Cyberchase: Difference between revisions

[[File:Cyberchase_8501.jpg|frame]]

 

 

The series revolves around a trio of kids, Jackie, Inez, and Matt, and their robotic bird friend (known as a "cyboid") Digit, who go [[Inside the Internet]]. They have been called upon by Motherboard to help defend and repair Cyberspace from the evil schemes of The Hacker, who is not a [[Playful Hacker|playful one]], or even human, but an evil cyborg whose goal is to conquer all of Cyberspace and spread chaos. The Hacker used to be Motherboard's assistant; however, he tried to destroy her by downloading a virus into her. Luckily, her firewall was able to stop the damage from being too severe, but still left her in a weakened state, thus forcing her to recruit Jackie, Matt, and Inez from Earth to help defend Cyberspace.

On PBS airings, the episodes end with a live-action segment (called "Cyberchase For Real"), where a pair of recurring characters (Harry and Bianca) and their [[Goldfish Poop Gang|recurring nemeses]] (Harley and Sleazé) demonstrate how the episode's math lesson can be used in their own lives.

 

 

* [[Alphabet Soup Cans]]

* [[And Call Him George]]: Delete wants a bunny he can love, keep, and call George.

* [[Art Shift]]: The sixth season transitioned to [[Adobe Flash|Flash]] animation.

** Inez being called "short" or "tiny".

** Inez being called "Nezzie," although this usually only applies to Matt.

*[[Beat]]* }}

** Matt, whenever Slider [[Hilarity Ensues|shows him up]].

* [[Butt Monkey]]: Harry in the ''Cyberchase for Real'' sketches. Toned down in the later seasons.

* [[Catch Phrase]]: Jackie's "Make room! I gotta pace!" when she needs to think.

* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: Matt and his yo-yos. Jackie and her hair scrunchy.

* [[Chekhov's Skill]]: Digit is a cook. Slider is good with tools.

* [[Cyberspace]]: Duh

* [[Dead Hat Shot]]: [[Played With]] in the odds episode, as the Hacker is deceived in this manner. When Matt's [[Iconic Item|yo-yo]] outside one of two doors, the Hacker believes the cybersquad had been launched into cyberspace and chooses to go through the other door. ''He'' winds up getting launched into cyberspace instead as the protagonists watch from a safe distance before admitting [[Gambit Roulette|they were merely guessing which door would launch the unlucky opener into cyberspace at random]].

* [[Diabolus Ex Machina]]

* [[Dilating Door]]: In the episode where the Cybersquad meets Ava, the very impractical door that they use to get into the factory.

* [[Elevator Floor Announcement]]

* [[Elvis Impersonator]]: Hacker in one episode, when he became [[Punny Name|the King]] of Happily-Ever-After.

* [[Enemy Mine]]: The final episode {{spoiler|due to the series no longer in production at least according to PBS Kids Go! despite getting a relaunch on their website}} has the Cybersquad teaming up with Hacker to defeat Ledge.

* [[Evil Redhead]]: Wicked

** Inez and Jackie. In certain episodes when they travel to very cold or snowy cybersites, both girls are well protected at least from the waist up, but Inez still wears shorts. And if you thought that was bad, Jackie still wears an even tinier skirt, which leaves the majority of her legs open to freezing temperatures!

** Even Cyber-citizens have this too sometimes.

* [[Eye Glasses]]: Inez

* [[Fantastic Measurement System]]: The show occasionally refers to distances or lengths in [[American Customary Measurements|"cybermiles" and "cyberinches"]], and weights in "cybergrams". However, the occasional mention of "inches", "meters", etc. (without the "cyber-" prefix) is seen.

* [[Fat and Skinny]]: Buzz (short and stout) and Delete (thin)

* [[Harmless Villain]]

* [[Face Heel Turn]]: Before the events of the pilot, [[Big Bad|Hacker]] turned against Motherboard.

** Jules and Matt, one-sided on Jules' part

** There's some strong tension between Matt and Slider too.

* [[Lantern Jaw of Justice]]: Inverted with the Hacker. Just ''look'' at that thing.

* [[Large Ham]]: Hacker. Jackie also has a habit of announcing that they're "DOOMED!" very loudly.

'''Matt''': [[Lampshade Hanging|And the award for best dramatic outburst of the day goes to... Jackie!]] }}

* [[Leitmotif]]: Listen for a soft techno beat when the kids go into educational mode. Familiar to those with dial-up Internet.

** Crisis Zone.

** Buzz and Delete's theme.

* [[MacGuffin]]: the Encryptor Chip, at least in the early seasons

* [[Magic Skirt]]: Jackie's small blue skirt/skort.

* [[Pet the Dog]]: Anytime Hacker decides to show he has a heart.

* [[Pig Latin]]: In "Codename: Icky" when Matt (attempts) to use a code to talk to Inez and Jackie

* [[Planet of Hats]]: Pretty much every cybersite. Perhaps [[Justified]] in that they're based off websites.

* [[Polly Wants a Microphone]]

* [[Power Trio]] and [[Token Trio]], varied by having two girls.

* [[Pull the Thread]]

* [[Running Gag]]: Hacker's wig gel, all of the Earth kids' catchphrases, Wicked's jealousy, Sam Vander Rom and Erica Ram

** And most of these eventually get [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]]

** Inez is about as sesquipedalian as a nine-year old can get.

** Creech can get like this too. In fact, it's how they met in the Tikiville race episode. Matt and Jackie decided to make fun of Inez's vocabulary which led to her quitting the Cybersquad temporarily and working with Creech for most of Creech's introduction episode.

** Mr. Zero laments that people think he is a [[The Beatles|nowhere man]].

** [[Harry Potter|Shari Spotter and Professor Stumblesnore]]; also the episode title "Harriet Hippo and the Mean Green"

** Ada Lovelace → Lady Ada Byron Lovelace

* [[Sixth Ranger]]: Slider, who appears occasionally with the others.

* [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism]]: Falls firmly on the idealistic side, with occasional forays into cynic territory for about 5 minutes.

* [[Status Quo Is God]]: Immediately after major events (like Hacker taking control from Motherboard for a time), everything goes straight back to the kids foiling Hacker's plans

* [[Stephanie Beard]]: as Creech

* [[Summon Everyman Hero]]: Three Earth kids sent [[Inside the Internet]].

* [[Team Pet]]: Digit to a certain extent.

* [[Three Amigos]]: Except in this case, it's made up of two girls and one boy.

* [[Trademark Favorite Food]]: Donuts for Buzz.

* [[Turned Against Their Masters]]: Dr. Marbles built Hacker. Hacker built Digit.

* [[Twofer Token Minority]]: The entire human cast. We've got a black girl, a Hispanic girl, and -- oddly enough for this genre -- the sole male human is also white.

* [[Ultimate Job Security]]: Motherboard, Dr. Marbles

* [[Unholy Matrimony]]: Wicked and Hacker are like this

* [[Unspoken Plan Guarantee]]

* [[Vanishing Village]]

** In one episode, the drum player from one of the best bands on Mount Olympus was kidnapped and convinced by Hacker that he'd be better appreciated as a solo act. The rest of the team were already thinking of of dumping him, as they didn't think that he added anything to the band. Turned out, he was the most important member, since he seems to be the only one who can keep the proper rhythm pattern (the day's lesson) and without him, the music was awful. The band player is eventually convinced to come back and he reunites with his bandmates, who finally realize how important he is.

* [[Western Animation]]

* [[Xanatos Gambit]]: Hacker bids against the kids for the Encryptor Chip at an auction, but the kids manage to take it. Then they find out that {{spoiler|Hacker modified the chip to infect Motherboard, replacing her with a copy of himself}}.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Robert Tinkler]]

[[Category:Science Fiction Western Animation]]

[[Category:Edutainment Show]]

[[Category:Western Animation]]

[[Category:Nelvana]]