GoFlash

Hey, all, Oy. Haven't had time to post much - couple people at work had babies, so lots of extra work, plus all the Christmas preparations. I actually had to learn the Hawaiian 12 Days of Christmas, so I could help coach my daughter for her Christmas program. The irony is that I now have the Hawaiian version more straight than the traditional - but then again, I know the words for "O Tannenbaum" better than "O Christmas Tree". Also had the father of one of my daughter's friends mention to me that his daughter sometimes runs around the house shouting "Wonder Girl" - apparently my daughter is spreading the words. She's quite the Themysciran ambassador (Well, she does want to be Wonder Woman when she grows up.) In response to a) recent discussion of Catwoman casting and b) the fact that I was watching 10th season of SG-1 at the time, I did want to throw out Claudia Black as a thought. I wouldn't have nominated her after watching Farscape, but Vala Mal Doran made me think about it. I could see her as a Catwoman on the flirty side of seductive. Some thoughts about the last batch of episodes - "Rats!" is one of those where I can agree with most everything Mike and James said, but I still enjoy it. So it's a guilty pleasure. "Mind Games" - I would disagree with the comment about mind over matter not allowing Invulnerable Man (which I believe was his character's name) to survive the fall. Clearly, we're talking here about more than people who can teach themselves to lower their blood pressure and relax at will - we're talking about true psychic powers. Look at the Connor Kent Superboy - as I understand the character, initially, he had low reserves of solar energy, and being only half Kryptonian, absorbed it more slowly than Superman. Most of his early powers, therefore, were actually telekinetic in origin - force field for invulnerability, TK to enhance strength, that sort of thing. Invulnerable Man could have been the same thing - a telekinetic with no range to speak of, so he uses his TK on his own body to enhance it. I also liked the inside joke - Bombshell was voiced by former Charlie's Angel (and Mrs. King) Kate Jackson. That scene where Terry checks on Matt is really strong for me. I see kids sometimes who have bad things happen to them, and when I do, when I get home, that's usually what I do that night. I hug my daughter tight, and when I check on her after she falls asleep, I promise myself that no-one will ever do that sort of thing to her. It's very much a parental response, and it says a lot in very little time about Terry and Matt. "Revenant" - Not a bad episode, but not a great one. I did like the fact that since they brought Willie back, they both decided to go in a different direction with him, and made it a direction that flowed from the first episode. As to why he's getting out already - a) it's Gotham, and b) it's Juvie Hall, not Arkham or Blackgate. For all we know, Willie may be 18 and about to be released because he's no longer a juvenile. That's about all I have to say. Merry Christmas, everyone (or Mele Kalikimaka, if you prefer) Chris

The frustrating thing (OK, one of many) about that was watching it right after the end of JLU Season 3. Powers Boothe did such a bizarre job as Luthor. The whole time I watched it, I was thinking, "Why doesn't he just play Luthor the exact same way he did Grodd?" His portrayal of Grodd was so much closer to Lex Luthor than his actual portrayal of Luthor. One of the things that has always set the DCAU apart is the caliber of voice acting - likely because the whole thing has bee taken so seriously, so they've been able to attract better talent and encourage them to bring their A game. Andrea Romano deserves a heartfelt congratulations for managing this side of things, without which the DCAU wouldn't be nearly as memorable. I like the criterion of "Is this the definitive portrayal?" When I'm reading something with this character, is this the voice I hear. To that end, and off the top of my head (I may leave out some who have already been commented on enough in my opinion, plus, let's face it - there are very few bad choices here): BTAS Kevin Conroy - goes without saying. Davd Warner - I could just listen to him saying "Detective" for most of an episode. Efram Zimbalist, Jr. - The episodes with Clive Revell (who, incidentally, played Emperor Palpatine in "The Empire Strikes Back" before the part was recast) - anyways, every time Alfred speaks, it's like a speed bump. And it's not that Mr. Revell is bad - Zimbalist just did such an outstanding job. Robert Costanza as Bullock - and actually, he wouldn't do so bad as a live-action Harv, either... Paul Williams, Arleen Sorkin, Mark Hamill, and Diane Pershing - of the Rogues, these were the ones who stood out the most - and like I said, given the overall casting, that's saying something. STAS Clancy Brown - No one has ever nailed Luthor like Brown. I read that he originally auditioned for Superman. I'm sure he would have done a fantastic job, but what a loss that would have been. Michael Ironside & Corey Burton - Really, of the "Big 3" Superman villains, they nailed all 3. Dana Delaney - Again, she just nailed it. Just a hint of that '40s cinema tough girl in her voice that really throws back to the Fleischer cartoons. Justice League All of the big 7 were very well done - I think that Phil Lamarr and Michael Rosenbaum really stood out. As far as other Leaguers... Really, my favorite casting was the foursome of Kin Shriner, Morena Baccarin, Amy Acker, and Jeffrey Combs. Both as individuals and as groups, those four did a fantastic job. I thought that the couples had great chemistry (and I'm referring as much to the interaction/rivalry between Canary & Huntress and between Arrow and Question as the romantic couples). Chris

Just a couple of thoughts - As far as Vance's plan, Mike and James were discussing his plan - be Brainiac Lite, take over grandson? How about this - all of the above. He's a computer program. He can make multiple copies. He doesn't have to decide to stay in the computer or take over his grandson - he can do both. One copy gets to live again, and all of the experiences that go with life. The other stays in the mainframe, and has access to all of the data that a computer can find - and then communicates this with the copy in Bobby Vance, who uses it to run his company and amass more power and wealth. The beauty of this plan is that it will even account for a complaint that I believe Mike brought up - Bobby brought Vance 1.0 online because he wasn't sure what to do and wasn't comfortable running the company. If Vance 1.0 is online, and Vance 1.2 is in Bobby, he's got any easy explanation for why his management style has changed - he's taking the advice of his grandfather's program (which you would expect would lead to his running the company much like his grandfather would have). And if the moron had actually DONE THAT, and not all of the extraneous crap ("Hmm. Let's make sure we involve Batman in this.") it would have worked. There would have been no episode because Batman would have never known what was going on under his nose. Stupid villains always complicate things. Whatever happened to KISS "Keep It Simple Stupid"? Speaking of villain plans, I have to compliment Spellbinder. His motivation originally was money. What did he do in "Hooked Up"? He came up with a practical plan to make money. Think about it - this has got to be one of the most practical supervillain ploys out there. He's not trying for form an army from these kids - he's offering a service, and expecting payment. Sure, it's a metaphor for drugs. Why do people sell drugs, despite all of the penalties? Because you can make a ton of money doing it. Given the typical supervillain "let's spend 10 million dollars (20 mill if you're Harvey Dent) on equipment to knock off a jewelry store", Spellbinder needs to be recognized for actually being about to figure out which columns the costs and profits should be going in. (Although, there was a story this weekend about thieves in drag hitting a jewelry store and making off with $108 million. That pays for a lot of rocket packs; still, Harry Winston isn't exactly your typical jewelry store.) The really interesting thing is, if he plays it right - would he go to jail for this? There are already VR parlors. His is better - what, you're going to throw him in jail for making a better product? It costs more - hey, you get what you pay for, right? Certainly, your Honor, my client had no way of knowing that his customers were stealing to pay for the services he provides - creds are creds, after all. Some of the incident violence may be prosecutable, but some kid who graduated from law school 5 minutes ago could probably keep him out of jail for the core issue of his plot. This may explain why we see him back so quickly - with, I might add, another not altogether unintelligent plan. Chris

I followed your point - it's just that if we're talking about wearing that costume, I care less about continuity than attractiveness. If Max wants an identity, Oracle hasn't been taken yet - that might fit her skill set better.

lol remember mike's is it wrong topic when he found this: just imagine Max wearing this lol MUH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA EDIT: I found out on TVShowsOnDVD that the Batman Beyond The Movie is actually the first 5 episodes on 1 disc. So Suave it aint just the Rebirth 2 parter. So hopefully Columbia House's shipment came in the mail today I'm off to the post office to see. You can see the disc specs at the following link: BB The Movie Disc Specs Max? Ehhh. Maybe Dana...

Is that due to his administration, though, or are the PPG just that much better than Batman? (duck and cover, duck and cover, duck and cover) Had to say that... Seriously, the superheros kind of pick themselves, but if you look at the people the mayors surround themselves with, it's still a hard call. Ms. Bellum vs. Jim Gordon - at least they both have good people in the administration. I can't believe you're doing a poll of the worst mayor, and left out Mayor McCheese. Talk about a revolving door for criminals - WHEN will the Hamburgler do hard time? WHEN?!?

actually I didn't get the email until after 2...... but the point is that if the ep is available for individual purchase why wouldn't the season pass update when the episode first posted? it's ok now I've got the episode but still it's fucking frustrating as hell. If I pay for something and it's supposed 2 download at minimum of 24 hrs later I want it ASAP I guess it's the OCD in me. LOL To be honest, that's not that bad - I had bought the season pass for Robot Chicken, Season 3 last year, then the show went on hiatus from December til August. The first new episode downloaded just fine, but then the next several didn't come up in the season pass, although they were able to be purchased individually. I sent tech support an e-mail about it - they never really explained why, but it was a couple weeks before the episodes downloaded. On the bright side, they did send me a coupon for a free TV episode... Then again, I'm still working through Stargate SG-1 and starting on Atlantis. I'm so used to watching TV on recorded media rather than as it's broadcasted by now that I just shrug and pick something else to watch until whatever I bought is available. Chris

Ah, the memories...I grew up in Minnesota, so this is about the time I'd start watching for the first snow of the season, too. Of course, my wife, who was born and bred in Hawaii, had this funny idea that I'd adjust to her home state faster than she'd adjust to mine. I'm still waiting for the first snow from 2006 (my last year on the mainland). If I get too nostalgic, I can always throw some shave ice up in the air...

Alright, I'm back - it's been a nuts couple of weeks, but now that we're starting BEYOND, had to put my two cents in. When I first heard about the concept of the show in 97 or 98, I was thinking "Good God. Really? There's no better way to tell Batman stories than to have a teenage Batman?" Because frequently, this sort of thing is handled one of 2 ways. First, the Spider-Man Unlimited approach. Send Spidey to "Counter-Earth", but, oh yeah, there just happen to be analogs of everyone he knows there. Or second, the multiple-Elseworlds-and-fan-fiction-type-stories, set them 20-40 years in the future, where EVERYONE had kids, and EVERY kid ended up like their parents, except maybe a different gender, so again, you're still using the same cast. Boy, was I wrong.... REBIRTH: Damn. Just, damn. James and Mike said most of it already, but a few additions. My timeline has always gone with Bruce's age. I figure he was about 25 in "Mask Of the Phantasm, 35-40 through the bulk of the DCAU (safe to say that the DCAU covers at least 5 years), late 50's in the prologue to "Rebirth" and late 70's in "Batman Beyond" (then early 90s in "Epilogue"). Barbara would have been early to mid 20s in "Gotham Knights, making her early to mid-60s in "Beyond. Derek Powers - James commented that he was similar to Luthor, which I thought was nice continuity with the WFP episode about "World's Finest" and the comments that they made then. Took 40 years, but Batman finally faced off against a Luthor type villain. Powers' voice actor, Sherman Howard (who also voiced the Collector in "The Main Man") actually is a former Lex Luthor. Granted, it's from the Superboy live-action TV show, but still - Lex Luthor! Also, there's a bit of a parallel here - for the first season, he was Batman's main adversary. How did he become who he is? He was fighting with Batman, and was doused in a chemical. Hmmm. Oh, and you guys were discussing his nom de crime (or de guerre, or de plume - I can never keep those straight). "Meltdown" was the episode where Mr. Freeze and Derek Powers face off; I think that's the episode where he actually labels himself as "Blight". Maybe Ian can chime in here - did Mr. Fixx seem like a futuristic nod to Oddjob to anyone but me? The club (Club 54 Level) is an allusion to the Manhattan nightspot Club 54, featured in the movie "54". In the discussion of Dead Man's Hand, James talked about Terry not kissing Dana. He actually kissed her briefly before she dropped him off at Wayne Manor at the end of Episode 1. I'm not sure, but I think that the scene at the end of part 2 with Terry's mom may have been the only time in the series that Bruce put on the "pleasant Bruce Wayne facade" again - Mike's absolutely right. He lets the Bat show all the time now. I also love that scene because you know Bruce is telling Terry "I'm going to put you through hell to prove you have what it takes, kid" and Terry knows exactly what he's saying. MELTDOWN About the Batmobile, I would offer 3 reasons why it's still useful. First, it's faster. The Batmobile can go about Mach 3 (established in "The Call, Part 2" - "Is that faster than a speeding bullet?"). If he needs to get somewhere in a hurry, the rocket boots and wings aren't going to do it in time. Second, the Batmobile probably has better range - how much fuel can you fit in those boots? Third, it carries more stuff - grapples to catch heavy objects, weapons, communications gear - stuff that the suit can't provide. I look at the wings and rocket boots as an upgrade of the grapples, but even with how much Bruce used his grapple, it still never replaced the Batmobile. Inque as the equivalent of Clayface nailed what they did right about this series. She's about as close as you get to "Clayface Beyond" or any other "Villain Beyond" - but she's a completely different character. Despite the great rogues Batman has, I'm really glad they didn't just recycle and update rogues from TAS and Gotham Knights and try to keep doing the same thing - this feels a lot more realistic, because while there is a TON of continuity, the Jokerz as a (sort of pathetic) street gang trying to cash in on Joker's rep makes a lot more sense than a Joker's Son or Daughter. When they do bring back a villain, it's in a way that makes sense, storywise. Also, this was the first time we actually see the mature Barbara Gordon. GOLEM The episode that Willie Watts comes back in is "Revenant" - they do something very different with the character, however. While I agree that a lot of this was formuleic, I did like the scene where Terry is facing down Nelson to keep him from beating up Willie for 2 reasons. First, Terry plays it very cool and low-key - this is the same guy who lost his temper and punched Nelson during the wrestling match in "Rebirth". I liked that sign that spending time with Bruce is already making Terry be more controlled, more reserved. I also liked the whole dark, quiet, you-don't-want-to-bestir-me-to-action vibe Terry was giving off - he's already getting that "stare down the punks" act down. You'd think he was born to do this...oh, wait, he was, wasn't he? About the detective work, I have to defend them a bit - at least up to the "line goes around the block...twice" moment. Granted that we know that Willie's dad works at the company with the GLM, but I get the impression that a GLM is a pretty standard piece of heavy construction equiptment. It's not like there's only one, and everyone knows that Willie's dad is a foreman at the company that owns it. They'd have to come up with a list of people who don't like Nelson (which could be a long list), find which company the GLM belonged to, and cross-reference the list of Nelson's enemies with everyone who has access to the company lots - that could actually take while to check out that many leads. Who knows how many people Terry sees Nelson terrorize on a daily basis - the episode with Willie may not stand out that much. Couple comments about swinging on the rope. I can't come up with a great reason for Terry to do it at that moment, but...it makes a lot of sense to have the grapple in the Batsuit. First, it's a backup for the rockets and wings, and Bruce is all about backup plans. Second, Bruce is the one who built the Batsuit, and he spent 20 years with a grapple - it makes sense that he would include it. Third, there's situations where you can use that to spear something or rope something and pull it out of the way without moving yourself, so it gives more flexibility. From a writer's perspective, I think I see why they put that scene in. Willie Watts (Peter Parker), Bobbi "Blade" Summer (Liz Allen), and come on, Nelson Nash is clearly Flash Thompson throughout this series. From a writing point of view, I think Terry used the grapple and line to complete the homage to Spider-Man (because that shot did look kind of like Amazing Fantasy #15). After all, look at "Rebirth". There's a lot of parallels to what happened to Uncle Ben. And, it makes sense for that tool to be in the Batsuit. It's just, like Mike said, hard to see why, from an in-universe POV, Terry would choose to use that tool rather than the wings and rockets. You could argue that he was worried about losing control in close quarters, but Terry's much more used to the wings and rockets than to the grapple, so I can't really accept that. I think they just wanted to run with the homage as far as they could, even if it meant that they stretched things a bit. Incidentally, Nelson Nash is voiced by Seth Green, from Buffy and the Austin Powers movies. He's not a big guy ("hell, I could fit Oz in my shaving kit, but come a full moon he had a wolfy mojo not to be messed with") and anyone who's watched Robot Chicken knows how distinctive his voice is, but damn if he doesn't sound exactly like that type of Flash Thompson character that we've all known and loathed. THE WINNING EDGE Ehhh. It did make me wonder what happened to that Teen Titans anti-drug cartoon from the 80's - I read the comic, but does anyone know if they actually made the cartoon? I did like Terry's line, "C'mon, he's a zillion years old! How much trouble could an old geezer ... never mind. " Apparently, Bat-Glares can travel over comlinks. DEAD MAN'S HAND Ten sure looked like a young Black Canary. That's about the 3rd character they've used that look for now. Not a complaint, mind you, just an observation. Guess I sort of ran out of steam with comments on the last two - then again, I wasn't the only one. Great fun, guys - see you in 2 weeks.

The one gripe I've had with iTunes is with video. I have a 1 TB drive that's almost filled with TV shows, and I like them formatted. Show, season, episode, description, track number, genre, date. I've figured out how to get artwork from the iTunes store for shows that are available, and made my own for things that aren't. And once I get a video clip formated for my iPod, I can do it all in iTunes...except for one little thing. If you select the video type in "Get Info" (Movie, TV Show, or Music Video) - it's only good as long as that video is in iTunes. Like I said, I have about 800 GB of video, and a 250 GB iMac, so I can't keep my whole collection in iTunes. When I reload the formatted clip, iTunes remembers all of the formatting except the video type, so I have to go into movies and switch each one to TV show. I finally gave up and found a program for the Mac called Parsley is Atomically Delicious that tags video for iTunes. I still have to do it twice, because there's some fields that Parsley won't do, but it will continue to register as a TV show - which makes it a lot easier to find the episode I want to watch than if I've got several hundred ripped videos on my iPod. Chris

Then again, if it's balanced by someone like Erin Grey in a jumpsuit...

Naw! This could be a really cute family, action / adventure film like Spy Kids. Sure, a Saturday morning cartoon would be better, but this has potential. Been done - there was a live action pilot oh, about 1990, 1991. Never released. Let's see, I think Alex could float, Katie made energy balls, Julie moved fast (but wasn't flying), and Jack just shrunk, rather than changing his density. Their parents were overly touchy feely and knew about their powers, and the plot centered on Jack stealing something from a haunted house on a dare, Alex and Katie have to help him return it before the ghost gets them, and Julie has to unpack at superspeed while they're out doing this (because the family just moved to Chicago). It was not the most interesting thing...what's that? Of course I still have my copy. I'm not sure that I could see it as a movie - I think a cartoon would work much better. Chris

God, yes. Wolverine is such an underused character, after all. At the risk of a Marvel lightning bolt hitting me, why exactly am I supposed to care about Wolverine? The character never really did anything for me, so the marketing strategy of put Wolverine in everything and retcon him into every historical situation makes my teeth ache - I can almost see a Wolverine movie done in the same style as Forrest Gump, if Marvel had their way. On a less ranting note, is it just me, or did Thor Girl get her sword from the 2002 reboot of He-Man?

Another 2 groups that're worth checking out: Red Cape Productions So far, only 2 films, both with Wonder Woman. Battle for Justice is about 6 minutes and feels more like a promo reel - some crime corporation talking about WW stopping their plans, then fighting her inthe parking garage. Of course, If I've got a bunch of corporate types, and I'm going to try to fight Wonder Woman, I'll do just what they did - send one guy at a time to fight her while the others watch. Still, she looks darn good in the costume. Balance of Power has a bit more plot; also features Steve Trevor and a cameo by Superman. Supposedly, they're working on a WW/Supes crossover. Bat In The Sun Films: Father and son team - Aaron Schoenke directs, and has played Terry McGinnis and Nightwing. His father Sean composes music and played the villain in one film. They've moved on and are no longer making fan films, but left some great ones: Dark Justice: A Year One-ish film where Batman and James Gordon have to track down some kidnappers who took a teenage Barbara Gordon. Batman's played by a guy who's worked as a stunt double for The Rock, to give you an idea of how big he is. Batman Beyond: Year One - A different take on Terry's time in Juvenile Hall. About 45 minutes long - a bit weaker than their others. The Beyond suit didn't translate that well, and the guy playing Bruce Wayne obviously was nowhere near that old (plus, I have to say that Kevin Conroy's intensity in Beyond was impressive - I though he was even more intense there then he was in TAS). Madness/Legends - 2 different film clips, both draw on a lot of the same material. More like trailers than films, although there are some snatches of Superman as well. Joker's Christmas Spectacular - Little creepier than "Christmas with the Joker", especially when he throttles Harley... Patient J: If you can't watch them all, watch this and Dark Justice. It's a half hour of the Joker talking with a psychiatrist. If they tried to adapt the DCAU Joker to live action, this is probably what he's look like. There's a lot of what we saw in Mad Love - you never know which Joker you're going to get. Some of the story is in flashbacks as well - the Bob Kane-style Batman at Ace Chemical, going after Jason Todd with a crowbar...

Does the iPhone play the same movies that will play on an iPod 5th generation? I was having so much trouble burning fanfilms to DVD and getting them to look decent (I don't like sitting in front of a computer watching video for some reason) that I gave up and converted my entire collection to iPod movies. If your iPhone will play it, I can probably help you out - send me a message. Chris

I think someone was trying to impress you with his knowledge of pussy. I think someone did the exact opposite. This from a service representative at a certain airlines once, almost 3 years ago when my daughter was 15 months old and we were flying back to Hawaii: "All right, sir, I have you and your wife in seats 12A and 12B, and the baby in seat 25D." I took a deep breath and said as calmly as I could "Think about what you just said." I actually had to explain why this fell into the category of Not A Good Idea. Oy.

Glad that things are resolved, Doug.

Doug, The other thing to consider is this. When you confront your mom, as good as it feels to do the same thing to her, to yell, to scream, it's not really the point. You probably want 2 things. You want your mother to apologize, and you want her to stop checking your email in the future. If you give yourself a bit of time to collect your thoughts (and sometimes that may involve playing out the screaming version of the conversation in your head - those always go better when you get to make up the other person's lines anyways), you'll probably find that things go much better. First, the more maturity you show during this discussion, the more your mother will realize that there was no need for her to read your -mail. Second, the calmer you are and the more you focus on how you feel rather than what she did, the less she'll feel like she's on the defensive. It's very satisfying to start throwing out accusations; the problem is, the other person reflexively tries to defend against the accusations. The less you focus on accusations and the more you focus on how this made you feel, the more likely it is that your mother will look at the issue from your point of view, and the more likely she'll be to apologize and avoid repeating this behavior. Not nearly as satisfying, but more productive. (Like I said, hold the screaming match in your head. Comes out better that way.) Chris

Thought this might fit best in here - a place for people to share their thoughts about their favorite fan films. For example. Mike is a big fan of "The Death Of Batman" Seriously, though, one group I'd recommend is Blinky Productions. Husband and wife, done some good films. Niki Notarile plays Catwoman (SKyle's ears suddenly perk up) in 3 films, Principles, The Diamond Exchange, and World's Finest (Catwoman & Power Girl). They also have 2 Power Girl films, some Blue Beetle, a 3 part Question film, and a short about a cop giving the Flash a speeding ticket. Some action, especially in the Catwoman films, some humor, really good costumes, very enjoyable. They have a channel on YouTube, so you can watch them online - they do have some DVDs available for sale as well. I have a bunch more in my collection, but what else have people enjoyed (or thought was absolute garbage)? Chris

.............It is in english...haven't got the set myself and don't plan to for a while yet as I REALLY HATED JUBILEE! "Look at me I can shoot sparklers!" Wow, that's nice.........it's not going to get the dishes done, but nice. Can't believe that they replaced Shadowcat with Jubilee for the ingenue role. Of course, Calender Girl did the sparklies from the fingers in "Mean Seasons", too - just about as useless of a character. Chris

Maybe you missed the part about me turning into Bruce Wayne by 2050. You'll be skipping along, thinking you're all young and sprightly at 72. Then, I'll sic Ace on you. And Dan and I will laugh - from 87 time zones apart. 42 years, my friend. 42 years.

Amen, brother. Blasted kids today.

Sigh. I remember watching it when it first aired as an adult.... I started med school 2 years after college. My second year, I had some undergrad call me "sir" and felt old. The depressing thing is that now, that memory has a "10th Anniversary Edition" cover on it... Realizing that the parents of some of my patients weren't born when I started high school... Or, there was last month, when Selina joined the WFP threads and assured Mike that she'd bring up the average age because she was 25.... The realization that when we get to 2050 (about the time of Batman Beyond), I'll be Old Bruce's age (77 or so).... Whose stupid idea was this stupid thread again? I quit - there's too much blood in my caffeine stream again. Chris (aka crotchety old guy)

I think it depends on what you're looking for. Animation-wise, I liked it better than the 90's series - it was a bit more streamlined. The 90's character designs always seemed kind of stiff; plus, it seemed like they only had one build, and just drew different costumes over it. Story, continuity wise, without a doubt, the 90's series stuck more closely to the comics, which gave them some great stories to adapt. In a couple of parts (the Dark Phoenix 4 parter, especially the showdown with the Imperial Guard) they essentially used the original stories as storyboards (and I don't mean it seemed that way; I meaned that's what they did). This worked better sometimes than others - the Brood story was so watered down that I think they would have been better off not bothering. Does this make one better? Depends. I tend to go more with the general feel of things rather than details - I didn't freak out because the webbing on Toby Maguire's Spidey costume was raised, for example. The 90's series drew on a lot of great stories, but they also had to fit those stories (which happened at different times in the comics, with different X-Men) into the same team, so there were times that it felt a bit clunky. (For example, during the Phoenix storyline, Jean Grey was the only X-Man who could pilot the shuttle through the solar flare {by telepathically absorbing it from Dr. Corbeau} while at the same time physically protecting herself from the radiation telekinetically, so her sacrifice made sense. In the cartoon, though, Rogue could have done it better {absorb Jean's TK, Corbeau's knowlege, Wolvie's healing, and her own invulnerability}, so...she just happened to be elsewhere that day, with no reason given. Things like that.} Evolution used some comic storylines more as points of inspiration, but I'm fine with that. Character development - I would say Evolution was way ahead. Many of the characters in the 90's series were very one-dimensional. Cyclops was uptight. Wolverine was about to fly off the handle. Rogue was good ol' gal. Jean was...angsty. There wasn't much sense of them as complex individuals, and given the source material, I think that hurt the cartoon. I'm not sure how much of this was the writing and how much of this was the voice acting, but there just didn't seem to be much variety in any of them. Evolution seemed to focus much more on character development, and for me, that actually made it a more watchable show, because I actually care about the characters. Jean may be the best example. In the 90's series, I never really cared about her, so it's hard to get worked up about the Cyclops/Wolverine rivalry. In Evolution, she's a much more developed character, so you can see why Scott likes her - and while he's still the uptight rule abider, you can see a wry sense of humor, a bit of uncertainty balanced by his self confidence - much more developed characters - and again, some from the writing, some from the acting. Of course, my favorite X-Men were Nightcrawler and Shadowcat. Kitty never appeared in the 90's series (unless there was a blink-and-you-miss-it appearance where I blinked) and they only showed the religious side of Kurt. In Evolution, I thought they nailed Kurt - especially later in the series, you clearly see the deep sense of morality he has, but you also see the joking swashbuckler throughout. In terms of the meat of the two, I think that the 90's series might have had better plots (although that was in large part because they mined 30 years of comic stories - well maybe 15-20. Most of the stories were from after Giant-Size X-Men #1). I think that Evolution was way ahead, though, when it came to characterization and character development. Chris

I'm suprised they'll ship anything to Boston after that tea shipment a few years back.