Season 1 | Episode Guide |
On September 3, 2015, Disney XD announced the spin-off series for Lab Rats and Mighty Med, merging the two series. Production began October 2015 for a release on March 2, 2016. The first episode is The Rise of Five, and the final episode is The Attack. This season is the first and only season in the series due to its cancellation.
On October 13, 2016, Bryan Moore stated on Twitter that the series was ending, and there would be no second season (with Kelli Berglund stating sometime later that the show was ending). However, fans are still asking Disney to renew the series, by petitions and tweets. Since it has been about seven years since the series ended, it is possible that either the series might be rebooted or there might be another spin-off series that takes place in the same universe but due to its prolonged time off the air this might be unlikely.
Premise
Lab Rats: Elite Force is set in a bustling metropolis after Mighty Med Hospital is destroyed by a band of unknown super-villains. After Adam and Leo volunteer to oversee the students at Davenport’s Bionic Academy, Chase and Bree join forces with Kaz, Oliver and Skylar Storm to form a powerful elite force that combines bionic heroes and superheroes. Together, they vow to track down the villains and keep the world safe.
Plot
After the events of The Vanishing and Mighty Med's destruction, Donald Davenport splits up the Bionic Team and has Bree and Chase join a new Team: the Elite Force. They are reintroduced to Kaz, Oliver and Skylar, who are trying to track down the people responsible for destroying the Mighty Med hospital. Kaz then explains that a lot of superheroes were lost during the destruction, and asked Davenport for technology, but Davenport had a better idea: to create a team combining bionic heroes (Bree and Chase) and superheroes (Kaz, Oliver and Skylar). After some time, the team figure out that the people responsible are Roman & Riker, two shapeshifters who seeked revenge after Kaz and Oliver had taken away their father's powers at Mighty Med. The Elite Force then takes down the shapeshifters, but they get away after the team is distracted by taking selfies. (The Rise of Five)
Donald then proceeds to train the team after discovering that Kaz has a new ability: fire grenades. Oliver, however, fails the training as his water and ice powers do not work. Meanwhile, Bree and Skylar are adjusting to living together, and suddenly when Bree calls Skylar a sister, Skylar starts treating Bree like a Calderian sister (Calderian sisters tackle each other; much like Adam did to Chase in Lab Rats). Later, Oliver asks Chase for help in perfecting a new power, Cyclone Fingers, but it backfires as it sends Davenport on top of the Daven-head. Finally, Bree and Skylar have a talk about how to treat each other with respect, and Oliver saves Davenport from falling off the Daven-head. (Holding Out for a Hero)
(To be continued)
Episodes
- The Rise of Five (101) - March 2, 2016
- Holding Out for a Hero (102) - March 9, 2016
- Power Play (103) - March 16, 2016
- The Superhero Code (106) - March 23, 2016
- Need for Speed (104) - March 30, 2016
- Follow the Leader (105) - April 6, 2016
- The List (107) - April 13, 2016
- Coming Through in the Clutch (109) - July 25, 2016
- The Intruder (112) - September 10, 2016
- The Rock (114) - September 17, 2016
- Home Sweet Home (110-111) - September 24, 2016
- Sheep-Shifting (115) - October 1, 2016
- Game of Drones (108) - October 8, 2016
- They Grow Up So Fast (113) - October 15, 2016
- The Attack (116) - October 22, 2016
Cast
Main Cast
- Bradley Steven Perry as Kaz (16/16)
- William Brent as Chase Davenport (16/16)
- Jake Short as Oliver (16/16)
- Paris Berelc as Skylar Storm (16/16)
- Kelli Berglund as Bree Davenport (16/16)
Recurring Cast
- Maile Flanagan as Perry (4/16)
- Jeremy Kent Jackson as Douglas Davenport (3/16)
- Hal Sparks as Donald Davenport (2/16)
- Booboo Stewart as Roman (2/16)
- Ryan Potter as Riker (2/16)
- Eric Steinberg as Rodissius (2/16)
- Elisha Henig as AJ (2/16)
Guest cast
- Patrika Darbo as Mrs. Ramsey
- Tristan DeVan as Kyle
- Johnathan McClain as Tony
- Pepi Sonuga as Crossbow
- Sanai Victoria as Zoe
- Brandon Salgado-Telis as Bob
- Justin Lopez as Clutch
- Angeline Appel as Christina
- Angel Parker as Tasha Davenport
- Camille Hyde as Naomi Davenport
- Fivel Stewart as Reese
Trivia
- The series and season premiere, "The Rise of Five", aired on March 2, 2016.
- Hal Sparks directed the episodes, Coming Through in the Clutch and The Rock.
- Bradley Steven Perry directed the episode Sheep-Shifting.
- William Brent directed the final episode of the season, The Attack.
- The Davenport Tower Penthouse, Mission Command, and Centium City are introduced as new locations this season.
- This season only has 1 one-hour episode: Home Sweet Home.
- This season contains 16 episodes.
- The first seven episodes aired on Wednesdays and the last seven aired on Saturdays. Only Coming In Through The Clutch aired on a Monday.
- This is the only season in the Elite Force Universe where Douglas appears in more episodes than Donald.
- This is the fifth and final season of Lab Rats franchise and the third season of Mighty Med franchise.
- Spencer Boldman, Tyrel Jackson Williams, Hal Sparks, Devan Leos, and Augie Issac don't return as main cast members, and only Hal Sparks even makes an appearance in Elite Force.
- Kaz, Skylar, and Oliver are the only Mighty Med characters to make an appearance in this season, although Bridget/Mr. Terror, The Annihilator, and Experion (indirectly) are mentioned.
- This is the final season for the Elite Force Universe.
- Even though Chris Peterson had stated that the renewal of a second season is out of their hands, people are still asking Disney to continue the series through petitions and tweets.
- People are also asking Netflix to pick up the series for another season.
- This is the third Mighty Med franchise season to end on a cliffhanger, and with this, all three seasons of the franchise end on a cliffhanger.
- However, with this season, there never was any follow-up.
“ | #LabRatsEliteForceSeason2 | ” |
— Hashtag for Renewal of the Series
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Reception
The season has received mixed reviews from critics and audiences. On IMDb, the score is a 7/10, and on TV.com, the score is a 6.4/10.
Many fans of Lab Rats and Mighty Med have considered Lab Rats: Elite Force unfaithful to its original source materials, due to how it felt more like a teen sitcom than a superhero series. The character bashing, overall development of the characters, the season one/current series finale cliffhanger, the absence of superheroes and supervillains from both previous series', the comedy, and the overall weight of the season's story line and pacing were almost panned by fans alike.
A big aspect of the panned reception is the plot line of Skylar getting her powers back, which originated from Mighty Med. Despite Oliver trying to keep his promise and due to the writing, Chase's success in Skylar's restoration of powers has been a topic of debate/discussion among fans and audiences.
Future
As of April 2023, no new episodes of Elite Force have aired after almost seven years since The Attack (due to the cancellation of the series). However, there is a possibility that the series could be revived on the new Disney+ streaming service.
Gallery
The image gallery for Season 1 may be viewed here. |