| ReBoot Episode | |
| |
| The Users entering Mainframe | |
| System Crash | |
|---|---|
| Episode no. | 3.15 |
| Written by | Marv Wolfman |
| Story by | Gavin Blair, Dan DiDio, Phil Mitchell, Ian Pearson, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman |
| Original Airdate | 17 January 1998 |
| Prev.: Showdown | Next: End Prog | |
| View Episode List. | |
Down by the docks, some hillbilly binomes are playing, dancing to dueling banjos, when the pier starts to disintegrate. The null-Juggling Clown is one of the victims. Then the building with four rock stars collapses. Panic in the streets! A waiter on roller skates glides past Data Nully and Fax Modem. Fax is trying to make up his mind between two fliers: one for B.C. and one for L.A.. The Elvis Binome is squashed. The tower of Eight Ball Apartments falls down. Its 8-ball goes rolling after the Indiana Jones Binome. A family of three watches this and tries to outrun the destruction. The young boy watches helplessly as his parents get swallowed up.
Although portions of the damaged Principal Office are falling apart, most of the central area is in relatively good shape. Dot has a plan. She has all the inhabitants of Mainframe evacuate to the Principal Office. Mouse and Ray Tracer spread the word. As the two visitors to Mainframe are flying around, it is clear that Mouse is flirting with the Surfer. He usually travels alone since he hasn't found anyone willing to take the risks that he does and this amuses her. They pick up two very polite punkers and drop them. Al's Waiter is going inside the Principal Office and calls for Al, getting the usual response, "What?!".
Back in the War Room, Phong is still in the bell jar and is very glad to hear that Hack and Slash have found the rest of his body. He tells the others to shutdown power to the other sectors, so that they will go offline quietly, instead of being torn apart. But the Core Control Chamber was almost completely destroyed in the war. So someone is going to have to go into the Core itself and perform the shutdown manually.
Herr Doktor and the Bunnyfoot are trying to remain unobserved, but Hexadecimal finds them. They were the ones that put the nasty pain collar around her neck. It's not clear what she's planning to do to them, but she's holding a rolling pin and laughing cruelly.
Almost everyone has made it to the Principal Office. Even the Baby Binome and his parents are there. One last binome is holding out, Old Man Pearson down at the Data Dump. When Matrix tries to argue with him, the big guy has to explain that he really is Matrix and switches his icon to Game Sprite mode as he is explaining. This conversation via VidWindow is really a diversion so that AndrAIa can get close enough to use her poisoned fingernails to render Mr. Pearson unconscious.
Everything seems to be under control when all hell breaks loose. Three tears open up near Matrix, Mouse, and Ray. Out comes Zaytan, the form of the User that defeated Matrix and forced him to leave Mainframe.
Bob enters the Core as Specky, Hack and Slash notice a bunch of tears opening up. Dot convinces him to continue the task, stating that she has things covered. But the instabilities in the system have released all of the User's old Game avatars from undeleted RAM.
Zaytan, the User's form in Immortal Konflict, attacks Matrix, but he fights back harder, and finally gets his revenge on the User that took him from his family by gunning it down. Santa Claus goes after Ray Tracer. The Silver Knight, carrying a mace, and the Clown double-team Mouse. Zombie Slayer, the User's form in Malicious Corpses, strangles Dot. The Red Spacecraft attacks AndrAIa's flying motorcycle. The hybrid Pterodactyl + fighter/bomber is taken out by pirates. The Prisoner knocks out Specky. The Blonde Flier gets Mouse in a headlock while she is approached by the Outlaw. Ray stomps on little Greek Warriors and the Wooden T-Rex. Warrior Carrots get their heads knocked together by Matrix. A Shark out of water flops around at Matrix's feet. Ray punches out an orange Athlete. The hybrid Robot T-Rex, with a Super Scope, is tackled by Matrix.
Bob elevates to the center of the Core. With communications down, he's on his own. That is, until a familiar apparition shows up, Megabyte! Actually, it's a simulation. One designed to mock Bob one last time. The hologram does not prevent Bob from turning off the subsectors. He taps hexagons with red lights, the extent to where he can turn the handle, then push them back in, turning them blue. Each sector is not safe until all of its subsectors are done.
Dot is doing her darnedest to fight off the Slayer. He defeats Hack and Slash, but not Frisket, who gets his revenge on the User for shooting him. On the other side of the room, the Prisoner gets the best of Specky, despite Phong's efforts. Then Princess Bula steps in and gets rid of the Prisoner with one hand. Meanwhile the Megabyte simulations mock Bob as he tries desperately to shut down Floating Point Park and Beverly Hills. Megabyte says he'll miss Al's energy shakes, as Level 31 burns out before Bob can save it.
Mike the TV bursts in, asking if there is room in this crowded show for a cameo appearance by everyone's favorite talking television. Everyone's answer is a resounding "No!"
In the Core, the simulation has created multiple images of Megabyte, all telling Bob that the situation is hopeless. The Guardian does not believe in the "no-win scenario". One subsector in Giedi Prime is very unstable and the last control rod catches fire. Bob struggles, but finally succeeds in switching it off, causing the Megabyte simulations to dissolve. But still the edge of destruction approaches. The city's drawing far too much power from the Energy Sea to control properly - both Baudway and Kits Sector still haven't been shut down! Prolonged exposure to the Core is finally starting to kill the exhausted Guardian. Bob is able to power down the last one just before passing out.
Status lights turn green, the central parts of Mainframe have been spared. Matrix and AndrAIa retrieve the weakened Guardian. "System, out of danger?", he asks. Dot goes to kiss him, but the osculation is intercepted by Rocky The Rabid Raccoon who kisses Dot.
Phong has bad news. They have survived Megabyte's bane, but Mainframe is still doomed.
Gallery[]
References[]
- Four Binomes on a collapsing building were dressed up as the members of American rock band "KISS".
- Another five Binomes parody the heroines of "Sailor Moon" (Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn) created by Naoko Takeuchi.
- It is an enormous coincidence that ReBoot followed Sailor Moon on Cartoon Network's (then at the time daytime after school) Toonami block. The original air date (Feb 1998) precedes the first Toonami schedule pairing in March 1999. The schedule was broken up, but later reformed.[1]
- A Binome resembling Elvis Presley is seen.
- Fax Modem and Data Nully reappear from Trust No One. Modem is looking at two signs, one saying "B.C." and the other "L.A." an in-joke on David Duchovny moving the "X-Files" filming from Vancouver to Los Angeles. The same year that episode was made, David wanted to move from Vancouver, BC (where X-Files was originally filmed) to Los Angeles so he could spend more time with his wife and threatened to quit if they didn't move the set.
- The fedora-wearing Binome being chased by the giant 8-ball is a reference to Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark.
- One of the Binomes being evacuated has "ReBoot!" on his baseball cap.
- Another Binome is wearing a hat saying "Mainframe Janitorial Services".
- Crates in the Principal Office all spell "D082170" backward.
- Various User characters and Game Sprites from previous Game Cubes featured in this episode include Zaytan from Immortal Konflict; Santa from Santa Claus; Silver Knight from Castles and Knights; Clown from Funhouse; Zombie Slayer from Malicious Corpses; Prisoner from Starship Alcatraz; Red Space Ship from Space Race; Tank T-Rex and Pterodactyl Jet from Merged Game; Penelope and Wooden T-Rex from Toy Racers; Outlaw from Wild West; Spartan and Carrot Warriors from A Dungeon Deep; a Shark from Treasure of Atlantis; an Athlete from Video Athlete; and lastly, Rocky who appeared in Rocky The Rabid Raccoon.
- Bob is powering down the sectors with long Hexagonal shaped rods. This is a parody of the 1992 film "The Lawnmower Man" where Jobe Smith (Jeff Fahey) is frantically trying to find a network connection and escape the dying VSI computer mainframe.
- Bob states "I don't believe in the no-win scenario" quoting Admiral James Kirk dealing with the Kobayashi Maru from "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan".
- Bob weakly asks "System... out of danger?" A reference to the end of "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" where Spock asked "Ship... out of danger?" after similarly exposing himself to radiation to save the Enterprise.