Straight from the Sewers

I spent much of last weekend catching up on animated television by watching all the episodes of Nickelodeon's new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. I had no plans to care about this series until I caught a few minutes of the premiere a few weeks back and was captivated by the look of the show. Still, I put off watching it...until now.

This is one of those shows, like the new Thundercats, that has gotten everything right. They could have easily gone in the wrong direction, but wisely, the show decided to create a comic book feel for our heroes in a half-shell. I love the way the backgrounds look like comic book panels and the occasional still frame pauses that look like print. 

The four turtles have been given more depth than they had in the original series. Michelangelo, my least favorite from the original, is now my favorite character. The lovable misfit of the bunch is such a great character and gives the group a real dynamic. Leo as the leader-in-training is also a nice touch. The bad guys have also been stepped up, made much more sinister and cunning than The Foot ever was. 

This now makes four '80s cartoons from my childhood that have been given amazing second chances, along with Transformers Prime, the previously mentioned Thundercats, and the short-lived, but quality G.I. Joe Renegades. Now if only Hollywood had the same good sense as the networks then maybe we'd have entertaining movie version as well instead of the schlock they throw out there in an attempt to ruin the name of great properties.

More Than Meets the Eye

One of the shows I've been most impressed with this new television season is Transformers Prime and the creative leaps it has made. Entering its third season, the series has really found its groove. It had already begun to pick up steam last season, but now it's really rolling. The characters have finally found their way and the human teenagers have thankfully been given smaller supporting roles. Plus, the addition of Smokescreen added much need life to the Autobots. But the biggest different is the grandness of the story.

The Cybertronian War and its vast back story have started to dominate the show's arch. It feels much more like an anime series now with the inclusion of the super powerful relics and the introduction of the Omega keys that could revive Cybertron. This is a nod to the later seasons of the original cartoon and comic book, which ended with the birth of Cybertron's Golden Age. I admit to be in nerd heaven if that's the route the show continues to take...because let's face it, we all want to see more of Cybertron and less of Earth.

More Than Meets the Eye

Recently I've been watching a lot of the Transformers animated series. The HUB, a new animated channel that sprung up on my cable about a year ago, had been airing the original series for a long time. I watched that, but found myself longing for the series that ran after the movie. My wish was been granted a few weeks ago and luckily I started recording it just at the beginning.

Though I was a fan of the original episodes when they first aired, watching them again last year, I found the concept to be a bit stale. The second series however is much more entertaining. I remember watching those too, every day right after school. The key to these episodes is the expansion of the story. Set decades in the future from the original, this is more of traditional science fiction series. It hardly ever takes place on Earth and introduces all sorts of alien races with endless consequences.

The second generation of characters are also better. Galvatron, the reincarnation of Megatron, is cunning and more evil. Cybertron in once again in the hands of the Autobots, led by Hot Rod after Optimus Prime's death, though he is resurrected a dozen or so episodes in. Both sides have a shared enemy, the Quintessons. These are devious creatures, much like the Daleks in Doctor Who. In addition there is plenty of alien mythology thrown in with each new civilization they meet. Of course, there is still element of the show where each episode is used to introduce a new toy, especially the endless string of merging super-Transformers. But that's okay, the more the merrier.

It's a shame those horrible movies have sullied the franchise. In it's heyday, it was a revolutionary American cartoon, taking elements of Japanese style and bringing them here. It certainly was one of the prime stories that captured and shaped my young imagination. It's nice to know that it still has the power to do so.