Parents' Guide to

Reboot: The Guardian Code

By Emily Ashby, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 7+

Tech-savvy teens battle cyberenemies in action series.

TV Netflix Drama 2018
Reboot: The Guardian Code Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

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age 11+

Based on 2 parent reviews

jgriffiz
jgriffiz Adult
October 19, 2018
age 8+

It's like Power Rangers with better acting

My 8 year old enjoys it, my wife does not. The heroes, who are high school students, get digitized and become guardians of cyber space against hackers and viruses. In cyberspace they are cartoons and resemble power rangers and blast and smash bad code and viruses. The acting is not as cheesy as power rangers or Lab Rats.
AnaKal
AnaKal Adult
October 8, 2018
age 13+

It's Basically A Disney Channel Show On Netflix

It's a cheesy show like one from Disney Channel. It has drama, but not overtly so. There is a romantic subplot that pops up a little bit. The lines/dialogue are cheesy and the show is campy. It does teach kids teamwork and trusting others. Cartoon violence (no blood).
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Four tech-savvy teens team up to battle a sinister hacker and the army of viruses he unleashes in cyberspace in REBOOT: THE GUARDIAN CODE. The adventure begins when Austin (Ty Wood), Parker (Ajay Friese), Trey (Gabriel Darku), and Tamra (Sydney Scotia) are summoned to their new high school's mysterious Room 0 on their first day and suddenly find themselves transported into virtual reality, assuming the forms of the avatars they use in a popular game. With the guidance of an avatar named VERA (Hannah Vandenbygaart), these predestined Guardians of Cyberspace match wits and strength with the shadowy Sourcerer (Bob Frazer) and his cybergeneral, Megabyte (Timothy E. Brummond), for the preservation of cyberspace itself.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (4 ):

A new breed of superheroes debuts in this series that's full of action with the unusual twist of a cyberspace setting. Gamers and budding coders will most enjoy how it blends the traditions of superheroes-and-villains stories with a new generation of visuals, using the tricks and terms that technology makes available. Reboot brings humans face to face with avatars and, through a coding accident, brings avatars into the human world when VERA arrives in the flesh in the Guardians' school and lightens the mood with her ill-fated attempts to blend in.

It's easy to root for this unlikely group of teen heroes and to make note of how their shared experiences teach them about trust, friendship, teamwork, and their respective character strengths. The opposite could be said about the lurking Sourcerer, whose motivations aren't entirely clear but whose determination to disrupt and create mayhem grows stronger the more victories the Guardians log against him. With likable central characters (including a couple of girls who hold their own among their male counterparts) and a plot that incorporates and illustrates coding concepts, Reboot: The Guardian Code will appeal to kids with an interest in these STEM subjects.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what strengths they see embodied in the characters in Reboot: The Guardian Code, both good and bad. How do the Guardians commit themselves to teamwork? How does the entire group suffer when one member of the team is down?

  • Why do some of the Guardians embrace their destinies quickly and easily while others are more hesitant to? Kids: Do your doubts about your abilities ever interfere with your ability to succeed? How important is a willingness to try again after you fail?

  • Does this series do a good job incorporating coding and computer topics in a creative way? If your kids are already into these subjects, talk about how understanding them ahead of time affected their enjoyment of the show. If these are new concepts, are they inspired to learn more about coding? What resources exist for this kind of learning?

TV Details

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