the VHS tapes are out of print, but you can trade them with other collector's on ebay (which is where I got some of mine). This was way ahead of its time, and fell out of favor because of stupid controversy (that it was "too violent" and that it somehow forced people to buy more toys.. ). In addition to the show there were "Training Episodes" made exclusively for the interactive home market. These tapes were basically shooting galleries much like the arcade rail shooters (a la "Area 51") featuring mostly animated effects.

It would be awesome (but somewhat unlikely) if the series was released in all its glory on lucious DVD (all 22 episodes, plus the gag-reel, character bios, interviews, and how about the Interactive Ship/Guns as an added bonus?).

The series ended on a rather dark note; a second season was planned but never aired. There was also a short "film" made using some stock footage for effects (since they were low on funds at this time) and supposedly new storyline (I haven't seen it). I have seen a PAL tape up for auction called "Dread's Revenge" that supposedly picks up where the last episode left off, but I don't know if this is any different than the "film" version of Captain Power that was posted on IMDB.

One of the biggest innovations of this tv phenomenon is that you could fire at the screen during the show at various "targets" (on the chests of the bad guys mostly) to score points, and when they fired back, you had to shoot their shots, or else you got hit. Even without the toys, the show rocked. It had humor, tons of action, and great special effects for the time. The show captured the post apocalyptic future very well.

Critics like Ebert gave it high marks. I think if the parent groups would have realized that the show was just a live action video game, no different than dozens of other shows out there (except for that fact that most of the others were all animated). The show was still great even without the toys (though the toys are great icing on the cake), and it often had good moral messages (war is hell, violence should be avoided if a peaceful solution is available, human lives are more important than machines, greed and lust for power leads to suffering, and about working together to solve problems). Finally, the characters were likeable, and the plots were interesting.

While the show owes much to the likes of Terminator, Star Wars, and Battlestar Galactica, it has influenced other science fiction movies and shows over the years, including Star Trek: the Next Generation (compare Lord Dread to the evil Borg), and RoboCop (does that armor not look familiar?). ; )

Still great after all these years...