Let's Watch the Other Hub Shows (Part 1?)

I had a large blog post for today...but I need to do a lot more research before I feel comfortable posting it. (To the curious, it's about real-life horse behaviors the ponies emulate in the show and fanfiction and tips on using it.) So in the meantime, let's do something that isn't really pony-related, but I've wanted to do for a while: looking at some of the other shows on the Hub. So...feel free to ignore this if you want. Just be back for the review on Saturday, k? The preview makes it look promising.

So...let's start.

Transformers: Prime

SYNOPSIS:

After...something (I'm still trying to figure it out exactly for reasons I'll highlight soon), a handful of Autobots are left to defend Earth from the Decepticons. Led by Optimus Prime, they try to stop the nefarious schemes of Megatron and/or whoever's in charge of the Decepticons at that point in time. Oh, and there are humans, too.

OPINION:

I have a horrible confession: I am not a fan of Transformers. Even as a kid, I only gave them a cursory glance. The toys were cool, but cartoon-wise I was more into stuff like He-Man and GI Joe. Still, I did pick up Fall of Cybertron and loved it immensely, and since Prime is technically in the same continuity as that game and its predecessor (it's insanely complicated), I actually figured I'd try to give this one another shot. And you know what? It's a pretty decent show.

CG Animation is one of those things that either works incredibly well, or just falls flat. And while the CG in the first season was a bit on the meh side, by the second it had improved considerably. The human characters are still firmly in the uncanny valley, but when the show's focused on the giant robots beating the crap out of each other, it generally works. The storylines are a bit hit-and-miss, though, especially in the first season. The five-part opening would have probably had more impact if I knew more about the franchise, but the opening arc with Starscream leading the Decepticons is actually fairly clever. But then you get Optimus' amnesia arc at the start of the second, not to mention the incredibly long-winded arc that closes out the pre-retooled series. The finale, though, was just awesome, and really makes you wonder how long until they bring Optimus back. (They say all deaths are final, but as long as there's a little wiggle room...)

The humans are...okay, they're annoying, but they get some development and improve over the course of the show. So no more on that.

The series is apparently being retooled into Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters, which is said to reintroduce the Predacons and (hopefully) the Dinobots. If they have the same origin as in FoC, then I would be very interested in seeing where the show goes from there.

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GI Joe: Renegades

SYNOPSIS:

A team of soldiers are accused of a crime they didn't commit after an attempt to spy on Cobra Industries' less-legitimate businesses goes south. Now branded as Renegades, they have escaped to the underground to continue the fight against the massive conglomerate. Hunted by their former friends and facing the wrath of Cobra's many bizarre and twisted members, they must find a way to expose their crimes and clear their names.

OPINION:

Read that paragraph again. Does it sound vaguely like The A-Team to you? Good, because that's basically what it is. The Joes go from one town to the next, doing battle against retooled versions of older enemies while avoiding their old teammates. And retooled is pretty much the only word I can think of, as almost all of the characters have the barest surface similarities to their 80s counterparts. And as a fan of the older show, that's a bit disappointing.

Besides that, there's a couple of other reasons this show didn't take off. The series is just painfully dull for the most part, and while the idea of Cobra being a legitimate business rather than an overt-and-yet-obscenely-funded terrorist organization is more realistic, it doesn't help when the villains are still rather meh or changed in ways that make no sense. The only adversary I really found myself intrigued by were the Falcons, the GI Joe characters still with the military and trying to bring the Joes in. But even then the stories just feel like they repeat themselves too often. And then there's Snake Eyes, who gets the majority of the attention despite having a personality you can fit on a tiny post-it note and surviving only on the cool factor.

The show died out after one season, both due to poor ratings and because of the crappy GI Joe movie. Apparently Hasbro is looking to create a new series which will hopefully bring the franchise back, but for now, this was just a disappointment.

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Dan Vs.

SYNOPSIS:

Dan is a paranoid jerkass who thinks that anything that ever goes wrong in his life is because of a conspiracy against him, and seeks revenge over the tiniest missteps. Every episode, he finds something to get angry about, ropes in his doormat friend Chris (and occasionally Chris's super-spy wife Elise), and sets out to get his vengeance. Whether it be the local bank or the entire state of New Mexico, nothing will save you if you get on Dan's list...

OPINION:

Dan Vs. is notable for a couple reasons. First, it's the first original cartoon on the Hub not based on an existing franchise. And second, it's a surprisingly dark comedy, almost on the level of Cartoon Network's current offerings. And yet, it's also one of the most awesome things on the channel, and my second-favorite series next to FiM.

As mentioned above, Dan Vs. is a black comedy in every sense of the term, albeit toned down just enough that the kids can still watch. Dan is a complete and total jackass, but a great many episodes reveal that his grievances are not only legitimate, but there really is something nefarious going on in the background. This helps lighten things up as he trudges from one scene to the next, gleefully kicking puppies and scowling like a deranged maniac. His best friend, Chris, is really only his friend because he can't muster the nerve to break up with him. (There are a few fleeting moments where Dan does treat Chris with respect, though, which again helps to alleviate his jerkass behavior.) And Elise...well, she's probably the show's weakest point, as she just doesn't feel like she fits into all the episodes she's crammed into.

The episodes follow a very strict formula. Something happens to Dan before the opening, he lets out a skyward scream, and the rest of the episode is devoted to him seeking vengeance. The animation also general varies from "mediocre" to "dreadful," but the real star here is the writing. It's a dark, Kafka-esque series that really deserves all the attention and praise it gets and then some.

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Littlest Pet Shop

SYNOPSIS:

Blythe's life changes forever when she moves from her small town to the big city, to an apartment above a store called Littlest Pet Shop. After a rather disastrous ride in a dumbwaiter, she discovers that she can actually communicate with the animals who attend day care there, and after her initial freak out, befriends them and saves the store. The rest of the show is balanced between Blythe's school/friend life and the adventures of the pets.

OPINION:

Premiering alongside the third season of FiM, Littlest Pet Shop is...okay. There's nothing terribly bad about it, but there's also not much that can really be cheered on here.

The show's animation is...weird. I'm not really a fan of big heads, so the human designs are kind of lost on me, but I do like some of the pets. As everyone else has said, Zoe looks like a dog version of Twilight (with Celestia's voice; how's that for creepy?), and I do admit to liking how they avoid the limited wardrobe trope with the main character. The movement details are also pretty good, and the pets all look distinct enough. The humans...well, they don't show up terribly often, and are often part of unrelated subplots to the pets' adventures, but they're also fairly decent.

Where the show kind of loses me, though, is with the cast. Most particularly, it's a huge number of characters on display here, often existing in two different worlds. The pets are at least visually distinctive enough, but personality-wise they're rather flat and undeveloped. Same thing with the humans; outside of the Bizkit Twins and the shop owner (whose name I cannot spell), they're rather simple characters who just exist to move the plot along. The voice acting is generally good, though, and it brought along a couple of FiM's best writers. (Including M. A. Larson, now going by his full name of Mitchell Larson. What, we're still not good enough for you to not use a pseudonym? Is that what you think of our relationship? Mother was right about you!)

...That was weird. Anyway, point is, this is an okay show, but a lot of it just feels like it could be more than it is.

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The Aquabats! Super Show!

SYNOPSIS:

The Aquabats are a music band/superhero team who do battle with all sorts of random oddities. And that's all you need to know. Oh, and they have cartoons hidden in the most bizarre places...

OPINION:

Yes, I could have ended this pointless post with a review of Pound Puppies or Rescue Bots, but I'm going with the Aquabats. Why? Because this show is awesome. I'm not kidding, either; I love this thing.

The show is primarily live-action, although the comedy and action leans towards straight-on camp and cartoonish humor. The best way I can think to describe it is if you took the Adam West Batman show, mixed it with the cheesy monsters from Power Rangers, cut its budget until it made Doctor Who look like it was directed by Michael Bay, and then just played the whole thing for laughs. The Aquabats are semi-competent as heroes, but also lazy, self-centered, and at times damn near sociopathic. (The Pilgrim Boy episode was especially bad about this.) The villains are all utterly insane, and the show's cheesy special effects all add to the random funniness of the setting. This is a "So Bad, It's Good" show, so if you can appreciate something like that, you might find something here.

There are also very short (like, a minute or two each) animated segments in each episode, always triggered when the Aquabats find a television monitor hidden on something (like under their Battle-Tram or beneath a cup). The segments tell a serialized story of the Aquabats on a crazy adventure on the moon. (They even have an ocean in the center; somewhere, Science Woona is shaking her hoof in anger.) These shorts are just a whole lot of fun, and the way the season finale ties both storylines together is just awesome. There are also little bumper shorts with the Aquabats mascot Pablo, but these are just meh. Oh, and there are also fake commercials, which are a hoot.

And the music is great. I got into the group a couple years ago, and the tunes they contribute to the show are just great. Which is why I voted for "Burger Rain" over FiM's own entry in the "Naughty or Nice" awards. Yes, I am a traitor to the fandom, but it had to be done. My heart cannot be bought with ponies alone. Either way, I love this show, and am so glad they're getting a couple more episodes this Spring.

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So...are there any shows besides Pony that you watch on the Hub?