Adapted from the 1993 Japanese series Denkô chôjin Guriddoman, aired in the US as a competitor to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
‘Kilokahn’ was the name of a top-secret US military artificial intelligence project. When scientists felt the project was getting out of control, it was shut down and supposedly taken offline.
One day while surfing the internet, high school computer nerd Malcolm Fink (Glen Beaudin) finds traces of the program. While attempting to learn more about it, he accidentally activates the program and brings Kilokahn to life (voiced by Tim Curry) as a super-intelligent, evil virus that lives in computer circuits and seeks to rule the world by controlling computers.
Kilokahn strikes a Faustian deal with Malcolm and uses him as his pawn (he calls him “Malcolm meat-thing”) to help him create Mega Virus monsters to destroy computer circuits and any other connected electronic devices.
Sam Collins (Matthew Lawrence), Sydney Forrester (Robin Mary Florence), Amp (Troy Slaten) and Tanker (Kevin Castro) are teens at North Valley High School who are also members of the rock band Team Samurai.
Beautiful cheerleader Jennifer Doyle (Jayme Betcher) is the prettiest girl at the school and also Malcolm’s dream girl. When Malcolm learns that Sam is planning to ask Jennifer for a date “with my girl,” he uses his computer to interrupt a phone call from Sam to Jennifer. His attempts backfire, and a light emerges from Sam’s computer, which engulfs the group.
Sam is struck by an electronic beam that links his brain to his computer as ‘Servo’ – a champion who roams the digital world and fights the Mega Virus monsters. When Sam plays a power chord on his guitar he can digitise into Servo and enter his computer to battle Kilokahn.
Sydney (as ‘Vor’), Amp (as ‘Vitor’), and Tanker (as ‘Trackton’) help Sam via their digital warrior counterparts. Together, they form the Super Human Samurai Syber Squad. Each team member wears special body armour, and when all the parts are attached to Servo, he acquires the Samurai Synchro Body Suit to battle the monsters.
Kilokahn and Malcolm need each other. Kilokahn -“the overlord of the digital world” – operates at 400 megahertz and requires Malcolm’s computer wizardry to create the virus monsters. Malcolm, once shunned by everyone, hopes to become someone everyone notices – the ruler of the digital world.
After two months, Amp was replaced without explanation by Lucky London (Rembrandt Sabelis) in the episode ‘Give Till It Megahertz’.
The series is rife with Beatles references, ranging from movie quotes to song lyrics – a pet joke of writers Jymn Magon and Mark Zaslove.
Sam Collins/Servo
Matthew Lawrence Malcolm Frink
Glen Beaudin Amp Ere/Vitor
Troy Slaten Tanker/Trackton
Kevin Castro Sydney Forrester/Vor
Robin Mary Florence Jennifer Doyle
Jayme Betcher Principal Pratchett
John Wesley Mrs Starkey
Diana Bellamy Yolanda Pratchett
Kelli Kirkland Kilokahn (voice)
Tim Curry Elizabeth Collins
Kath Soucie Lucky London
Rembrandt Sabelis
Kilokahn strikes a Faustian deal with Malcolm and uses him as his pawn (he calls him “Malcolm meat-thing”) to help him create Mega Virus monsters to destroy computer circuits and any other connected electronic devices.
Sydney (as ‘Vor’), Amp (as ‘Vitor’), and Tanker (as ‘Trackton’) help Sam via their digital warrior counterparts. Together, they form the Super Human Samurai Syber Squad. Each team member wears special body armour, and when all the parts are attached to Servo, he acquires the Samurai Synchro Body Suit to battle the monsters.
