Captain Power

Earth. The 22nd Century. The evil Lord Dread has taken over the world, and with his machine empire seeks to eliminate the last traces of mankind and remake the world in the image of the machine. The only thing stopping him: a small resistance of humans, led by. . .Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future! A bit intense for Saturday morning, eh?

This was one of the best when I was a kid. Combining bits of "Star Wars," "The Terminator," and "Mad Max." And, unlike most shows from the 80's meant to sell toys, it actually had engrossing plots! It was the first TV series to use computer-generated special effects, and the first to have an interactive toyline. I tell you, science fiction doesn't get better than this.

I believe this series was created with the intention of selling a toy line, it was interactive tv, kids could buy the guns and figures and shoot the robot troopers that had flashing badges on their chests, sadly the toys were too expensive, didn't sell and the show got cancelled after one series, which is a shame since it was a damn fine series with some strong adult themes, and good characterisation thrown into the mix. The show was well cast with good likeable actors and well written by Michael Straczynski, creator of more famous Babylon 5.

It's basic premise was a group of futuristic freedom fighters, fighting literally against 'The Machine'. A post apocalyptic future where machine had overrun mankind and humans scavenged for survival. Led by Captain 'Jonathon' Power (played excellently by Tim Dunigan), his one man resistance forces goal was to free mankind from Lord Dredd and his Bio-dred empire. They were the soldiers of the future.

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...

Wow, this is older than I thought. I tried tracking down this show by looking up people who were in it, and for some reason I thought Colm Meaney played Hawk Masterson. Anyways, I finally did a search for "project new order" which was basically the only thing I remember of this show. I finally found out that the title was Captain Power.

Anyways, I thought this was a great show, but the ending kind of left you hanging, I mean I remember Power saying "project new order is finished" but the bad-guy and his computer orb were still alive, right? I dunno, it was a weird show, but it was cool.

This is truly one of my most favorite shows of all time. Sure it might have been a little cheesy, but it was great. You learn what's happening in the opening monologue:

"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, stronghold and fortress of Lord Dread, feared ruler of this new order. But from the fires of the Metal Wars arose a new breed or warrior-born and trained to bring down Lord Dread and his Bio-Dread empire. They were soldiers of the future, mankind's last hope. Their leader, Captain Jonathan Power; master of the incredible powersuits, which transform each soldier into a one-man attack force.

Major Matthew "Hawk" Masterson, fighter in the sky. Lt. Michael "Tank" Ellis, ground assault unit. Sgt. Robert "Scout" Baker, espionage and communications. And Corporal Jennifer "Pilot" Chase, tactical systems expert. Together, they form the most powerful fighting force in Earth's history. Their creed: to protect all life. Their promise: to end Lord Dread's rule. Their name? Captain Power and the Soliders of the Future!"

I loved this show. Sure it was a little intense but when it was on, I was hooked. Jonathan Power was just a great 80's sci-fi hero. Soaron Sky Sentry used to scare the hell out of me when he'd show up and digitize people into pixels. Lord Dread was also very creepy. When I was kid, I had all the toys from Captain Power's fighter jet to Interlocker, and the videos which you could use with the ships. You had to try to see how many enemies you could kill by shooting the flashing 3D-ish flashing areas of enemies. You could also take damage too if enemies were shooting at you on the screen. If you took too much damage, the figure in the cockpit would be ejected! You could also use the ship to shoot at bad guys during the actual show, too.

It's too bad they only got one season out of it. More could have been done with it but I read that since the toys didn't sell that well during Christmas, they pulled the series. It was obviously aimed at kids as it was on Saturday Mornings, but kids may not have liked it because it was too serious or intense for them. I'd like to see it come back. They could probably do some great things and fix it up from the areas is lacked in the first time.