Bolts and Blip

Bolts and Blip is a Canadian-South Korean computer-animated television series that premiered in 2010 on the Canadian channel Teletoon.^[1] The show used to air on 3net at 10:30 am on Sundays until 3net shut down their broadcast on August 12, 2014.^[2] Bolts & Blip joined The CW's Saturday Morning block Vortexx on July 13, 2013 at 8:30 am and was the only airing Bolts & Blip on that block in the USA since 3net shut down their broadcast. It is no longer airing as of Vortexx's cancellation.^[3]

Plot

Bolts & Blip is a comic action adventure set on the moon in 2080. It follows two central city misfits, Bolts & Blip, who accidentally find themselves as members of the Lunar League's last placed team the Thunderbolts. With the help of their rag-tag band of teammates, the two friends discover what they are made of in this intergalactic sports circuit.^[4]

Characters

Main characters

• Blip (Voiced by Matt Murray) - The main protagonist and one of the title characters. Blip is a bumbling Civi-Bot who attempts to keep within societal norms, but isn't very successful. He is best friend and roommate to the wacky Bolts, and often must drag his impulsive friend out of trouble. He is the more mature, level-headed of the duo. He along with Bolts were accidentally drafted into the Lunar League's bottom team, The Thunderbolts. He has a huge crush on Saedee, who spends most of the series ignoring his displays of affection, while occasionally letting slip possible mutual feelings, before revealing in the season finale she too loves Blip. Late in the series he is revealed to be Dr. Tommy's Secret Bot, and has latent powers, which he calls his "Super Mode"; in this state he is taller, stronger, faster, and can fly. He has a pet mouse like robot named Squeaker, who prior to undergoing training was very violent and attacked everyone, nowadays he only attacks Bolts.
• Bolts/Black Knight (Voiced by Terry McGurrin) - The second protagonist and title character. Bolts is immature, impulsive and has a talent for getting himself into trouble; including one time where he put himself under huge debt to a Robot Mafia Leader Vinney Two-Chimes, after losing a bet in a (fixed) sock fight match. He’s the team's jokester and often drives Coach Gridiron insane. He once entered a secret (and illegal) wrestling tournament under the name Boltar de Fuego (a play on Bola de Fuego), and has continued using the name Boltar as his screen name. Like Blip he is revealed to have latent powers, where his eyes will turn red and he gains monstrous strength, this mode has been termed "Black Knight".
• Saedee (Voiced by Melissa Altro) - The gorgeous heroine Saedee, who is Captain of the Thunderbolts. She is a prototype model from her production line, and as a result has a habit of malfunctioning, usually in the form of her legs involuntarily kicking or falling off. Blip has a huge crush on her, and while her feelings are mutual she tries very hard to hide this, instead lusting over Tigrr Jaxxon.
• Coach Gridiron (Voiced by Patrick Garrow) - Short-tempered and combustible, Coach Gridiron employs harsh training routines in an attempt to bolster their bottom placed ranking, however deep down, behind all the raging steam he can be compassionate and understanding. His head has a habit of steaming and blowing off.
• Tigrr Jaxxon (Voiced by Glenn Coulson) - The star player of the Lunar League. He is on the All Stars team, which (unsurprisingly) are the top of the Lunar League. He is very arrogant and prideful, but (as many find out over the course of the series) he isn't very bright. In one episode it also revealed he is secretly a coward. He was initially implied to be Blood's bot, but the team investigate and discover otherwise. His name is a reference to Tiger Jackson.
• Dr. Blood (Voiced by Colin Fox) - The main antagonist of the series, he is an evil human scientist who was formally colleague to Dr. Tommy. He is usually seen in a hover-chair with his back facing the camera. He created the Bloodbots, who all look the same, and are devoid of emotion, designed only for violence. He reorganized into the first Galactic Shadow Empire
• D-Gor - Dr. Blood's unfortunate servant, who is a parody of Igor. Like Igor he is deformed, and hunched. Dr. Blood likes to use him as a means of venting his anger, by yelling at him or smashing his fist on top of his head (shown in the Opening Sequence).

Minor and reoccurring characters

• Steve (voiced by Jonathan Wilson) – The diminutive, long-suffering assistant to Coach Gridiron. Steve is constantly overlooked and scorned by his peers, due to his diminutive size and incompetence. Steve is very short, speaks with an English accent, and has a single wheel in place of legs. When he isn't slaving for the team's every whim, he secretly plots elevating his own status, wanting Coach Gridiron's job. He has a particularly hostile relationship with Bolts, and they have physical confrontations on several occasions, especially during the time when he and Bolts both entered in the wrestling tournament (under the guise the Silver Steve), with him and Bolts being the main attractions.
• Welder (voiced by Martin Julien) – A gentle giant, who longs for days when he was younger and shinier.
• Ratch-8 (voiced by Paul Wensley) – A teammate on the Thunderbolts. His name is a pun on the word "ratchet".
• The Reformatter – A fearsome monstrous machine who captures robots and remakes them into electronic appliances. He is feared by all robots in the Lunar League. Blip once says: "No one has ever gone inside and come out looking the same."
• Dr. Tommy - He is the genius doctor who created every Robot living on the moon, with the exception of the Blood-bots and Blood's Bot (a robot created by Dr. Blood as his secret weapon). He also created the Dr. Tommy's bot (revealed to be Blip) and the mysterious Black Box, which has many untold powers. He and Dr. Blood were formerly colleagues, but upon discovering Blood's evil plans of world domination, turned on him. He appears mostly in flashbacks throughout the series, and finally appears in person in the Season Finale, where his face is finally revealed.
• The Blood Bots - Dr. Blood's shock troops. They all look exactly the same; red (with Dr. Blood's patterns), rounded, a single glowing slit for eyes, speaking in robotic monotone voices, mounted cannons instead of left hands, and they hover above the ground (lacking feet). They seem to be devoid of emotion, other than that of unquestioningly obeying Dr. Blood's every command. It is explained by Dr. Tommy this is because unlike his robots, the Blood-bots have no hearts. This also gives rise to them being very socially stupid. They are despised by every team in the Lunar League.
• Klank Lockton (voiced by Dwayne Hill^[5]) and Lock Clankton - The two robot announcers for the Lunar League. Clank Lockton is obnoxious and overbearing, always hogging the screen and putting down his fellow announcer Lock Clankton. Lock virtually never gets the chance to talk or announce anything, as any of his attempts always result in Clank pushing him aside. His voice is only heard once, after he rusts Clank with a water gun.
• Vinnie Two-Chimes – The fearsome robot mob-boss, who is in fact a tiny, primitively designed, box-shaped robot on two wheels. He completely lacks human features (no head, arms, legs), only possessing two blinking lights and communicates via beeps. He is however in charge of two towering robot henchman who do his dirty work. He has scammed Bolts on numerous occasions, and for a large portion of the series Bolts has been in debt to him. A running gag is Bolts' endless, vain attempts to acquire money to pay off his never ending debt.
• Motbot – A shady bot who has a habit of hiding in trash cans, he is Blip's link to his secret origins, and acts as his mentor, guiding him to his destiny as Dr. Tommy's Secret Bot.
• The Schleprechauns – Robot Leprechauns who scavenge for scrap metal to turn into Goldium, a highly prized element able to enhance any electronic device's functions and capabilities.
• Helsing-V – A vampire hunter, and a parody of Van Helsing. He appears when Dr. Blood unleashes a Robot-Vampire Virus that infects the whole Thunderbolts team, and teams up with Blip to fight the Robot-Vampires and find a cure. He also made an appearance in the season finale. He has a habit of throwing smoke bombs and disappearing in mysterious puffs of smoke.
• Supreme Ambassador Garry – The man in control of Earth Command, he does what he likes from getting Gridiron re-programmed to helping organise the goings on in Lunar City. A rather overbearing and demeaning person, he'll often disregard his responsibilities in favour of a good game of golf.

Series overview

Episode list

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Airdate	Airdate
1	1	"Moon Units"	Peter Lepenniotis, Mark Ackland & Riccardo Durante	Eric Trueheart	June 28, 2010 (2010-06-28)[7]	July 13, 2013 (2013-07-13)
Bolts and Blip are accidentally drafted into the Lunar League games as Battle Bots.
2	2	"Move It Or Lose It"	Riccardo Durante & Mark Ackland	Eric Trueheart	June 29, 2010 (2010-06-29)[7]	July 20, 2013 (2013-07-20)
Bolts and Blip gain popularity due to a signature move, which quickly makes them unpopular with the rest of the ThunderBolts, especially Welder.
3	3	"Little Squeaker"	Riccardo Durante & Mark Ackland	Chad Hicks	June 30, 2010 (2010-06-30)[7]	July 27, 2013 (2013-07-27)
Bolts and Blip find an unknown robot in their new quarters. It appears to be a virtual pet mouse dubbed by Blip as 'Squeaker', but its unusual model makes the team suspicious. Is Squeaker, vicious to everyone but Blip, really a V-pet? Or is he something more sinister...?
4	4	"Cyrano de Bolts"	Riccardo Durante & Mark Ackland	Terry McGurrin	July 1, 2010 (2010-07-01)[7]	August 3, 2013 (2013-08-03)
Bolts coaches Blip on how he can win Saedee's affections to get a date. Blip tries to make her jealous by dating another girl. The Thunderbolts and Iron Maidens do battle to solve all of their dating problems.[8]
5	5	"A Kinder, Gentler Gridiron"	Peter Lepeniotis	Eric Trueheart	July 2, 2010 (2010-07-02)[7]	August 10, 2013 (2013-08-10)
Coach Gridiron is reprogrammed to help him find his gentler side. With the somewhat over the top success, the others start to see the pro's in being re-programmed too. Saedee re-programs to be feminine to attract Tigrr Jaxxson, Blip re-programs to be a macho man, and Welder re-programs to be more youthful. But when their new personalities start getting them into trouble, Bolts and Steve join forces to get their friends back.
6	6	"The Quest of the Goblin Crown, Part III"	Peter Lepiniotis	Chad Hicks	July 5, 2010 (2010-07-05)[7]	August 17, 2013 (2013-08-17)
Bolts and Ratch-8 download an illegal movie called "Quest for the Goblin Crown, Part 3". But when Blip accidentally downloads the film into his head, he truly believes he is Agnor the Brave, protagonist for the movie. In order to get the movie file out of his system, the Thunderbolts all must follow on his perilous journey. With Bolts as Filbix the wizard, Saedee as Melia the Elf and Tigrr Jaxxson as Princess Twinkleheart, hilarity ensues.
7	7	"The Curse of the Vampire Bot"	Peter Lepeniotis & Tim Deacon	Eric Trueheart	July 6, 2010 (2010-07-06)[7]	August 24, 2013 (2013-08-24)
When Dr. Blood infects Saedee with a virus that turns her into a vampire bot, the whole things that's bigger than a galaxy but not quite the whole universe is in danger. When the whole team starts wearing Steve's plaid shorts on their heads, Blip joins forces with Helsing 5, vampire hunter, to save them.
8	8	"The Magic of the Schleprechauns"	Peter Lepeniotis & Tim Deacon	Eric Trueheart	July 7, 2010 (2010-07-07)[7]	August 31, 2013 (2013-08-31)
When the Thunderbolts end up with the worst jet planes ever for their upcoming luna match, Bolts suggests getting a pot of goldium from the legendary Schleprechauns to power their fighters. No one takes him seriously, but after making a deal with Saedee and Blip, the trio try to find them. By a miracle, they discover that the Schleprechans are real, and so is their pot of goldium. But there's a catch. To get the pot of goldium, they first have to find King Spinklewink's son, last heard of exploring the depths of the reformatter. Can Bolts get him out? Or will he end up a toaster?
9	9	"Welded Away"	Peter Lepeniotis & Tim Deacon	Chad Hicks	July 8, 2010 (2010-07-08)[7]	September 7, 2013 (2013-09-07)
It is Dr. Tommy day, where all robots show appreciation for him in the form of a giant statue. When Bolts and Blip are tricked by Tigrr Jaxxson into defiling the statue, and Gridiron threatens to put the robots who did it in the reformatter, they desperately try to come up with a way to fix it. Unfortunately, Welder finds out about this situation, but after Gridiron, Steve and the Reformatter turn up at the door for Welder, Bolts and Blip think that he has been reformatted. Sad because it’s their fault, they try to rebuild him and help him remember who he is. But instead, they create a rabid franken-robot which begins to terrorise Lunar City.
10	10	"El Bolto Del Fuego"	Peter Lepeniotis & Tim Deacon	Eric Trueheart	July 9, 2010 (2010-07-09)[7]	September 14, 2013 (2013-09-14)
Belittled and teased by the others, especially Steve, Bolts feels like "a scrawny bot the rest of the team puts up with". When a civibot takes him to an underground fight and file sharing club, he falls in love with the sport, beating all his competitors. When he is pitched against Steve, and wins, it becomes an all out war between the two, both in and out of the ring. When Blip finds out after taking Saedee on a practice date to the fights, he intervenes, joining the fight. When Steve makes another nasty remark to Bolts, something inside him snaps. 'Evil Bolts' is born!
11	11	"Robots Don't Dream, Part 1"	Peter Lepeniotis & Tim Deacon	Mark Ackland	July 12, 2010 (2010-07-12)[7]	September 21, 2013 (2013-09-21)
After getting conked on the head by Tigrr Jaxxson, Blip begins to have dreams, flashbacks of when he was being built. Nobody listens though, because after Bolts gets struck by lightning, and he begins to sing prophecies, they think Blip is just jealous. But as the dreams persist, Blip discovers even more about Dr. Blood and Dr. Tommy, including the day Dr. Blood went evil. When the rest of the team get horrifyingly beaten due to them following Bolts' magical advice, Blip transforms into a powerful bot, protecting his friends and smashing the opposing team with his awesome new powers.
12	12	"Robots Don't Dream, Part 2"	Peter Lepeniotis & Tim Deacon	Mark Ackland	July 13, 2010 (2010-07-13)[7]	September 28, 2013 (2013-09-28)
When the Bloodbots re-purpose halfway through a game, Blip gets suspicious. When he meets Motbot, a muddy but smart bot who knows all about the Dr. Blood/Dr. Tommy conspiracy, he finds out even more about himself. Blip is Dr. Tommy's secret weapon bot, the only robot who can stop Dr. Blood's army and the dreaded Blood's Bot, an egotistical and lightning prone robot. Meanwhile, Tigrr Jaxxson decides to retire from the league in favour of a "higher calling" from the lightning gods.
13	13	"Steve in Charge"	Peter Lepeniotis & Tim Deacon	Eric Trueheart	July 14, 2010 (2010-07-14)[7]	October 5, 2013 (2013-10-05)
Steve is in charge of the Thunderbolts when Gridiron is sent on a coach's seminar. When the Dloob Cola company offers an enormous amount of money to publicise their product, all of the team except Blip are taken in. When the product advertising keeps making them lose matches, Blip takes it into his own hands to show everyone how to play for the love of the game instead of for the cash.
14	14	"A Blip in Time"	Peter Lepenniotis, Mark Ackland & Riccardo Durante	Eric Trueheart	July 15, 2010 (2010-07-15)	October 12, 2013 (2013-10-12)
It's All Robots Day, where all robots get a free day off work. Each robot day there is a beacon treasure hunt. But when Bolts and Blip are knocked out of the race by Tigrr Jaxxson, they find more than they bargained for...
15	15	"Trump Card"	Peter Lepenniotis, Mark Ackland & Riccardo Durante	Eric Trueheart	November 5, 2011 (2011-11-05)	October 19, 2013 (2013-10-19)
Blip wants to unlock his secret newfound powers, but he doesn't know how to activate them. After a series of hilarious misadventures at the hands of Bolts to get them working, Bolts falls in love with police work, but takes it over the edge. Blip tries to shake him out of it, but to no avail. But when Bolts picks a fight with a gang of thugs, things take a turn for the worse. Can Blip save his friend before his head is pulled off?
16	16	"The Black Box"	Peter Lepenniotis & Tim Deacon	Riccardo Durante	November 7, 2011 (2011-11-07)	November 2, 2013 (2013-11-02)
Everyone on the Thunderbolts falls under the spell of the Black Box, which is the mysterious hard drive that holds the meaning of life for all robots. Even Dr. Blood tries to gain control of its awesome powers.
17	17	"My Fair Dee Dee"	Peter Lepenniotis & Tim Deacon	Elizabeth Whitmere	November 9, 2011 (2011-11-09)	November 9, 2013 (2013-11-09)
Saedee’s Cousin Dee Dee visits and decides to join the Thunderbolts team to get closer to Blip. Bolts helps to spark the romance and rivalry as the Thunderbolts do battle on the field with the Iron Maidens.
18	18	"Moon Invasion"	Peter Lepenniotis, Mark Ackland & Riccardo Durante	Eric Trueheart	November 11, 2011 (2011-11-11)	November 16, 2013 (2013-11-16)
The Thunderbolts are losing a match to the All Stars when a meteor is detected hurtling towards the moon, causing the game to be canceled. During the evacuation, Ratch-8 is interviewed by the news, and his wild imaginings of an alien invasion stir up a public (and media) panic. The Thunderbolts are recruited by the military to fight the "aliens".
19	19	"Evil Saedee"	Peter Lepenniotis & Tim Deacon	Adam Greydon Reid	November 18, 2011 (2011-11-18)	January 18, 2014 (2014-01-18)
A mysterious new prototype joins the thunderbolts and quickly takes over Saedee’s role as team captain. When the team becomes infatuated with the new girl robot, Saedee gets jealous and starts investigating where this robot came from.
20	20	"Tigrr by the Tail"	Peter Lepenniotis & Tim Deacon	Eric Trueheart	November 25, 2011 (2011-11-25)	January 25, 2014 (2014-01-25)
When Bolts and Blip suspect that Tigrr Jaxxson is the evil “Bloods Bot” they find a way to get close to him to investigate. After getting stuck in the underground tunnel system, Tigrr reveals his true identity when as he is stalked in the tunnels by the “Boogey Bot”.
21	21	"We Are the Champions"	Peter Lepenniotis & Tim Deacon	Eric Trueheart	December 2, 2011 (2011-12-02)	February 1, 2014 (2014-02-01)
The Thunderbolts tie with the All-Stars for first place in the Lunar League. Meanwhile, Blip avoids being scanned by the Blood Bots as Dr. Blood discovers the hidden identity of the robot he created as his secret weapon.
22	22	"Lord of the Box"	Peter Lepenniotis & Tim Deacon	Eric Trueheart	December 9, 2011 (2011-12-09)	February 8, 2014 (2014-02-08)
Bolts asks Blip to use his “Super Powers” to protect him from Vinnie 2 Chimes. Blip is made protector of the Black Box by the Schleprecauns and the friendship is tested when Blip refuses to let Bolts use its powers.
23	23	"Fall Out"	Peter Lepenniotis & Tim Deacon	Adam Greydon Reid	December 16, 2011 (2011-12-16)	February 15, 2014 (2014-02-15)
Blip misses his friend and can't quite get it together on the battlefield without Bolts. Bolts is brought to Blood's lair by D-Gor, where he learns his true identity and evil purpose as Dr. Blood's ultimate weapon.
24	24	"Blood Rising"	Peter Lepenniotis & Tim Deacon	Thomas Hart	December 23, 2011 (2011-12-23)	February 22, 2014 (2014-02-22)
Now that Bolts has left the team, the Thunderbolts are losing their Lunar League games. The new “evil” Bolts now tries to destroy Blip as he escapes to the Schleprecaun’s lair.
25	25	"Pandemonium"	Peter Lepenniotis & Tim Deacon	Eric Trueheart	December 25, 2011 (2011-12-25)	March 1, 2014 (2014-03-01)
Bolts tries to destroy Lunar City by using Dr. Blood’s ultimate weapon. Blip rescues Saedee from Dr. Blood and begins the final showdown to save everyone from his ex-best friend “evil” Bolts.
26	26	"Final Conflict"	Peter Lepenniotis & Tim Deacon	Eric Trueheart	December 25, 2011 (2011-12-25)	March 8, 2014 (2014-03-08)
Dr. Tommy arrives to help Blip understand his origins and control his "Super Powers". Blip and Bolts finally reunite to fight together against Dr. Blood. In the end, Saedee finally reveals her true feelings for Blip.

References