Monster Warriors is a Canadian television series that aired on YTV in Canada and also on Jetix since April 2006 in the United Kingdom. It was created by Wilson Coneybeare and produced by Coneybeare Stories and distributed by Bejuba! Entertainment. The series concluded its run on July 26, 2008, with a TV movie titled Monster Warriors Finale on YTV.
Contents
Plot
Season 1
The series, a purposely campy cross between the Power Rangers, Scooby-Doo and Ghostbusters, follows the adventures of four teenagers fighting to safeguard Capital City from the vengeful wrath of insane and disgruntled old B-Movie director Klaus Von Steinhauer who possesses the ability to bring his cinematic monsters to life ("I make ze monsters big!"). Over the course of the series, various story arcs occur that expand the series' cast and city locations. Each week sees the teens customize common household objects into useful weapons to fight against monstrous creations.
Season 2
The battle continues as the Monster Warriors work from their new hideout: a deserted secret bomb shelter beneath Luke's house. The newly outfitted warriors get caught in the battle between Von Steinhauer and the new Mystery Monster Maker. The new monsters are half animal, half machine.
Characters
Core characters
Luke
Luke is the reserved yet tough leader of the Warriors. He is rich, tall and handsome and holds the keys to the group's sweet purple convertible and their headquarters at his home. He is Tabby's love interest. Although he acts tough most of the time, he still has certain fears, particularly of forests. His family fortune comes from his environmental activist parents' invention of coin deposit locks on shopping carts He is like a combination of Fred Jones, Peter Venkman, and Tommy Oliver.
Antonio
Antonio is the darkly handsome scientific genius of the gang. As a recent immigrant to Capital City, he devoted his considerable intellectual abilities to learning to speak English without any trace of a foreign accent, and he has a vast knowledge of fields like zoology, astronomy, geology and history. Although he is shy and kind of nerdy, he still has many female admirers He is a combination of Shaggy Rogers, Egon Spengler, and Rocky DeSantos.
Tabby
This blond 17-year-old fancies herself the second in command of the group and is Luke's love interest. She is an ace inventor who can turn ordinary household gadgets into monster-blasting weaponry. She is also the captain of the volleyball team and school class president and is an all-around goody two-shoes- although she doesn't like being called one. She is a combination of Velma Dinkley, Janine Melnitz, and Trini Kwan.
Vanka
She is the bravest of the Warriors and a dedicated practitioner of obscure martial arts. Tough, fierce and virtually fearless, the athletic brunette is, however, particularly uncomfortable with heights, has failed her driving test multiple times and has had a string of hopeless boyfriends. She later develops a relationship with Antonio. She is a combination of Daphne Blake, Kylie Griffin, and Kimberly Ann Hart.
Other recurring characters
Klaus Von Steinhauer - Monster movie director turned mad monster-maker He is an evil version of Gozer, and Lord Zedd.
Missy Gore - Perky, narcoleptic city power company worker turned villainous sidekick (Season 1). Although she developed feelings for the much older Klaus, in Season 2 she left for dentistry school.
Mayor Mel - Mayor of Capital City, a former actor in Von Steinhauer movies turned above ground pool salesman turned politician with a never-ending faith in the Monster Warriors. (Possibly based on former Toronto mayor Mel Lastman)
Henry - A young boy who sends messages from the future and is the leader of the future Capital City Rebellion.
Kreeger - Big, bearded monster movie expert and owner of the Monster Video movie rentals/comics and collectibles shop.
Superintendent George McClellan - Mayor Mel's ambitious and incompetent adviser who constantly suspects teenagers are behind all wrongdoing in Capital City. He becomes mayor in the second season but resigns and goes back to being superintendent in Astrosaurus vs Gigantobeast. He is always on the phone or yelling.
Dink Doorman - A news reporter whose stories often revolve around the Monster Warriors and their battles and who also hosts a call-in movie show called "The Big Money Movie". Apparently does not know the meaning of the word "incredulous", often using it instead of "incredible".
Fire Chief Holswade – Tabby's father, the fire department chief.
Eustace McCafferty – nerdy high school student that is in the school science club and astronomy club.
Cast
Jared Keeso – Luke
Lara Amersey – Vanka
Mandy Butcher – Tabby
Yani Gellman – Antonio
Seán Cullen – Klaus Von Steinhauer
Glenn Coulson – Dink Dorman
Mike 'Nug' Nahrgang – Kreeger
Adam Growe – Superintendent McClellan
Ely Henry as Eustace
New characters in Season 2
Mystery Monster Maker – an unsuspected citizen of Capital City, the aliens' new agent to create more dangerous monsters.
Lucy - a brilliant and, as Antonio puts it, cute girl that Luke meets at the hockey rink.
George Junior – Superintendent McClellan's son Who is to be revealed to be the Mystery Monster Maker.
Dana the Diner Waitress – a happy-go-lucky, no-nonsense girl who works at the local diner and the local tech support company.
General Grabjaw – The leader of the aliens.
Monsters
Mysterious aliens – An unknown race of colourful bald, big-headed aliens secretly controlling those who create the monsters. They can take human form, and their plan is to destroy Capital City, though the reason is unknown.
Giant Spiders – The first of the monsters that the warriors battle. (possibly based on Kumonga)
Kraken – A giant squid that destroys the harbour day in the city and sucks one of the Warriors in.
Giant Alligators – Found in the sewers.
60-foot Bumblebee – Tried to drain Capital City's power supply.
Skeleton Crew – A small tactical strike team of living green skeletons that tried to poison Capital City's water.
T. Rex – Found in a carnival.
Giant Anaconda – Found in the North Woods. (possibly based on Manda)
Alien Zombie from the Planet Zeenom – Not related to the mystery aliens although it does resemble them, it was created by accident when Klaus' Monster Machine broke and zapped Missy's comic book. This intelligent and benevolent giant monster is featured in seasons 1 and 2.
Pterodactyls – This monster is featured in season 1 and season 2. (possibly based on Rodan)
Praying Mantis – This monster was also featured in both seasons. (possibly based on Kamacuras)
Killer Vine – A vine that grows and grows and is later killed by the giant slug.
Giant Slug – A monster sent by Klaus to stop the killer vine from eating him.
Episodes
Season 1
This * means the Episodes that are available on DVD.
DVD releases
Monster Warriors Vs. Creepy Crawlers: Volume 1 was released on June 30, 2009.
Features five episodes:
"The Giant Spider Invasion"(Episode #1)
"Buzz!"(Episode #4)
"Attack of the Giant Carnivorous Butterfly"(Episode #14)
"Marauding Mantis"(Episode #19)
"Attack of the Enormous Terrifying Ladybug"(Episode #23)
Monster Warriors: War of the Water World - Volume 2 was released on August 25, 2009.
Features five episodes:
"The Beast From Beneath the Sea"(Episode #2)
"Day of the Piranha"(Episode #22)
"Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Cucumber"(Episode #24)
"Ribbit"(Episode #25)
"Ribbit 2: Froggy's Revenge"(Episode #26)
Plus one bonus episode: "The Giant Lobster Invasion"(Episode #9)
Monster Warriors: Mutant Madness - Volume 3 was released on November 24, 2009.
Features five episodes:
"The Terror Underground"(Episode #5)
"Last Ride of the Skeleton Crew"(Episode #10)