Can'tinuity
I realize my LJ is becoming little more than a place to vent about my disappointments with various elements of the etertainment industry, but in complete honesty it's generally more interesting than talking about my real life. So here's a few things I've noticed about the latest series that I've been tearing through: Ben 10.
Ben 10 is actually 3 different series all featuring the titular character in various stages of his life. First as an ADHD and thoroughly obnoxious but still passingly heroic 10 year old (with special appearances as a 30 year old in a super-science fiction future), in Ben 10: Alien Force as a teenager going through the highlight reel of every other teenage character but with aliens, and then in the third series, Ultimate Alien, he's a little older maybe?
Anyway, what got me into the show was actually the finale of Alien Force which seemed to be much like the rebooted Blue Beetle comics and character in tone with a rich backstory to detail how the characters got to that point. Intrigued, I found the show in its entirety and began with the very first episode of regular Ben 10.
What followed were an enjoyable 4 seasons of quite entertaining cartoon action adventure with, at times, surprisingly mature writing and themes being related through the 10 year old protagonist, his much more emotionally mature cousin, and their lovable grandpa who proves to be an intergalactic badass as the three of them spend a single summer vacation together. The show kept remarkably cohesive and true to itself troughout, though it did gloss over the fact that had they actually spent as long as they did together then summer vacation would have had to have lasted well over 150 days of the year. It also established certain character elements like Gwen casting magic spells through incantations and relics, Ben's father being brought in to help save the world, and Ben's fetish for brown girls.
Incidentally there were a couple of non-cannon episodes, prefaced by a narrative that stated they were non-cannon, which were kind of fun.
Then in the next series they immediately started fucking up their own continuity. More than that, they started doing just really bad writing.
Take, for example, the very first episode where Ben and Gwen meet one of their oldest and most dangerous foes from the first series: Kevin. Kevin was the character/plot element for the mandatory "our child hero needs to rebel against authority before realizing he does in fact like his guardians" episode. Kevin was a child with powers too - the ability to absorb energy and reuse it as some kind of attack or utility power. He discovered he could absorb Ben's alien forms and turned himself into a crazed, mutant hybrid who battled the heroes on multiple occasions, even seeking their demise - which is pretty deep for a show about kids fighting kids - and in the future threatening to kill Ben's kid which is somehow worse.
This future, and in fact large portions of the past, seem rather invalidated as Kevin reappears unmutated in Alien Force as an arms dealer in alien tech. Ben and Gwen screw up his deal and he engages them in a fight. Now, however, his powers are weaker, although he doesn't seem to think so. He claims he can absorb "anything" although in actuality it's restricted to large quantities of solid matter, generally concrete or metal, which makes him tough and strong. No explanation for this change is ever given. Then after the fight he immediately joins the team because he thinks Gwen is pretty and the heroes immediately trust him, nearly implicitly, and he becomes their best friend and Gwen's love interest.
I'm currently on the "you shouldn't lie to your parents" episode of Alien Force and I've encountered another bizarre bit or poor writing and continuity. Int he first series Ben revealed his powers and his grandpa's past to his father. It was a good episode. Previously in Alien Force we meet one of Ben's uncles who reveals he knew all about Grandpa Max's alien-fighting occupation. I'm going to ignore the episode where we meet Grandma Verdona simply because if you try to figure out what the hell that does to the family tree your head will explode. But I got sidetracked.... In this episode Ben has to sit down and explain his powers to his parents. Unless his dad is playing dumb so he won't bring down his wife's ire on his own head, this isn't news to him. Not to mention in the last 5 years he's really let himself go having grown a beer gut, long hair, and a new voice actor.
All in all, Alien Force is proving to be largely a disappointment when it comes to weaving the rich tapestry it had seemed like it was attempting. Now it seems more like it's just throwing paint at the walls and exclaiming over the pretty colours and, when it gets stuck, it reuses some paint from the old series. This strikes me as such an odd thing that the show written for little kids maintained its cohesion while the one for older children should struggle and fail so much.
Anyway, I have to get driving home. That's just my opinion.
Ben 10 is actually 3 different series all featuring the titular character in various stages of his life. First as an ADHD and thoroughly obnoxious but still passingly heroic 10 year old (with special appearances as a 30 year old in a super-science fiction future), in Ben 10: Alien Force as a teenager going through the highlight reel of every other teenage character but with aliens, and then in the third series, Ultimate Alien, he's a little older maybe?
Anyway, what got me into the show was actually the finale of Alien Force which seemed to be much like the rebooted Blue Beetle comics and character in tone with a rich backstory to detail how the characters got to that point. Intrigued, I found the show in its entirety and began with the very first episode of regular Ben 10.
What followed were an enjoyable 4 seasons of quite entertaining cartoon action adventure with, at times, surprisingly mature writing and themes being related through the 10 year old protagonist, his much more emotionally mature cousin, and their lovable grandpa who proves to be an intergalactic badass as the three of them spend a single summer vacation together. The show kept remarkably cohesive and true to itself troughout, though it did gloss over the fact that had they actually spent as long as they did together then summer vacation would have had to have lasted well over 150 days of the year. It also established certain character elements like Gwen casting magic spells through incantations and relics, Ben's father being brought in to help save the world, and Ben's fetish for brown girls.
Incidentally there were a couple of non-cannon episodes, prefaced by a narrative that stated they were non-cannon, which were kind of fun.
Then in the next series they immediately started fucking up their own continuity. More than that, they started doing just really bad writing.
Take, for example, the very first episode where Ben and Gwen meet one of their oldest and most dangerous foes from the first series: Kevin. Kevin was the character/plot element for the mandatory "our child hero needs to rebel against authority before realizing he does in fact like his guardians" episode. Kevin was a child with powers too - the ability to absorb energy and reuse it as some kind of attack or utility power. He discovered he could absorb Ben's alien forms and turned himself into a crazed, mutant hybrid who battled the heroes on multiple occasions, even seeking their demise - which is pretty deep for a show about kids fighting kids - and in the future threatening to kill Ben's kid which is somehow worse.
This future, and in fact large portions of the past, seem rather invalidated as Kevin reappears unmutated in Alien Force as an arms dealer in alien tech. Ben and Gwen screw up his deal and he engages them in a fight. Now, however, his powers are weaker, although he doesn't seem to think so. He claims he can absorb "anything" although in actuality it's restricted to large quantities of solid matter, generally concrete or metal, which makes him tough and strong. No explanation for this change is ever given. Then after the fight he immediately joins the team because he thinks Gwen is pretty and the heroes immediately trust him, nearly implicitly, and he becomes their best friend and Gwen's love interest.
I'm currently on the "you shouldn't lie to your parents" episode of Alien Force and I've encountered another bizarre bit or poor writing and continuity. Int he first series Ben revealed his powers and his grandpa's past to his father. It was a good episode. Previously in Alien Force we meet one of Ben's uncles who reveals he knew all about Grandpa Max's alien-fighting occupation. I'm going to ignore the episode where we meet Grandma Verdona simply because if you try to figure out what the hell that does to the family tree your head will explode. But I got sidetracked.... In this episode Ben has to sit down and explain his powers to his parents. Unless his dad is playing dumb so he won't bring down his wife's ire on his own head, this isn't news to him. Not to mention in the last 5 years he's really let himself go having grown a beer gut, long hair, and a new voice actor.
All in all, Alien Force is proving to be largely a disappointment when it comes to weaving the rich tapestry it had seemed like it was attempting. Now it seems more like it's just throwing paint at the walls and exclaiming over the pretty colours and, when it gets stuck, it reuses some paint from the old series. This strikes me as such an odd thing that the show written for little kids maintained its cohesion while the one for older children should struggle and fail so much.
Anyway, I have to get driving home. That's just my opinion.