Re: [scifinoir2] Thoughts on Some Animated Series

[Tracey de Morsella (formerly Tracey L. Minor)]

I do not know if anyone answered your question, but I did see it on dvd

Daryle wrote:
>
>
> Same with Avatar. Isn't this series on DVD?
>
> On 9/20/07 4:20 PM, "[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
> <mailto:KeithBJohnson%40comcast.net>" <[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
> <mailto:KeithBJohnson%40comcast.net>>
> wrote:
>
> > I know this is long (what else do you expect from me?). I posted 
> this a year
> > or so ago, and thought it'd be timely now, with new series premieres 
> of The
> > Batman, Avatar, and Legion of Super Heroes. The first big paragraph 
> under each
> > is what I said about the shows last year; the "Followup" lists my 
> updated
> > thoughts and show info, if I have it.
> >
> > [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:keithbjohnson%40comcast.net> wrote]
> >
> > I'm curious if any of y'all have seen a couple of new cartoons this 
> season, or
> > are watching returning ones:
> >
> > Avatar - Nick, Fridays at 8:30 pm, reruns (sometimes a week behind) 
> Saturdays
> > from 11 - 12 noon
> > http://www.nick.com/all_nick/tv_supersites/avatar2/ 
> <http://www.nick.com/all_nick/tv_supersites/avatar2/>
> >
> > MUST WATCH!!! I liked this show from the start. Despite its sometimes
> > anachronistic language and youth-oriented writing, its concept of 
> Benders
> > manipulating the four classical Elements, and a reincarnated Avatar 
> saving the
> > world, intrigued me. The moments of drama and action more than 
> compensated for
> > any kiddiness in the show. Trust me though: it's getting much, much 
> better.
> > Ang has learned that he has less than a year to learn Bending of all the
> > elements and defeat the Fire Lord. A fiery comet is approaching the 
> world,
> > whose flame will make the Fire lord all but invincible, and Ang must 
> be ready
> > before then. Prince Zuko and his uncle are starting to question the 
> goals of
> > the Fire Nation. The mythology of the series is being fleshed out 
> more. (Check
> > out the above link, which details philosophy of each of the Bending 
> arts, to
> > see what I mean). New Benders are encountered all the time, 
> including whole
> > cities full of them, such as Ba Sing Se, where the trains are run by 
> Earth
> > Bende
> > rs pushing the stone vehicles on stone rails with their powers. The 
> stories
> > are getting more mature, the danger and stakes, increasing. Still 
> not enough
> > Bending for me, but man, when Ang lets loose in Avatar mode, watch 
> out! Truly
> > one of the best cartoons on TV.
> >
> > Followup: Ang has been betrayed and must grow up emotionally and in 
> terms of
> > his powers to defeat the Fire Lord. All the characters are growing and
> > changing. New season is going to be something. In the meantime, 
> wanna see
> > something great? At the above link, click on each of the four 
> iconsËœEarth,
> > Air, Fire, and WaterËœat the corners of the screen to see some 
> detailed info
> > about each of the Bending arts. And then, click on the Video 
> selection from
> > the menu. Be patient for the ads, then click on the video icons for 
> each of
> > the Bending Arts. They‚re all based on real life martial arts, and 
> you‚re
> > given a short example of each. Absolutely amazing. You have *got* to 
> get into
> > this show and check out the new season tomorrow: it‚s great action!
> >
> >
> > Legion of Superheroes - CW Kid's WB? Saturdays at 10:00?
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legion_of_Super_Heroes_ 
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legion_of_Super_Heroes_>(animated_series)
> > Character pics can be found here: 
> http://www.kidswb.com/kids/video?vid=legion 
> <http://www.kidswb.com/kids/video?vid=legion>
> >
> > (Not sure of the time) Say what?? Legion goes back in time to 
> recruit Superman
> > for help against the Fatal Five, but end up going further back and 
> getting
> > young Clark Kent, who's still learning to use his powers. Clark 
> can't even fly
> > when they contact him. Though he does learn, he's about as unstable 
> in flight
> > as the Greatest American Hero. Strong though: he lifted 3,000 tons 
> during a
> > test. Clark is quickly inducted into the Legion after helping defeat the
> > Fatal Five. The show's premise is that he'll hang out in the 31st 
> Century
> > helping out for a while, and then be returned back to his time only 
> minutes
> > after initially leaving. The first show was decent, if you overlook 
> the rather
> > basic animation. The characters have been changed somewhat, such as 
> the now
> > completely robotic Brainiac 5. Evidently there's some legal issues 
> with the
> > show, as young Clark has dubbed himself "Superman", *not* "Superboy".
> >
> > Followup: Caught me completely off guard. I‚ve really grown to 
> love this
> > show, which is actually very good in terms of action. It‚s not at 
> all kiddie
> > as I feared. The animation and stories aren‚t quite up to Batman 
> or Justice
> > League animated standard, but still very, very good. Bouncing Boy is now
> > leader, and the stories dealing with his self-doubt are good. All 
> the old
> > classic Legionnaires are there, good and bad, from cool ones like 
> Sun Boy and
> > Ultra-Boy, to goofy ones like Matter-Eater Lad and Chlorophyll Kid. 
> They even
> > have two Black members, Tyrok (I think: the guy with the sonic 
> powers) and
> > Star Boy (who was white in the comics) The season finale had the 
> entire Legion
> > fighting the Sun-Eater, which was awesome. New season starts this 
> Saturday,
> > with a Superman-clone from the far future who has a greater suite of 
> powers
> > than the current one. Looking forward to it.
> >
> >
> > The Batman - CW Kid's WB? Saturdays at 10:30?
> > http://www.legionsofgotham.org/BATMAN.html 
> <http://www.legionsofgotham.org/BATMAN.html>
> >
> > New season, new music, new opening scenes, season premiere this 
> Saturday.
> > Robin has joined the show, in an episode that was fairly mature and 
> graphic in
> > terms of his parents' murder by Tony Zuco. Batgirl is also evidently 
> a regular
> > this season. I hated the premiere last year, grew to appreciate it 
> somewhat
> > (though still not as much as Batman: The Animated Series). It‚s 
> not half bad,
> > just not as well-written or mature as that great previous series. 
> There‚s a
> > lot of action, but at the expense of good dialogue and writing, to 
> my mind. A
> > tricky thing to make a superhero cartoon that‚s not just action 
> and flash, but
> > the first series managed to do just that. It‚s also still a change 
> to deal
> > with a Bruce Wayne‚s who‚s not always bitter and moody. This is 
> a younger
> > Bruce, who can still laugh and joke in his civilian lifeËœeven in 
> private with
> > Alfred. I guess, looking at this series and the movie „Batman 
> Begins‰, the new
> > writers‚ idea is that years of fighting crime takes its toll, makin
> > g Batman ever grimmer in his private life, not just when wearing the 
> cape and
> > cowl. I‚m also not keen on the way some of the villains are 
> presented this
> > time around, such as the strange, leaping Joker, who seems less 
> human somehow.
> > And there‚s a bit too much reliance on techno gadgets at times (again,
> > suffering by comparison to its predecessor). If the original series had
> > never aired, I‚d consider this a perfectly acceptable, typical 
> action cartoon.
> >
> > Followup: To slightly amend what I said just now, the show‚s 
> Batman seems to
> > be getting slightly darker and grimmer (yay!) Still a bit too much 
> kiddie tone
> > when Robin and Batgirl (both too young for my liking) joke, but 
> it‚s not a big
> > deal. Batman has met Martian Manhunter and the Justice League, and 
> this season
> > will feature a great deal of interaction with the JL. Now on my list of
> > must-see animated shows∑
> >
> >
> > Fantastic Four - Cartoon Network, Saturdays at 11 am and 8 pm
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Four_%282006_TV_series%29 
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Four_%282006_TV_series%29>
> > Interview with creator Chris Yost:
> > http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=12212 
> <http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=12212>
> >
> > Another "Say what???" This caught me completely off guard. I heard 
> not a peep
> > about this new series, and happened to catch it accidentally two 
> weeks ago. So
> > far I've seen one two eps. I think the animation's done by the same 
> people
> > who did the "Men in Black" cartoon, which I loved, but it‚s not as 
> good. Many
> > fans have called the animation a faux anime style, and most seem to 
> hate it,
> > comparing it in some cases unfavorably to the „Aeon Flux‰ 
> cartoon‚s clook.
> > The two shows I saw were only fair so far. Action's a little too 
> fast-paced
> > in a too-rushed-to-be-enjoyed kind of way, and the stories aren't as 
> engaging
> > and developed as, say, Justice League at its best. Even more than „The
> > Batman‰, this one strikes me as a by-the-numbers superhero cartoon 
> with lots
> > of action but not very sophisticated writing and plots. Again, that 
> ain‚t
> > necessarily a bad thing, but once you‚ve had the best∑ I'll 
> probably give it
> > another few viewings, but not a must-see in my book. Frankly I‚d 
> watch the
> > old 60s FF before this one. Remember? It‚s the one where Reed had that
> > curiously gruff voice, the Thing yelled „It‚s clobberin‚ 
> time!‰ just about
> > every ep, and Sue screamed „Oh Reed!‰ whenever danger struck. 
> That one
> > perfectly captured the corny-but-cool melodrama that so typified 
> Marvel Comics
> > back then.
> >
> >
> > Followup: Sucks. Weak, boring, possibly worse than the horrid 
> movies. Bad
> > attempt to update and „modernize‰ characters that didn‚t need 
> it. Not even
> > sure it‚s still on , but no loss.
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
>
>