Tell me there's something better
-
Scrite — 14 years ago(January 25, 2012 12:22 PM)
There isn't This one was simply the best. I have seen some preview footage from the new cartoon and I would not even want to name it in the same sentence
Just League Unlimited has far better action sequences but this show has everything else. (Except an extremely ugly style - But that's a most personal opinion that has nothing to do with the quality of the show.)
I don't think that I will ever be able to get over the fact that it was cancelled. I mean 65 episodes and a couple of direct to DVD PG-13 films for the darker stuff. That's what we could have had I get depressed just thinking about it.
Although for newer shows you could try Young Justice. It's hardly in the same league and I thought that the the first 9 episodes sucked (Hey you might like them!) but I'm really starting to like it now as well, I think the show gets better and better what every episode.
The reason that no show can touch this one is that it started on the top and stayed there until it was cancelled
When the choice is between a American and a Russian film, always choose the latter. -
Cold_In_Space — 14 years ago(January 25, 2012 12:35 PM)
The ONLY ep from Spec Spidey that I didn't like that much was the one with Kraven, but even so I can't say I didn't like the action scenes and the parts with Flash, just Kraven being dumb and fooled by Warren.
Young Justice, you say? Is Greg Weisman in charge? If so, then it goes to my watchlist.
Go ahead! Make my millenium! -
Scrite — 14 years ago(January 25, 2012 05:20 PM)
My least favorite episode was the one with Mysterio, action wise that is. I LOVE how they handled the Peter and Gwen.
Greig Weisman is in charge of Young Justice, he was recruited as producer when the Spectacular Spider-Man was cancelled. Although he works together with Brandon (The man who directed "Batman: Under the Red Hood") Vietti this time.*
*Read: Everyone on the Internet gives Greg Weisman all the credit for the show whilst he himself being a nice and modest person (Ok I don't know him but that's how he comes off in interviews) does his best to remind people that Vietti deserves just as much credit as he does.
When the choice is between a American and a Russian film, always choose the latter. -
Cold_In_Space — 14 years ago(January 25, 2012 08:16 PM)
I know, I won't give Gene Roddenberry all the credit for Star Trek either
Yeah I thought Mysterio claiming to be a sorcerer was a bit silly, but I loved those imps he had (or whatever they're called). JJ: I love these guys! lol
Still Ed Asner is Jameson for me. Josh Keaton was just as good as Chris Barnes as a younger Spidey.
I grew up with Spider-Man TAS but in some areas it was nowhere near as good as Spec Spidey, even with three seasons more you can't compare them.
Go ahead! Make my millenium! -
Scrite — 14 years ago(January 26, 2012 07:25 AM)
I grew up with Spider-Man TAS as well and I still love it because of the nostalgia. I rewatch it about once a year and I have spotted all the plot holes, stock animation, continuity errors, cringe worthy fights etc but I love it despite all that.
I agree complete with you on the fact that Ed Asner is Jameson, I thought the "new" voice actor did a good job but it's really no comparison. No one will ever be able to replace Ed Asner as J Jonah Jameson. Another voice actor I think is irreplaceable is Jennifer Hale as Felicia Hardy. It was the same with her new actress, she did a good job but could never compare to the "real" voice of Felicia Hardy. I really like Christopher Daniel Barnes but I do prefer Josh Keaton, although it might be a bad comparison seeing that they play Peter Parker during different years of his teens.
The one voice actor were I really like Spectacular Spider-Man better is Mary Jane Watson. I was never fond of Saratoga Ballantine but I guess I accepted her after a while. I was on the other hand simply blown away when I first heard Vanessa Marshall. All I could feel was: "That's it! That what Mary Jane Watson's voice sounds like!" I have sincere doubts about the ability to ever enjoy any other voice actress portraying her in the future cartoons.
Spectacular Spider-Man is simply superior on every single level though except for single voice actors. I would had loathed that cartoon if I would have watched it for the first time as an adult.
I think I might have stated it on this forum earlier but the Spectacular Spider-Man is for me what Elsa Bannister (Rita Hayworth) is for Michael O'Hara (Orson Welles) in "The Lady From Shanghai."
"Maybe I'll live so long that I'll forget her. Maybe I'll die trying."
Just change her for Spectacular Spider-Man. I'm seriously not exaggerating there
When the choice is between a American and a Russian film, always choose the latter. -
Cold_In_Space — 14 years ago(January 26, 2012 08:25 AM)
@ Scrite
Yeah, friend, when we were kids we weren't bothered by those mistakes in TAS. I only thought like, hey, Scorpion should learn new moves lol! I still love the series from the bottom of my heart.
Both Chris and Josh were perfect for their respective Spidey, college and high school. I think they even sound alike at times.
Jen Hale is one of best voice actresses ever IMO.
Vanessa was too cool and they finally got MJ's personality right. I thought Gwen after the makeover looked too much like Sally Avril, didn't you?
The Green Goblin was more like the Joker, not that that's a bad thing, I think I prefer Steve Blum to Neil Ross.
For Dock Ock, sorry about the Master Planner, but I like Efrem Zimbalist Jr better (the voice, not the way they handled the character later on in TAS).
Venom, wellI thought Hank Azaria was spot on even with all the censorship. The newer Venom was kind of gross when he opened that big mouth in his body lol, but he did fine.
I LOVE what Spec Spidey did with Tombstone and Hammerhead.
Electro in Spec Spidey reminds me of Danny DeVito's Penguin (I dunno anyone named Max/ My name's not Oswald! I am not a human being!) but he was better than the Red Skull's son. I loved how he always looked up to the Doc lol.
For the Shocker I have to say no one, and I mean no one, can top Jim Cummings as the voice. I didn't mind Montana at all though, I thought it made him more interesting.
And I loved how they gave every villain the backstory and origins without feeling dragged on. Spec Spidey was simply better put together than TAS for the most part.
I wish we saw Roderick Kingsley becoming Hobgoblin, Bench becoming Hydro-Man, Gargan becoming Scorpion and Cletusbut enough of this, I don't want to get us both depressed.
Pardon me, I saw your sig, u like Russian films? I saw Stalker, A Cruel Romance
and A Railway for Two and I loved them more than most Hollywood flicks.
Go ahead! Make my millenium! -
Scrite — 14 years ago(January 26, 2012 04:41 PM)
I'm still not sure if I like the way they handled Gwen near the end or not. I thought that she was boring for the first couple of episodes but she became a favorite after the scene were she tries to hint to Peter that she want's to go to the dance with him. I reevaluated her after that scene. (Although to be fair I went back and re watched the episodes before that later and she was great from the start, it was I who missed it until that point.)
I liked the fact that they made the nerdy girl. I find it really interesting to compare this Gwen with the one in the Ultimate Spider-Man comic books. The tabula rasa personality of the Earth-616 incarnation really makes her open for interpretation. I remember listening to a podcast were Weisman said that specifically wanted to make a High School version of the earth-616 incarnation. His words were in the lines of "We all know that she was really both a science nerd and really hot as well as collage student, so what we wanted to come up with was how she would have been back in High School." The series Gwen was an obvious ugly duckling just waiting to mature into a beautiful swan. So the transition was logical. I'm still not sure about it though because of the fact that it made her look like Sally Avril as you mentioned above. When Gwen just became another hot girl she lost what made her unique. I also think that it's sad that it took until she turned into a swan for Peter to confess his love for her. It's obvious that he would have gotten around to it sooner or later even if she had stayed the nerdy girl with glasses but this still made it come off a little like Gwen needed to be hot for Peter to finally comes to term with his emotions which was a shame.
I hated how Spider-Man TAS Doc Ock who started out great turned into a pathetic henchman of the Kingpin rather than a criminal mastermind of his own. Efrem Zimbalist Jr will always be the his voice for me as well though, and I can't believe that I forgot to mention him in my previous post!
Whilst I liked how they did Venom in Spider-Man TAS. (I still remember how scared I got as a kid when the symbiote attacked the astronauts.) I loved how much of a threat he really was in the Spectacular Spider-Man. The first encounter was OK and served a good purpose in making Peter realize his feelings for Gwen but the second encounter was in my opinion fantastic. Venom was going to first expose Peter Parker's secret identity to the whole world and then take away his powers. Peter would not have lasted a day in prison should the plan have succeeded. I don't think that Peter faced a single foe more dangerous than that in the entire cartoon.
Amen to the fact that they finally got Mary Jane's personality right. The Spider-Man TAS incarnation never felt anything like the Mary Jane Watson character I love from the comics*. She felt more like 616 Gwen with a different name and appearance. Spectacular Spider-man simply nailed her personality perfectly.
*I'm in love with that woman and I have been since I was a little kid. It's just a shame that she's a fictional character
I wish we saw Roderick Kingsley becoming Hobgoblin, Bench becoming Hydro-Man, Gargan becoming Scorpion and Cletusbut enough of this, I don't want to get us both depressed.
It's sure is depressing to think about it. Hobgoblin has always my favorite Spider-Man villain and Carnage could actually have killed something if he had made it into one of the direct to dvd movies Ok, I'll just stop there
Although I have to say that it's great discussing this with someone who was as passionate about the show as I was. I have usually stayed away from discussing it to often because of the worry that it would depress me, but that was simply silly of me. I get depressed thinking about it anyhow, I might as well make something good about it.
Yes I'm a huge fan of the cinema from the USSR. I think the main reason (except for the fact that they are dark and depressing) is Mossfilm. Hollywood has always been about competition. Different studios needs to compete with each other for the potential movie goers. I was almost about to write a huge essay about the rise and fall of the Hollywood studio system to explain my point but I'm saving that for some other time.) Thus movies needs to be as attractive as possible to as many moviegoers as possible. Cue the brainless blockbusters.
Since the USSR was a dictatorship their was no competition. The government production company of Mossfilm produced and distributed all the film. Film making was also seen as much more serious art form than in Hollywood where it was seen mostly as entertainment. The problem in the USSR was that you're film could get banned it if went against the government's policies which could seem insane at times. Although it would be a lie to say that all Soviet cinema was great, whilst it was not meant for money much of it consisted of patriotic war movies that glorified the red army and the second world war. The good thing is tha -
Cold_In_Space — 14 years ago(January 26, 2012 08:02 PM)
Okay then, Scrite. Tell me about Soviet cinema. What films do you especially recommend if I liked Stalker, Railway for Two and A Cruel Romance?
I'd love to talk more about SSM but we can only guess how season 3 would've been like. I'll tell you one thing, it would have been awesome, but that's not a hard guess.
Making John Jameson find the symbiote in Spidey TAS was a stroke of genius from John Semper and co.
You didn't say anything about Tombstone and Hammerhead in SSM, what do you think of them?
Go ahead! Make my millenium! -
Scrite — 14 years ago(January 27, 2012 07:01 AM)
I regret to inform you that I have not seen Railway for Two or A Cruel Romance but I added them to my to watch list. Based on Stalker and what I read about them I really recommend:
The rest of the films by Andrej Tarkovskij.
Come and See by Elem Klimov - It is pretty much is visually perfect as Stalker.
Ballad of a Soldier - Its also among the most beautiful films I have ever seen.
The Ascent - This one is my personal favorite, not only among Soviet cinema but overall. I recommend it to everyone and especially to someone who liked other Soviet films.
My Friend Ivan Lapshin - It contains some of the best tracking shots ever accomplished.
I would also like to recommend a few modern Russian films.
The Return and The Banishment by Andrej Zvjagintsev. Some critics have hailed him as "the new Tarkovskij" and whilst I hate "his the new X" comments they are not too far off. (I think that X film general topics called "Is Nolan the new Kubrick?" killed it for me)
The Ugly Swans - This film is probably as closest you can ever get to Stalker without watching it. The film is based on a novel by the same authors that wrote the novel that was used for Stalker and the visual style is extremely influenced by the film Stalker as well.
If we go back to SSM I think I collected every comment Weisman made on how the 3rd season would be and yes it would have been awesome. I was about to copy paste the text (just in case) but then I remembered that I had switched computer since then and forgotten to copy the document. It might have been for the best though because I would probably just have gotten depressed re reading it.
I did forgot to comment on Tombstone and Hammerhead but I can tell you that I liked them. It's a true shame that we never got to learn the true nature of the relationship between Hammerhead and Silver Sable. I would have liked it if Keith David had stayed as Tombstone but the other voice actress worked fine as well.
That will always be the problem with these kind of story lines. They can be fantastic if you get to complete you're story but you will leave a lot of unanswered questions around if it gets cancelled before that. (I wish everyone could opt for this, I personally hate it when people feel the need to give the audience a complete closure after every season just in case the show will get cancelled.)
Letting John Jameson find the symbiote was indeed the stroke of a genius, Semper was probably the one thing that kept Spider-Man TAS floating despite being screwed over by the producers all the time. I remember watching Iron Man TAS years later and it was not a show it was a toy commercial that was 20 minutes long every week. Iron Man and his superhero team faces the same villains every episode for thirteen episodes in a row.
The second season of the Hulk cartoon forced the She-Hulk to appear in every episode etc.
I think Spider-Man TAS would have been on the same level as Iron Man if it weren't for Semper fighting the producers at every turn and in the end getting fired for it. I mean they threatened to sack him after the second season when he made a season arc, since executive producers seem to hate season arcs more than anything I love how Semper made season 3-5 into one big arc just to rub it into the face of the executive producers.
Although SSM did it even better, If I would have watched the whole thing back to back today I would probably never have realized that it was two seasons I watched. I would have been fully convinced that the series lasted for one 26 episode season because of the fantastic continuity.
When the choice is between a American and a Russian film, always choose the latter. -
Cold_In_Space — 14 years ago(January 27, 2012 07:23 AM)
That's what makes SSM superior even to Batman TAS un my eyes: the continuity. For me, that's what really matters.
I think Semper liked to exaggerate in his interviews, but I can bet Avi Arad and co made his life a living hell. So when people will quit bashing Spidey TAS they should know that if wasn't for Semper, they'd have far more things to complain about.
For the record, I'd say that the Alien Costume 3-parter and the Green Goblin episodes (like Turning Point) were the closest TAS ever got to matching Spec Spidey's quality.
Iron Man season 2 wasn't bad at all, amazing what the right people can do to resurrect a show, if you haven't seen it yet I recommend you give it a try.
Incredible Hulk S1 was very very good but it went downhill with She-Hulk, such a shame
Fantastic Four was a mess, in S2 it got better but I never liked the FF so much, I think they're my least favourite Marvel superheroes.
What'd you think of the X-Men cartoons? I liked TAS and Evolution but haven't seen Wolverine & the X-Men yet. Have you? Steve Blum's in it so it can't be that bad I guess.
I watched all 3 films I mentioned based on my dad's recommendation. You won't find ANY of the Hollywood romance cliches in A Railway Station for 2 or A Cruel Romance. Plain superior movies and what I liked most about them, they were realistic. At times I thought there weren't actors there but people dealing with a real situation. And I'm not a huge fan of romance films.
Go ahead! Make my millenium! -
Scrite — 14 years ago(January 27, 2012 05:43 PM)
That's what makes SSM superior even to Batman TAS un my eyes: the continuity. For me, that's what really matters.
I never thought that I would live to see the day! I have said the same thing ever since I first saw SSM. I liked Batman TAS but I could never get over the fact that there is no continuity, no character development, no arcs. It sure have some fantastic episodes but continuity is the most important trait of every series for me. I have just never heard anyone agree that the lack of continuity is a problem, most people are too busy praising it.
I think Semper liked to exaggerate in his interviews, but I can bet Avi Arad and co made his life a living hell. So when people will quit bashing Spidey TAS they should know that if wasn't for Semper, they'd have far more things to complain about.
My sentiments exactly, Semper did everything he could to save it and I would have liked to see what anyone else could have done "no glass breaking", "no deaths", "no use of words such as kill and die", no punches, no realistic weapons, no kids being put in danger, no birds allowed to be damaged whilst Spider-Man lands on rooftops* It's obviously impossible to make action scenes that will hold up with those kind of rules.
That was sadly an actual rule the producers gave Semper
I'm not sure which episode I like best but I would place season 3 as my favorite. Turning Point is also an episode that really shook me up as a kid. When Mary Jane "died" it really touched me. I had watched that show since the first season (not every episode I did in fact not finish the series until a couple of years ago and that was thank to YouTube) and I had gotten used to the fact that Spider-Man always saved the day. It still remember how shocked I got when he failed to save Mary Jane from The Green Goblin.
I watched Iron Man season 2 and I agree that it was like watching another cartoon rather than a new season. My favorite episodes was the shows version of Armor Wars.
I did like the first season of the Hulk to an extent but I guess it got overshadowed by my hatred for the second. I actually used to like She-Hulk, then I watched the second season
I'm not fond of the Fantastic Four either but for some strange reason I did not hate the first season as much as everyone else did. The second was way better though but I don't really like the Fantastic Four anyways. They have always felt like a crappier version of X-Men to me.
X-Men TAS is my second favorite of the 90s Marvel cartoons. I refer to that as the Hamlet of cartoons sometimes because of all the memorably quotes that came out of it. I still quote that show on a weekly basis, at least! I liked Evolution as well but I do think that the show went completely downhill in the later seasons. I felt that they forced ideas directly from the comics onto the show without realizing that they wouldn't work.
I hated the romance between Scott and Jean. Unlike the comic I did not feel that they had any chemistry in the show. Rogue could obviously never had gotten Scott but it still felt really forced to make him fall in love with Jean all of a sudden.
I did like Wolverine and the X-Men. Whilst it did a bad job with some of the characters (Jean, Scott and Storm especially, although gets butchered in every cartoon so it's not like a care too much anymore*.) It contained a couple of great episodes. I can recommend it and Steven Blum is as great as always.
**Remember the time when Jean tripped and fell for no reason what so ever during the first fight against Apocalypse in X-Men TAS? I always smile think back about that. It's probably the best example of how that show screwed the character over at every turn.
Now that I look at you're list I see that it lacks Silver Surfer and Avengers: United they Stand. Did you watch them?
I thought Silver Surfer was quite good but it ended with an unfortunate cliffhanger due to the show being cancelled after one season.
Avengers: United They Stand is probably the worst marvel cartoon since Iron Man TAS season one. If you haven't watched it my advice is to let it stay that way. (It's Avengers without Captain America, Iron Man and Thor. I guess that says it all)
Plain superior movies and what I liked most about them, they were realistic. At times I thought there weren't actors there but people dealing with a real situation. And I'm not a huge fan of romance films.
That will definitely move them upwards on my to watch list! I love the Italian neo-realism style of using real people rather than actors. Actors can play different characters but real people can only play themselves but themselves being in special/extreme/uncommon situations. I don't doubt for a second that it works great for the films you mentioned judging from reading a little info about the stories.
I'm not for romance films either, their reputation has been ruined by two many cheesy romantic comedies from Hollywood but I can assure you that I will get around watching the two you mentioned ASAP.
When the c -
Cold_In_Space — 14 years ago(January 27, 2012 11:02 PM)
Yeah I even liked Batman Beyond better than TAS because of the storyline. Even comic books have them. I can't say Batman TAS wasn't great, but it lacked something essential.
No I haven't seen Surfer and Avengers, and I'm glad I didn't from what I hear from you.
I also LOVE the poetry in X-Men TAS. yeah I also thought the romance was kinda cheesy and I prefered Rogue and Wolverine and Beast as my favourites.
I also conside SPidey TAS season 3 as my fav because of the story arc, even if it had some stinkers the conclusion was awesome.
Iron Man season 2 is one of my favorite seaons of any show. Everything goes together almost perfectly. Too bad it never had a third one, just like our Spec Spidey, although you can't really compare them, season 2 of IM was pretty awesome and made me forget the first quickly.
Even Greg Weisman couldn't have done much if he was put in John Semper's place, I'm pretty sure.
We seem to agree on a lot of points. I wish we could go and have a drink someday lol.
Go ahead! Make my millenium! -
Scrite — 14 years ago(January 28, 2012 10:01 AM)
Yeah I even liked Batman Beyond better than TAS because of the storyline. Even comic books have them. I can't say Batman TAS wasn't great, but it lacked something essential.
I think that i prefer Beyond as well. it was not close to SSM in the terms of continuity but it was far beyond Batman TAS. The first season was especially great. My complaint against the show is Dana, she accepts Terry's rude behavior all the time only to get mad at him when the plot requires it. (Melanie and Terry going out, Rat boy getting a crush on her.) My favorite part of the show was Terry vs The Royal Flush Gang. I was genuinely surprised by how great the continuity was between Terry and Melanie. I still think that he should have chosen her over Dana
No I haven't seen Surfer and Avengers, and I'm glad I didn't from what I hear from you.
It was such a huge disappointment to watch the Avengers cartoon! I was so happy when I first learned that their was an Avengers cartoon. I had watched every single 90s cartoon or so I thought since I suddenly discovered the Avengers. It only took a couple of minutes of the first episode to realize that I had been tricked, I still finished the it though. (I have a problem with that, If I start a book/film/tv show/etc I have to finish it no matter how much I hate it.) I tend to stay very far away from long tv shows unless I'm fully convinced that I will like them. I even finished that godforsaken Batman Beyond rip off that was Spider-Man: Unlimted Did you watch that? If I'm going to be extremely nice too it I would summarise it as: "The first ten minutes of the first episode are pretty good and it goes downhill from there." (The easy explanation for that is that Mary Jane Watson is included voiced by Jennifer Hale and you can never go too wrong with either of those women.)
I also LOVE the poetry in X-Men TAS. yeah I also thought the romance was kinda cheesy and I prefered Rogue and Wolverine and Beast as my favorites.
I fell in love with Rogue when I first watched that. There was just something about that southern belle accent. She's probably the only Marvel woman ever to be able to compete with Mary Jane Watson.
Even Greg Weisman couldn't have done much if he was put in John Semper's place, I'm pretty sure.
I guess not and the man could probably save almost anything. It's just a shame that I don't like Young Justice too much, or well I hated it for the first couple of episodes but it has really grown on me as the series progressed. I think a big problem is that I will always connect it with "replaced SSM" even though I know fully well that Weisman was recruited because of the cancellation. The biggest problem is the characters though, I'm not as knowledgeable when it comes to DC as when it comes to Marvel so I have no connection to characters such as Superboy, Kid Flash, Ms Martian, Aqualad etc. Unlike in SSM were I had loved the characters for years and was eager to see how Weisman would portray them.
Now that I mentioned DC have you watched the Justice League/Justice League Unlimited cartoons? Those are among my absolute favorites and I think that the Joaquim Dos Santos directed action sequences in Unlimited makes almost all cartoon action seem cringe worthy in comparison. (Fans have even given the man the nickname "Dr. Fight" because of his skill when it comes to these scenes.)
We seem to agree on a lot of points. I wish we could go and have a drink someday lol.
That would have been great! I have a feeling that it would be hard to accomplish in person though, I'm Swedish by the way, where are you from?
When the choice is between a American and a Russian film, always choose the latter. -
Cold_In_Space — 14 years ago(January 28, 2012 11:45 AM)
You know what? I hated Dana too and loved Melanie. I guess I have a thing for blondes, though, lol. A shame that Beyond didn't get a real conclusion, just like SSM and TAS
I watched Spidey Unlimited expecting to see something close to Spidey TAS. Big surprise, and not in the right way. It was all wrong. What's Spidey doing going inter-galactic and fighting guys like Sir Ram and Lord Tiger? My God
I'll give Young Justice a go as soon as I finish re-watching Batman Beyond AND TSSM.
I LOVED Justice League. Batman and Green Lantern were my favourites, which were yours? I'm afraid I didn't watch Unlimited consistently so I got lost during the stories. Man all those evenings, watching JL such good memories.
I am from Romania. If you like football, you'll know that your team defeated ours on penalties in 1994, but I was barely born then so no hard feelings from me.
Also, some of my relatives went to Sweden on vacation and they said it was very different but still a great country. Me, I'd love to go to Berlin next summer and maybe someday in Stockholm
Go ahead! Make my millenium! -
Scrite — 14 years ago(January 28, 2012 03:41 PM)
You know what? I hated Dana too and loved Melanie. I guess I have a thing for blondes, though, lol. A shame that Beyond didn't get a real conclusion, just like SSM and TAS
Someone who loved Melanie, at last! No one ever seem to understand the fact that she was the best female character in that show! It's a shame indeed that it was cancelled after three seasons.
The DCAU team really gave a continuing story a tried for the first time and what did the executive producers do? They told that they would get four seasons only to say "Sorry guy, we changed our mind and you will only get three seasons." after season three was done They did use Justice league Unlimited to repair some of the damage (the episode "Epilogue" in the first season of Unlimited served as an ending for not only Batman Beyond but the whole DCAU.)
I watched Spidey Unlimited expecting to see something close to Spidey TAS. Big surprise, and not in the right way. It was all wrong. What's Spidey doing going inter-galactic and fighting guys like Sir Ram and Lord Tiger? My God
I thought that it would be close to TAS as well From what I have heard later on the idea was to cash in on Batman Beyond by ripping it off. It's needless to say that it didn't work out that well
I need to rewatch TSSM too I have avoided it because I felt that it would be too depressing but just before Christmas a female friend (who is an animation buff like me) more or less forced me to rewatch the first episode as a part "we watch the first episode of several cartoons" and when I watched it for a second time I realized that it might just be the best opening episode ever in a cartoon. I have never seen any pilot introduce so many characters in such a good way. I used to think that the opening episodes of Batman Beyond were the best ones in that area. (They did such a great job introducing Terry - The way he defended the woman on the subway showed that he's brave and that he has it in him to stand up for what's right, the way he punched the guy that spat in his face showed that he has problems with his anger management etc) I did not think that the first couple of episodes were anything special the first time around but now I guess will just have to rewatch the whole cartoon, I would not be the surprised at all if I end up loving it even more the second time around. (I did rewatch single episodes now and then before it got cancelled but I have never re watched the whole thing from 1-26.)
I LOVED Justice League. Batman and Green Lantern were my favourites, which were yours? I'm afraid I didn't watch Unlimited consistently so I got lost during the stories. Man all those evenings, watching JL such good memories.
I can fully recommend you to re watch Justice League Unlimited in the future. It's first season has the best continuity of all the DCAU cartoons so I can really understand that you got lost, whilst all the episodes are stand alone ones they really have an almost perfect continuity (obviously not as perfect as Spectacular Spider-Man but still as near as you can get.)
I am from Romania. If you like football, you'll know that your team defeated ours on penalties in 1994, but I was barely born then so no hard feelings from me.
I can't remember if I watched that game seeing that I was four years old at the time but I'm glad that we don't have to put that between us.
Also, some of my relatives went to Sweden on vacation and they said it was very different but still a great country. Me, I'd love to go to Berlin next summer and maybe someday in Stockholm
I guess we have to take a rain check on that drink then. Was almost about to write that I have been to Berlin but I realized that I haven't I have been to Germany (and it was really nice!) but never to Berlin.
I don't live in Stockholm at the moment but If you get around visiting Stockholm some day give me a notice in time and we should hopefully be able to go out drinking.
When the choice is between a American and a Russian film, always choose the latter. -
KCJ506 — 14 years ago(January 28, 2012 05:23 PM)
I too grew up with Spider-man TAS. It introduced me to Spidey's world and I still enjoy it, but it was heavily flawed in many areas.
- The constant recycling of footage. It become so obvious that it's cringe worthy sometimes. Especially when you see Spidey or other characters in environments that look nothing like the setting they were just in. For example in the Daredevil team up episode, Spidey fights the Kingpin, and Kingpin throws Spidey across the room. The footage they then use is Spidey landing in front of Doc Ock's reactor in Ock's first episode.
There's also in the second season finale where Spidey is fighting Scorpion, they reused that same shot of Scorpion charging at Spidey about three times and that shot was not only from Scoprion's debut episode, but after he started to mutate into looking like a monster instead of a man in a scorpion costume.(which seems to have been dropped) - The over use of Kingpin. Ok, I get that he's the Kingpin of crime, but that doesn't mean he has to be in nearly every episode and have affiliations with nearly every villain. It really hurt the other villains, especially the likes of Doc Ock, always taking orders from Kingpin. Ock is a leader of men, not a follower. And Norman Osborn would never live in fear of him.
- The over use of Morbius. He got more exposure than the likes of Norman's Green Goblin, Venom, Hobgoblin, Mysterio, Vulture, etc. and I don't think vampires and Spider-Man just feel right together.
- The censorship of the show. Such as Spider-man rarely being able to throw a punch and not being able to use the word "Sinister",. etc. It's ridiculous considering what the other shows got away with.
- Electro being Red Skull's son. Yes I know that he and Sandman were gonna be in James Cameron's Spidey movie(which thankfully never happened), but that's still no reason for them to bastardize Electro.
- Bad writing such as Vulture getting the Spider disease in the second season finale which results in him getting stuck as a Man/Spider/Vulture, but the next time we see him, he's back in his normal self, but now couldn't control changing from old to young and vice-versa.
Despite all of this I do still enjoy the show. Not as much as SSM though. And it still had some things going for it. Animation in episodes like Night Of The Lizard was great. The character designs were good, the voice acting was great(although CDB did overact at times), and there's some real quality episodes in there. Especially from the first three seasons. And I actually like that Black Cat better than the one from SSM. Can't go wrong with Jennifer Hale.
Sick of threads "Megan Fox should play this!"
- The constant recycling of footage. It become so obvious that it's cringe worthy sometimes. Especially when you see Spidey or other characters in environments that look nothing like the setting they were just in. For example in the Daredevil team up episode, Spidey fights the Kingpin, and Kingpin throws Spidey across the room. The footage they then use is Spidey landing in front of Doc Ock's reactor in Ock's first episode.
-
Scrite — 14 years ago(January 29, 2012 06:34 AM)
You just did a perfect summary of almost all of the major flaws.
There is just one flaw I would like to add to your list. In the episode "The Lizard King" Spider-Man brings a bomb that will disable all neogenically engineered creature in the vicinity. When the bomb goes off (right next to Spider-Man) The Lizard turns into Dr Connors and his "children" turns into regular lizards again but Spider-Man is somehow unaffected and gets to keep his powers. It's not like the show stated X times that Peter Parker is a neogenically engineered creature or anything
I might also be in a minority here but I would have loved to say James Cameron's Spider-Man film. It would have been like a Uwe Boll film or The Room, namely so bad that it would have been good. The fact that it would have ruined Spider-Man for a whole generation of movie goers would have been a problem though.
As I stated in an above post I enjoy the show as well when I give it it's annual re watch. Mostly for nostalgia reasons but their are a few things that still holds up. Especially the voice acting and the dialogue, I can understand that some people find it cringe worthy but I usually find it hilarious. (Except for the occasions when sentences in the lines of "It's Spider-Man, Destroy him!" breaks the illusion.)
You can never go wrong with Jennifer Hale (does that woman have the sexiest voice ever or what!?) and the Black Cat of Spider-Man TAS was better than the one used in SSM. Although I think they gave her better lines in SSM. I would have loved for Jennifer Hale to reprise her role. Whilst I love MJ (based on the comic book) I think that Peter should have chosen Felicia. It's like they forced MJ on him because of the fact that they were married in the comics.
I have to say that I have been really inspired by all this talk about it. I just might do my annual rewatch early this year. (I usually save it for the fall/winter)
When the choice is between a American and a Russian film, always choose the latter. -
Cold_In_Space — 14 years ago(January 29, 2012 01:06 AM)
The Dana romance was generic. Melanie was what I liked to see, even Maxine could've been better than Dana. I thought the "Rats" episode was pretty dumb.
Yeah it would be great if we could be face to face and chat a little, especially since you're not that much older and everyone tells me I look older than I really am lol. However I don't think it will be possible for me to go to both Berlin and Stockholm in the summer, we'll see.
KCJ506 summed up our feelings about TAS pretty well I'd say, expect that I don't mind all the mistakes, I still watch the show with the eyes of a child.
Go ahead! Make my millenium! -
Scrite — 14 years ago(January 29, 2012 06:37 AM)
I would also have preferred him to choose Maxine over Dana. Hell I would have seen him chose anyone over her. She was the among the most generic and boring characters in the entire cartoon.
Yeah it would be great if we could be face to face and chat a little, especially since you're not that much older and everyone tells me I look older than I really am lol. However I don't think it will be possible for me to go to both Berlin and Stockholm in the summer, we'll see.
I can't blame you for that considering today's prices but don't worry I will just leave the offer to go out drinking if you ever come buy Stockholm open.
When the choice is between a American and a Russian film, always choose the latter.