Beetleborgs is on YouTube, and it's not for kids!
Have you ever felt too embarrassed to tell someone you still watch a 90’s kids show called Big Bad Beetleborgs? Adults everywhere never have to feel that way again, Beetle Bros Abridged is here! A YouTube series that brings you all the fun of the Beetleborgs tv series with the hilarious commentary of the Beetle Bros podcast.
I’m Drew Griffin and I edit the Bros podcast and upload to our YouTube channel of the same name. I want to share just how excited I am to present to you my latest project: Big Bad Beetle Bros Abridged no. 29 “A Friend in Need”. It’s a video I’ve had brewing for two whole months, based on our podcast to the “Curse of the ShadowBorg” miniseries set to premiere this Wednesday on YouTube.
“What is Big Bad Beetle Bros Abridged?”
A series I’ve been producing for over a year. It’s like a regular edition of our podcast but with photos and clips from the episode. This means you’ll see an accompanying image that matches our discussion. Abridged means a twenty minute long, digestible podcast that plays a lot like an episode of Borgs.
The twenty eight episodes prior to this have also been YouTube-ified and are live on our channel. The episode this time is the twenty-ninth of season one, “A Friend In Need”
“I already listened to your podcast on that episode, so what’s new about this?”
These videos started out as short versions of our podcast with images to go along with them. They have developed into a series of bigger and louder projects, almost mini movies. It’s a complete re-edit of our podcast and I try to make them stand out from our regular shows. Because of the control I have in editing, I can retell the story of Beetleborgs in my own way. This is the way I see the original series and how I choose to present it.
“So, is this Big Bad Beetleborgs but with your guys' commentary?”
No. I would go so far as saying this is Beetleborgs for an Adult audience (and a big shift in tone). First of all; Cam, Nik & Ryan analyze the show from an adult perspective (with no shortage of crude humor). Furthermore, I decided early on that this series will not be for kids. I wanted to make these videos for viewers who grew up on the show and have now matured.
With this in mind, I have worked hard to present “Beetle Bros Abridged” as an exciting watch that not only retains the humor of the original series but adds Horror elements.
“What’s in this new abridged video?”
The episode this time “A Friend In Need” was directed by John Putch and is the 4th part in the six part mini series. We focus on Josh adjusting to his role as the White Blaster Borg and the hardships that come with the superhero life. We get a ton of great B fighter footage of the Beetle AVs, all the previous comic book monsters make cameos, and a rematch with ShadowBorg.
During the video, you’ll see several extended scenes that have been updated with new sound effects and music (known as overdubbing).
The first extended scene occurs in the classroom with Josh taking a test. We all know this is the scene where Flabber projects himself into the room and gets Josh into trouble. If you thought Flabber’s torment was harsh before, wait ‘til you see what he does to Josh this time!
I’ve also changed the action scenes around to make them feel more complete.
Originally, during the final act, the Beetle AVs are shown already on the battlefield searching for the monsters. I’ve added a new sequence that shows the AVs launch from the Battle Base (overdubbed with new sound effects) and added some extra shots of Gargantis. It’s all set to that awesome soundtrack from “Juuko B Fighter” (1995)
Then there’s one scene that really plays on the Horror elements mentioned earlier.
The final extended sequence is for ShadowBorg himself. As the Beetleborgs attempt to nullify him with their new powerful weapon, ShadowBorg appears as a hallucination. He laughs maniacally at the young heroes, emerging from the smoke in a terrifying nightmare. It leads directly into the rematch with ShadowBorg, as all new music and sound effects give each punch and kick a lot more oomph. (You’ll get your ass kicked just watching it)
Cam says during the episode “This is the point in the saga that people remember” and I completely agree, this is most people’s favorite content of the series (It’s certainly mine). I have an opportunity to really entertain fans who enjoyed this story arc. I hope these videos take you back to that time period, remind you why you love it, and also add something new for you to enjoy. That’s what this is, a new way to take in Beetleborgs (one of Saban’s finest) and I want nothing more than for fans to enjoy them.
“Sounds wicked! When can we see it?”
The video goes live Wed, July 28 at 4:00 PM Pacific (7:00 PM Eastern) on our YouTube channel Big Bad Beetle Bros. Head over there and Subscribe!
“What’s next for the channel?”
Yo Ho Borgs is the next episode I have planned for the channel, I do plan on finishing the ShadowBorg arc in the meantime. These do take a lot of time to produce (this one especially) but you can expect new abridged episodes to appear about once a month.
“Can you abridge my favorite episode?”
Yes, if we have covered it on the podcast, and if the episode is of interest.
“Will you continue doing these?”
Doing Beetle Bros Abridged has been a lot of fun! As long as that spark shines, I’ll keep doing it! There definitely are a lot of episodes after ShadowBorg I want to do for YouTube.