Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad (for short, SSSS) is a television series produced by Tsuburaya Productions, Ultracom Inc. and DIC Productions, L.P., with distribution by All American Television. It ran for a duration of 53 episodes from September 12, 1994 to April 11, 1995 in syndication, as well as nationwide on WWOR EMI Service. It was an adaptation of the Japanese tokusatsu series Gridman the Hyper Agent.
Plot
High school student Sam Collins, the head of a band known as Team Samurai, is zapped during a recording session by a power surge and disappears, only to return seconds later with a strange device attached to his wrist which, at the time, is unremovable.
Later after his friends, Amp, Sydney, and Tanker leave, one of his video game programs, dubbed Servo, is subject to a power surge and zaps Sam again just after he has remarked "Cool battle armor!" - this time he is pulled into the digital world and transformed into his creation. As Servo, he roams the digital world and fights monsters dubbed Mega-Viruses which are capable of attacking any device on the electrical grid (including the grid itself), Internet or telephone network, usually having real-life consequences far beyond what any standard computer virus would be capable of achieving.
Meanwhile, Malcolm Frink, another student from Sam's school, is designing monsters on his home computer when Kilokahn, an escaped military artificial-intelligence program that was presumed destroyed in the power surge, visits him via his computer screen and strikes a Faustian deal with him, transforming his digital monster into a Mega-Virus.
Sam, now as Servo, must enter the digital world and stop Malcolm's and Kilokahn's Mega-Viruses. Sometimes, when Servo is unable to handle a virus by himself, he would enlist the help of his friends using his Arsenal Programs which could fight the viruses solo, transform, with the help of other Programs, and attach to Servo as armor. Since Team Samurai consists of only three people at any one time following Sam's disappearance, only three vehicles are available for use at any one time. When Servo combines with these Programs as armor, he changes his name to either Phormo once combined with Drago or Synchro once combined with Zenon.
Characters Team Samurai
Samuel "Sam" Collins / Servo (portrayed by Matthew Lawrence) - The frontman and guitarist of his band, Team Samurai. He is always willing to help anyone in need or be their friend and often vies for the attention of cheerleader Jennifer Doyle, having been in and out of relationships with her, sometimes even competing with Malcolm Frink for her affections. He even goes so far as to try to be friends with Malcolm, although Malcolm never returns the favor. He is clever and easygoing. He also loves his younger sister, Elizabeth, though often feels pestered by her shenanigans. Tanker (portrayed by Kevin Castro) - Sam's best friend, the band's drummer, and a somewhat stereotypical athlete. He is particularly adept at school sports, especially football. He has a crush on fellow Team Samurai member Sydney, especially admiring her for her intelligence. He always seems to have a large appetite, and as evidenced in the episode "A Break in the Food Chain", he goes crazy if he eats nothing for a duration. He also holds a particularly strong dislike for Malcolm Frink. In Syberspace, Tanker wears a black biker suit with a black helmet and transparent visor. Sydney "Syd" Forrester (portrayed by Robin Mary Florence) - The band's keyboard player and the brains of the group. She is one of North Valley High's brightest students, and often displays a caring personality. She is the object of Tanker's affection, and the two enjoy being together. In Syberspace, Sydney wears a pink biker suit with a gold helmet and transparent visor. Amp Ere (portrayed by Troy Slaten) - The team's so-called "space cadet" and the band's bass player. He has an unorthodox way of performing tasks, such as writing in a notebook using his toes or studying by eating book pages with milk and sugar. To enter Syberspace, he always uses a different phrase to be humorous. In Syberspace, Amp wears a helicopter helmet and leather jacket. It is later revealed that Amp is really an alien, at which point he returns to his home planet. Lucky London (portrayed by Rembrandt Sabelis) - A surfer and Amp's replacement in Team Samurai. His attitude is often laid-back, sometimes to the dismay of Principal Pratchert, and his level of intelligence appears to be about the same as that of Amp. In Syberspace, Lucky wears a red and white jet ski helmet with a black visor and life jacket.
Supporting characters Jennifer "Jen" Doyle (portrayed by Jayme Betcher) - Sam's on-again/off-again girlfriend and a cheerleader at North Valley High School. Malcolm tries to compete for her affections to no avail. In the alternate universe, Jen is a genius who helps Sam get back to his normal universe. Principal Pratchert (portrayed by John Wesley) - The school principal who is usually strict, particularly when dealing with antics caused by either Sam or Malcolm. In "Pratchert's Radical Departure", it is revealed that Pratchert used to be a hippie when he was younger as Malcolm uses this to his advantage by creating a Mega-Virus monster that makes him think he was a hippie again. Mrs. Rimba "Cha-Cha" Starkey (portrayed by Diana Bellamy) - A lunch lady who often cracks jokes relating to the poor quality of the food she serves, such as enjoying her hobby of riding her motorcycle and being married multiple times. She is the only faculty member in North Valley High School who does not like Malcolm. Yolanda "Yoli" Pratchert (portrayed by Kelli Kirkland) - The principal's daughter and Jennifer's closest friend. She is North Valley High School's student council president, a position she temporarily loses in "The President's a Frink" when Malcolm cheats his way into office. In "What Rad Universe!", an alternate dimension version of Yolanda finds companionship in Kilokahn, taking the place of Malcolm. Elizabeth "Liz" Collins (voiced by Kath Soucie) - Sam's "unseen" younger sister who communicates with her brother off-screen through a laundry chute connected from the upstairs. She always plays pranks on her older brother, usually dropping things on top of him through the chute. Liz has shown she does care for Sam and drops a ton of cookies to share with him. Elizabeth Anderson (portrayed by Gayle Anderson) - A newscaster who reports on the Mega-Virus Monsters.
Villains Kilokahn (voiced by Tim Curry) - Short for "Kilometric Knowledge-base Animate Human Nullity", Kilokahn is a military artificial intelligence program who unleashes computer viruses to attack major computer systems. He derisively refers to humans as "meat-things". He considers himself the ruler of the digital world and also wishes to take over the real world (Earth) starting with its computer network. Malcolm Frink (portrayed by Glen Beaudin) - A loner who finds companionship in Kilokahn. Using a special program, he designs the Mega-Viruses, which are brought to life by Kilokahn. Sam sees that Malcolm is alone and tries to strike up a friendship with him, but Malcolm rejects his offers stating that he likes being alone. In the alternate universe, Malcolm is a generous and caring person who likes to help people, unlike the alternate Yoli who takes pleasure from harming others.
Mega-Virus Monsters The Mega-Virus Monsters are Kaiju-like computer viruses produced by Malcolm and given sentience by Kilokahn. Malcolm creates the Mega-Viruses since Kilokahn lacks the ability. Only a few Mega-Viruses have the power of speech.
Kathod - The first virus that Servo ever fought after Malcolm first met Kilokahn. Kathod is a long-tailed turtle-like creature with the ability to generate fireballs at will. Blink - An armored cycloptic Mega-Virus with skilled fighting techniques. Blink wields twin sticks that he can merge into a double-edged combat stick. Trembulor - A large black spike-covered Mega-Virus with the ability to shake wildly, causing tremors in Syberspace. Thorned Virus - A pink dinosaur-like Mega-Virus with leaf veins patterned throughout its body. It is able to shoot white powder from its mouth. Krono - A diamond-backed dinosaur-like Mega-Virus with the ability to fire blue beams from its mouth. Plexton - A dinosaur-like Mega-Virus with fire abilities. Cronick - An arthropod-like Mega-Virus made from a chromium alloy with a bladed left arm and a pincer-like right arm. On its chest is a red jewel that unleashes a barrier when struck. Skorn (voiced by Neil Ross) - A ninja-like Mega-Virus, deemed as perhaps the smartest of viruses, second-in-command to Kilokahn, and one of the few Mega-Virus capable of speech. He wields different weapons in battle, such as a sword, and a pair of nunchaku (which he also turned into a bo). Skorn is also able to clone himself. Kord - A giant reptilian Mega-Virus with a camera-like eye, blinding floodlights on his back, two tails, and magnetic plates. Kord is able to shoot fireballs of up to 10,000 degrees Celsius and can heat his shell at will. Gramm - A dinosaur-like Mega-Virus with ice abilities and the sister of Plexton. Sucker Virus - A dinosaur-like Mega-Virus with a large mouth containing coils. Skeleton Virus - A Ceratopsian-like Mega-Virus with skeletal armor. Unnamed Virus #1 - A draconic Mega-Virus that is sent into a fortune-telling game to turn everyone into the opposite of what their future would be. Hock - A green aardvark/dinosaur-like Mega-Virus with tough armor, a pair of sword gauntlets on both arms, and a sickle-tipped tail. Sybo (voiced by Glen Beaudin) - An orange dinosaur-like Mega-Virus with six spike-like appendages. In the episode "Mal-Kahn-Tent", Kilokahn takes over Malcolm's body and traps Malcolm's consciousness in Sybo's body. After Sybo is destroyed by Servo, Malcolm returns to his original body. In later episodes, Sybo appears without Malcolm's mind. Troid - A blue Pterodactylus-like Mega-Virus with the ability to become invisible. Unnamed Virus #2 - A robotic salamander/Stegosaur-like Mega-Virus used by Malcolm to knock out the world's electricity in "Hello Darkness, My Old Friend". The virus later appears in the episodes "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Virus" and "Pratchert's Radical Departure". Sydney's Virus - In the episode "Pride Goeth Before a Brawl", Kilokahn gives up on Malcolm and decides to enlist Sydney in his place. Kilokahn coerces Sydney into creating a Mega-Virus, which turns out to be a timid, peach-colored creature with a head on its abdomen. Kilokahn later shows Malcolm what Sydney created, and Malcolm attempts to make the virus truly evil, giving her an upgrade in the form of a black, rhinoceros-like head. The virus attempts to apologize to Sydney, only to be eliminated by Phormo. Nightmare Virus - A stag beetle/dinosaur-like Mega-Virus with a large shell and tentacle-like arms. Rock n' Roll Virus (voiced by Jess Harnell) - A dinosaur-like Mega-Virus with a delinquent theme who turns Mrs. Starkey into a heavy rock and roll maniac in "Rock n' Roll Virucide". Smog Virus - A black dinosaur-like Mega-Virus with two tails from which it can emit deadly red smog. Stupid Virus (voiced by Neil Ross) - A black dinosaur-like Mega-Virus similar in appearance to Skeleton. Manfu - A dark green hunchbacked reptilian Mega-Virus whose head is embedded in his abdomen. His horns can emit blasts of electricity. Nexor - A Hercules beetle/dinosaur-like Mega-Virus with pincer-like horns. Raedon - A Mega-Virus resembling Troid that can emit deadly lasers from its wings. Unnamed Virus #3 - This virus was not officially named on the show, but he very much resembled a non-armored version of Krono. This version has a light bulb-like structure on his head.
Production