We present to your attention a new series of materials called 'From Childhood with Love,' thoroughly infused with nostalgia (primarily for millennials). Here we will recall beloved and cozy TV series and animated series that were shown on television...

What's the Plot?

As stated in the first episode, this is the story of a guy named Johnny Rico, but that's not entirely true. The series focuses more on the entire squad 'Razak's Roughnecks' (also called 'Alpha Squad') than on any specific character. The brave soldiers, led by a stern lieutenant, oppose the race of arachnids, better known as 'bugs.' These alien creatures turn out to be not as simple as they seem at first glance, so each new mission assigned to the squad by command could be the last for any member (or even all of them).

During the first mission, the group is sent to the planet Pluto, where it turns out that the arachnids are visitors to these parts. They arrived in the Solar System using a huge transport bug, somewhat resembling the giant Chitauri from 'The Avengers,' capable of carrying thousands (if not tens of thousands) of individuals. This information shocks the military, so high-ranking officials decide that the space arachnid must be tracked to find out where it came from. Thus begins the adventure of the starship troopers across various planets, where they almost always find themselves in mortal danger (there's no rest in war).

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The animated series 'Starship Troopers: Chronicles' is based on Robert Heinlein's 1959 novel and Paul Verhoeven's 1997 film. However, it cannot be said that this is a full-fledged adaptation of the book or a continuation of the film, as the project takes not much from the original source, and it practically completely repeats and rewrites the events of the cult film. It is more of a standalone work than part of the franchise. Nevertheless, some elements of Verhoeven's film did seep into the show (not surprising, since he was an executive producer).

In 1997, the film adaptation of Heinlein's novel hit the big screens and was met with hostility by many as neo-Nazi propaganda, resulting in a box office failure. The original source is indeed imbued with sympathy for militarism and conveys the message that the world cannot do without war (the book was written as a protest against the US political decision to halt nuclear weapons testing). But Verhoeven found such a position completely alien, so the director turned the dial of love for war to the maximum, turning 'Starship Troopers' into a cinematic irony of a fascist utopia.

It's a pity, of course, that viewers and critics understood the director's intent only years later, but on the other hand, it's good that the world eventually got it and the film achieved its well-deserved cult status. When watching the film today, one might inadvertently think: 'How could people have mistaken such obvious mockery for propaganda?', but everything falls into place if you remember that many still consider Danila Bagrov a positive character and a role model.

In fact, the perception of the film can easily depend on external factors, such as historical context, political views, and cultural background. But in any case, a film where everyone rejoices at the end of a brutal ongoing war is not something one would want to view through the lens of admiration for the events.

However, despite the box office failure, just two years later, in 1999, the 3D animated series 'Starship Troopers: Chronicles' appeared on TV screens with familiar characters. The project was initially planned using standard 2D animation, but Sony signed a contract with Foundation Imaging, and plans were adjusted. Naturally, in a context where the first 'Toy Story' had come out only four years prior, almost any 3D animation, unless done by Pixar, was doomed to look ugly. Many segments today look rough, like cutscenes from an old computer game, although in childhood it seemed the graphics were top-notch (though back then, 'The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl' also looked like the pinnacle of cinema).

Ellina Chernikova

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A quarter of a century later, the series has certainly aged. While the film still feels fresh because it remains relevant, the animated project has become one of those forgotten childhood memories. 'Starship Troopers: Chronicles' couldn't afford to target only an adult audience, so the irony of the fascist regime is mixed with an entertaining action film to keep children's attention. For this reason, the early arcs are extremely monotonous and boring, with the plot moving only at the beginning and end of each military operation: everything in between is blatant filler with hordes of arachnids, endless shooting, and explosions.

The first interesting episodes begin with the third arc, titled 'Operation Tofet.' First, the race of Skinnies, introduced in the novel, appears, and second, the characters develop over 15 episodes, and the story progresses quite well compared to the starting point. Moreover, occasionally during viewing, there are quite funny jokes in the style of action movies. For example, a soldier, standing among a huge number of larvae, says: 'And I thought my family was big.' This immediately brings to mind Bruce Willis crawling through the ventilation in 'Die Hard' with his line about worms. With each new arc, the story increasingly breaks through with the hyperbolization of the romance of militarism characteristic of the original film, and the project gradually picks up steam until it abruptly ends.

On April 3, 2000, the last episode of the animated series 'Starship Troopers: Chronicles' aired, leaving viewers with a cliffhanger right before the final battle. The fact is that, having decided to use 3D animation, Foundation Imaging could not cope with the workload and production schedule, so some episodes were helped by Flat Earth Productions, Hyper Image, and Rainbow Studios. The series has 36 episodes, divided into operation arcs (five episodes each, plus one separate connecting episode between the last two missions). There are also 4 clips with unfinished materials on DVD. Due to production issues, the project unfortunately had to be prematurely canceled.

As a child, after watching, it seemed that either STS had gone too far and didn't show us the most interesting part, or the stores hadn't yet stocked discs with the final battle (I really wanted to believe it wasn't the end). The grand finale was so close, and the series had just reached maximum momentum, introducing shape-shifting arachnids that had infiltrated Earth, raising the stakes to the limit. But in the end, the story was destined to remain untold. Viewers could only guess what happened to the members of Razak's Roughnecks and what the outcome of the battle for our home planet was. Perhaps humanity lost this war, or maybe the endless battles still continue across the vastness of space.

What's the Verdict?

'Starship Troopers: Chronicles' can partly be called the 'Clone Wars' of its time: a squad of brave soldiers, of which there are thousands in a warring state, constantly forced to carry out suicide missions, escaping death at the last moment. Who knows, maybe 'Star Wars' even borrowed some ideas from it. The series format helped 'Chronicles' develop all group members well and decently expanded the lore of the universe, but the project's release was not at the most opportune moment. 25 years later, this fairly average project looks quite rough. Naturally, the animation hasn't stood the test of time, and the plot can truly engage only if you endure the first half of filler arcs.

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In cinema, there are things you enjoyed as a child, and to preserve the positive emotions experienced during viewing, it's better to leave them there. 'Starship Troopers' is probably one such example. Perhaps if the release had happened a few years later, and the project had been finished and given a logical conclusion, the situation would have been different. It's quite possible we would now be enjoying endless sequels (or complaining about them), and the universe would be regularly expanded. But today, for better or worse, viewers can only watch two films of highly questionable quality ('Hero of the Federation' and 'Marauder') and two mediocre full-length 3D animated films ('Invasion' and 'Traitor of Mars').

However, no matter how you look at it, 'Starship Troopers' conveys one truism perfectly: humanity cannot do without war. And every day, these words find confirmation.

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