Reviews

I saw the 90's X-Men series which was based on some of the comic books and enjoyed it. Because the Evolution series has the situation set from a different standpoint (with the majority of mutants as high school students), I thought I'd take a look at it out of curiosity's sake. The first season was a little slow with the recruitment of several of the characters into either Professor Xavier's X-Men or Magneto's Brotherhood. But it definitely picked up with the two sides battling on Asteroid M.

Season 2 introduced viewers to Principal Kelly at Bayville High, as well as Hank McCoy who eventually becomes our favorite big blue fellow, the Beast, not to mention Iceman among the new recruits, most of whom still have only minor roles on the show. Of course, the original purpose of the Xavier Institute is to train its students to properly handle their abilities while blending in with normal human society. This however was completely undermined by the evil shape-shifting Mystique who hatched her own plan to expose the X-Men at this season's end.

It's after that point in the series that it's gotten so much better. The X-Men now have to prove they can use their powers for good, while other mutants use their abilities for evil. One of the better episodes where they had to show their mettle was in "The Stuff of Heroes", where the group had to battle Juggernaut, the biggest and baddest of them all. The climactic scene where Cyclops used his full optic blasts against him totally rocked!!! Rogue, after absorbing his immense strength and taking him on was the icing on the cake! Of course, with the public aware of mutants now, the X-Men are shunned and treated as freaks, especially at school. They now have to deal with bigotry and have to refrain from using their powers to fight back, with various degrees of success. Whereas some are able to resist those who pick on them, others are more easily provoked. It's because this series has its heroes blending action between the supervillians as well as the normal people in public and their reactions to the mutants that I think is a much more realistic interpretation that what's seen in the comic books.

I also like the quality of the animation and the special effects aren't as over the top as they were in the 90's series. After all, you really can't see magnetic waves when you link 2 kitchen magnets together, let alone when an electromagnet pulls up scrap metal in a junkyard. This series correctly has Magneto's use of his abilities in invisible form (save for a slight blurring of the picture) and a more proper sound effect whenever he strikes. Another change which I think is better from the 90's series is Rogue. I like her much better without the super strength and ability to fly as if she were Supergirl. I know in the comics, prolonged contact with superhero Miss Marvel caused her to have her powers permanently, which in turn made her more confident and more of a flirt with men. Unlike the 90's series, though, there's much more focus on her actual power of absorption, which much more shows how it's a danger to herself and others. They still managed to keep some of her background with Mystique and bond a little with Nightcrawler, since they're of a certain relation because of the evil shapeshifter.

About my only problems with the Evolution series in comparison to the 90's X-Men series is the lack of focus on adult characters like Storm and Beast. The latter only gets significant time either when he's doing his scientific duties or when his "inner beast" rages out of control on some occasions. Storm gets attention primarily when she's with her nephew Spyke, whether she's training him or giving him some sort of discipline. But she does provide a good parental symbol on the show. Spyke is a pretty good character as he's had to make adjustments to having his abilities, moving to Bayville, and devoting his time to school and his training. In a recent episode, his powers had gone out of his control and as a result has major bone protrusions sticking out from all over his body. With the increased bigotry and overall stress he's had to deal with, he made the choice to join the Morlocks, whose more freakish outward appearances make them more of outcasts than either the X-Men or the Brotherhood. Also a potential upcoming storyline for the series is the potential coming of Apocalypse, as he's had Mesmero manipulate the X-Men and Magneto into opening the doors that will release him from imprisonment. This and Rogue's possible role in this situation (seemingly predicted by Destiny) will most certainly make a good story for the following seasons. X-Men: Evolution is definitely becoming one of the best quality animated series on television.

I missed Jeepers Creepers when it came out in the theaters, so I eventually spotted it on the DVD shelf at the video store. The synopsis on the box pack piqued my interest, so I took it home thinking it would be similar to the numerous Freddy and Jason movies that have dominated the horror genre for the last 20 years (I'm sure it's been that long!). Anyway, the movie starts off with brother and sister driving home from college when they spot a burly figure of a person dumping what seems to be a covered up dead body down a drain. They keep going but Darius (the brother) becomes increasingly concerned that the person covered by the sheet may only be injured and would certainly die if they do nothing. His sister Trish, however, wants to keep going out of fear that intervening could lead to dire consequences as it would in most horror movies (a good reference they've been watching them at least). Of course, they turn back and Darry climbs (then falls) down the drain to find not only the person wrapped in a sheet, but a few other victims as well. Brother and sister eventually find their way out to look for the nearest sheriff, only to be pursued and nearly run off the road by the large figure in a huge truck.

The two eventually make it to a small town to report their findings to the sheriff's office, but a series of incidents make it certain they have company (the wrong kind of course!). They find their car broken into and Darry's dirty clothes strung out all over the ground. It's a sure bet now whatever's pursuing them has the characteristics of a bloodhound, with the likelihood it has Darry's scent down pat. Brother and sister later get help from a woman who's in tune with the supernatural, telling them what's hunting them down. No matter what they throw at it though (like running it down with their car several times), it keeps coming for more until it gets its target. The two fight valiantly until the very end, which I thought was tragic. Yep, for once I was actually sympathetic for what happened. Frankly, I hope they don't do a sequel since it was a pretty good movie. To do so would certainly "jump the shark" as with what's already happened with the Jason and Freddy franchises.

I was very disappointed Sci-Fi Channel cancelled this teriffic show. The Chronicle provided just the right combination of humor, action, and wit which worked out very well about this series about the weird and unusual stories the reporters investigate for this Enquierer-type newspaper. From alien abductions to rich elderly people paying to relive their youth via body switching to vampires at an Elvis convention, The Chronicle was very imaginative and quite entertaining. In particular, there were quite a number of episodes that explored the human psyche. Remember, the magic pizza oven that sucked its victims into a weird dimension where they were exposed to their worst fears? How about the episode where high school cheerleaders were actually willing to become bionic women. Remember in that episode when the reporters went undercover as students, they made references to Beverly Hills 90210 as their reason they could pull it off. Pretty funny for sure! There was even an episode where a so-called superhero had psychological problems of his own. The Chronicle was one show that not only explored the weird and unusual, but took on current issues of human behavior as well. With the series' great writing and blending these issues together, the results really paid off as an overall funny, dramatic and entertaining show. The cast of Chad Willet, Rena Sofer, Reno Wilson, Don Polito, and Curtis Armstrong (as Sal the Pigboy) were all excellent in their roles. They all had great chemistry and really looked like they had fun doing the show. Let's hope they have as good success in their future endeavors now that the show is unfortunately over.

After Olympic fever swept the nations, especially in the United States during its bicentennial in 1976, a substitute was badly needed until the next Olympic Games in 1980. Fortunately, Hanna-Barbera provided the necessary relief in animated form with this terrific series. At least 45 of their classic cartoon characters were featured on this show competing for the gold medal. The All-Stars were divided into 3 teams. First are the Yogi Yahooeys, which featured Yogi Bear, Boo Boo, Huckleberry Hound, and other wacky animal characters featured in hundred of shorts that were first seen in the late 1950's to early 1960's. Second are the Scooby Doobies featuring (obviously) Scooby-Doo, his sidekicks Shaggy and Scooby-Dum, as well as their fellow crime fighters and mystery solvers (including superheroes Captain Caveman, Hong Kong Phooey, Blue Falcon and Dynomutt) whose shows debuted in the late 60's to early '70's. The Scoobys team was my personal favorite since I first saw their shows as a kid in this particular decade. Last and least, we have the Really Rottens, most of whom appeared only on this show. The only exception was team captain Mumbly, who was featured in "Mumbly, Relentless Detective", which was part of H-B's "Tom and Jerry Show" a couple of years earlier. Ironically, he was the good guy in that series, but here with the wrong crowd, Mumbly is particularly deceitful and conniving. Paired with teammate Dread Baron, they strike a strong resemblance to Dick Dastardly and Muttley from "The Wacky Races". If you've seen that show, you know they were just as diabolical. As a matter of fact, I can even recall at least a couple of Laff-A-Lympics where Mumbly was called Muttley. Is it possible that they're brothers (or even cousins)? They certainly have similar traits!

As for the show, the main objective for each team was to score the highest number of points to earn the gold medal. The majority of events had the simple scoring process of 25 points for the winner, 15 for second, and 10 for third place. There were occasional 50-point bonus events which could help a team get back into the competition or pull them away depending on whoever was trailing or leading at the time. Though some events were similar to real-life Olympic events, others were pretty offbeat and quite unusual, which likely means they could only be done in cartoons like this. Among the weird events were racing on ostriches, camels, kangaroos, rickshaws and unicycles, as well as more daring events like scavenging for creatures like vampires, the Abominable Snowman, and the Loch Ness Monster. With events like these, each Laff-A-Lympic was bound to be a major adventure!

While the Scooby and Yogi teams competed with flair and determination (and crazy hilarity), the Rottens always resorted to cheating and usually sabotaged their opponents' efforts to win. However, with rules and regulations in place, they very rarely got away with their dirty deeds. In some cases, they suffered point deductions if their efforts went too far. So it was no surprise that they usually ended up as the third place bronze medalists. But unlike Dastardly and Muttley from the aforementioned Wacky Races, the Rottens actually did win at least a couple of Laff-A-Lympics. It just goes to show that even the down-and-out group will eventually have their day if they keep trying.

Overall, this was a very entertaining show to watch as a kid (and even an adult). This show was the perfect venue to showcase Hanna-Barbera's All-Stars. Since the real Olympics bring the nations of the world together, "Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics" brought many of H-B's characters in the same environment. Though some individual cartoons allowed for a few cameos from other characters, this was about the only show where members of Yogi's and Scooby's teams could interact with each other. This concept was nothing but pure genius from the minds of William Hanna and Joe Barbera!