VR Troopers
From 1994 to 1996, Saban Entertainment produced the syndicated live action superhero television series VR Troopers. The show attempted to capitalize on the early 1990s infatuation with virtual reality as well as the success of Power Rangers. Early CGI and video effects were combined up with Japanese stock footage from three separate Metal Hero Series: Superhuman Machine Metalder, Dimensional Warrior Spielban, and Space Sheriff Shaider. This type of adaptation technique—combining numerous episodes into one—was initially employed in anime programs such as Robotech and Voltron, but this was one of the first times it was done for a tokusatsu adaptation. The copyright for VR Troopers was transferred from BVS International to SCG Power Rangers on May 7, 2010. Saban's VR Troopers was the first official "sister series" to Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, the most popular "action fighting kid show" at the time. Toei Company LTD's Americanization of a Japanese tokusatsu children's program was similar. The series was considered successful, although not as much as the Power Rangers franchise. Unfortunately, the Japanese footage for the series was quickly depleted due to extreme circumstances where many tokusatsu scenes were combined in one episode, to the point that stock video had to be reused multiple times throughout the series. Similarly, another Saban show, Big Bad Beetleborgs, would perform well but finish prematurely owing to a paucity of stock footage. Both shows were based on the Japanese Metal Heroes franchise. The program inspired a toy line as well as a Sega Genesis and Sega Game Gear video game.
Released: 1994-09-03
Genre:
Action & Adventure