30 MARCH 2018

Corus Quay

25 Dockside Drive

Toronto, Ontario

M5A 0B5

Dear Programming Department at Corus Entertainment, and specifically YTV,

I am a concerned parent and a long time fan of ReBoot. Corus Communications, and specifically YTV have a long standing reputation for quality. I remember when YTV was first going on the air and it was revolutionary. I particularly loved the idea to have Program Jockeys (The famous YTV PJs) between episodes.

The adventures and hijinks of the PJs were often as entertaining as the shows they were hosting. There was a particular incident that I will always remember where one of the puppet sidekicks, Warren P Grog, took over the station for a day. That was more years ago than I think any of us would like to admit, and I still remember it vividly. This is the standard of entertainment your organization is known for.

The shows chosen to air may not all have been gold, but they were clearly chosen by informed people in keeping with the high standards the audience had come to expect. Perhaps the jewel in the YTV crown was ReBoot: the world’s first fully CGI television program. The third season, which was produced completely for YTV, was the best one.

Alas, the property has been bought by Rainmaker “entertainment” and left dormant for decades. Despite the continuous call from fans to resolve the fourth season cliffhanger, there was nothing. Premiering today on Netflix (not in Canada) is a disaster called “ReBoot: The Guardian Code”. I understand YTV plans to air it in Canada starting in June.

I urge you to reconsider that plan.

The backlash against this show from ReBoot fans and general audiences has ranged from dismal (13,000 “dislikes” to 900 “likes” on the youtube trailer) to pure outrage. The sort of outrage that forces the e-mail generation to send a physical letter! “The Guardian Code” is far, far from the standards we have come to expect from YTV. Their use of the ReBoot name and logo is a sad attempt to cash in on nostalgia.

The writing is generic and uninspired. The animation is shoddy, nothing like the groundbreaking CGI of the original. The last straw was posted in the fan community today: a clip of the Guardian Code overtly insulting the original ReBoot fan base. If being openly offencive to some of the most loyal fans in the world is how they want to behave, I say it is not up to the quality YTV is known for.

I write this letter not out of hatred for The Guardian Code, but out of love for YTV and the many good memories I have of growing up watching. For love of ReBoot, and the pioneers who developed the show, from the script to the very technology to make it possible. It would be shameful for YTV to be associated with such a project. It is disrespectful to long time fans, and to new fans, and to the network.

There is still time to prevent this abomination from souring YTV’s reputation. I hope that the executives in charge of making the decision to air the show will watch it first and do the right thing.

Mend and Defend