Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on March 5th, 2012
“Exactly, you're a kid. So go and be a kid... go and, I don't know, go ahead and steal me something.”
The Tribe is a New Zealand/British post-apocalyptic, young adult soap opera, beloved around the world. So I had to put on my young adult glasses and watch it through those. In the near future, an unknown virus wiped out all the adults on Earth. Left to raise themselves, the kids form tribes in a Lord of the Flies type society. Now, being that the average viewer is probably between 12 – 17 years old, it is a very mild Lord of the Flies society.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 4th, 2012
Most people that regularly read my work can probably see my love for the Transformers. We are not talking about the movies either (the first one was decent, the rest were abominations), but instead it is the cartoons that I enjoy so much. Generation One, Beast Wars, Cybertron all hold a special place in my heart. So, when my webmaster mentioned he had season one of Transformers Prime on Blu-ray for me, I think I literally jumped through the ceiling in anticipation. Let us take a look.
Before we begin, I must make mention that this Limited Edition Set includes a full length graphic novel (in digest size) that acts as a prequel to the show. It centers around two main Autobot characters, Arcee and Cliffjumper who start out on the planet of Cybertron but find their way to a strange planet thanks to Spacebridge technology. The main antagonist is Starscream and the story is actually really good. Recommended reading before one even throws in the first disc.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 24th, 2012
"There's no need to fear. Underdog is here!"
Indeed, Underdog was the champion of many a child's fantasies in the 1960's when it first reached the airwaves. The show would become the most famous title from the team at Total Television Productions who also brought us the likes of Tennessee Tuxedo and his many friend.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on January 25th, 2012
My wife Sarah is not a normal bird, I have deeply accepted this. To be honest, if she was anything resembling normal, I probably would not be madly in love with her. But with her quirky ways, I am to a point where I know her likes and dislikes. Every once in a while, she does throw me off, especially when it comes to which cartoons she likes to watch. One of her favorite cartoons that she likes to watch goes by the name of Rocko’s Modern Life. It just so happens that today’s review goes over the second season. Let us see what it has to offer.
Since this site was not able to review the first season (which is only eleven and a half bucks at Amazon currently), I figured I would go over the characters and the show’s premise before diving into a few episodes. There are basically 3 major characters, 2 large supporting characters and then a whole boatload of characters that show up here and there.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on December 4th, 2011
Good grief, these people again. I had previously shared my thoughts on this program when reviewing the third season on this site: https://upcomingdiscs.com/2010/03/13/designing-women-season-3/ I shall expand on this but assure you that little has changed in my sour opinion.
This season was the last to feature Delta Burke and Jean Smart, who comprised of half of the leading cast. This does not mean there are any climatic finale moments where the friends become sentimental for one and other. This season seems to stay the course of mediocre comedy it had for 4 seasons previous, except perhaps for a little more applause added character's entrances.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 20th, 2011
It is that time for more cartoon goodness from the people at Nickelodeon. As we have seen, I seem to attract odd cartoons to review. Let’s see, there is a dude with a football as a head, a beaver with a surfer voice or perhaps a monster who has to carry his own eyeballs. This time I lay witness to a Cat and a Dog conjoined at the stomach devoid of tails or hind legs. What sounds like a bad science experiment might be full of cartoon love.
CatDog started out as a sneak peek cartoon before the Rugrats movie. In April of 1998, forty initial episodes were ordered. When it was all said and done, it would last half a dozen years and sixty eight episodes. It was not an overly strong cartoon but it would go on to accumulate a fairly quiet fan base and some minor nominations for an Annie as well as a Kid’s Choice Award. One might think with this mediocre run that the cast of voice actors was mediocre. That would be completely wrong.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 9th, 2011
Upcomingdisc's 31 Nights of Terror is a favorite of many here at the website. I have been through a few now and have always tried to bring something unique to the table. Whether it be Top 10 Lists, special movie essays, or games of a forgotten lore, I always want this time of the year to be different and wonderful. Well today, to start off my month of oddball terror off right, I am given a rare scary (well somewhat anyway) animation title. One of my favorites from the mid 90's, Aaahh!! Real Monsters, Season 1 from our friends at Shout Factory.
In the mid nineties, there were a lot of animation delights to feast our eyes upon when it came to Nickelodeon. You had Rugrats, Doug, Hey Arnold, Rocko's Modern Life, and a bunch of other shows that were staples of the network and known to kids everywhere. But Nickelodeon as a network was not afraid to explore new ideas, cartoons that were perhaps a little different. *caugh* Ren & Stimpy. There was also another show called Aaahh!! Real Monsters which explored the idea of monsters being trained to perform their jobs, scaring the pants off of humans. Long before Monsters Inc copied the concept.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on September 17th, 2011
One of my favorite “kiddie” type cartoons is Fairly Odd Parents. A giant size of wit (surprisingly adult in nature on occasion) and a ton of charm make the cartoon a boatload of fun to watch. It was created by Butch Hartman who has a long list of popular toon credits including Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken and Dexter's Laboratory. Eventually Hartman started to do more than storyboard or write cartoons. He created cartoons, including one such cartoon named Danny Phantom which is our subject today.
Danny Phantom was created in 2004 by Butch Hartman mostly based on the popularity of Fairly Odd Parents. (Basically, Nickelodeon wanted another cartoon from Hartman and asked him if he had an idea. Before “Danny Phantom” came out of his mouth, he had a contract). The show would run for a mild 45 episodes, 4 specials and roughly 3 seasons of work. But in doing so, he certainly generated a fan base who are still looking for new episodes until this very day. But before we get nose deep in some ghost hunting, lets go over the characters.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on September 4th, 2011
It is cartoon review time boys and girls. We have a very special guest today, he is the president of the The More Angry Beavers in Cartoons Today Thingy club. He is going to show us a cartoon today called, wait for it. *Waiting* *Random children start to flic boogers at each other* It's the Angry Beavers! *One kid cheers and the others throw paper wads at him* Wait, you don't know the Angry Beavers?! Well, then let us start the show and we will introduce to these two, Daggert and Norbert who live in a bachelor dam (not under the sea but above it!).
The Angry Beavers was a very successful cartoon for the Nickelodeon network that ran from 1997 to 2003. They did a total of sixty three episodes over four seasons and were nominated for eleven awards, four of which they actually won including a Daytime Emmy for Sound Editing and an Annie Award for Production Design. But enough about how wonderful this show and let us move on to the main characters.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 18th, 2011
Sometimes, I look through my collection of dvd and blu-rays. I tend to notice patterns fairly well. First, I like plenty of science fiction or thriller types. On the animation front, for the most part I tend to like anything oddball or superhero. Plain jane ordinary kid cartoons never seem to be my thing. The weirder the better. Today, I review Hey Arnold!, the first season. Perhaps I can give this Nick classic some bland cookie cutter love.
Hey Arnold! was a show that ran from 1996 to 2004 on the Nickelodeon network. It was a staple for that station for many years. It even churned out a movie at one point. It had a ton of characters but I will go over a few. There is the main character, Arnold who is in the fourth grade. His head is shaped like a football (something that many of the earlier cartoons beat to death) and he stays with his grandparents, Phil and Gertie. He also has a pet pig named Abner and they live in an old apartment building.
