Growing up, you probably watched dozens of different cartoons and kid-orientated TV shows, but of those, only a few tend to stick in your memory through to adulthood. The 90s in particular had some great series and one that I remember fondly is ReBoot, featuring the characters of Bob the Guardian, AndrAIa and Frisket the dog. 20 years on, and ReBoot is getting rebooted.
What made ReBoot more interesting than your typical cartoon was that it was computer-generated in an age where CG shows were the exception, not the rule. It was also set inside a computer, in a place called “Mainframe”, and this was reflected in the names of the characters. Heck, it even referenced “command.com”, the DOS system shell.
If you need a bit of a refresh, here’s a clip of the first season’s opening sequence.
Rainmaker Entertainment, the Canadian company responsible for the original show, has announced that a reboot is in the works, though technology has changed radically in the last two decades and the new show will have to reflect that, according to Rainmaker president Michael Hefferon:
The world of ReBoot will need an upgrade for a new generation — and yes, that includes the characters: Bob, Enzo, Dot, Phong, Hexadecimal, Megabyte and the whole gang are unlikely to be featured players any longer. “I don’t think too many people would remember what a Dot Matrix is anymore,” said Hefferon.
Hefferon goes on to say the show will have to do more than just have fancy computer-generated graphics:
…for the reboot Hefferon wants to get kids hooked on coding. He plans to push computer coding languages in the show then create further opportunities to learn through the show’s online counterparts. “Coding has become such an important aspect, it effects every part of our lives whether we know it or we don’t know it,” said Hefferon.
I can’t say if ReBoot necessarily got me into the IT industry, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t nurture whatever interest already existed. If it can do the same for another generation of kids, count me in.
[Rainmaker Entertainment, via HuffPost]