Big Bad Beetleborgs

Synopsis

Season 1

In the fictional town of Charterville, three kids — Andrew "Drew" McCormick (Wesley Barker), his younger sister Josephine "Jo" McCormick (Shannon Chandler, later Brittany Konarzewski), and their best friend Roland Williams (Herbie Baez) — enter the haunted Hillhurst Mansion after accepting a dare from two rich bullies, Van and Trip. They discover that the mansion is inhabited by actual monsters who intend to eat them. In the midst of a chase, the kids accidentally bump into a pipe organ, releasing a phasm named Flabber (Billy Forester), who had been trapped inside of it. Out of gratitude for freeing him, Flabber offers to grant the kids one wish. Their wish is to become their favorite comic book heroes, the Big Bad Beetleborgs. However, this also brings the Beetleborgs' archenemies, the Magnavores, into the real world. Throughout the season, the Magnavores' leader, Vexor, summons monsters from the comic books to battle the Beetleborgs.

Later, Vexor creates Shadowborg, who briefly takes away the Beetleborgs' powers, prompting them to ask the comics' creator, Art Fortunes, to create the White Blaster Beetleborg and Drew's new Mega Blue mode to help them. The team would later meet a new kid in town, Josh Baldwin (Warren Berkow), who becomes the new Beetleborg and helps the team until he lost his powers after Shadowborg was destroyed.

In the penultimate episode of the first season, the Magnavores steal a picture of a new villain named Nukus from Art Fortunes' office, and bring him to life in hope he will help them destroy the Beetleborgs, through his creation of Borgslayer, a hybrid of all the Magnavore monsters. However, unbeknownst to the Magnavores, Nukus was actually plotting to get rid of them, and tells Trip and Van how to defeat Borgslayer, and orders them to take the information to the Beetleborgs, who succeed in destroying Borgslayer, causing the Magnavores to be swept back into the comics.

Season 2

After the Beetleborgs destroy Borgslayer and the Magnavores, Nukus has challenged them. Despite Art's warning that Nukus is too powerful, the Beetleborgs face him anyway, and Nukus quickly wipes them out, destroying their armor, weapons, and powers in one fell swoop.

Nukus soon discovers that his creator is actually Art's incarcerated brother, Les Fortunes. He subsequently busts Les out of prison and uses some of Les' drawings to summon his own group of villains called the Crustaceans. Les now serves Nukus by creating new monsters for him to use. In response, Art creates new powers, armor, vehicles, and weapons, which Flabber then brings to life again for the kids, who rechristen themselves as the Beetleborgs Metallix.

The battle between the Beetleborgs and the Crustaceans would later escalate after the Fortunes brothers dig up a time capsule containing the Lost Comic; a story both brothers worked on when they were children which featured the Astral Sword that could summon and control the all-mighty Roboborg if one manages to gather the eight Astral Coins. Nukus summons his own evil team of Borgs from the Lost Comic called the Mantrons, while the Beetleborgs are reinforced by the Astral Borgs. After many battles, the Beetleborgs finally get their hands on the Astral Sword and all eight coins, using it to summon Roboborg, who demonstrates his powers by sending the Mantrons back to the Lost Comic.

To fight Roboborg, the Crustaceans eventually created their own giant robot named Boron, while Nukus and Vilor gain upgraded Mega forms. Boron could be summoned and controlled with the Astral Axe. As a response to Nukus' and Vilor's new Mega forms, the Beetleborgs were given an upgrade by Roboborg who fused their Metallix powers with their original powers creating the Mega Spectra Beetleborgs. Vilor's "mega" form did not last long, and he quietly returns to his original look without explanation while Mega Nukus retained his upgraded look.

The series concluded with the Beetleborgs gaining the enemy Boron as an ally, stripping Nukus of his greatest weapon during the fight against Repgillian, while Les Fortunes willingly decides to return to Charterville Prison, disabling his ability to create new monsters out of illustrations.

Characters

Beetleborgs

Andrew "Drew" McCormick (portrayed by Wesley Barker) – The Blue Stinger Beetleborg, and later the Chromium Gold Beetleborg in the second season, is the leader of the Beetleborgs. He was granted the ability of telekinesis by Flabber, which he activates by nodding his head, and pointing at an object. Drew received an upgrade, Mega Blue Beetleborg, after he used the energy axis that powered Shadowborg on his original armor. After Roboborg arrived, Drew received a new upgrade, Mega Spectra Chromium Gold Beetleborg, after Nukus and Vilor went Mega themselves. His armor was modeled after a male Japanese rhinoceros beetle.

Roland Williams (portrayed by Herbie Baez) – The Green Hunter Beetleborg, and later the Titanium Silver Beetleborg in the second season, is the best friend of the McCormick kids. His family owns the local comic book shop named Zoom Comics, where he, Jo, and Drew usually hang out. He was granted the ability of super speed by Flabber, which he activates by snapping his fingers. After Roboborg arrived, Roland received an upgrade, Mega Spectra Titanium Silver Beetleborg, after Nukus and Vilor went Mega themselves. His armor was modeled after a male stag beetle.

Josephine "Jo" McCormick (portrayed by Shannon Chandler in episodes 1–39, Brittany Konarzewski for the rest of the series) – The Red Striker Beetleborg, and later the Platinum Purple Beetleborg in the second season. She is Drew's younger sister. She was granted the ability of super strength by Flabber, which she activates by cracking her knuckles. After Roboborg arrived, Jo received an upgrade, Mega Spectra Platinum Purple Beetleborg, after Nukus and Vilor went Mega themselves. Her Red Striker armor was modeled after a female Japanese rhinoceros beetle, and her Platinum Purple armor after a ladybug. Jo is often shown wearing a baseball cap backwards. A unique casting change occurred and instead of an official departure removing the character Jo from the cast, when Shannon Chandler left the series, her character remained. In the 39th episode of Season 1, Wolfgang (while playing with a magic book) accidentally cast a spell that caused Jo to change in appearance. Brittany Konarzewski took over Chandler's role in the guise of actually being the original Jo with a new look and voice. To counteract this, Flabber used his magic to make her look and sound the way she always had, but it did not work on anyone who actually watched the spell being cast. Flabber, Drew, Roland, and Jo herself saw Jo in her new appearance, but the Hilhurst monsters as well as everyone else saw her as she looked before. According to Flabber, the spell would eventually wear off, which was never shown in the series.

Hillhurst Inhabitants

An old mansion outside of Charterville had fallen into disrepair since the death of Old Man Hillhurst and became home to some rather goofy monsters. With the exception of Flabber, all the monsters attempt to eat any humans who trespass in their home. As a running gag, they never learn their lesson about trying to go after the Beetleborgs who always manage to outwit or clobber them.

Flabber (portrayed by Billy Forester) – Flabber is a phantasm (phasm) who was trapped inside a pipe organ and was freed by the kids. Out of gratitude, he granted their wish to become their comic book heroes, the Big Bad Beetleborgs. This event also unintentionally released the Magnavores. He also acts as an advisor and best friend, and offers needed magic to the kids when fighting the Magnavores and later the Crustaceans. Though his magic does not always work the way he may hope for it to work. He is the head of the Hillhurst Mansion and is usually the one to keep the house monsters in check by trying to keep them from eating the kids. The producers of the show said that he was based on Elvis Presley.

Mums (voiced by Michael Sorich in the pilot episode, performed by Blake Torney in later episodes) – Mums is a 5,000-year-old Egyptian mummy, who used to be a prince. He can unwrap his bandages to reveal a "Grim Reaper"-like form.

Frankenbeans (performed by David Fletcher) – Frankenbeans (called "Frankie" for short) is a strange, lumbering Frankenstein's monster-type monster. He was once kidnapped by the Magnavores on Halloween and held for ransom in exchange for the Beetleborgs' Beetle Bonders. He allows Wolfie to stay in a dog house kept in his room. He has no brain and little ability to speak, often roaring or saying toddler-like sentences. His creator Dr. Baron von Frankenbeans showed up in a few episodes. His name is a play on franks and beans.

Count Fangula (portrayed by Joe Hackett) – Loosely modeled after Count Dracula. Count Fangula is a vampire (albeit one of questionable aptitude in the Dark Arts). He seems to be the only one who can understand what Wolfie may be saying. He mentioned in Wolfie's introductory episode that they were roommates "in the old country."

The Pipettes (portrayed by Traci Bellusci) – The Pipettes are a multicolored spirit-like trio of ladies who live in the pipe organ. They act as Flabber's back-up singers.

Supporting characters

"Nano" Williams (portrayed by Vivian Smallwood) – Roland's paternal grandmother, Aaron's mother, and Abbie's mother-in-law. Nano is one hip granny and a trained martial artist. When she's not running Zoom Comics or practicing her moves, she's often seen riding her motorcycle. Nano often helps out the kids when they're in a jam. If nothing else, she enjoys teasing her son Aaron.

Aaron Williams (portrayed by Kim Delgado) – Roland's father, Abbie's husband, and Nano's son. He ran Zoom Comics full-time and is often embarrassed by his mother's antics. Aaron was soon called away on business halfway through season one, leaving the shop in the hands of his wife Abbie.

Abbie Williams (portrayed by Channe Nolen) – Roland's mother, Aaron's wife, and Nano's daughter-in-law. She primarily works as a real estate agent. When her husband Aaron left on business, she assumed running Zoom Comics. She and her mother in-law don't always see eye to eye, and she didn't always know how to run a comic book shop. With a little help from Flabber's magic, Abbie's heart opened up and rekindled fond childhood memories of a comic she once loved reading. She ran the shop for the remainder of the series.

Heather (portrayed by Elizabeth Z. Lund) – Drew's crush. No matter what happened, Drew could never really tell Heather about his feelings for her. She would sometimes help out at the comic shop, and she also enjoyed reading comics. During the Shadowborg saga, she developed a crush on Josh. She stopped appearing early in season two and is never mentioned again.

Trip and Van (portrayed by Todd Hurst and Patrick Seaborn) – Two brothers who come from a rich family, who constantly pester the kids' daily lives by flaunting their wealth and self-acclaimed superiority. Trip was the smarter of the two whereas Van was a bit slow. They often came up with get-rich-quick schemes, ways to humiliate the kids, or simply to cause trouble. They were the ones who dared Jo, Roland, and Drew to enter Hillhurst, which led to them becoming Beetleborgs. During the Borgslayer fiasco, they left town to go live at their father's country estate. Beforehand, Nukus forced them to return to town and tell the Beetleborgs how to defeat Borgslayer in order to get rid of the Magnavores. The two of them stopped appearing after season one and are only mentioned once in season two.

Villains

The Magnavores (2–53) are the first set of villains the Beetleborgs faced, who originated from the Beetleborgs comic series. They were released due to Flabber granting the kids' wish which unintentionally released them. While in Charterville, the Magnavores use the old Charterville cemetery as their lair. By the end of Season One, the Magnavores are sent back into the comics as a side effect of Borgslayer's destruction.

Vexor (first performed by Rick Tane and later by Kisu, voiced by Joey Pal) – The leader of the Magnavores. He loses patience with his Magnavores' incompetence and does not appear in every episode. He appeared to have been destroyed by the combined efforts of all three Beetleborgs stabbing their Beetle Battlers into his body and pulling him to the ground, after Drew battled with and destroyed Shadowborg, but quickly revived himself, sprouting a new body and face and even managed to grow giant. In his following appearance, he somehow switched back to his old self/appearance.

Typhus (performed by Kyle Jordan, voiced by Dave "Foots" Footman) – A Chimera-like humanoid monster with a blue whale-like flattop, clam-like shoulders, and a left frog-like leg. He prefers brawn over brain and his blue whale-like flattop is an extra mouth with which he eats food or other objects. In battle, he sometimes wields a sword-like weapon that latches to his arm or his mouth. This weapon can also blast lasers when latched to his extra mouth. On one occasion, he emitted bees from his extra mouth. He was temporarily turned into Mega Typhus who had horns, clam-like features, and a left crab-like claw.

Noxic (performed by Lee Whey, voiced by David Umansky) – An android with coils for hair who wears a white labcoat-like jacket. He can control machinery and other objects by removing his head and attaching it to them. In a dream of his, Noxic took control of a bulldozer with his head and tried to destroy the Beetleborgs. He later used this same technique to take control of Ghoulum, when he went bad from the "Bad Potion." He has an unseen wicked friend from the comic books as well named Dr. Cackle who created the Bad Potion. Noxic prefers to eat donuts all day long instead of doing Vexor's bidding. He has an older brother named Super Noxic, though technically Noxic was created first. In battle, he sometimes wields an umbrella-like weapon.

Jara (performed by Balinda English in U.S. Footage, voiced by Rajia Baroudi) - A female humanoid clad in red attire and a white mask who speaks with a Russian accent. Despite her face being remade 3-dimensional, she cannot consume food or smile in the real world because the mouth on her mask could never open (she emphasizes this by saying that she has no mouth). Jara sometimes wields a whip that when cracked releases destructive energy.

Production

Like other adaptations produced by Saban Entertainment, some of the original source footage was altered for Beetleborgs. The Input Magnums, the original B-Fighters' guns, were changed to the Sonic Lasers and were colored bright red and purple, due to how the Input Magnums looked very realistic. However, the colors of the guns changed from time to time due to the blending in of the B-Fighter footage. In Metallix, the Data Laser's colors remained unchanged (silver and black), but the toy line changed the weapons to a white-and-blue color scheme. More violent scenes from B-Fighter were either covered up with large, Batman-esque sound effects or were cut out through comic-book-panel transitions.

Big Bad Beetleborgs and Beetleborgs Metallix ended after the Saban crew were left with no more Juukou B-Fighter and B-Fighter Kabuto footage to adapt. Their predecessor VR Troopers also ended for the same reason.

Music

The show's theme music was performed by Jeremy Sweet and series star Billy Forester. A newer version of the song was made for the Beetleborgs Metallix episodes. The background score was credited to Shuki Levy and Haim Saban (under the alias Kussa Mahchi). It had compositions written by Inon Zur (only credited as a music producer), who had just joined Saban Entertainment. Several of the show's compositions were also used on Saban's concurrent Power Rangers Turbo (1997). Currently, Beetleborgs has never had any official soundtrack releases.

Filming locations

The show was filmed in a number of locations. Much of the show was filmed in Santa Paula, California, a small rural town in Ventura County.

Power Rangers Turbo vs. Beetleborgs Metallix

In 1997, Acclaim Comics published a one-shot entitled Power Rangers Turbo vs. Beetleborgs Metallix featuring the Beetleborgs battling the Turbo Rangers before teaming with them against Divatox and Nukus.

Release history

After ending a two-season run on the Fox network, the series was rerun on UPN Kids from 1998 to 1999. In Australia, Big Bad Beetleborgs began airing on Network Ten's Cheez TV morning block during February 1998. In Europe, the series aired on the international version of Fox Kids, which was later rebranded as Jetix. On May 7, 2010, as part of the sale of the Power Rangers franchise, the copyright for Beetleborgs was transferred from BVS Entertainment to Saban Capital Group. In 2018, the rights were transferred to Hasbro, as part of the acquisition of the Power Rangers brand, which included related intellectual property & content libraries previously owned by Saban Properties.

On June 15, 2011, all episodes of Big Bad Beetleborgs and Beetleborgs Metallix were made available on Netflix until February 1, 2021.

There have been 3 VHS releases in the US and Australia: The Curse of Shadow Borg, The Vampire Files, and Metallix – The Movie. They were all released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Shout! Factory began putting the series out on DVD with the October 16, 2012 release of Beetleborgs: Season 1, Part 1. Season 1, Part 2 was released on February 12, 2013. Season 2, Part 1 was released on June 11, 2013. Season 2, Part 2 was released on May 5, 2015.

The series was added to Plex in 2025.