Super Force

Plot synopsis:
Astronaut Zachary Stone (Ken Olandt) returns from his acclaimed deep-space mission to Mars to find that his brother, a police officer, has been murdered and the criminals responsible are still at large. Frustrated at the seeming lack of concern or progress by the police, Zach takes it upon himself to find the killer(s) and bring them to justice, joining the Metroplex Police Department as a detective.
After his first failed attempt almost leads to his death in the Metroplex "Crime Zone," Zach is approached by F.X. Spinner (Larry B. Scott), a research scientist at Hungerford Industries who has developed a prototype suit of space armor that will never be used due to lack of funding. After the murder of Hungerford Industries founder E. B. Hungerford (Patrick Macnee), also a close friend of the Stone family, Zach convinces F.X. to modify the suit for combat purposes. Combined with a prototype motorcycle, the two form the backbone of the vigilante crime-fighting team called "Super Force," ably assisted by the Hungerford Computer (voiced by Macnee), an artificial intelligence computer created from a blend of Hungerford's personal records, psychological profile and company files.
During Season Two, Zach added limited psychic powers to his crime-fighting repertoire, the result of his near-death experience in the final episode of Season One. Also joining the Super Force team that season was Esper Division police officer Zander Tyler (Musetta Vander).
The Super Force suit was created and built by Robert Short, who also created the red suit worn by John Wesley Shipp in the live-action TV series The Flash. A recurring villain in Season One, Satori, was played by G. Gordon Liddy, the man made famous for planning the Watergate break.

Tags: sci-fi

Review:
Silly & Cliche, but fun at the time..
I remember watching this show as a kid, I watched it regularly, and even then realizing how silly it was.The basic concepts of the show changed over time.
At first, it was the tale of a former astronaut who wears a suit of super-armor and fights crime.
That really didn't change.
However, his patron, the powerful Mr. Hungerford, was a computer with the mind of the founder of a big megacorp.
It was explained in the beginning of the series that his personal records, psychological profile and company files were all blended together to create an AI that had the mind of Mr. Hungerford, a main character of the show even did it in that episode.
The AI didn't exist at the very beginning of the show.
Of course, later in the show when it became all about psychics and strange pseudo-science we find out that all along what "really" happened was a psychic helped him upload his mind into the computer (never mind that he was dead and buried in the first episode, when he supposedly hired this psychic).The show sank to self parody pretty easily.
In one episode about a billion-dollar lottery giveaway (which was just an excuse for a clip show as characters stood around in a bar reminiscing about former adventures and what they would do if they won the lottery), they even have a little girl come up and thank the hero for saving her mommy from a cult a while back.
It was a painfully overdone cliche of the show that some charismatic man with questionable powers was leading some ominous cult that ol' Super Force rides in on with his motorcycle and power-armor and saves the day.
In the second season, the show became all about psychics, as our hero has a near death experience and comes back with psychic superpowers that make him impossible to hit and lets him see through walls, and throw in a psychic regular character.
The second season ended on a cliffhanger where Super Force had his mind destroyed by a gadget and presumably they were going to fix that in the third season, that never came, so it ended as mindlessly as it lived.Presumably it's future politics were meant as satire.
When one of the characters wins said Billion Dollar Lottery, we find that in 2020 there is a 101% income tax on incomes of One Billion Dollars or more, so the winner gets no winnings, and owes the government 10 Million Dollars too.
Oh, and in 2020 there is free welfare for all that lets people live without working if they choose, but nobody wants it because everybody has a good work ethic and doesn't want something-for-nothing.
I'll presume these were the creators attempts at social commentary.It had huge, epic battles that were just a guy in a suit and some buff bodybuilder doing wrestling moves out in a field or next to what seemed like a city reservoir or something.
All the aliens looked exactly like humans, the more outrageous ones might have white hair or bright blue eyes!
Oh, and alien bounty hunters have anti-matter storage canisters the size of coke-cans that can supposedly destroy the Earth in one blast, but when they try and use it, it's defective so it doesn't work and the Earth is saved.
I don't even want to think about how a defective anti-matter storage device prevents it from exploding.It was fun to watch as a little kid, but I do wonder what kind of tiny budget the show was made on to have such cheesy effects and makeup, lame plots and lack of continuity between episodes.
The suit and bike were cool, and that was probably most of the budget for the show right there..
I remember this.
It sure was lot of fun watching this when I was a kid.Robot suite, armored motorcycle and laser beams delivered testosterone action so needed in that age.Theme for the show was downright great and always maked me warm inside because I knew that a new villain will be defeated tonight(kids,ha?).
Anyway you will have great fun if you find this showing somewhere on TV.
Have a blast!.
I loved this show as a kid and still do!!!!!!!.
Now this is one show i remember watching as a kid and wish that some station out there would put it back on the air!.
I loved the show for not only the awesome looking suite that Super Force had but also the them music i still to this day have never forgotten.
I finally found the first two episodes on video which are basically tied into one movie.
Anyways i only hope that one day this show will resurface but after 10 years my hopes are running out.Also though if you liked this show as i did then you can find copies of the Super Force VHS tape on ebay or Half.Com, but its Out of Print so the price might be kinda high but that all depends on the seller.
My suit only has subtle pin-stripes....
I can't remember much from this show, but it happened to creep into my mind this morning.
Like the previous reviewer, I remember the "Toy Store" intro.
I remember several "fake commercial" type introductions in this show.
There have been and will always be cheesy shows like "Super Force.
"  The fact is, if you don't take them seriously, they can be a lot of fun!.
Turbo Force.
Armored superheroes are always interesting, their pretty much our modern day equivalent to the medieval knights.
It's probably because of the small feeling of invulnerability but mainly that they give you the ability and opportunity to take action.This is an under the radar gem and another childhood relic of mine, I saw this when I was about 8 and the idea of seeing a technologically armored hero blew my mind at the time.This show sort of predates the "Iron Man" films and a bit of the current TV show "Arrow" in a way, yeah it's not a new concept but it done right.
The show was done on a modest budget but it was used well, the effects are on par though some of them look a bit dated, this was a show made in the early 90's what can you really expect.
The theme song is very good, it fits the show it has that heroic tune, along with some of the music in the show which is also fun.The pacing is good, the characters are solid if not deep.
Zachary Stone/Super Force is a solid protagonist, I like that he's a hero and superhero at the same time which is something I don't feel is done much.
In the day time he's a regular detective which is his hero role and I like that he has a practical charisma, and by night of course he's Super Force so that's his super hero role he's has a dry sort of charisma.
I think it's an interesting acting feet because it really feels not just like he's playing off two different persona's but almost two different people.
Which makes perfect sense, if your going to be a superhero you wouldn't want anyone to really guess who you are.Even like supporting character F.X. Spinner played well by Larry B.
Scott, and yes I watched "Revenge of the Nerds" he was one of my favorite characters.
I like that he's a nerd but he's not a stereotypical one, he's kinda cool he's got charisma but most importantly he's a hero as well, at times he not just looks up info for Zack/Super Force as well create gadgets (like Q for James Bond) or fix/improve on the suits functions but he sometimes takes a proactive role at times.
And I like the back and forth between both of them so there is kinda a buddy cop element.However it's the action that really makes the show and the action I think is very good, it's choreographed well and the effects as I mentioned are on par because most to all are practical.
I even like the atmosphere in the show which is fun and dark at the same time.
The design of the suit is great looks almost like a futuristic samurai from the shape of the helmet, but also the bike as well and the weapons.
He's sort of like the Japanese Superhero "Karmen Rider" whom is also armored and rides a motor bike.
It's always such a joy seeing him use them and he uses them well depending on what the situation dictates.The only bad thing about the show was the second season when they were trying to introduces radical new elements like aliens and the supernatural which I thought was a turn in the wrong direction and just completely out of place (let alone out of whack).
They really should of keep this film in it's previous direction because that wrong direction sadly was what made the show come to a screeching halt.Overall, this was a solid sci-fi show that is worth a test drive and personally wouldn't mind seeing a revival for.
Super Force has a lot of speed and force.Rating: 3 stars.
THE ORB!!!!.
THE ORB!!!!.
I was 11 when this was on TV, but I'll never forget a few scenes.
One was a pre-intro scene (the scene before the opening credits and first commercial break roll), in a Toy Store.
I SWEAR it looked like a toy store commercial.
I really thought it was just another commercial.
Then this evil dude bulldozes the thing down.
I was like, YES!!!
Then I realized it was the start of the show.Anyway, that's not what is funny.
What is FUNNY CHEESY is Superforce has so many hidden gadgets in his suit, almost like Inspector Gadget (HA!) There was one scene where the sides of his helmet opened up and out of each side a missile emerged and shot the bad guy.
Guess what that means!
NO ROOM FOR A BRAIN!!!
HAHAHAHA!!!The BEST OF ALL THOUGH, was one episode where the weapon in question was an orb.
The Orb would hover, then chase down its victim at high speeds, then crash into his temple, so that half the orb was visible, and the other half buried in the bloody head.
The run away from orb scenes were SOOO funny.Anyway, I digress.
There's no point because no one will ever see this again, unless some mook taped and kept all the episodes..
The Super Force that was and could have been..
The Super Force that was and could have been..
I was 13 the year 'Super Force' debuted.
Wow, I thought this show was awesome.
It had cool stuff that all action/sci-fi fans identified with.
Decent butt-kicking in every episode, interesting technology and gadgets, a motorcycle (and jumps through windows) likely inspired by 'Street Hawk' and a strength enhancing power suit with bullet-stopping capability.
What wasn't to like?
The answer to that was: attention to detail, poor (or no) continuity and plot progression and overall poor scripts episode after episode.
I only caught about eight episodes before my local network pulled it and it disappeared into obscurity.
Fastforward twenty-two years and "Helloooo Youtube".
I read the review from wingsandsword before I watched all "available episodes" from season 1.
Then...I had to stop watching.The show's low budget is now painfully clear.
It was a show that couldn't live up to it's potential.
It needed better planning before production ever began, at least two more writers and possibly one or two technology consultants, and I believe it needed a one-hour runtime instead of the thirty minutes it was allotted per weekly episode.
Just by watching the first episode of the four-part pilot you can tell that- A.
Few people had any visions of what technology and space travel would be like ten years into the future much-less the thirty when it was set and- B.
Nobody really cared much about believability.
The spacecraft used for Zach Stone's Mars mission is an outdated capsule rather than a large multi-person space vessel, and his hero's welcome parade took place in what appears to be a warehouse.
Things never got better.
I finished watching the first season to satisfy the kid in me but I wouldn't watch any more because I knew it was only going to get worse.!SPOILER IMEDIATELY AHEAD!In the final episode of season one the Super Force suit malfunctions after an upgrade went untested.
Zach Stone fell into a coma and then died.
Now, anyone with half a mind for a quality TV production would have known that this would have been the time to shut down the series and review what went wrong and where it could go should it get a second season.
This was the perfect time to reboot the series, and it could have been rebooted right back into itself with a bigger budget, consultants, writers and the one-hour runtime it needed for proper working order.
Here's my idea for episode 1 of season two: Zach Stone could have woken from a coma aboard a space-station to discover that Super Force had been nothing but a dream and that one of the other astronauts aboard his spacecraft saved the entire crew instead of him.
Suffering from dual memories Zach returns to Earth to find the people he thought he knew are not the same people.
F.X. Spinner is the majority shareholder of Spinner Industries.
Teo Satori is the head of RnD (or basically F.X.'s original role).
Frank Stone never disappeared and Zach's father is alive, although he is in the hospital and is dying from some incurable ailment.
E.B. Hungerford is the police commissioner but he is more concerned with his own interests rather than the public's.
With significant spaceflight missions canceled for the next year Zach decides to follow in the footsteps of his father and brother and commits to the police academy.
Throw in a terrorist organization, some organized crime activities and a scheme or two from Hungerford to prompt a need for the Super Force suit (and design a suit with a better looking helmet) and you now have the new 'Super Force'.'Super Force' was just too cool to have failed because so few people cared enough to make it into what it could/should have been.
I almost cried when I decided to stop watching.
They ruined my show and I now choose to believe that my idea above is how things actually happened.
(Being a dream would actually have explained perfectly why all of the first season was so bad and unbelievable.) I totally understand, and feel for, the fans of the original 'Battlestar Galactica'.Long live 'Super Force'.