Gephyrophillia | Watch This Space #4

Originally Posted on 08/21/2002 by Jeff Harris

I promoted the goodness of old-school in a time when new cartoons with an educational bent and shows with little creatures were being promoted as "the next big thing" and anime was the end-all to entertainment. I preached the gospel of the Revolution that the only road to salvation was to bring back old-school properties, either in their original, prestine conditions or make new versions very faithful to the originals. Nonbelivers weren't balking at that statement and just laughed it off.

He-Man and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles never coming back, get over it.

Cartoon Network would never pick up a show like G.I. Joe. It's too violent for today's sensitive audiences.

People aren't interested in stuff like Speed Racer, Thundercats, and Silverhawks. It's in the past. It's too old!

Transformers will never go back to vehicle mode, so don't hold your breath.

Pokemania will last forever!

Now who's laughing.

Old-school has taken a stranglehold in North America in the last couple of months. You have two major premieres to take place on Toonami, last week's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and this week's Transformers: Armada. G.I. Joe was a part of the post TMR lineup with decent feedback from the fans that should convince Cartoon Network to pick up the full run of the original series and maybe even air other old-school animation in the future. Comic adaptations of Thundercats, G.I. Joe, and Thundercats are selling like wildfire, with adaptations of MotU and Robotech coming soon. The Fox Box Saturday morning lineup will be fueled by three old-school franchises, Ultimate MUSCLE, Ultraman Tiga, and coming in Winter 2003, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Perhaps one of the most shocking events has also developed over the weekend dealing with an old-school franchise.

Nickelodeon is going to air a new Speed Racer cartoon.

For the first time in nearly a decade, Nick is airing an anime series as part of its regular lineup starting this Sunday. SLAM, Nick's new "action" block (call me crazy, but I think that Robot Wars is a terrible contribution to the block) will have the US premiere of the 1997 anime version of Speed Racer, which was originally called Speed Racer Y2K. From all indications, the designs and animation will be pretty dang cool, and I'm kind of curious (and cynical) about how Nick treats this potential hit. Check it out this Sunday at 4 PM EST/PST.

Speaking of phenominal animation, this Friday's Toonami In-Flight Movie, Transformers: Armada has the potential to be as big, if not bigger, than it's predecessor. The looks harken back to the original episodes with just enough anime edge to keep the otakus happy. The war between the Autobots and the Decepticons have reached a critical mass as the battle finds a new home on the Earth. The new players that will play a major role in who wins the battle are the Minicons, small Transformers with the ability to connect with there massive brethren to become even more powerful Transformers. One small note of interest to old-school fans. Does anybody remember the Tonka toyline/Hanna-Barbera series Go-Bots? It was basically a Transformers ripoff and almost all Transfans despise anything to do with it. Anyway, climates change and companies merge, as Tonka and Hasbro (who make the Transformers line) did in the 90s. There was a forgettable character named Gobot in the Transformers Generation Two figure assortment. There is a minor connection between the Go-Bots and the Minicons in Transformers Armada. Leader-One, the leader of the Go-Bots, is also the name of a Minicons warrior. In the Armada toyline, Leader-1 is connected to the Decepticon leader, Megatron. Anyways, catch Transformers Armada this Friday at 4 PM EST/PST only on Toonami.

Last week's premiere, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, was phenominal and certainly exceeded my expectations. Don't get me wrong, I knew it was going to be good. I'm just that I was bit anxious on how the new writers and creators would treat the characters, as would any fan of the original. Needless to say, the folks at Mike Young Productions didn't disappoint me. Great origin sequence of Skeletor. Prince Adam isn't just He-Man in pink (the fact that this guy who looks just like He-Man stands in front of everybody who thinks that Prince Adam and He-Man weren't the same person annoyed me in the original series). Cringer isn't Scooby-Doo anymore. The classic heroes and villians were handled very well. Teela is more of a hellcat than usual, just as good as (if not better than) a few anime heroines. The Hack and Slashification of Clawful and Whiplash were a nice touch. Orko didn't suck. Overall, I liked it. Great voice acting, beautiful animation, MotU is the perfect blend of old-school action with new-school animation. Now, more than ever, I'm a believer of the power of Grayskull.

You've noticed that there are a few glitches around the new CNX. Sorry about that, and as the week progresses, I'm going to fix them. It's new, it's not perfect. Tomorrow, I'll be back with regular news, editorials, and the usual blah here at the site, including my opinions on G Gundam and the only Cartoon Cartoon short that the Toonami fan shouldn't miss, Low Brow.

Until we are one,
Jeff Harris
CNX Creator/Webmaster
August 21, 2002