History Series / ReBootTheGuardianCode

To stop this new evil, [=VERA=] [[RecruitTeenagersWithAttitude recruits four teenagers]] to travel into the digital world and stop him. Their ''de facto'' leader, Austin (Creator/TyWood), is also the son of [=VERA=]'s creator and hopes to use the experience to discover more about his deceased father and the creations he left behind. Along with his nerdy friend Parker (Ajay Parikh-Friese), social media butterfly and popular vlogger Tamra (Sydney Scotia), exceptional and [[WellDoneSonGuy exceptionally put-upon]] athlete Trey (Gabriel Darku), and a newly-humanized teenage [=VERA=] (Hannah Vanderbygaart), these five must balance their personal lives with saving cyberspace from the Sourcerer.

* SpiritualSuccessor: The premise of ''The Guardian Code'' has more in common with several other series than it does with the original ''[=ReBoot=]'', namely ''WesternAnimation/{{MP4orce}}'', ''Series/SuperhumanSamuraiSyberSquad'', ''Series/VRTroopers'', and ''Series/{{Zixx}}''. The resemblance to ''[=MP4orce=]'' and ''Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad'' in particular is so uncanny that critics have noted that the series could have been retooled into a reboot of either series and it would probably work better.

''[=ReBoot=]: The Guardian Code'' is a CGI/Live-Action reimagining (or [[JustForPun reboot]], if you will) of the animated series ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot''.

The show aired its only season in 2018, divided into two half-seasons (marketed as Season 1 and 2), from March - September 2018 on Creator/{{Netflix}} and Creator/{{YTV}}.

* YouAreInCommandNow: Megabyte frequently kills his Alpha Sentinel and promotes one of the mooks to replace him.

The show aired its only season in 2018, divided into two half-seasons (marketed as Season 1 and 2), from March - July 2018 on Creator/{{Netflix}} and Creator/{{YTV}}.

* RealityEnsues:
** Unlike ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot's'' super-determined user, this shows how players would react if the [=NPCs=] in the game could outright cheat. When Parker decides to test out a blaster he designed on a ''VideoGame/ClashOfClans''-style mobile app, the kid whose game he's so rudely hijacked gives up in frustration, and that's before Megabyte takes over her castle and turns it into his new base.
** The Sourcerer hacks a cell phone network and runs a search for relevant keywords: "Guardian", "Megabyte", and "Sourcerer". This nets him calls about cell phone data plans, a private security company, and a ''sorcerer'', until he finally happens upon Parker's cell phone. Even then, he twice ignores it because the words are so common he assumes they aren't specifically referring to his activities.

* WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld: At least in this case, their lair is on school grounds.

To stop this new evil, [=VERA=] [[RecruitTeenagersWithAttitude recruits four teenagers]] to travel into the digital world and stop him. Their ''de facto'' leader, Austin (Ty Wood), is also the son of [=VERA=]'s creator and hopes to use the experience to discover more about his deceased father and the creations he left behind. Along with his nerdy friend Parker (Ajay Parikh-Friese), social media butterfly and popular vlogger Tamra (Sydney Scotia), exceptional and [[WellDoneSonGuy exceptionally put-upon]] athlete Trey (Gabriel Darku), and a newly-humanized teenage [=VERA=] (Hannah Vanderbygaart), these five must balance their personal lives with saving cyberspace from the Sourcerer.

Teased on and off over half-a-decade, ''The Guardian Code'' spent a long time in DevelopmentHell. Despite early test footage showcasing a more traditional and fully-[=CGI=] continuation about the lives of "little computer people", [[https://www.theverge.com/2015/6/17/8789383/reboot-show-guardian-code-tv-remake the studio couldn't attract the required investors and shelved the project until it was revamped into its current incarnation,]] which takes more inspiration from {{Toku}} series.

* GenericDoomsdayVillain: The Sourcerer has no apparent motivation for his villainy, seemingly doing it for no other reason than because he can. [[spoiler:It's then revealed that the reason this is is because he's been infected with dark code while in the web. As such, this is a JustifiedTrope, as dark code is only driven by a need to destroy. And now, so is the Sourcerer.]]

* SeriesContinuityError: Despite dialogue treating ''The Guardian Code'' as a sequel to the original series, there are numerous inconsistencies between the two shows.
** Megabyte sports his original appearance and no mention is made [[spoiler: of his new shapeshifting powers in season 4]].
** Hexadecimal is shown to still be living in Lost Angles at the end of Season 1, every bit as evil and deranged as she was originally. In the original series, [[spoiler:having been healed both physically and mentally, she performed a HeelFaceTurn and, later, a HeroicSacrifice to save the Net from Daemon at the end of the first movie]].
* SpiritualSuccessor:
** The premise of the show has more in common with ''Series/{{Zixx}}'', another show that deals with teens going into a CGI animated world to combat a threat. Mainframe themselves provided the animation for the show's second and third seasons.
** Given the history of Michael Hefferon's works, the premise seems very similar to another show he made, ''{{WesternAnimation/MP4orce}}'', to the point where one can conclude that it fits better as a reboot to that series than ''Reboot''.
** Detractors have noticed the similarities to ''Series/SuperhumanSamuraiSyberSquad'' and ''Series/VRTroopers''. The resemblance to the former is so uncanny that critics have noted that the series could have been retooled into a [[OverlyLongGag reboot]] of either series. Particularly not escaping is how The Sourcerer is an analog to Malcolm Frink and Megabyte is an analog to Kilokhan.
* StrictlyFormula: Most episodes follows the same pattern: The Guardians are in the middle of some school activity, The Sourcerer or Megabyte infects a website, the Guardians enter cyberspace to take care of it, then DIS takes all the credit when the day is saved.
* TechnologyMarchesOn: In-universe, [[spoiler:the original Mainframe shows up, having been installed in Room 0 by Austin's father. It still works, and the old gang is still there. This proves problematic when the new Guardians are trapped in one of the old games and find their tech isn't backward-compatible with the antiquated software. Fortunately, Bob still works just fine and Parker happens to remember a cheat code]].

* SeriesContinuityError: Despite dialogue treating ''The Guardian Code'' as a sequel to the original series, there are numerous inconsistencies between the two shows. For instance, its implied that the Sourcerer [[Spoiler: [[{{Pun}} rebooted]] the original Mainframe in the SeriesFauxNale; restoring all characters to the condition they were in season 1 of the original series.]]

In a hidden lab in the basement of Alan Turing High, an artificial intelligence named [=VERA=][[labelnote:*]]''[[FunWithAcronyms Virtual Evolutionary Recombinant Avatar]]''[[/labelnote]] watches over cyberspace. When its stability and security is threatened by a deranged hacker [[NoNameGiven known only as "The Sourcerer"]], [=VERA=] [[RecruitTeenagersWithAttitude recruits four teenagers]] to travel into the digital world and stop him. Their ''de facto'' leader, Austin (Ty Wood), is also the son of [=VERA=]'s creator and hopes to use the experience to discover more about his deceased father and the creations he left behind. Along with his nerdy friend Parker (Ajay Parikh-Friese), social media butterfly and popular vlogger Tamra (Sydney Scotia), exceptional and [[WellDoneSonGuy exceptionally put-upon]] athlete Trey (Gabriel Darku), and a newly-humanized teenage [=VERA=] (Hannah Vanderbygaart), these five must balance their personal lives with saving cyberspace from the Sourcerer and his viral army.

And to lead that viral army, the Sourcerer has resurrected the very dangerous (and very familiar) virus known as Megabyte to ravage the Net once more.

Teased on and off over half-a-decade, ''The Guardian Code'' spent a long time in DevelopmentHell. Despite early test footage showcasing a more traditional and fully-[=CGI=] continuation about the lives of "little computer people", [[https://www.theverge.com/2015/6/17/8789383/reboot-show-guardian-code-tv-remake the studio couldn't attract the required investors and shelved the project until it was revamped into its current incarnation,]] which takes more inspiration from {{Toku}} series than ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory''.

%%* CliffhangerCopout: Big time. The show even tries to justify this trope in-universe (see the YMMV and Trivia sections for further details).

* SeriesContinuityError: Despite dialogue treating ''The Guardian Code'' as a sequel to the original series, there are numerous inconsistencies between the two shows (unless they were intentional because the Sourcerer [[{{Pun}} rebooted]] the original mainframe, restoring all characters to the condition they were in season 1 of the original series):
** At the end of the original series, Megabyte had successfully taken control of Mainframe's Principal Office, telling Bob and the rest of Mainframe to "Prepare [themselves] for the hunt". There is no mention of this at all in ''The Guardian Code''.
** Megabyte was upgraded towards the end of the original series, giving him a more organic appearance and the ability to disguise himself as other sprites. Here, he sports his original appearance before being upgraded again, which gives him a skeletal appearance. No mention is made of his shapeshifting powers.
** Hexadecimal is shown to still be living in Lost Angles at the end of Season 1, every bit as evil and deranged as she was originally, despite her having been healed both physically and mentally, performing a HeelFaceTurn, being converted into a sprite, and most notably, performing a HeroicSacrifice and ''dying'' to save the Net from Daemon by the end of the original series.

** The premise of the show has more in common with ''Series/{{Zixx}}'', another show that deals with teens going into a CGI animated world to combat a threat, than it does with the original ''Reboot''.

** And of course, detractors have noticed the similarities to ''Series/SuperhumanSamuraiSyberSquad'' and ''Series/VRTroopers''. The resemblance to the former is so uncanny that critics have noted that the reboot could be retooled into a [[OverlyLongGag reboot]] of said series instead and ''it would work better that way.'' Particularly not escaping is how The Sourcerer is an analog to Malcolm Frink and Megabyte is an analog to Kilokhan.

* UnexplainedRecovery: Hexadecimal died in a HeroicSacrifice to stop Daemon from corrupting the Net in the original series. Here, she's perfectly fine, as well as back to being evil, for no discernible reason.

* GenericDoomsdayVillain: The Sourcerer has no apparent motivation for his villainy, seemingly doing it for no other reason than because he can.