My Lost series review

My Lost series review 

Intro: Gilligan's island eat your heart out. 

Lost: This series is about a group of people who survived a plane crash, it lands on an island and they have to band together to survive. That becomes difficult when they are attacked by a white bear, a cloud monster, inhabitants on the island and conflict with each other. So, the survivors have to get off the island before the danger escalate. 

This is one of the most intriguing series I've seen! The story is told as a mystery in a way where the viewers are as confused as the characters. That's the best part about this show it tells an ongoing mystery about the island or the characters. We also learn that the survivors are connected to each other in ways that may surprise you. I like that people died because it helps build tension. This show borrows elements from Lord of the flies. Each season takes its time to focus on one thing before moving on to something else. The island is a character itself because of what it does and what it can do for the characters. 

Jack is a doctor who is the reluctant leader of the group. What bugs me about him is that we get one flashback episode that wasn't subtle. 

John Locke is the wildcard in this series. I like his dynamic with jack because it's fact vs faith. 

Kate is a troubled woman with a past. For the most part, she just creates love triangles.

Hurley is the comic relief and the voice of reason on the island. 

Sawyer may be the douchebag of the pack but he does have a heart. You also feel for him in season 5. 

Sayid is the dangerous one of the pack because of his past of strong-arming people. Despite that, he does want stability.      

Ben Linus (Leader of the others.) is a control freak who has parent issues. The reason why he's on the island is to figure out why it's dangerous to women? This mystery is contrived because he has no reason to do this. Also, he doesn't seem to be completely interested in figuring this out. 

Speaking of the Others (The inhabitants of the island.) they are disappointing. They are described as brilliant savages but there not. That's saying a lot considering that they try to enslave them and play mind games with them. The show would have ended differently if both groups work together.            

One of the problems I have with this series is that the writers have us believe that a kid is behind all the weird things that happen on the island, but they forgot about him. What the fudge!?! The mysteries may be the best part of this series but it's also the worst. Instead of solving them the creators adds more and more and more. Don't get me wrong I'm fine with not all of them getting resolved but this is ridiculous. 

It also feels like the writers are making stuff up as they go along. Some of the characters wouldn't have been killed off if it wasn't for some behind-the-scenes drama maybe. Season 4 could have worked as a series finale with rewrites. It's time to address the elephant in the room and that's the ending. Whether or not the ending is a cop-out I'm not that outraged over it. It does explain all the strange things that happened on the island. Plus, the writers could have written themselves in a corner.

Overall, this is a decent series that I would recommend if you like mysteries.      

My rant about Prequels

My rant about Prequels 

 

I can be narrow-minded when it comes to Prequels. I mean, they can be hard to make because you have to tell the story backwards without contradicting yourself. That's the one and only problem I have with prequel stories. How can I be invested in a story if I already know the outcome? That's not always the best excuse to not watch or read them, just because you already know what happened, that doesn't mean you'll know how things will play out. For example, if I told you that Harvey Dent died in the dark knight without the either you died a hero or live long enough to see yourself be the villain line his death adds no weight to the story. 

That's how you make a good prequel it has to reinforce what we already know and adds context to it. Another example in history class I was jaw-dropped to learn that Black people were slaves to the point where I didn't believe it. After I saw Roots, underground and went to the Africa American museum I was still in shock. Hearing about what happened in the past should be as good as seeing it if it's not then something is wrong. Also, having this I already know what happened attitude can make you look arrogant. Let's use History class for example do you think the history teacher will accept I already know what happened as an excuse for not doing your homework? What about wars knowing who won means nothing if you don't know how the war was won and how it started because we will repeat past mistakes. 

Sometimes it's not about the destination is about the journey. Batman fans were annoyed that Batman Begins told Batman’s origin story. They didn’t want to see Batman’s origin being told because less is more. Seeing Batman's origin in that movie didn't ruin the movie for them. The same thing goes for Arrow, with the flashbacks. In fact, that's considered the best part of that series. There are somethings that shouldn't get a prequel because there isn't much to work with.

Another problem I have with prequels is when you bring in a new character or element from the past, it could overshadow the present story. Count Dracula, I mean Dooku, can close to doing that for me In the Star Wars prequels. I'm annoyed with how he was wasted in the third film. Speaking of Star Wars, there are things Star Wars fans didn't like about the Star Wars Prequels like the midichlorians, the prophecy, CGI Yoda, not knowing what role the Clone Wars play in this franchise etc.   

Look at Terminator Salvation, for example. That movie tried to tell us how John Connor became the resistance leader that we hear about in previous films. That was the problem I had with the movie I didn’t want to see that plus we didn’t hear stories about how he became the leader of the resistance he just became the leader. Because we don’t have a lot of knowledge of what the characters or what the universe was like beforehand that creates continuity issues. ( I know that's not the best example but you get the idea.) When you don't have an outline for a prequel you could write yourself into a corner. This is what I'm worried about in the show Gotham, I'm worried that it will make all the villains sympathetic. Do I really have to explain how problematic that is?

To me, a good prequel is a standalone story that flushes out characters and the world that we're familiar with without having prior knowledge of it. So far, we have that with X-Men first class despite the continuity issues. We also have that with the new Plant of the ape's movies; they almost connect with the original movies. Another way you can make prequels work is by telling the story backward I mean have the movie start in the middle of a character doing something wrong. Then have the movie shows the events that led up to that moment showing that he or she is not a bad person. Halo Reach is a good example of doing that and being a prequel. (Despite the hiccups in continuity.) That’s all I have to say about this subject.

My Reboot review

My Reboot review

 

Intro: This cartoon should have quit while it was ahead. 

Reboot: This series is centered on a guardian name Bob from the supercomputer he is sent to mainframe to protect it from viruses. On top of that, he has to get inside games and beat them if he doesn’t it will destroy a section of the city. This is one of those shows that sound simple but it’s not, in season two it starts telling an ongoing story. 

What I like about this series is that it gives us an idea of what it’s like inside of a computer, that’s impressive considering computers are not that advance in the ’90s. This show also made jokes and references to what’s popular during this time period and hardware for computers. I appreciate that this show shies away from its goofy nature and become more serious with every season (kind of.) because it helps this series reach its potential. There are also twists and turns that took me by surprise, plus world-building. For this being the first CGI show it looks good at the time now it doesn’t age well. 

I don't have much to say about Bob he's basically the town hero of Mainframe. 

Dot Matrix is the smart one of the group thanks to her father, we learn that her father was a scientist. That trait helps Bob defend mainframe from the viruses, plus she's a workaholic. What bugs me about her is she starts developing feelings for Bob but she doesn't tell him. I find it funny that the smartest character in this show can't express how she feels. 

Enzo Matrix is Dot's little brother and he's a typical boy as far as he loves to play games, goofs around and looks up to Bob. Despite that he does want to help Bob fight the viruses but can't due to his age, however, he does help him win some of the games. I like what the creators have done with him in season three, but I can't get into details without spoiling it. 

Mike the TV is annoying, part of the reason why is because he loves to say the price tag of 99. 

Mouse is a wild card in this series. She's a hacker with a Southern accent. She also has history with Bob, her hacking ability are useful to both parties. 

Phong is the mayor of mainframe and he's also a mentor to the main characters. However, he doesn't give them advice for free he will give you advice if you beat him in pong, I am not kidding about that. It's a good thing he doesn't do that if someone wants advice on a life-or-death situation. 

Megabyte (the main villain.) is a power hunger and egotistical virus. However, he carries himself like he's a mobster. He's also dangerous with his claws super strength and being able to jump high. I can't get into what bugs me about him without going onto spoiler territory. 

Hexadecimal (another baddie.) is dangerous due to how powerful she is and she's unstable. Despite her and Bob being adversaries they have a good rapport and I'm surprised with what the creators have done with her in season 4. 

Hack and Slash are comic reliefs who work for Megabyte. 

The problem I have with this series is I wish it ended in season 3 because I didn't like how this series ended. To be fair season 4 tried to answer some of the unanswered questions. Bob and Enzo are at odds with each other over how to deal with the viruses but that went nowhere. Overall, this was one of the best cartoons in the 90s, if you love cartoons then I would recommend this.  

My Street Sharks review

My Street Sharks review

 

Intro: I was going to joke about how far Vin Diesel has come as an actor, but he traded doing toy commercials to promote family.

Street Sharks: This cartoon is about four brothers who have transformed into mutant sharks thanks to Dr. Paradigm. He did this to get back at their father for interfering in his plan for world domination. So, the four brothers use their abilities to stop Dr. Paradigm and figure out what happened to their father?

Out of all the TMNT clones, I enjoy this one the most. (Besides Swat Cats) This show even took a jab at TMNT. I can’t tell you if this is a cartoon that has one-off episodes or tells an ongoing story because it manages to do both. The problem I have with TMNT is that I didn't like them fighting the shredder all the time. I don’t have that issue here because Dr. Paradigm is connected to them. Plus, not every episode is about stopping him. This show also has world-building for example showing us other creatures and characters being gene-slammed. Also, this series spin-off another series called Extreme Dinosaurs. Just like Jurassic Park, this show deals with playing with genetic power. This cartoon deals with other serious subjects like dictatorships, drug dealing, gambling addiction and the ugly side of war. This cartoon also has ridiculous episodes like time travel.          

Ripster is the leader of the four and the smart one.

Jab is the lazy and hotheaded one of the group.

Streex is the fun one and a flirt.

Big Slammu does have much personality beyond being the muscle.

Bends is an ally of the street sharks who proves them a base, tech support and comic relief.

Lena is a student of Dr. paradigm who fills the street sharks in on what he’s up to.

Dr. Paradigm is the typical mad scientist who makes things difficult for the street Sharks by having the public think they are dangerous and discredit their father.

I don’t have much to say about his henchmen because they don’t stand out with the exception of Killamari. He’s the competent one and the most dangerous of Dr. Paradigm’s henchmen.     

Guy in the sky may not be a villain but he’s an instigator. I wish I knew what he looked like.

One of the problems I have with this cartoon is the shark puns. This cartoon removed some of the side characters for no reason. To be fair some of them are not that helpful. Setting up Extreme Dinosaurs shouldn’t take eight episodes. Plus, the street sharks get shafted in favor of doing that. There are also head-scratching moments in the cartoon and some loose ends. Overall, this is an underrated cartoon. I would recommend this if you like 90’s cartoons because this is a product of its time.