Turbo Teen

Storyline

80s cartoons were known for having odd premises, and Turbo Teen was no different. The fusion of a boy and his car brought many odd memories, but also the potential for exciting storylines, yet oddly enough this series only lasted one season. Bret Matthews, a high school journalism student, famously drove his modified Trans Am off the road and into a top secret laboratory where Dr. Chase's molecular transfer ray was being fired. The resulting collision combined both patterns of matter and allowed for conversion between them when a temperature threshold was reached. Thus, Bret could transform into the car when he became too hot, and likewise reverted to his human form when below that threshold. As the car, which Bret's friends named Turbo Teen, Bret could do super human feats. The most notable ability was the Turbo Thrust, a jet-pack based thruster that allowed TT to jump, rapidly accelerate, and fly through most obstacles. As a human, however, Bret was also fairly clever, using his journalism background to solve most mysteries. A main plot point of the series involved a rogue scientist named Dark Rider who secretly worked at Dr. Chase's laboratory (spoiler alert.) Dark Rider often stole the best devices of Dr. Chase and other scientists, though oddly never stole the MTR (molecular transfer ray.) Driving around in a large monster truck known as Big Six (the series never identified it by name) Dark Rider did everything he could to capture TT, thinking that the vehicle was operated by a then-unprecedented supercomputer and a unique form of A.I. Dark Rider was never able to capture TT directly, but he occasionally succeeded in capturing his friends, or his dog Rusty. A secondary plot of the series was the goal of attempting to return Bret to normal. This was never more than a strict side plot, as Bret always found a use for his shapeshifting abilities while fighting crime. Several themes reoccurred during the series' brief run. Overcoming obstacles and turning a hindrance into an ally, specifically the limitations of Bret's accidently transforming into Turbo Teen in varying situations while managing to use the abilities of the vehicle to help his friends, or by transforming back into his human form in order to break the hold of a controlling force. Bret's friends Pattie Jones and Alex Carter often used slapstick and silly costumes to aid their shapeshifting friend, often resulting in the comedic content. What ultimately killed the show, however, was a combination of things. First, a lack of consistency in TT's abilities and the ineffectiveness of Dark Rider as a villain made the children's show fail to evoke any emotional or practical relationship with the characters. Plus, Bret's own humanity was never addressed - the sudden transformation would certainly put a damper on hormonal changes in a teenager, for example - and the limitations of living a daily life were never put on display. Bret's ability to overcome his transformation and fight crime could've been addressed better, but again this was never allowed to fully develop. In the end, it was his transformation itself that created the most controversy. While a boy who transforms into a car should be an interesting premise - it is shown that most boys often are interested in cars and fighting crime - the union of the two concepts was never embraced by audiences and was accepted as too far out to believe. The theme of the show instead focused on the car's inconsistent abilities, not Bret's ability to cope with them and truly find a way to use them to overcome adversity.