Virtual Rider

Virtual Rider was a Hopelandian drama-science-fiction television series primarily targeted at school-age kids that premiered in 1990 on the Independent Broadcasting System.

The series was produced by Stuart Walmsley Television for the IBS network until 1992, when IBS cancelled it and was later shown on first-run syndication under Astros and later on Antena Latina, at the time owned by Astros. By this stage the series began to deteriorate and went through a series of internal strikes. Nonetheless, it became a cult series, primarily within Hopeland.

Premise

Carl Perry (the titular Virtual Rider) is a superhero coming from the virtual world. He came to balance the equiality between the real world and the virtual world.

Episodes

A total of 64 episodes were produced starting in 1989, with the series premiering on the IBS television network on September 15, 1990 (for more details on the delay, see "Production"). The series finished its run on arranged slots on forty-five television stations across Hopeland on November 1, 1995, to an estimated combined audience of 2.6 million, compared to the 6 million the series premiere fared on IBS.

Production

Stuart Walmsley era

The series was announced by the company owing to the response of the growing popularity of video games in Hopeland, particularly the Nintendo Entertainment System, and eventually, the growth of the so-called Famiclones. While video game companies were etching deals with Sierran syndication companies, Hopeland decided to make a local series featuring a local hero made specifically for the series.

The series idea was pitched in March 1989 and filming for the first episode began. Unfortunately there was a number of disputes between the actors and the special effects team, who thought that making an entire series relying on green screen effects to represent a virtual world was still considered "rudimentary" by Hopelandian standards. It's worth mentioning that the series was set to be produced at a budget of $400,000.

Astros era

Not satisfied with the performance it had on IBS, series production handed over to predominantly Hispanic production company Astros Producciones, who had, according to the creator, "better expertise for tighter budgets". The series was given to first-run syndication. Most stations that carried it were independent stations, affiliates of the Metropolitan Television Network or IBS O&Os. Since Astros owned HWAL-TV and would eventually take on the ownership of Antena Latina, the Spanish dub of the series was shown nationwide on the network.

Despite an increase in production values, the Astros series didn't correct all flaws of prior series.

Broadcast

The series was shown on IBS between 1990 and 1992. Although it moved to first-run syndication, IBS O&Os still carried it on Sunday mornings.

In Bensonia the series was carried by the Sentry Broadcasting Corporation on Saturday afternoons between 1991 and 1995. All episodes were shown.

Home releases

The series was released on DVD in 2007 domestically by Frozenmagic Entertainment. Promoted as "the source of our magic" in reference to the series influencing its later works