Top 10 Best CLASSIC Reboot Moments

“The Episode With No Name”
There were many pop culture call-outs in this savvy TV show, but one of the most on-point scenes is that of AndrAla versus the yellow woman, the leader of a Guardian Team sent to find Bob and collect his Key Tool. In the Desert Port System, she and AndrAla come face to face in a standoff that provides a great big hat-tip to the classic spaghetti western trilogy by Sergio Leone - even the title of the episode is a nod to the protagonist, Clint Eastwood’s Man with No Name. Set to a digital sound-alike of Ennio Morricone's soundtrack, we see the infected Guardian shoot first, only for AndrAla to come out on top.

“To Mend and Defend”
Another incredible pop culture send up, in this scene Dot and Enzo find themselves fighting for survival as various characters from the horror genre in an Evil Dead-like game. The rendered cabin has got it all, including the Necronomicon and a maniacal deer head. As the young Guardian tries to unlock the chained basement, the player, via a Bruce Campbell avatar, makes his own door and forces the sprites to get creative in order to dodge their chainsaw wielding foe before finally pushing him into the cellar.

“Gigabyte”
The two main antagonists of the show, Megabyte and Hexadecimal, were certainly forces to be reckoned with. Each of the virus siblings have their own personal goals and personality traits. Megabyte is all about corruption and domination; Hexadecimal, the Queen of Chaos, only ever wants to disrupt order. They’re dangerous enough on their own, but after they merge they become Gigabyte, a hulking super virus and Destroyer of Systems. In fact, Gigabyte is actually the original form of the two viruses, who were split in an explosion, but after Megabyte is infected with a Web Creature, he merges with Hex to try to take back his original form.

“Web World Wars”
After a huge Web Portal opens up over Mainframe, Bob does everything he can to get the binomes to safety, but it’s clear that no one is truly safe. As desperate times call for desperate measures, Bob enlists the help of Megabyte to create the hardware necessary to close the Portal. Working together, it seems like everything is going to work out in the nick of time – only for Megabyte’s own agenda to be revealed as he turns on Bob, breaking Glitch, and launching him out into the web just as the Portal closes. Bob, the main character, is gone for an entire season, and the whole show took on a decidedly darker tone after this shocking twist.

“Showdown”
Enzo’s life took a pretty drastic turn the day Bob went missing. Having only just been promoted to Guardian, First Level, and with Mainframe’s real Guardian gone, the little sprite took his job very seriously, eventually getting lost and roaming games and the web. Needless to say, after Enzo became Matrix his carefree attitude more or less vanished and his hatred for viruses became unparalleled, with no virus being more hated than Megabyte himself. This fight was a looooooong time coming. Tense and loaded with studied pacing throughout, this is one of the finest fight sequences the show has to offer.

“Web Riders on the Storm”
Enzo and AndraAla have had a long strange journey. Enzo, or as he prefers when all grown up, Matrix, has been roaming systems for years. Despite vocally giving up his Guardian status, his ReBoot icon is still coded as such. After meeting Prime Guardian Turbo, Matrix learns that Bob is still out there, so he alters their quest from finding a way home to finding his old mentor. After running afoul of the Web Riders, however, Matrix is shocked to discover that it’s Bob who has found him. A reunion that was almost a whole season in the making, it’s as satisfying as it is heartwarming.

“Talent Night”
If you thought the show was all doom and gloom, think again. The first season had some truly off-kilter moments that made it such a strange and unique success. For Enzo’s birthday, Dot prepares a talent show for entertainment. During the auditions, Megabyte sends spies to find out what they’re up to. The night of the show, Bob takes Enzo to the stage and the show begins. All of a sudden, Megabyte shows up and proceeds with his master plan – to shred and melt some faces. Jealous, Bob activates Glitch for a BFG: Big Freakin’ Guitar. The virus and Guardian duel, after which Megabyte gives his guitar to Enzo and peaces out like a boss. Man, season one gave zero f***s.

“Firewall”
The show had many versions of its intro, most of them variations on the original one given by Bob in season one. Enzo, Dot, and even Megabyte have their own intros at one point or another, but the most memorable is easily the Firewall intro featured early on in season 3. The viewer is treated to a James Bond-esque opening, with characters floating by in front of a fiery backdrop, akin to the opening credits of Goldfinger and Goldeneye. The entire episode is thereafter sprinkled with classic James Bond films references, including "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" and “The Spy Who Loved Me.”

“Game Over”
Since Mouse has set up a long-range detection system, those at the Principal Office are able to clear sectors for the incoming games early. Enzo, AndrAla, and Frisket enter the arena, and the game turns out to be a Mortal Kombat-style fighting game. Enzo ReBoots into a yellow Scorpion-like character and fights the User’s chosen character, Zaytan. In the fight, Enzo is horribly scarred and loses his eye, and it becomes clear they aren’t going to make it. He and the other two change their icons to Sprite Mode just in time to survive the game but are trapped. Outside, everyone thinks that they have been nullified, and Dot’s anguished scream makes it one of the most painful moments in the show.

Before we unveil our number one pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

Who is Number One?
“Number 7”

Ladies Go to a Strip Club
“Null Bot of the Bride”

Megabyte Revealed at Wedding
“Null Bot of the Bride”

“End Prog”
By the end of the series, it was clear that ReBoot was something special – a visually innovative show that combined complex themes rich enough for teens and adults but still accessible for kids, all told within the systems of a computer where the ever-unseen “User” is as key a figure as any of the characters. Although it was only three seasons long (plus some tv movies and loose change), it took years to tell for various network reasons. So, the musical wrap-up in the final scene of the series, set to the tune of the Major-General's Song from “The Pirates of Penzance” was as perfect a way to close this cyber-opera if there ever was one.