Reviews WesternAnimation / Turbo Teen

A limited premise used to its (unintentionally) hilarious potential

Here's the premise: a teenager (Brett) changes into a car (named Turbo Teen) whenever he gets hot, and back into a human whenever he gets cold. And, along with his friends, They Fight Crime. Just imagine the possibilities!

The show does everything it can with the premise. When in a prison cell, Brett is given a mop and hot water and told to clean up. He instead paints himself with the mop to change himself into a car and escape. In one scene where Turbo Teen has a device attached to him that allows the bad guys to "possess" and control him, one of his passengers uses a grappling hook to knock down a water tower so the water will splash Turbo Teen and change him back to human. When someone is kidnapped, Brett walks into a beauty parlor to use the machine that dries the hair so he can get warm and change into a car. When bad guys spray Turbo Teen in the front with ice to freeze him in place, only his front changes into a boy, leaving him to drag half of a car around with him. Fortunately, working up a sweat changes him completely into a car again. And let's not forget the time Brett breakdances at a party - all that exercise changes him into a car, whereupon he continues to "breakdance", spinning around on one wheel and bouncing, until he lands in a swimming pool and changes back to normal.

I wonder why this show ran for only 12 episodes?

The action scenes are absurd. Turbo Teen/Brett opens his hood to grab a pitchfork, then slams the hood shut and drives around using it as a weapon. He launches off a bridge to "grab" a helicopter and pull it out of the sky. He routinely drives sideways on only two wheels to fit into narrow hallways.

The show is hilarious, all the moreso for taking itself at face value. The transformation sequence is downright stupid looking, and dialog such as "I will prove that you are really a car!" is delivered completely deadpan. Plenty of people see Turbo Teen driving in inappropriate places, such as into a courtroom, and no-one seems to care.

There's too many unasked questions about how this would work in real life. Considering that Brett changes into a car at inopportune times, what kind of life does he lead? Don't take a hot shower, Brett! Better not go outside in the summer! Stay off the track team!

The premise is so limited and so absurd, the result just has to be seen.