[Videos] Of Monsters and Zombies

By now you folks should realize that I've come to enjoy the various 107 Facts videos by ChannelFrederator and it's affiliated channels on just about any topic. I have a particular love for the ones about cartoons and particular video game franchises and today's blog post sort of celebrates that fact.

Through a sheer coincidence of timing of new videos on ChannelFrederator and The Leaderboard  has resulted in two great videos over the weekend about two subjects of a good amount of interest to me.


107 Aaahh!!! Real Monsters Facts YOU Should Know! - Nickelodeon Cartoon Facts! (107 Facts S7 E21)


107 Plants Vs Zombies Facts YOU Should Know | The Leaderboard

[Videos] 107 Facts About Rocko's Modern Life

I cannot explain how I got into the Nickelodeon cartoon series Rocko's Modern Life while growing up, but I totally did. It's not because we have similar names. It's not even because I was in love with the art style behind the series. But something about it just clicked and I was hooked on the show while growing up.


SDCC 'Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling' Sneak Peek | Rocko's Modern Life | Nick
Thankfully, the show is due for a sort of revival with a special movie depicting the characters in a contemporary setting - so yes Rocko and friends are coming to this modern life.

But before that, ChannelFrederator has put together one of their signature 107 facts videos breaking down a lot of the craziness behind the show.


107 Rocko's Modern Life Facts YOU Should Know! (107 Facts S7 E14)

[Videos] 107 Facts About Invader Zim

What sort of an introduction does Invader Zim really need anymore? I was definitely one of the stranger cartoons to come out of Nickelodeon, but it's also definitely one of the more memorable ones.

Or maybe everyone just loved GIR.

And Channel Frederator has finally given into YouTube comment clamor to create a 107 Facts video about this rather subversive cartoon.

[Cartoons] 10 (Mostly 90's) Cartoons That Should Come Back?

Channel Frederator has some fun video content beyond its 107 Facts videos. And I continue to follow their YouTube channel because of my general love for cartoons.

In this Top 10 video, they tackle the interesting subject of cartoons that had been cancelled too soon. The list features a good number of classic 90's cartoon that I'd agree about having been cut off before reaching their full potential. But I admit that I didn't entirely agree with all entries in the top 5.


Check out the video for yourselves. What do you think? Which cancelled cartoon would you have put in the top spot?

[Cartoons] 107 Facts About The Legend of Korra

And while I'll always have a softer spot in my heart for The Legend of Aang, one cannot deny that the continuing saga of The Legend of Korra was a great story as well with quite the fulfilling arc when you look at all of the show's seasons together.

In this episode of 107 Facts You Should Know, Channel Federator decides to tackle Korra given they had already covered the original Avatar cartoon some time back.



I learned a good number of facts because of this video - what about you?

[Comics] Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Search

In the same way that my partner Tobie was able to find a copy of Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise, he eventually managed to find a copy of the sequel mini-series, Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Search. I was pretty sure that we were going to get a copy for ourselves eventually but I did find it rater amusing that once again it was Tobie who found the book.

These Dark Horse comics have proven to be an interesting balance of interest in the franchise despite my mixed feelings about The Legend of Korra at times. They're quite the vivid continuation of the original story of the and a nice bridge between the two shows in a manner that is way more effective than some other prequel type creations we've seen.

But what I really love is how these collected editions also include commentary from the creators which really adds to the flavor of the whole experience. The story and the art are already amazing on their own, but when you learn more about what the team was thinking while they were putting things together or the direct reasons for certain artistic directions, then the whole experience really gets added dimensions of significance and brilliance.

[TV] The Legend of Korra - Book Three: Change

This is where I have my usual discussion related to forgetting to review a season of a TV show immediately after watching the finale. In the case of The Legend of Korra, I guess I've been generally unimpressed with the show as a whole, and so I've rarely ended a season feeling that rush of excitement about getting a chance to talk about a show in this format. It's not that the show is bad, mind you. It's just that the original Avatar series was just so much better, that it set a pretty high standard.

This third season of The Legend of Korra was called Change and tried to introduce a larger plot about shifting priorities in the Kingdom and potential freedom fighters / terrorists trying to bring about change. As has been the patter  of every season of the show, it introduced a new set of antagonists who round counter to the peace that Korra has been trying to enforce with her powers as the Avatar.

In some ways, this season felt a little better than the first two. But in other ways, it suffered a lot of the same issues in those prior seasons as well. But I think on the whole it was generally better.

[TV] The Legend of Korra - Book Two: Spirits

Even though the first season of The Legend of Korra hadn't been quite as impressive as we had hoped, I know a lot of us were still happy to hear that the show had been confirmed for a second season. Given our love for the original Avatar series, I certainly felt that I had a fair amount of loyalty invested in the franchise. Thus I continued to hope for the best in terms of the show's direction, especially now that it was free to tell more stories with already established characters.

The chapter was announced to be called Spirits, which certainly presented an interesting realm of possibilities. The first Avatar series focused on the elements that Aang had to master in order to eventually defeat Fire Lord Osai. This time around the writers opted to deviate from the elemental path and focus on the other side of the role of the avatar - being the bridge between humans and the spirit world. So yeah, the thought tackling stories related to this were certainly exciting.

But the show still suffered from character development issues that had started in the first season. And this took away from some of the potential value of the show. And while it certainly had its valuable moments that have greatly enriched the Avatar universe, it still has a long way to go before it can stand up right there with the rest of the Avatar franchise.

[Comics] Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise

Despite that fact that I'm way more into reading books than my partner Tobie is, I have come to accept that he has an uncanny skill for finding rather interesting gems during our trips to various book stores and such.

Case in point, he managed to find this lovely collected edition of Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise, which collects all three issues of the original comic book mini-series. We're quite big fans of the original cartoon given the quality of the writing behind it and the very fulfilling narrative experience that was the story that drove the show. It's also what we continue to hope for when we watch The Legend of Korra, although the show has failed to meet expectations across two full seasons thus far.

But like many genre shows that are no longer on the air, it's interesting to note how Avatar: The Last Airbender has managed to find a bit of a new world of its own in comic book form that is working out decently well. They offer a glimpse into the life of the Avatar after the events of the TV series - something that is not clearly addressed in the new Korra cartoon.

[Movies] The Last Airbender (2010)

Man, I bet a lot of my movie reviews read like witch hunts against all adaptations, revivals, reimaginations and the like. But given how such movies and TV shows in recent years have fared, I think I'm more than justified in my opinions. And as much as it's fun to see such old franchises brought back to life, what we're really looking for is some real passion and loving care put into their creations. Instead, we're constantly reminded that Hollywood is more and more just about the bottom line instead of the art of their craft.

When it comes to this movie, I'm not quite sure if Hollywood is more to blame or the creative team behind the movie itself. That's the question really - did this movie turn out the way it did because of Hollywood greed or using the wrong talent to drive its success. Throwing in the fact that the writer-director-producer M.Night Shyamalan whose success in recent years has become more and more of a risky gamble at best. As much as we all loved his earlier movies, you have to admit his creative efforts have been more and more inconsistent as time has progressed.

It probably didn't help at all that this particular adaptation involved an animated TV series that has a very wide and passionate fan-following. There are few things worse than hordes of angry fans to kill a movie like this.

[TV] Avatar: The Last Airbender - Book Three: Fire

I know I've stated this cliche before, but it tends to be very true more often than not - all good things must come to an end. This seems especially true with the TV shows that we really come to love and hold dear.

For the most part it may be for the best - quitting while they're ahead, to borrow another overused phrase. As much as a show can reach some pretty amazing heights, it can just as quickly crash and burn once the writers run out of fresh ideas, actors get too full of themselves and demand too much for their participation. So it isn't always a bad thing when a show decides to close the books, now matter how "early" it appears to be.

But still, it saddened me to see this particular series end.

[TV] Avatar: The Last Airbender - Book Two: Earth

It's not often that a cartoon manages to maintain my attention for long these days. The first seasons are generally good but beyond that it starts to give in to more budget cuts and pushes from the network to make the show more marketable by playing on its strengths based on what merchandise is purchased. It's not a good measure of effectiveness, but we all know it happens in the name of Hollywood-brand entertainment.

But patterns can be broken of course. It happens here and there. And it can always happen again.

Avatar: The Last Airbender started out very strong and I have to admit I was hoping against hope that it would not fall into the trap of many other cartoons before it and get too commercial. Instead they even surpassed those expectations and took the story to a completely new level entirely.