The new Green Lantern series began last night with a one hour episode.


The Good:

I could be wrong, but I believe that this is the first DC animated series since BTAS that didn't begin with an origin tale. Hal is a test pilot, he has a boss/girlfriend, he's a member of the Green Lantern Corps... GO. We get to the action fairly quickly, which is good.

There's a bit of intrigue and secrecy involving the Guardians, but it's not overwrought. The Guardians have different personalities that should interest kids without confusing them. I've never liked the "Guardians are snobs/douches" bit. They do it in a manner that shows that some of the Guardians are holier-than-thou while others are wise enough to listen. It's a good mix. And Ganthet is a great character.

They didn't overexpose us to the Corps. We don't start out with "a menace that requires the services of every Green Lantern".


The Bad:

Still not a fan of the animation style. The scenes on Earth between Hal and Carol didn't work for me. Once you're in space, and Hal is in costume and every character is an alien, it works much better. But when Hal and Carol sit and talk... they look like they're in an episode of Clutch Cargo. The action scenes do look amazing.


The Awesome:

This was a very well paced story. No "moments of awe" as we approach OA or meet the Lanterns or the Guardians. This episode chugged right along at a great pace.

Hal is not a complete idiot. He's brash and quick to act, but it isn't portrayed as that much of a flaw.

There were surprises along the way. You couldn't predict that A, B, and C would happen. There are a few winks to the viewer as people use Hal's brashness to forward the story, but the last quarter of the show was pretty surprising.

And this isn't a done-in-one episode. The series seems to focus on an ongoing adventure. I'll be back to see what happens next.


Imbedded video with preview image showing the villains of the episode:

What really blew me away was the commercial for DC Nation. Hopefully this means that Cartoon Network will be branding their block of DC shows with the title "DC Nation". They showed a couple of the animated DC shorts during/after the GL show. Nothing amazing, but fun bits that kids should enjoy. The quick preview shots during the commercial showed some interesting characters (Congorilla and the Legion of Super-Heroes?).

I don't know what Clutch Cargo is, but now I want to watch Clutch Cargo.

Treasure your youthfulness
and come see me in the old folks home.
I'll 'splain CC, and if you're a good little lad,
Space Angel too!

I will read this thread after I watch the show. Hey, Tommy Tomorrow! I'm working today too, dude!

With the both of us "on-duty" the rest of IMWAN can
relax knowing the world is temporarilly a safer place!

The Grey Lantern Corps is watching over us.

Thank you, Sir!
Most clever and appreciated.

I never saw Clutch Cargo! Now I know what somebody was watching in Pulp Fiction. (I think she was watching it in the hotel room waiting for Bruce Willis -- I remember seeing it).

It was Butch (Bruce Willis' character) as a kid when Christopher Walken shows up to give him his father's watch.

I can recall Clutch Cargo. I think there were some other shows that used the same..."technique", as well.

There's a little Dr. Manhattan cartoon on the DVD of Watchmen that uses that whole "moving lips" thing as well.

I schooled Jay. It doesn't happen often, so I'm going to bask in the moment.

Couldn't watch it.

That animation was just too awful for me.

Ill have to check this out...maybe on DVD.

Wasn't a fan of the animation in general, but I stopped noticing it after awhile.

It was very fun to see Hal make a green baseball bat.
I mean, I've seen that in the comics, but it was fun to see it in motion.

Yeah.

Seeing a baseball bat in motion?

Probably faster waiting for Green Lantern to do it in a cartoon than to watch baseball....

(I swear that game is slower than cricket, and cricket has tea breaks)

Heh.

Computer animation has troubles with making a convincing human character.This show's animators gave up trying and settled on depicting humans as walking water balloons(which is what human beings basically are,come to think about it).Otherwise,the animation was fine,as was the writing and acting.If the rest of the series keeps to the standard of the premiere,the DCAU will have another winner.

I don't mind the designs which look much better in motion. It's the textures - everything is so plastic-like and overly clean. I'll stick with the series though, I thought the pilot was well written and fast paced.