Ultimate Spider-Man - Alright, let me get this out of the way: I was a
big fan of the previous Spectacular Spider-Man and the Ultimate Spider-Man comic series. Despite its name and its production pedigree, this show deserves neither its name nor its place as the show that killed Spectacular Spider-Man because it's nothing like
either of them. This is Cartoon Network's Teen Titans re-skinned with Spider-Man and some assorted relatively-obscure Marvel heroes (Luke Cage, Iron Fist, etc.) and a small dash of elements from the Ultimate Spider-Man comics.
I
loved Cartoon Network's Teen Titans series. I loved its humor and the way it could easily transition between being very serious and
extremely goofy. But while I feel the comedy is really
good and wacky in Ultimate Spider-Man (such as Parker's fondness for freezing time so he can turn to the audience and make a random aside or monologue), this just isn't the Spider-Man series I
want. I think this direction works better for me with Spider-Man than it did for Batman in The Brave & the Bold, but it just disappoints me that
this is the end product. How is the extremely flawed 90s Spidey series
still the only one to last long enough to actually tell its stories?
But beyond the fact that the show is neither narrative-ly nor tone-ally similar to the Ultimate Spider-Man comics, I just get this constant feeling watching the show that it's talking
down to its audience. Young Justice and Iron Man AA
feel like they're written for a wide audience, but Ultimate Spider-Man
feels like it's written for young children. It's a series that acts like it still wants to do some classic Spider-Man storytelling, but it doesn't yet feel like a series that can function when the focus isn't on comedy. It's a series that I
enjoy on some level, but it really could have been so much
more.
Game of Thrones (Season 1) - Hey! It's The Elder Scrolls IV: Skyrim - THE TV SHOW.
(seriously, the first thing that came to mind while watching the 1st episode
was Skyrim). I just started watching this last night against my better judgement, given how badly other widely-acclaimed series like House; Lost; and Battlestar have disappointed me. I'm a couple of episodes in, though, and
so far I really like the series. The sets and costumes are amazingly detailed, the world feels very fleshed-out and intriguing (helped greatly by being based on an ongoing series of novels), the characters are interesting, and the fantasy elements and political intrigue are engaging.
I realize that this probably makes me seem a prude with some of you, though, but my main problem with the show is the nudity and sex. I don't have a problem with nudity being in a show, but here it doesn't feel integrated with any kind of artistry or class, so when it shows up it just feels very distracting and makes me wonder whether it's there for any other reason than to scream "hey! It's an HBO show! Boobs!". It just feels there to
be there, and I could really do without it. I like the show overall so far, though.