Power on!

Just finished watching the entire 1st season (22 episodes) of Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, which left me badly wanting for more. Sadly, I learned that that was all there is to it, as the second season never made it to production. As such, the storyline is left pretty much hanging and unresolved to this day.. :(

Pity... This had the makings of a blockbuster sci-fi series, although I think it was a case of being too advanced for it's time. Set in a post-apocalyptic Earth where a machine empire ruled with an iron fist, Captain Power and his team fight a seemingly endless battle against the machines, all the while recruiting splintered factions of resistance fighters to their cause.

Since this was a show from my childhood, I half-expected it to be simple and straightforward, they protagonists would just keep on blasting the baddies until they get to the "foozle" (90's gaming speak for "big boss"), but apparently there's more to all the shiny armor, animated robots, and toy merchadising. What I found was a comprehensive storyline which unravelled itself bit by painful bit as the series went along. I won't discuss the story here, so as not to spoil anything for those who want to watch the series. ;)

It's such a shame that the subsequent season never materialized. Story-wise, it was going pretty well. The effects were probably the best that you could hope for in 1987, and the costumes were kinda cool. The characters themselves were surrisingly deep, and the show went on to expound on their individual histories (although a lot was still lacking).

Critics say that it didn't appeal to kids because of the mature themes, and didn't appeal to adults because of the target kiddie market (which was being enticed to buy the toys), but I think that its a very engaging series which did the best it could with what was on hand at the time.

I used to regret that I wasn't able to follow the entire show as a kid, but now I kinda regret having seen it, only to be left hanging in the end without a sense of closure... :(

I hope they would come up with a re-imagining of the series, kind of like what the Sci-Fi channel did with Battlestar Galactica, and they could probably generate enough buzz by starting things off with an "origins" movie. Now that's something I'd gladly pay to watch. ;)