The Aquabats! Super Show!

[McMagnetic]

Has anyone here heard of The Aquabats? The show, not the band. Well, both of them, but I mean the show specifically.
They tried for almost 14 years to get the show and man did the effort pay off. (ask me about the pilots...)
The Aquabats Super Show aired on the hub network from 2012 - the very end. It follows the misadventures of these superhero dudes, who are also in a rock and roll band (That actually exists!)
The show is mostly live action but it has "It's a Cartoon!" segments that range from american anime style to.. um, shmorky. Whoops.
But anyway, the "characters" are Christian Jacobs as the MC Bat Commander on vocals, James Briggs as Jimmy the Robot on saxophone and keyboards, Chad Larson as Crash McLarson on bass, Ian Fowles as Eaglebones Falconhawk on guitar (MY FAVORITE, HE'S SO SWEET IN REAL LIFE), and Ricky Falomir as Ricky Fitness on drums.
I'm really passionate about this show and the band in general. My favorite episode is Showtime. Have you guys watched it? What did you think? Is it your first time hearing about this??!?!?!?!?!

[garystu]

I donated to the kickstarter to get series 3 made. its a shame things didn't really work out, series 3 was a bit crap but for understandable reasons. I've seen many similar situations before, oh well.

I was also watching a lot of 60's Batman when I stumbled onto the Super Show, and I guess I was just in the mood for that campy superhero stuff. And it was some good stuff. I really like the time loop setup of season 1 as well, it's a really solid story. I also like how there's also a of background gags and rewards for repetitive viewing, a lot of attention to detail.

[McMagnetic]

They're still working on it! I know the quality isn't the best, but they're working with what they have!!!

[garystu]

Like I said, this is a common scenario. I don't begrudge it, it happens.

My favourite character is the MC Bat commander. I know its Common to like the main character, but his overconfident cowardice is just Always Funny. Crash McLarson is also great. Incredibly basic reason again, but growing giant in response to emotional outbursts is just a great bit, and the rest of the characterisation just works with that bit so well.

Anyway, you mentioned multiple pilots in the OP? I've seen all the old stuff posted on the official Aquabats YouTube channel, but I think they only had one old pilot and a buncha clips there. I guess its missing a lot of old stuff? This is your excuse to infodump about the pilots.

[McMagnetic]

Anyway, you mentioned multiple pilots in the OP? I've seen all the old stuff posted on the official Aquabats YouTube channel, but I think they only had one old pilot and a buncha clips there. I guess its missing a lot of old stuff? This is your excuse to infodump about the pilots.

Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!!!
There's two other pilots, and one rough idea.
The first pilot was made with the collaboration of Disney's Buena Vista Pictures, it's commonly known in the community as the BVP (buena vista pilot)
As of right now, we only truly have some 5 second clips and screencaps of the pilot. It was shown at a cadet summit in 1999 or 1998. Most of what we saw is now foggy in our memories cuz its been about 25 years.
It was, according to The Commander and his brother, really really bad. All of the backgrounds were hand drawn by Parker Jacobs (The Professor of The Aquabats, MCBC's brother, main artist for yo gabba gabba) and the bats were green screened. It was extremely goofy.
We know of somebody who has a copy of it but is too afraid to put it out without permission from MCBC. I asked the Bat Commander personally if we were allowed to release it for archival purposes, and he just gave me a big jumble of "Yes, Maybe, We'll do it ourselves, No". Sooooo, we're just trying to convince the guy who has it to just put it out anonymously. Somebody else I'm buddies with has the script. Apparently it is also terrible. He refuses to put it out.
This pilot was also filmed without a drummer. Right after tito left, but right before Dr. Rock joined.
The song "Theme Song!" off of The Fury of The Aquabats was supposed to be the intro.

The second pilot "The Aquabats! In Color!", the much better but still "bad" one, is out right now and you can watch it on youtube. They have specialized belts and outfits (very inspired by Kamen Rider) and it is one of the only Aquabats uniforms with pants instead of shorts.
If you have any questions let me know!

[garystu]

Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!!!
There's two other pilots, and one rough idea.

Trimmed for space.

Oh, I see. The BVP pilot is like Aquabats lost media.

I guess it would be interesting to have, but it doesn't sound like a must have from that description. I'd still watch it if it came out, and I can see why fans want it. I can see why you'd want to just see it again.

So did you actually see it 25 years ago? Wow, that's rad. Super rad, perhaps.

Everything being green screen sounds like an ...interesting decision. I wonder if it a budget thing (wanting extravagant sets they could only get with ""matte painting"") or a deliberate creative decision to bring a cartoon element into the show? Or even a third thing? Answer if you know, but nonetheless, its very easy to imagine why that creative decision didn't lead to great results lol.

If you saw it, do you remember anything that happened in the BVP pilot exactly? No worries if not. A quarter century is a long time.

.

I'm really glad we got the 10s version of the show. The extra decade the show spent in the oven really paid off. The Aquabats! In Color! is an interesting curiosity and I like it AS a curiosity, but I'm glad the Super Show is the version of the show we got.

[McMagnetic]

I guess it would be interesting to have, but it doesn't sound like a must have from that description. I'd still watch it if it came out, and I can see why fans want it. I can see why you'd want to just see it again.

Oh buddy! Over the past couple of days while I was gone, my friend Ruby, who is also a very long-time and huge fan of the bats sent my friend cadet Bonehead Spazmotron some VHS she assumed to have old concert footage on it.
It's a huge ton of concert footage, cadet summit footage, and...
THE BVP!!!!!!
It's recorded off the screen they showed it at, and it's everything i remember and worse... It's like my long lost ugly  son.
Once bonehead gives me the OK to send it over, I will link it to you!
 

If you saw it, do you remember anything that happened in the BVP pilot exactly? No worries if not. A quarter century is a long time.

I remembered everything pretty right: green screen, horrible acting, ridiculous sound effects, no drummer, and it being extremely 90s.

[garystu]

Oh buddy! Over the past couple of days while I was gone, my friend Ruby, who is also a very long-time and huge fan of the bats sent my friend cadet Bonehead Spazmotron some VHS she assumed to have old concert footage on it.
It's a huge ton of concert footage, cadet summit footage, and...
THE BVP!!!!!!
It's recorded off the screen they showed it at, and it's everything i remember and worse... It's like my long lost ugly  son.
Once bonehead gives me the OK to send it over, I will link it to you!
 I remembered everything pretty right: green screen, horrible acting, ridiculous sound effects, no drummer, and it being extremely 90s.

Awesome, what took you so long (jk) ?

Will you be releasing it to the general public? I know you mentioned permission issues already, but releasing it without permission is an option. But that's all the sticky kinda stuff for your mates and you to decide for yourselves.

I guess i won't ask any more questions and wait for if/when I see the thing myself.   

[McMagnetic]

It's being mastered right now with fixed audio and colors. It's a video of a screen, so it's a little tricky.
It'll be uploaded to YouTube soon!
We don't have permission just yet, but when it was streamed to me and my friends by bonehead, the Aquabats' drummer, Ricky, jumped in.
He said hi and chilled and watched some concerts with us and then dipped.
So I don't think he's mad.
I worry about MC Bat commander finding out though.
Screen cap!

[McMagnetic]

Oh dood! Bonehead uploaded it!

It's bad, like really bad.
Tell me what you think!

[garystu]

Oh dood! Bonehead uploaded it!

It's bad, like really bad.
Tell me what you think!

Ok, so the video quality was really bad and I found most of the audio near undecipherable. Those are the technical issues you already know, and I'm only mentioning them because the poor audio did impact my enjoyment. I couldn't understand a single word the narrator said.
The live audience audio was fun though. The person who sang along to only one random line in Theme Song! was my favourite audience moment.

If I didn't know different, I'd say it looks a lore movie as a treat for only existing fans of the time. I can see elements of the humour style that worked in the Super Show, but just not executed well. Without the hindsight that living in the future provides, there's not much good in it. Yeah it's bad lol. Glad it was found nonetheless. Interesting curiosity.

Jimmy the Robot went through a lot of slight name variations before landing on Jimmy the Robot, didn't he lol.

[McMagnetic]

Yes!!!
Before it was just Robot, then Jaime the Robot, and now Jimmy. Ha!
Anyway,
Yeah, the quality is pretty crap. But this is big for the people who've been yearning to see it again hahahaha. 
It was way worse before we [tried] to fix it!

[garystu]

Yes!!!
Before it was just Robot, then Jaime the Robot, and now Jimmy. Ha!
Anyway,
Yeah, the quality is pretty crap. But this is big for the people who've been yearning to see it again hahahaha. 
It was way worse before we [tried] to fix it!

Man, must have been one hell of an audio clean up job. I appriciate the effort.

look, its a bad pilot, but making bad art sometimes doesn't reflect badly on the artists. shit happens. there was executive medding. its better for everyone that the mystery is over. what if people were imagining it was way worse than it really was? now they can't. etc. anyway did your pal put it on archive.org as well?

[McMagnetic]

I don't think he did!!! I should probably let him know he should.
Oh also, i didnt even mention ive been trying to archive ever piece of Aquabats supershow merch / promo items and tv promos... hahahaaha... it's so difficult

[garystu]

I'll help seed the torrent when its on archive.org. It can go in my digital horde.

I'm not really familiar with the merch and TV promos. Sounds like a lot of work. Saved any cool shit you wanna show off? I've seen nothing.