Friday, January 18, 2013
Video Update (sort of)
Well, in all honesty, I just keep forgetting to use my Mom's computer when I get the chance. Also, with finals and two separate plays the past couple of weeks, it's been a little hectic. But, I have finished the script for the surprise review, and I started another one following that. Actually, the surprise review turned into a series of reviews from the same show, so be ready when it premieres. All I can say now is the show has a following on the internet, and it's possible you may have heard of it. But until then, I'll try to get the Transformers review edited soon. Sorry for the delay!
Thursday, December 13, 2012
My new show!
Sorry I didn't get the link up sooner, but here it is, the link to my new YouTube channel!
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO9f3jU605yq84tJjP75XHQ
Anyways, I know you're probably wondering why I decided to start making videos instead of text reviews. Well it all started in Spring this year, when a friend of mine, Neligahn, asked me to film a video for his show Sci-fi Showdown with him. Being a budding actor, I naturally jumped at the opportunity, and as payment I got to go to a Star Trek convention with him. This naturally led to me checking his show out on Blip for research, and I saw that he recommended a reviewer you might have heard of called The Nostalgia Critic. Eventually I checked out his videos, and discovered that video reviewers are actually quite numerous on the Internet, as are talented ones. After an entire summer of watching the That Guy With The Glasses team, I decided "Hey, why can't I do that?" And the rest is Internet history. Whether or not I'll be popular like them is for the masses to decide, but in the meantime, I'll keep making videos and posting them. And rest assured, my blog will not be abandoned. I'll still post text reviews, just not as often. However, if I find something I can't get the footage I need for, but still want to review, it'll show up here. Not sure why you'd want to red my blog with its numberous bad grammer and speling errors, but hey, it's yor choice. Anyways, this is James Picard signing off!
P.S. the next review, in which I rank the Transformers cartoons, has finished filming, I just need to record the voice-overs and edit the footage. In addition, it also features a new guest star! Also, I've started writing the script for another surprise review, which I'll reveal when it comes out.
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO9f3jU605yq84tJjP75XHQ
Anyways, I know you're probably wondering why I decided to start making videos instead of text reviews. Well it all started in Spring this year, when a friend of mine, Neligahn, asked me to film a video for his show Sci-fi Showdown with him. Being a budding actor, I naturally jumped at the opportunity, and as payment I got to go to a Star Trek convention with him. This naturally led to me checking his show out on Blip for research, and I saw that he recommended a reviewer you might have heard of called The Nostalgia Critic. Eventually I checked out his videos, and discovered that video reviewers are actually quite numerous on the Internet, as are talented ones. After an entire summer of watching the That Guy With The Glasses team, I decided "Hey, why can't I do that?" And the rest is Internet history. Whether or not I'll be popular like them is for the masses to decide, but in the meantime, I'll keep making videos and posting them. And rest assured, my blog will not be abandoned. I'll still post text reviews, just not as often. However, if I find something I can't get the footage I need for, but still want to review, it'll show up here. Not sure why you'd want to red my blog with its numberous bad grammer and speling errors, but hey, it's yor choice. Anyways, this is James Picard signing off!
P.S. the next review, in which I rank the Transformers cartoons, has finished filming, I just need to record the voice-overs and edit the footage. In addition, it also features a new guest star! Also, I've started writing the script for another surprise review, which I'll reveal when it comes out.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Elementary Review
Yep, I just finished watching the first episode. What do I have to say? Meh.
For those who don't know, Elementary is an American adaptation of Sherlock Holmes set in modern-day New York. Holmes is a recovering drug-addict, and Watson is a female sober companion meant to ensure Holmes doesn't take up drugs again. It also comes right off the heels of BBC's popular Sherlock miniseries. I'm not gonna lie, I'm a huge fan of it. The writing is brilliant, the cast is amazing and the length gives them a good time to set out the mystery. So naturally, I was going to be biased going into this. I'll admit, I may not have entirely given it the chance it deserves, but I tried my best to think "Maybe it'll be good, I don't know." And I was also a little tweaked about them clearly changing Watson's gender for the sake of a relationship with Holmes. But, now it's time to start the review.
Warning!! SPOILERS!!!
Yeah, that probably wasn't neccessary, but whatever. Anyways, the story starts off with Watson meeting Holmes watching several different shows at once. He pauses the T.V. , and tells her he's in love with her. He then unpauses one of the T.V.'s to reveal a character saying the exact same thing as him. He then reveals that he's a consultant who hires himself out to the police for free. He heads to the scene of a kidnapping, only to deduce that it was actually a murder. Through the episode he discovers that the murderer was a flower delivery boy who also worked as a part-time serial killer. However, the murderer commits suicide, implying the case is over. But of course, nothing's that simple. Sherlock discovers the killer had been going through therapy to get better, and his therapist was none other than the murder victim's husband, who secretly slipped him steroids instead of his prescribed medication. This in turn caused him to go into a fit of rage and kill the woman the next time he delivered to her. They apprehend the man, and Sherlock and Watson bond.
So, that's essentially the story. There's some stuff exploring Holmes and Watson's relationship, but it doesn't feel like it does much for them. Anyways, what did I think? As I said earlier, Meh.
Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad show by any means, it just seems so bland for a show about the most iconic detective in literature. The story is fairly basic for a murder mystery, and almost feels padded. Also, the police seem to be somewhat dumber than in real life, or even other shows. Some of the stuff Sherlock points out should be fairly obvious, and yet he's the only one who notices. But in the end it's okay, and nothing comes across as really glaring about it. The acting is also fairly meh. Lucy Liu is bland as Watson, and Jonny Lee Miller seems unsure if he should play the role as a distant and unfeeling person, or a genuinly caring man. Honestly, the best actor was the villian, and that's not a good thing. But at the very least, it's not a bad show, and if you like Sherlock Holmes, crime shows, or BBC's Sherlock, you should give it a chance. But if you want my advice, stick with Sherlock. As I said before, it's got great actors, terriffic writers, good mysteries, and nail-biting season finales. In the meantime, hopefully Elementary will learn how to surpass its name.
For those who don't know, Elementary is an American adaptation of Sherlock Holmes set in modern-day New York. Holmes is a recovering drug-addict, and Watson is a female sober companion meant to ensure Holmes doesn't take up drugs again. It also comes right off the heels of BBC's popular Sherlock miniseries. I'm not gonna lie, I'm a huge fan of it. The writing is brilliant, the cast is amazing and the length gives them a good time to set out the mystery. So naturally, I was going to be biased going into this. I'll admit, I may not have entirely given it the chance it deserves, but I tried my best to think "Maybe it'll be good, I don't know." And I was also a little tweaked about them clearly changing Watson's gender for the sake of a relationship with Holmes. But, now it's time to start the review.
Warning!! SPOILERS!!!
Yeah, that probably wasn't neccessary, but whatever. Anyways, the story starts off with Watson meeting Holmes watching several different shows at once. He pauses the T.V. , and tells her he's in love with her. He then unpauses one of the T.V.'s to reveal a character saying the exact same thing as him. He then reveals that he's a consultant who hires himself out to the police for free. He heads to the scene of a kidnapping, only to deduce that it was actually a murder. Through the episode he discovers that the murderer was a flower delivery boy who also worked as a part-time serial killer. However, the murderer commits suicide, implying the case is over. But of course, nothing's that simple. Sherlock discovers the killer had been going through therapy to get better, and his therapist was none other than the murder victim's husband, who secretly slipped him steroids instead of his prescribed medication. This in turn caused him to go into a fit of rage and kill the woman the next time he delivered to her. They apprehend the man, and Sherlock and Watson bond.
So, that's essentially the story. There's some stuff exploring Holmes and Watson's relationship, but it doesn't feel like it does much for them. Anyways, what did I think? As I said earlier, Meh.
Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad show by any means, it just seems so bland for a show about the most iconic detective in literature. The story is fairly basic for a murder mystery, and almost feels padded. Also, the police seem to be somewhat dumber than in real life, or even other shows. Some of the stuff Sherlock points out should be fairly obvious, and yet he's the only one who notices. But in the end it's okay, and nothing comes across as really glaring about it. The acting is also fairly meh. Lucy Liu is bland as Watson, and Jonny Lee Miller seems unsure if he should play the role as a distant and unfeeling person, or a genuinly caring man. Honestly, the best actor was the villian, and that's not a good thing. But at the very least, it's not a bad show, and if you like Sherlock Holmes, crime shows, or BBC's Sherlock, you should give it a chance. But if you want my advice, stick with Sherlock. As I said before, it's got great actors, terriffic writers, good mysteries, and nail-biting season finales. In the meantime, hopefully Elementary will learn how to surpass its name.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Asylum of the Daleks Review
Life's been kinda hectic, and without time or footage to do a video review, I'll just use text.
I've been a fan of Doctor Who for several months. I've seen nearly every episode of the revived series, excluding the impossible-to-find "Planet of the Dead". I've seen several serial by Tom Baker, and bits an pieces from others. And I even liked "Love and Monsters"! For those who understand that, let it sink in. Because I'm about to tell you something very few people have actually said: I did NOT like this episode.
Don't get me wrong, I love the Daleks. They're awesome. But this . . . I don't know what to say. Anyways, let's get going. The episode starts with the Doctor getting kidnapped by a human/Dalek zombie. Then we cut to Amy and Rory signing divorce papers. Even though the last time we saw them, their marriage was fine. And don't give me that Pond Life crap. A miniseries online should not be essential viewing, and it didn't actually explain anything, it just showed them fighting. But I digress. Amy and Rory then get kidnapped as well, and they all meet at the Dalek Parliament. Even though originally the Daleks had an Emperor. This does not bode well. Then we discover that a ship crashed on the Dalek asylum, where all the defective Daleks go. In order to prevent them from escaping, the Daleks want the Doctor to go down to the planet and shut off the force field so that they can destroy it. Even though the whole reason for having the Dalek asylum was because "It is offensive to us to extinguish such divine hatred". Except for all the other times the Daleks killed each other. It's official, we're in for a rough ride. And the final twist in the gut? The Daleks consider it beautiful even though "Daleks have no concept of elegance." Yep. And we aren't even ten minutes in.
So, the Daleks shoot the Doctor down to the planet, and he 'meets' Oswin (played by Jenna-Louise Coleman), a survivor from the ship who's been holding off the Daleks for a year. She's still holed up in her room, but she's managed to hack into the communication system, so she can talk to the Doctor. She manages to guide them through the ship, and the Doctor leaves Amy and Rory behind to rescue Oswin. And here, we learn why they're getting a divorce: Amy think she has to give Rory up because she's infertile after the events of Demon's Run, and apparently Rory REALLY wants a kid (So nice of them to tell us that now instead of earlier). So let me get this straight, for the entire time it took them to get a divorce, she never ONCE thought to talk to him about this fact, or get the Doctor to help her? And what's wrong with adoption?! Yeah, this was just sad. And then they make up after this revelation. So that's all it takes to repair a relationship, apparently. Meanwhile, the Doctor reaches Oswin but discovers she's actually a Dalek, who was converted from human. So, why did she sound human on the intercomm? And what happened to 'genetic purity'? Shut up, that's what happened. Anyways, the Doctor finds the force field (who thought it was a good idea to put the controls to a force field INSIDE THE PRISON?! They could've escaped whenever they wanted to!) and manages to get back to the Dalek ship, where it's revealed that when Oswin erased the Daleks memories of the Doctor (forgot to mention that part, sorry), she erased EVERY Daleks memory of the Doctor. Thank you, Moffat, we Whovians think that's a lovely bird. So Amy and Rory are dropped off back home and the Doctor continues traveling.
So that was Asylum of the Daleks. Or, as I like to call it, Train-wreck of the Daleks. Really, there's no defense for this episode. The "Old Daleks" that were so hyped barely show up, the plot holes are the size of black holes, the Amy and Rory subplot was rediculous and unneccessary, and to top it all off, 49 years of stories have gone down the drain. To be fair, the actors do a great job, and there are some genuinlly fuuny moments. But it doesn't make up for the terrible script. This episode was a terrible start, and I really hope some one realizes that Steven Moffat worked best on a leash. This is really another one of those cases where an artist has enjoyed so much success, no one will tell him no anymore. It's sad, really. Moffat is a great writer, and I really wanted to enjoy this episode. But it just wouldn't let me. Hopefully Moffat will do better. Oh, and look up 'Doctor Who Skit Asylum of the Daleks' on YouTube. It's hilarious. It's better than the episode, actually. As for my next video review, I'm still working out what to use for it. But as soon as I know, I'll get started on the script. See you later!
I've been a fan of Doctor Who for several months. I've seen nearly every episode of the revived series, excluding the impossible-to-find "Planet of the Dead". I've seen several serial by Tom Baker, and bits an pieces from others. And I even liked "Love and Monsters"! For those who understand that, let it sink in. Because I'm about to tell you something very few people have actually said: I did NOT like this episode.
Don't get me wrong, I love the Daleks. They're awesome. But this . . . I don't know what to say. Anyways, let's get going. The episode starts with the Doctor getting kidnapped by a human/Dalek zombie. Then we cut to Amy and Rory signing divorce papers. Even though the last time we saw them, their marriage was fine. And don't give me that Pond Life crap. A miniseries online should not be essential viewing, and it didn't actually explain anything, it just showed them fighting. But I digress. Amy and Rory then get kidnapped as well, and they all meet at the Dalek Parliament. Even though originally the Daleks had an Emperor. This does not bode well. Then we discover that a ship crashed on the Dalek asylum, where all the defective Daleks go. In order to prevent them from escaping, the Daleks want the Doctor to go down to the planet and shut off the force field so that they can destroy it. Even though the whole reason for having the Dalek asylum was because "It is offensive to us to extinguish such divine hatred". Except for all the other times the Daleks killed each other. It's official, we're in for a rough ride. And the final twist in the gut? The Daleks consider it beautiful even though "Daleks have no concept of elegance." Yep. And we aren't even ten minutes in.
So, the Daleks shoot the Doctor down to the planet, and he 'meets' Oswin (played by Jenna-Louise Coleman), a survivor from the ship who's been holding off the Daleks for a year. She's still holed up in her room, but she's managed to hack into the communication system, so she can talk to the Doctor. She manages to guide them through the ship, and the Doctor leaves Amy and Rory behind to rescue Oswin. And here, we learn why they're getting a divorce: Amy think she has to give Rory up because she's infertile after the events of Demon's Run, and apparently Rory REALLY wants a kid (So nice of them to tell us that now instead of earlier). So let me get this straight, for the entire time it took them to get a divorce, she never ONCE thought to talk to him about this fact, or get the Doctor to help her? And what's wrong with adoption?! Yeah, this was just sad. And then they make up after this revelation. So that's all it takes to repair a relationship, apparently. Meanwhile, the Doctor reaches Oswin but discovers she's actually a Dalek, who was converted from human. So, why did she sound human on the intercomm? And what happened to 'genetic purity'? Shut up, that's what happened. Anyways, the Doctor finds the force field (who thought it was a good idea to put the controls to a force field INSIDE THE PRISON?! They could've escaped whenever they wanted to!) and manages to get back to the Dalek ship, where it's revealed that when Oswin erased the Daleks memories of the Doctor (forgot to mention that part, sorry), she erased EVERY Daleks memory of the Doctor. Thank you, Moffat, we Whovians think that's a lovely bird. So Amy and Rory are dropped off back home and the Doctor continues traveling.
So that was Asylum of the Daleks. Or, as I like to call it, Train-wreck of the Daleks. Really, there's no defense for this episode. The "Old Daleks" that were so hyped barely show up, the plot holes are the size of black holes, the Amy and Rory subplot was rediculous and unneccessary, and to top it all off, 49 years of stories have gone down the drain. To be fair, the actors do a great job, and there are some genuinlly fuuny moments. But it doesn't make up for the terrible script. This episode was a terrible start, and I really hope some one realizes that Steven Moffat worked best on a leash. This is really another one of those cases where an artist has enjoyed so much success, no one will tell him no anymore. It's sad, really. Moffat is a great writer, and I really wanted to enjoy this episode. But it just wouldn't let me. Hopefully Moffat will do better. Oh, and look up 'Doctor Who Skit Asylum of the Daleks' on YouTube. It's hilarious. It's better than the episode, actually. As for my next video review, I'm still working out what to use for it. But as soon as I know, I'll get started on the script. See you later!
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Big Announcement!
Well, everyone, I've got some big news: I'm taking Confessions of a Geeky Son Live! That's right, now I'll be on YouTube, reviewing through video. This does not mean I'm abandoning my text blog, it just means it will receive very little attention while I make my videos. Hopefully I'll be smart enough to remember not to set a deadline for myself, because that will be incredibly hectic. Anyways, you can find my channel there now, and coming soon, I will be posting a review of the 1974 Doctor Who serial, The Ark in Space.
Monday, August 20, 2012
TV Show Review #2
Well, I thought long and hard about what TV show to review next. For a while, I was planning on doing the new Doctor Who show, but it got so long, I realized that one needed to be split into chunks, if I was going to continue it at all. I still don't know for certain if it will materialize, but it might. Then, after I got home from a weeklong vacation, I figured it out. It was a show I'd been watching for years, even after it ended. A show that, no matter how many times I stop watching, manages to pull me back in again and again. Ladies and gentlemen, I am about to review one of the greatest shows I've ever seen.
Kim Possible
Yep. That one. For those of you that don't know, Kim Possible is a Disney cartoon (red flag, I know, but bear with me) about a high school cheerleader who saves the world from supervillians. Yes, you read that right. It is an action show, but it also relies heavily on humor that makes fun on secret agent and action movies. One of the high lights included an episode where Kim was forced to take her school rival on a mission, and the villian captured them and placed them in an obligatory over-the-top death trap. Naturally, the rival asks why the villian needs a conviluted trap when he could find an easier way to kill them. Both the villian and Kim look at her exasperatedly and shout "It's just the way it's done!" That was one of the shows greatest strengths; it knew it was rediculous, and it reveled in it.
Anyway, onto the charecters. Obviously, there's Kim (voiced by Christy Carlson Romano), your average crime-fighting teen. She's confident, capable, and always able to find a way to defeat the bad guys. However, she also deals with many of the same problems normal teens do, such as dating, school, and of course, friends. Enter Ron Stoppable (voiced by Will Fredle), who's practically Kim's polar opposite. What she stresses over, he shrugs off. What he stresses over . . . I don't think anyone does. He's also a bit of a geek which immediatly earns him points with me. Tying up the action trio is Rufas, Ron's pet naked mole rat. Yes, those are real animals, and no, they do not act anything like him. Rufas is simaler to Ron in many ways, but doesn't hesitate to point out when he has a differing oppinion on something. He also provides support to Ron when Kim is not, or simply not there to give it. Then there's the rest of the Possible family. Mr. Dr. Possible is a rocket scientist and Mrs. Dr. Possible is a brain surgeon. And yes, it gets weirder. Kim also has two ten-year-old twin brothers, Jim and Tim, also known as the "Tweebs" or twin dweebs. They're geniuses like their father, and occasionly help Kim with equipment. However, most of the time they're not needed, as she has a supergenius website manager and equipment creator, Wade, who is so smart he's already graduated college, and he's also ten. The supporting cast doesn't get much coverage, so when I start covering the seasons, they'll probably be in the background. Anyways, we've covered the heroes, now let's move on to the villians.
The most recurring villian of the show is Doctor Drakken. He's a mad scientist with blue skin (don't ask, I don't know) who wants to take over the world. And no, I'm not bother with the meme. He has a sidekick named Shego, who can create harmful energy bursts around her hands. When she's not busy fighting Kim, she's mocking Drakken's ineptitude. However, Kim does have a larger rouges gallery than just these two. There's also Monkey Fist, who has bio-engineered hands and feet so that he's part monkey, and he seeks ultimate mystic monkey power. Then there's Senor Senior Sr. (voiced by the late Ricardo Montalban) and his son, Senor Senior Jr. , European millionaires who want to take over the world (in Sr.'s case) because they have nothing better to do with their free time. In addition, there's Professor Dementor, a more competent Drakken, and finally, Duff Killigan, the "world's deadliest golfer". Yeah, it's a lot to take in, but thankfully most of the episodes focus on one villian at a time. Now, moving onto the seasons!
Season 1
Well, what can I say? This one started the show and set up the basic premise. Admittedly it was kind of weak compared to later on, but it is still really good, and at some times it really shined. Other than that, it also set up plot threads that would be important later on, like Ron gaining mystical monkey powers. Highlights from the season include "Bueno Nacho", "Tick-Tick-Tick" (the first episode, chronalogically), "Monkey Fist Strikes", and "Attack of the Killer Bebes".
Season 2
This is the season that really made the show. While they had an idea of where they were going in Season 1, Season 2 is where they found their path and stuck to it. Good thing too, because this season is a whopper. It clocks out at 28 episodes long, 31 if you count the tv movie, "A Sitch in Time". I'll cover that breifly, because while it was their first movie, it wasn't really important to the show. It was a lot of fun, and very clever. Michael Dorn was a phenomanal casting choice, and the fact that we got to see several of the villians teaming up did try to give the feeling that this was a threat worthy of feature length coverage. The very ending is kind of meh, but I guess it's all right. Anyways, this season continues on the arcs started in the last season, and expands upon them. Ron's status as a warrior with mystic monkey power shows up again when he's breifly transfered to a secret ninja school. The season also starts to develop Kim and Ron's relationship, giving little hints that they might become a couple later on. This is shown most prominantly in "A Sitch in Time" when Ron moves to Norway, and both of them have to figure out how to move on with their lives. However, it doesn't really develop too much here, it's more like little hints at things to come. Highlights include "Exchange", "The Fearless Ferret" (which had a great guest appearance by Adam West and a nice nod to Will Fredle's role as Terry McGinnis in Batman Beyond), "The Golden Years", "A Very Possible Christmas" (even after the Doctor Who christmas specials, it's still the weirdest one I've ever seen), "Oh Boyz" and "Go Team Go" (which had some nice reveals on Shego's past). Overall, this season was very good, and set things up great for the show's final year. But they didn't count on Disney's interference.
Season 3
This season got a little weird. Whereas the last one had aroung thirty episodes, this one only had about fourteen. Add to that the fact that it took them two years to air all the episodes, and the finale aired before most of the season had finished, and you had a bit of a mess behind the scenes. However, let's tak a look the season itself. The best description I've heard given to it is short but sweet. It has plenty of great and few good episodes, and none of them were unentertaining. One of the biggest things they writers did in this season was push forward the idea that Kim and Ron were going to begin dating. It was clear right from the first episode that they were growing closer, and all throughout the season it kep happening. There was even a joke in one of the episodes about a show that would "end" if the two main charecters got together, a feeling much of the fanbase shared with the real show. At least, until "Emotion Sickness", in which a mood-altering device causes Kim to fall in love with Ron. This episode ended up being quite popular, and that was all the writers needed. Then they made "So The Drama". And that's a whole other animal. Whereas the last movie was definetly made for TV, and felt more like an extended episode, this one could've been released theatrically. It's that good. The stakes were high, the charecters were given the epitomy of development, and the animation was superb. Everything that the show was was dialed up to 12 in this movie. It's that good. And, it finally did what the writers had been planning all along: it got Kim and Ron together. And it worked. Their progression was totally believable. Anyways, that was the show's finale, and it was everything we could want and more. Other highlights include "Rappin' Drakken", "Emotion Sickness", "Bad Boy" and "Dimension Twist". All in all, the content of the season at least was a great send-off, even if Disney did screw them over with the airing schedule.
Season 4
Psych, there really was another season. While only three had originally been planned, positive viewership and fans who would not be denied convinced Disney to give the show one more shot. Somehow, they managed to get almost everyone back (the Tweebs voice noticably changed, I swear it was the voice of Dash from "The Incredibles"), and start up again. But, there was one question on every nearly fan's mind: could they pull it off? Post-script seasons rarely work, and this one had a huge change with Kim and Ron being in a romantic relationship. However, I'm happy to say that they succeded. Yes, there were some major changes, but the core of the show was still the same and it still worked. The writers clearly cared about making sure that this season lived up to the standards of the past, and they succeded. Although I will say I think Kim's old uniform looked better than the new one. It was less flashy. But, Disney wanted to keep up with fashion I guess. Anyways, this season Definetly kept going strong. And then we had the finale. In "Graduation" Kim and Ron face what could possibly be the biggest threat they've ever tackled: a full-on alien invasion. Thankfully, the race had been introduced early in the season, so we knew who they were. And, surprisingly, it was really good. "So The Drama" may have been a little better, but everybody gave their all for this two-parter (the first in KP's history), and it shows. The only bad thing I have to say about it is why did they put Drakken and Shego together? Not only is that incredibly out of left field, it's just wrong for the charecters. The humor came from Shego's disdain for Drakken, and removing it was not a good choice. But, other than that, it was a solid ending and it left the show on a high note. Other highlights include "Odds Man In", "The Cupid Effect", "Stop Team Go", "Mathter and Fervant" (which as a plus, aired on my birthday) and "Grande Size Me".
Overall, this show was great. It had decent animation that got better as the show went on, great charecters, great humor, and just a great sense of fun. Really, it's hard to imagine someone not liking the show. I can't reccomend it strongly enough, it is one of the best animated shows I've ever seen, if not THE best. If you find it on youtube or somewhere else, give it a look. You won't be dissapointed.
Kim Possible
Yep. That one. For those of you that don't know, Kim Possible is a Disney cartoon (red flag, I know, but bear with me) about a high school cheerleader who saves the world from supervillians. Yes, you read that right. It is an action show, but it also relies heavily on humor that makes fun on secret agent and action movies. One of the high lights included an episode where Kim was forced to take her school rival on a mission, and the villian captured them and placed them in an obligatory over-the-top death trap. Naturally, the rival asks why the villian needs a conviluted trap when he could find an easier way to kill them. Both the villian and Kim look at her exasperatedly and shout "It's just the way it's done!" That was one of the shows greatest strengths; it knew it was rediculous, and it reveled in it.
Anyway, onto the charecters. Obviously, there's Kim (voiced by Christy Carlson Romano), your average crime-fighting teen. She's confident, capable, and always able to find a way to defeat the bad guys. However, she also deals with many of the same problems normal teens do, such as dating, school, and of course, friends. Enter Ron Stoppable (voiced by Will Fredle), who's practically Kim's polar opposite. What she stresses over, he shrugs off. What he stresses over . . . I don't think anyone does. He's also a bit of a geek which immediatly earns him points with me. Tying up the action trio is Rufas, Ron's pet naked mole rat. Yes, those are real animals, and no, they do not act anything like him. Rufas is simaler to Ron in many ways, but doesn't hesitate to point out when he has a differing oppinion on something. He also provides support to Ron when Kim is not, or simply not there to give it. Then there's the rest of the Possible family. Mr. Dr. Possible is a rocket scientist and Mrs. Dr. Possible is a brain surgeon. And yes, it gets weirder. Kim also has two ten-year-old twin brothers, Jim and Tim, also known as the "Tweebs" or twin dweebs. They're geniuses like their father, and occasionly help Kim with equipment. However, most of the time they're not needed, as she has a supergenius website manager and equipment creator, Wade, who is so smart he's already graduated college, and he's also ten. The supporting cast doesn't get much coverage, so when I start covering the seasons, they'll probably be in the background. Anyways, we've covered the heroes, now let's move on to the villians.
The most recurring villian of the show is Doctor Drakken. He's a mad scientist with blue skin (don't ask, I don't know) who wants to take over the world. And no, I'm not bother with the meme. He has a sidekick named Shego, who can create harmful energy bursts around her hands. When she's not busy fighting Kim, she's mocking Drakken's ineptitude. However, Kim does have a larger rouges gallery than just these two. There's also Monkey Fist, who has bio-engineered hands and feet so that he's part monkey, and he seeks ultimate mystic monkey power. Then there's Senor Senior Sr. (voiced by the late Ricardo Montalban) and his son, Senor Senior Jr. , European millionaires who want to take over the world (in Sr.'s case) because they have nothing better to do with their free time. In addition, there's Professor Dementor, a more competent Drakken, and finally, Duff Killigan, the "world's deadliest golfer". Yeah, it's a lot to take in, but thankfully most of the episodes focus on one villian at a time. Now, moving onto the seasons!
Season 1
Well, what can I say? This one started the show and set up the basic premise. Admittedly it was kind of weak compared to later on, but it is still really good, and at some times it really shined. Other than that, it also set up plot threads that would be important later on, like Ron gaining mystical monkey powers. Highlights from the season include "Bueno Nacho", "Tick-Tick-Tick" (the first episode, chronalogically), "Monkey Fist Strikes", and "Attack of the Killer Bebes".
Season 2
This is the season that really made the show. While they had an idea of where they were going in Season 1, Season 2 is where they found their path and stuck to it. Good thing too, because this season is a whopper. It clocks out at 28 episodes long, 31 if you count the tv movie, "A Sitch in Time". I'll cover that breifly, because while it was their first movie, it wasn't really important to the show. It was a lot of fun, and very clever. Michael Dorn was a phenomanal casting choice, and the fact that we got to see several of the villians teaming up did try to give the feeling that this was a threat worthy of feature length coverage. The very ending is kind of meh, but I guess it's all right. Anyways, this season continues on the arcs started in the last season, and expands upon them. Ron's status as a warrior with mystic monkey power shows up again when he's breifly transfered to a secret ninja school. The season also starts to develop Kim and Ron's relationship, giving little hints that they might become a couple later on. This is shown most prominantly in "A Sitch in Time" when Ron moves to Norway, and both of them have to figure out how to move on with their lives. However, it doesn't really develop too much here, it's more like little hints at things to come. Highlights include "Exchange", "The Fearless Ferret" (which had a great guest appearance by Adam West and a nice nod to Will Fredle's role as Terry McGinnis in Batman Beyond), "The Golden Years", "A Very Possible Christmas" (even after the Doctor Who christmas specials, it's still the weirdest one I've ever seen), "Oh Boyz" and "Go Team Go" (which had some nice reveals on Shego's past). Overall, this season was very good, and set things up great for the show's final year. But they didn't count on Disney's interference.
Season 3
This season got a little weird. Whereas the last one had aroung thirty episodes, this one only had about fourteen. Add to that the fact that it took them two years to air all the episodes, and the finale aired before most of the season had finished, and you had a bit of a mess behind the scenes. However, let's tak a look the season itself. The best description I've heard given to it is short but sweet. It has plenty of great and few good episodes, and none of them were unentertaining. One of the biggest things they writers did in this season was push forward the idea that Kim and Ron were going to begin dating. It was clear right from the first episode that they were growing closer, and all throughout the season it kep happening. There was even a joke in one of the episodes about a show that would "end" if the two main charecters got together, a feeling much of the fanbase shared with the real show. At least, until "Emotion Sickness", in which a mood-altering device causes Kim to fall in love with Ron. This episode ended up being quite popular, and that was all the writers needed. Then they made "So The Drama". And that's a whole other animal. Whereas the last movie was definetly made for TV, and felt more like an extended episode, this one could've been released theatrically. It's that good. The stakes were high, the charecters were given the epitomy of development, and the animation was superb. Everything that the show was was dialed up to 12 in this movie. It's that good. And, it finally did what the writers had been planning all along: it got Kim and Ron together. And it worked. Their progression was totally believable. Anyways, that was the show's finale, and it was everything we could want and more. Other highlights include "Rappin' Drakken", "Emotion Sickness", "Bad Boy" and "Dimension Twist". All in all, the content of the season at least was a great send-off, even if Disney did screw them over with the airing schedule.
Season 4
Psych, there really was another season. While only three had originally been planned, positive viewership and fans who would not be denied convinced Disney to give the show one more shot. Somehow, they managed to get almost everyone back (the Tweebs voice noticably changed, I swear it was the voice of Dash from "The Incredibles"), and start up again. But, there was one question on every nearly fan's mind: could they pull it off? Post-script seasons rarely work, and this one had a huge change with Kim and Ron being in a romantic relationship. However, I'm happy to say that they succeded. Yes, there were some major changes, but the core of the show was still the same and it still worked. The writers clearly cared about making sure that this season lived up to the standards of the past, and they succeded. Although I will say I think Kim's old uniform looked better than the new one. It was less flashy. But, Disney wanted to keep up with fashion I guess. Anyways, this season Definetly kept going strong. And then we had the finale. In "Graduation" Kim and Ron face what could possibly be the biggest threat they've ever tackled: a full-on alien invasion. Thankfully, the race had been introduced early in the season, so we knew who they were. And, surprisingly, it was really good. "So The Drama" may have been a little better, but everybody gave their all for this two-parter (the first in KP's history), and it shows. The only bad thing I have to say about it is why did they put Drakken and Shego together? Not only is that incredibly out of left field, it's just wrong for the charecters. The humor came from Shego's disdain for Drakken, and removing it was not a good choice. But, other than that, it was a solid ending and it left the show on a high note. Other highlights include "Odds Man In", "The Cupid Effect", "Stop Team Go", "Mathter and Fervant" (which as a plus, aired on my birthday) and "Grande Size Me".
Overall, this show was great. It had decent animation that got better as the show went on, great charecters, great humor, and just a great sense of fun. Really, it's hard to imagine someone not liking the show. I can't reccomend it strongly enough, it is one of the best animated shows I've ever seen, if not THE best. If you find it on youtube or somewhere else, give it a look. You won't be dissapointed.
Monday, July 16, 2012
My thoughts on Teenage Alien Ninja Turtles
First off, I'd like to settle something. I do know that my mom moved to WordPress with her blog, but I will not. I'm staying right here, and nothing is changing. That said, let's talk about the new TMNT movie.
I randmly looked it up a while ago, and saw Michael Bay's name attached. When I saw that I just went "Well that's going down the toilet" and promptly forgot it existed. I think I should pause here and give everybody a little bit of background. I've been a TMNT fan ever since I was six. I've seen the first two movies and the animated one, MANY episodes of the 4Kids show, and a few episodes of the old cartoon. Yeah. I'll admit, I like the new one more. It was darker, more grown-up, and it was closer to the comics. Whereas the 80's show had a little pink brain in a robot suit and Shredder's ultimate weapon was a golf ball with wheels and an eye. I'm sorry, but mutant bannanas are too rediculous for me. And yes, they were in the show, not just the other movie I forgot to mention, Turtles Forever (SPOILERS: It was Awesome!). No. I don't know exactly where, but it was pointed out by some poular review on YouTube, you can look it up. If I'm wrong, don't hesitate to call me out though. Anyways, I'm a big fan of this, just like I'm a big fan or Transformers. So I already know what Michael Bay is capable of.
Now when I found out about this, I had the same reaction as many people: I was outraged. I know this isn't entirely Bay's fault, given that he's just a producer, but it sounds like he had a strong hand in this. But looking back on it, I realized something: I should be ecstatic! Why? Because it's so stupid! Honestly, that is the only way you could make Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles any more rediculous. And that ain't easy! What we finally have is a film that is already getting a bad reception before it even comes out! But why is this good? The reason is very simple. We are now a step closer to bringing Bay down. In fact, production on the movie has shut down. It's a little unclear if it's permanent or not, but if it is, it's a step in the right direction. If not, that just means we need to simply act like the film doesn't exist, and avoid seeing it at any cost. This alien thing will help with that. Michael Bay has already proven he can't really make a good movie, (except the first Transformers, which was alright, but it wasn't a really great film), so maybe this will jolt everyone into realizing this as well. My hope is that this terrible idea will wake people up, and convince them to stop giving Bay their money. Besides, they already made the best Turtles movie they could make: Turtles Forever. That was an epic film! It was even going to be given a short run in theaters! Yeah, that's how awesome it was. So Turtles fans, watch that if you want a difinitive TMNT movie. And whatever we do, we have to boycott Bay's film. It may not have much of an impact (I STILL haven't seen Dark of the Moon, and look what happened), but we have to try. We have to get Bay out of there, and ensure he's kicked out of Hollywood.
I randmly looked it up a while ago, and saw Michael Bay's name attached. When I saw that I just went "Well that's going down the toilet" and promptly forgot it existed. I think I should pause here and give everybody a little bit of background. I've been a TMNT fan ever since I was six. I've seen the first two movies and the animated one, MANY episodes of the 4Kids show, and a few episodes of the old cartoon. Yeah. I'll admit, I like the new one more. It was darker, more grown-up, and it was closer to the comics. Whereas the 80's show had a little pink brain in a robot suit and Shredder's ultimate weapon was a golf ball with wheels and an eye. I'm sorry, but mutant bannanas are too rediculous for me. And yes, they were in the show, not just the other movie I forgot to mention, Turtles Forever (SPOILERS: It was Awesome!). No. I don't know exactly where, but it was pointed out by some poular review on YouTube, you can look it up. If I'm wrong, don't hesitate to call me out though. Anyways, I'm a big fan of this, just like I'm a big fan or Transformers. So I already know what Michael Bay is capable of.
Now when I found out about this, I had the same reaction as many people: I was outraged. I know this isn't entirely Bay's fault, given that he's just a producer, but it sounds like he had a strong hand in this. But looking back on it, I realized something: I should be ecstatic! Why? Because it's so stupid! Honestly, that is the only way you could make Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles any more rediculous. And that ain't easy! What we finally have is a film that is already getting a bad reception before it even comes out! But why is this good? The reason is very simple. We are now a step closer to bringing Bay down. In fact, production on the movie has shut down. It's a little unclear if it's permanent or not, but if it is, it's a step in the right direction. If not, that just means we need to simply act like the film doesn't exist, and avoid seeing it at any cost. This alien thing will help with that. Michael Bay has already proven he can't really make a good movie, (except the first Transformers, which was alright, but it wasn't a really great film), so maybe this will jolt everyone into realizing this as well. My hope is that this terrible idea will wake people up, and convince them to stop giving Bay their money. Besides, they already made the best Turtles movie they could make: Turtles Forever. That was an epic film! It was even going to be given a short run in theaters! Yeah, that's how awesome it was. So Turtles fans, watch that if you want a difinitive TMNT movie. And whatever we do, we have to boycott Bay's film. It may not have much of an impact (I STILL haven't seen Dark of the Moon, and look what happened), but we have to try. We have to get Bay out of there, and ensure he's kicked out of Hollywood.
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