Children’s entertainment forever changed in 1993 thanks to Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. With low production costs and booming toy sales, Saban Entertainment was sitting on the most successful television model ever. The lucrative success of Saban’s Power Rangers eventually opened the door for other live-action kids’ programming. One ’90s show that millennials recall is Saban’s Big Bad BeetleBorgs, which ran for 88 episodes on Fox from 1996 to 1998. The basic story was three kids were given beetle-themed superpowers so they could battle evildoers summoned from comic books. But as well-remembered as BeetleBorgs is, there’s still a lot about it that people don’t know.
Based on two Japanese shows
It’s no secret Saban hit pay dirt with Power Rangers. Their economical formula — mixing footage from the Toei productions with new, in-house footage — was raking in the dough. They implemented the same strategy with Masked Rider and VR Troopers. And like the latter show, BeetleBorgs’ battle footage was lifted from multiple Japanese series — Heavy Shell B-Fighter and its direct sequel B-Fighter Kabuto. When BeetleBorgs entered its second and final season, it became BeetleBorgs Metallix. Their new suits, weapons, and villains all came from B-Fighter Kabuto. To tell the stock and original footage apart, remember that Japanese shows were shot on film as opposed to video.
The Rappin’ Granny
Something BeetleBorgs did that its Japanese counterparts did not was show the kids’ families. We often saw Roland’s (Green Hunter BeetleBorg) mother Nano hanging around. She was quite the character too. When she wasn’t running the kids’ favorite hangout Zoom Comics, she was practicing martial arts. In real life, her actor Vivian Smallwood was well-known for her rapping skills. She was so talented and beloved, she earned the nickname of the Rappin’ Granny. Aside from BeetleBorgs, she appeared in shows like Everybody Hates Chris and Malcolm in the Middle. Unfortunately, Smallwood passed away at the age of 84 in 2017.
“Flabber, you are not the weakest link.”
The pubescent heroes of BeetleBorgs were aided by a gang of monsters living at a local haunted house called Hillhurst Mansion. This included a werewolf, a mummy, a Frankenstein’s Monster-type character, a vampire, a living statue, and a trio of spirits. The most important Hillhurster was Flabber, an eccentric phantasm with genie-like powers. He bore a striking resemblance to both Elvis Presley and Jay Leno, with intentional emphasis on the former. There’s some Liberace thrown in for good measure too. His actor Billy Forester states on his Twitter he was a champion on the US version of The Weakest Link.
The real reason why the show ended
Plenty of shows get cancelled because of low ratings, but BeetleBorgs was not one of them. BeetleBorgs ended with Metallix because Saban Entertainment exhausted the Japanese footage. B-Fighter and B-Fighter Kabuto had a total of 103 episodes and a short movie between them. Of course, BeetleBorgs was not a 1:1 adaptation so they used only so much raw footage from the original shows. As a result, the second season ended on an unresolved cliffhanger. Interestingly, the Toei franchise that Heavy Shell B-Fighter and its sequel were part of — the Metal Heroes Series — ended due to low ratings for B-Fighter Kabuto.
Alex Borstein played a monster in one episode
You may know her best from Family Guy, MADtv, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, but comedian Alex Borstein has a history with Saban properties. After playing Queen Machina in Power Rangers Zeo, in addition to one-off villains — Bloom of Doom, Lipsyncher, Madame Woe — in previous Power Rangers seasons, Borstein lent her voice to the monster Cataclaws in the episode “Yo Ho Borgs.” In said episode, Flabber makes a flub and brings Captain Blackbeard back to life so he can help the kids with a school project. Unfortunately for the BeetleBorgs, Cataclaws poses as Blackbeard in an attempt to get the kiddos.
Easter eggs for Power Rangers fans
With both Power Rangers and Big Bad BeetleBorgs being owned by Saban Entertainment, it’s of no surprise there are some Easter eggs. Commonly seen in the background at Zoom Comics was the head of King Sphinx, a monster from the first season of Mighty Mophin’ Power Rangers. Another Easter egg for fans was when Green Hunter BeetleBorg and ShadowBorg were seen among the Machine Empire’s army in Power Rangers Wild Force episode “Forever Red.” Costume recycling was very common during this era of Saban television, which explains why fans would see enemies in future episodes despite the fact they were already defeated.
Spider-Man appeared in BeetleBorgs
In episode 19 “Convention Dimension”, the kids attend San Diego Comic-Con. When they’re not battling the bad guys, they run into Spider-Man. Sadly, it’s just someone in costume. But how did BeetleBorgs get away with the blatant cameo? At the time, Spider-Man: The Animated Series was airing on the same network, so it was safe to use his image. This also explains why there’s someone dressed as The Tick in one scene. While watching this episode, one may ask why San Diego Comic-Con seems so lifeless. Even dull. Well, remember it’s 1996. This was long before the event became such a spectacle.
The Power Rangers/BeetleBorgs crossover that never happened
It was good marketing for Saban to do crossovers between its shows. Yet BeetleBorgs never stepped foot in the Power Rangers series. However, there were plans at one point to do a crossover between Saban’s mainstay and BeetleBorgs. There’s even a photo of Blake Foster in costume as the Blue Turbo Ranger with the Hillhurst monsters. Alas, the televised crossover never came to fruition for some unknown reason. Instead, Acclaim Comics published a one-time issue in 1997 called Power Rangers Turbo vs. BeetleBorgs Metallix. There it’s established that the Power Rangers are fictional characters who the BeetleBorgs recognize from television.
A tale of two Red Strikers
Shannon Chandler (Jo/Red Striker BeetleBorg) departed after the first 39 episodes simply because she wanted to leave. Rather than replacing Jo with a new character, another actress (Brittany Konarzewski) assumed the same role. The writers created a bizarre storyline where an awry spell alters Jo’s physical appearance and voice. The spell needed time to wear off, but in the meantime, Flabber cast another spell that caused others to see Jo only as her former self. To her fellow BeetleBorgs and the Hillhursters, Jo continued to look and talk like Konarzewski. It’s worth noting that in Heavy Shell B-Fighter, Jo’s Japanese equivalent was also replaced halfway into the season.
VR Troopers was cancelled because of BeetleBorgs
Saban’s VR Troopers was already using up to three different Japanese shows’ battle footage. They needed more once they were through with Superhuman Machine Metalder, Dimensional Warrior Spielban, and Space Sheriff Shaider. If things had been different, Heavy Shell B-Fighter would have been the fourth, and scenes from that would have been used in the potential third season of VR Troopers. Unfortunately for VR Troopers, Saban opted to cancel the aforesaid series altogether, and they made another show from B-Fighter. The fact that VR Troopers’ toy sales were not living up to expectations did not help matters either. Thus, Big Bad BeetleBorgs was born, and VR Troopers was over.
