Lab Rats: Elite Force
Lab Rats: Elite Force is a short-lived American comedy television series created by Chris Peterson and Bryan Moore that aired on Disney XD from March 2 to October 22, 2016. The series is a combined spinoff of Lab Rats and Mighty Med with returning stars Billy Unger, Bradley Steven Perry, Jake Short, Paris Berelc, and Kelli Berglund.
Why It's Crossing Over Well
- The Mighty Med characters interacted with the Lab Rats team once again.
- Catchy theme song that's a remix of the original theme song.
- Even though Leo and Adam are absent, they were mentioned a few times. It was also explained in the final episode of Lab Rats why they didn't appear.
- Kaz and Oliver finally get powers of their own after absorbing the Arcturion's energy in the series finale of Mighty Med.
- Douglas and Donald Davenport return as recurring characters. Even though one of them appears one time less than the other. But still.
- The main antagonists, Riker and Roman, are both played by Ryan Potter & Booboo Stewart. Who are from 2 popular Disney movies.
- No one from the original 2 series is out of character. They all have the same personalities.
- Lots of heartwarming moments. Like in Holding Out for a Hero, when Chase explains Oliver's doubts and tells him that Kaz must let him save Donald.
- Unlike most modern Disney XD sitcoms, it doesn't use the laugh track over and over in almost every scene.
- There was at least one or two characters from Lab Rats who returned, like Tasha in They Grow Up So Fast.
- We finally get to see one of Kaz's siblings after all of them only getting mentioned in Mighty Med.
- It keeps the same charm from the previous 2 shows. As it regains all the great acting and funny jokes.
- This is Disney XD’s done right version of a crossover show, compared to Nickelodeon’s poor attempt of their bad Sam & Cat.
Bad Qualities
- This show is most likely a franchise killer for the Lab Rats and Mighty Med franchise, as there has been no second production season or even any announcements of new shows since Elite Force ended, leaving the show to have a bad finale, and Disney XD has since easily given up on the franchise, not to mention they haven't had any new live-actions since 2017.
- It ended too early and should've gotten more seasons.
- Characters from both Lab Rats and Mighty Med can be out of character at times and unlikable.
- It wasn't as perfect as the original two which is why it didn't get a second season. This include:
- Characters from Mighty Med like Gus, Horace, Alan, and Jordan being completely removed.
- Characters from Lab Rats are also absent.
- Mr. Davenport only appeared in the first 2 episodes and then after that, he was also absent.
Reception
The season has received mixed reviews from critics and audiences. On IMDb, the score is a 6.3/10, 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.