#can't wait to rewatch the first 2 seasons of Alien Force

[twin-books]

I got sick and so I finally got some free time to finish Ben 10: Alien Force and Ultimate Alien. I am finally on the last season of Ultimate Alien (like half way through it) and I can safely say I enjoy it far more than Alien Force. I have no idea if that's actually a hot take but there it is. Now that I have finally watched this stuff and am nearly finished... I am still kind of shocked this is like considered top tier for the franchise. I find more issues with it than I did Omniverse. Not to say Omniverse is better because, aside maybe for my tastes, it isn't. To me they're pretty equal if I put my personal bias aside. It's just shocking in a sense because... I expected with how hated Omniverse was and how beloved these two were (besides season 3 of AF) that this would be amazing. It's not. I suppose I should learn that I can't take everybody at their word, especially when it comes to nostaglia. I still think the Og is top tier and these three other shows can't really compete with it. They each bring their own fun and frustrations to the table though. I can finally tell you my favorite versions of each character based on all I've watched. My favorite Gwen is Og, I think the following franchises didn't do her any justice. My favorite Grandpa Max is Og. I find every other iteration of him a pain. My favorite version of Kevin is obviously AF/UA. He is literally the best thing about those two shows. But my favorite Ben is in Omniverse. And I think this mostly has to do with the fact he's the most like Sonic (one of my most favorite fictional characters of all time) in Omniverse. Obviously he's still his own character but I can't ignore the comparison. I enjoy him the most in Omniverse as he's not quite as annoying as in Og (though I still love Og Ben), he's actually entertaining compared to Alien Force Ben who was kind of boring to me, I'm sorry. And while Ultimate Alien Ben was better his whole "I have a big ego and saved the universe dozens of times" jokes felt very inappropriately timed and wrong? Omniverse really gets that right for me, for whatever reason. I also feel as if it remained the most faithful to his character even in the poorly written episodes whereas in Ultimate Alien there's like this whole plot where Ben is ready to just kill a friend he’s known for a while now simply because they went a little insane with power which I wouldn't normally take issue with if this hadn't happened before and Ben wasn't like vehemently against hurting anybody originally. They even go as far as to point this out in the episode and Ben kind of steamrolls over it with, "Well, it was my fault so I should take this more seriously" despite the fact he never acts like this again so I don't get the point of it. It was actually really depressing, to be honest. Also, the amount of digs at Og Ben in Ultimate Alien is honestly frustrating. It's not huge or anything but it's enough to annoy me. It fundamentally misunderstands what Ben 10 Og was to prove some sort of point about their Ben. Look, I get it. They changed a lot so I'm sure so many fans at the time were complaining about how AF/UA Ben is nothing like Og Ben but do you gotta be this gosh darn insensitive about the source material your show is based off of and inspired by? Like in the episode Duped Ben splits into 3 different Bens and the rude and obnoxious one says, "I'm Ben 10 classic. Miss me?" Am I the only one who finds that mean? And then that episode where they have Og Ben actually show up and he's just an obnoxious asshole the entire time except that one deep moment they give which was to justify why he was an asshole as child which they didn't even need to do. He was 10. Of course he would be a brat. But he wasn't always a brat in the original and he did actually understand he could hurt peoples' feelings. Omniverse actually has a similar episode to this except big Ben and Og Ben switch bodies and in that he is not as a big of an asshole as Ultimate Alien made him out to be in that episode. I do not understand why it was necessary to make him so gosh darn mean. I really, really like Ben 10 so to constantly have these digs at the source material is frustrating. Aside from this Ultimate Alien is pretty great. I find Julie much less frustrating as a character, the episodes are fun, I have actually laughed out loud more than once, and, again, Ben is actually fun to watch. I cannot stress enough how much more fun it is that Ben actually seems to act like the teenager he is rather than some mini adult. I know realistically after all the hell he's been through he would have matured a lot but that doesn't mean he doesn't still have a teen mind and won't act like a kid sometimes. Also, Ultimate Alien actually killed a character on screen. Like no cut aways or some kind of logic to explain it or off-screen shenanigans. An alien just flat out died on screen and that took me so off-guard I laughed. I'm having so much fun enjoying an old cartoon I loved, despite my frustrations. This has been great. I couldn't recommend the whole of the Ben 10 franchise more. Aside from the reboot which I still have yet to watch in full but considering how upset the first two episodes made me, I'm a little scared to give it a chance again.

[jjsanguine]

Rules: list 10 of your comfort shows and then tag 10 people

Tagged by @bengiyo . I actually don't rewatch shows very often, or at least not the same ones every time, but here's some shows I've watched a lot of in no particular order.

Alien Biospheres. This is a YouTube series but I've watched it a lot. If you watched James Cameron's Avatar and don't care about the plot but would watch a documentary on how they designed the creatures + plants this is the webseries for you. If you like spec bio then I would also recommend Serina.

Cherry Magic. I write songs for fun and my life is too boring to be great inspiration, so most of them reference scenarios in shows I'm watching that I find funny or just stick with me for some reason. Kurosawa's personality inspired one of my best ones.

Coffee Prince. This got me into kdrama + so much of it still holds up. Like, remember how homophobic the 2000s were? That's a feat.

The King's Affection. This is like the best girl disguises as a guy kdrama since Coffee Prince, and I watched a lot of them before I figure out I was nonbinary. I was glued to my seat. My writing project @the-prince-is-not-a-woman was partially inspired by me watching this so many times.

Mortel. It's like this show was made for me. Vodun, found family, polyamorus subtext, mystery, despising someone but having noone else to turn to, trauma, comedy, banger music. It was made by Netflix though, so of course it was cancelled on a cliffhanger.

Power Rangers 2017. This film is objectively goofy but I love it so much. Billy was the first explicitly autistic character I think I saw ever, and he set my expectations for canonically autistic characters high.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo. Apart from being a good show, Attorney Woo is the only other character on my list of canonically autistic characters that I like, which is funny because both attorney Woo and Billy were played by allistic actors.

The Path. I enjoyed seasons 1 & 2 but I've rewatched season 3 many times for my baby Caleb. I talked about a pastor's son and he's like the perfect example. If the show hadn't tragically been cancelled I would have loved to see what they did with his character, because after leaving his family for his boyfriend and by extension his boyfriend's daddy's apocalypse adjacent cult (which is a positive if you can believe it) socially speaking he was essentially in the same position he started off in, minus worrying about homophobia. He could have blossomed or spiralled, who knows. That's quality side character creation. This show also inspired the list "cheating on your girlfriend with your wife" which has to be the best of my lists of niche tropes.

Triage: time travel and time loop stories can so easily swerve into being terrible when there isn't enough thought put into the time travel mechanic but when they're good they're really good.

Shelter 2007: so many of the queer films I watched as a teenager were depressing, I could have given up on ql entirely if I didn't watch this heartwarming film.

Honourable mentions:

Be My Favourite. It finished airing literally 2 months ago so it really hasn't had time to gain the status of old reliable but yeah. I've watched episode 1 probably 10 times at this point, because I would pore over the whole show waiting for the next episode. I was writing essays.

Nowhere Boys: I love forced proximity + conspirationality. It's one of the reasons I love Mortel. It's a quality teen drama.

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Chat Noir, aka Miraculous Ladybug. This show is my Riverdale. It's ridiculous and I don't recommend it and I can't watch the english dub because I'd cringe too much so I watch it in French, but I started watching when I was like 15 so I'm locked in forever. It keeps dragging me back.

Going to try my hand at actually tagging people so,,,

@anotherlovr @writerwithoutsound @dudeyuri @irritablebovinesyndrome @gillianthecat @threezoz @sparklyeyedhimbo @respectthepetty @one-ghogh@heretherebedork

[semi-sketchy]

PAW Patrol Episode Thoughts - Season 2

Another cross-post from my DA, although this is the last one since it's been like a year and I still can't bring myself to finish season 3.

Anyways, as a reminder, here's my scoring system that goes from 1-10 based on my initial reaction:

1/10 - The episode you'd force your worst enemy to watch on repeat

2/10 - Just awful

3/10 - Pretty terrible

4/10 - Didn't hate, but wouldn't wanna watch again

5/10 - Just okay

6/10 - Decent, wouldn't mind watching it again

7/10 - The average good

8/10 - Really liked it!

9/10 - This is a must-watch

10/10 - Probably my favorite episode ever like maybe two are going to get this rating

To keep things simple, I'm not getting into point values, so just because two episodes have the same rating doesn't mean they're equal to me. And yes I love my OCs and will be bringing them up whenever I want because this is my post.

Without further adieu, here's how my rewatch of season 2 went.

Episode 1: Pups Save the Penguins/Pups Save a Dolphin Pup

A: Already the animation is a downgrade. Something about Marshall sitting on a swing like a human is very disturbing, although with the debut episode of a new season comes the first showing of Super Spy Chase. But seriously, Adventure Bay gets SNOW, are you now trying to tell me it's a tropical area and an iceberg would last going to and fro southern South America? Weak for a new season's first episode. 5/10

B: Marshall being knocked out of the elevator and his uniform put on a toy dolphin, leaving him to scramble up the pole has to be one of the funniest jokes they've done. Still, it feels lacking. 6/10

Episode 2: Pups Save a Space Alien/Pups Save a Flying Frog

A: Rocky learned how to fly alien tech in a matter of minutes, amazing. Still, this one wasn't as bad as I was thinking it would be. 6/10

B: Didn't notice it before, but the top floor of the lookout got a redesign for this season. It went from beige to blue. More of Chase's crush on Skye is shown, Chase is actually overall very cute and clingy in this episode and Marshall is also great. 7/10

Episode 3: Pups Save Jake/Pups Save the Parade

A: A cave episode, immediately Tara would be perfect here. Here's the debut of Marshall's EMT gear, I actually like Marshall doubling as an EMT since real fire fighters often times do both jobs. 7/10

B: At first I thought this was cute and then we got inflated Marshall. Please no I've unwillingly seen too much inflation fetish-- Overall okay though, Chase was once again very cute. 6/10

Episode 4: Pups Save the Diving Bell/Pups Save the Beavers

A: Francois stop being mean, as long as something old still works, it's better to use it rather than have it in a landfill. But Turbot...you knew you lost the steering fin so why did you think you could just drive? Although, first episode with Zuma's sub and it was pretty good! Rocky diving and Marshall traumatizing that poor woman on the beach was great. 8/10

B: Yumi, you don't put hay in the coop, you put straw. Hay is for eating, straw is for bedding. This is an episode where Nami's animal skills would really come in handy, though I am just so happy to see them communicating with animals in a way that isn't words for once. 8/10

Episode 5: Pups Save a Ghost/Pups Save a Show

A: They're baiting a trap for a dog...with a chocolate chip cookie. I get they don't know it's Marshall, but...dude. Oh wait, Rubble eats it at the end and calls it a liver chip cookie. Um...ew. 7/10

B: Oh look, Rescue Knights 6 seasons early. But did they just have Marshall try to do a Tim Allen "Uwha" grunt reference?

Episode 6: The New Pup

IT'S EVEREST TIME, BABY!!!! Aight but the first 5 minutes is just an ad for the PAW Patroller, like Ryder I don't think self-driving vehicles are legal and pretty sure having a robot that sits in the seat to do the driving doesn't change this rule, he's clearly not even very good at it yet. But we meet Everest and poor baby is so lonely. BUT JAKE GIVES HER A GRANOLA BAR THAT HAS RAISINS IN IT LIKE BRO YOU WANNA GIVE HER KIDNEY FAILURE? Anyways, Everest steals the show here, but aside from her there's not a whole lot going for this? Kinda sad considering I used to love this episode and I'm probably rating it higher than I should because I just love Everest so much. 6/10

Episode 7: Pups Jungle Trouble/Pups Save a Herd

A: First time in the jungle, huh, and Marshall really just jumped on a snake and then nearly got eaten by a carnivorous flower. I must admit, the dialogue with Mandy just stealing Ryder's Pup Pad is pretty funny, although they really just wanted an Indiana Jones moment, huh. 7/10

B: Ah, the episode that features 3 seconds of a Chase recolor which the whole fandom wanted to return as an actual character. Do love how Chase's bully here is a sheep. 7/10

Episode 8: Pups and the Big Freeze/Pups Save a Basket Ball Game

A: Does the town not have snowplow/salt trucks? At all? Goodway, you should know better than to drive faster than you can control your car, and really they called Rubble to clear the roads and not Everest? She was an afterthought? In a snow episode? Okay but Zuma and Skye skating at the end was cute. 7/10

B: They really are facing off against Boomers, huh. I know this isn't the first time the rivalry between Goodway and Humdinger has been shown, but this is the first full on "yeah Foggy Bottom cheats" moment. Still, Marshall having no confidence in himself and everyone helping to build him up is cute. 7/10

Episode 9: Pups Save an Ace/Pups Save a Wedding

A: This is the opposite of Sonic Lost World where the motor somehow causes damage to the wing, also Marshall just randomly exposing people to radiation with his x-ray screen for no reason. 8/10

B: Do they only invite the PAW Patrol so they get free decorating? Of course though, they censor the kissing because that's...a no, I guess? But Skye was really desperate to catch the bouquet. 7/10

Episode 10: Pups Save a Talent Show/Pups Save the Corn Roast

A: I know they're dogs and them playing music is great, but...ROCKY THAT'S NOT HOW YOU PLAY CHORDS. Why is Al acting as if he's never met the PAW Patrol before like...heck they helped him IN THE LAST EPISODE. I don't normally care for the singing, but here it was okay, just 2 Marshall-has-no-confidence episodes so close together. 8/10

B: Popcorn and roasting corn are two different types of corn, they aren't interchangeable. Regular old yellow corn will not pop. Also they're serving and eating food THAT'S BEEN ON THE DIRT. Pretty sure that's a health code violation. 6/10

Episode 11: Pups Leave Marshall Home Alone/Pups Save the Deer

A: Rubble was the writer's pet of season 1, but honestly I'm enjoying Marshall getting a big spotlight here, I can't believe I didn't like him for a long time. Katie this is why you don't have automatic doors to your grooming parlor, but it means we see Marshall and Katie with a bunch of adorable kittens so I'm actually okay with this. Marshall was funny and cute. I'm glad to say this was even better than I remembered it being. 10/10

B: EVEREST, MY BELOVED! I guess when Ryder made Everest part of the PAW Patrol, that included Jake, too. I don't wanna think how cold it has to be for the bay, which is most likely salt water, to freeze that solid. Also if Nami was a member at this point in time, her animal skills would once again come in very handy. 7/10

Episode 12: Pups Save the Parrot/Pups Save the Queen Bee

A: Are Ryder's dogs not color blind? Cause they can see red and green pretty well. Something that is accurate though is birds being incredibly hard to tell their gender. 6/10

B: This exists. Lots of the stuff in it is accurate to bees though, which is nice. Dogs do love honey, too. 6/10

Episode 13: Pups Save a Mer-Pup

Ah, the fantasy in the show starts. Gotta love Chase being the biggest skeptic around, like don't you know when you're fed this exposition, the myth is gonna come true? Still his reaction was so priceless. You know Zuma and Skye also get along really well in this episode, it's cute. 8/10

Episode 14: Pups Save an Elephant Family/Pups and the Mischievous Kittens

A: Turbot really sleeping in the jungle without a mosquito net, huh. I mean...that was an episode, I guess. 5/10

B: Ah, the debut of the Catastrophe Crew. Did they always have names though? The Rocky kitten was called Tabby. Don't know why Ryder didn't call all the pups to help clean up, but Nami's gear was made for picking up after storms, so she would've been great here. 6/10

Episode 15: Pups Save a Friend/Pups Save a Stowaway

A: Another Marshall episode, but this one is sad. One of those cliché "I heard someone saying bad things and assumed it was about me." That said, it was still an alright episode. 6/10

B: Cats are curious but I can tell you they hate car rides. Surprised she didn't scream the whole way there. 7/10

Episode 16: Pups Adventures in Babysitting/Pups Save the Fireworks

A: Did Ryder get a VA change mid-season? He sounds so different here. Although the theme song playing 3 times was a bit much... 6/10

B: Surprise, show, but mailing most animals isn't allowed and I can assure you, piglets aren't. They do not go through the same mail as apples and shampoo. Also no fireworks either since those are a big safety risk. Chase really just stole a buggy though, huh. 7/10

Episode 17: Pups Save a Sniffle/Pups and the Ghost Cabin

A: I'd question how the virus spread so quickly to all the pups but after the past few years I don't think I need to. I will question why each of them has their very own branded box of tissues, though. 6/10

B: Yes, Chase, the mice will be sad, but that covering Rocky did will not keep them out. You need to stuff the hole with steel wool and CERTAINLY DON'T FEED THE MICE. THOSE ARE NOT PETS. 6/10

Episode 18: Pups Save an Adventure/Pups Save a Surprise

A: Poor Mr. Porter, he just wants a break but he's with a toddler. Also...don't give dogs chili. It's too spicy for them. This episode was more of a fire safety information dump than anything, although learning these types of things as a kid didn't stop me playing with matches. 6/10

B: Contrary to popular belief, tomato juice does in fact, not remove skunk spray. How did this myth even get started. Also he was wearing white clothes and they were still white, like...tomato stains, man. 6/10

Episode 19: Pup-Fu!

I feel like this came out just because it was the height of popularity for Kung-fu Panda, but after playing Xenoblade X and having to listen to Bozé, I can't hear "Sensei" without cringing. This was...something. 4/10

Episode 20: Pups Save the Mayor's Race/Pups Save an Outlaw's Loot

A: I am very quickly getting tired of the amount of problems being caused by the Catastrophe Crew. Do cats always have to be the enemy to dogs? 5/10

B: Annnd another Humdinger episode, you know I don't blame the pups for basically spying on him every time he steps foot in the city. Geez though is he RIPPED he just pulled a huge log! That has to be at the bare minimum 300 pounds! Not as strong as Ryder though, freaking 10-year-old just lifted an entire chest full of gold out of the ground. 6/10

Episode 21: Pups Save Walinda/Pups Save a Big Bone

A: Wally gets ass, confirmed. 6/10

B: Ah, excavation, something Tara would be great for, but that's it. 6/10

Episode 22: Pups Save a Floundering Francois/Pups Save the Pop-Up Penguins

A: Chase, were the cones really necessary when Rubble was just planting a bonsai tree...? But man does Francois cause so many problems, seeing this as a double-rescue though is cool. 7/10

B: Someone tell me how penguins get in a train freezer car in the first place, please. 6/10

Episode 23: Pups Save a Snowboard Competition/Pups Save a Chicken of the Sea

A: If Everest could clear the driveway with her snowcat the entire time, why did she sit there letting Jake shovel tons of it by hand? Also Humdinger is back but he's so minor in this episode that it's tolerable. 7/10

B: Okay, Cali underwater was pretty funny. 7/10

Episode 24: Pups Save a Pizza/Pups Save Skye

A: Marshall, sitting in a bunch of food people are going to eat is just gross. Also are they really using dough that fell rather than just making a new batch? Like pizza dough is 5 ingredients, it's not hard to make. Good they differentiated actual pepperoni from the dog kind, though. 8/10

B: Gotta love Skye, something bad happens and she takes it in strides. Everyone being so concerned about her is also very cute. Although don't give dogs ENTIRE BOWLS OF MILK, JAKE. 8/10

Episode 25: Pups Save the Woof and Roll Show/Pups Save an Eagle

A: Cleaning up after a storm? NAMI? But a celebrity is driving themself and that is because this is a work of fiction. Chase's smug grin after being able to tell off his mayor is great and surprisingly, the singing isn't annoying for once. 7/10

B: Ryder you need Byte to help you tinker with the Lookout electronics. ALSO WHY ARE YOU WORKING ON A CIRCUIT WITH ACTIVE POWER TO IT DO YOU WANT TO DIE??? I must say, it is sweet how Ryder's not making Skye deal with an eagle, well, at least right away... 7/10

Episode 26: Pups Bark with Dinosaurs

Remember when episodes like these were just dreams? But these dinos should have feathers and I have to admit, the sound effects they have for them are hilarious. Also dino on dino VIOLENCE. For a dream episode, it was pretty solid. 7/10

Season 2 overall:

While this season was still pretty good and I have a lot of nostalgia for it, I can see the heart starting to go. Some of the characters are losing personality and more than a few episodes feel so lifeless. Humdinger shifted from a rival to an actual villain and Marshall was the big writer's pet this time around, so it evened out somewhat. Just the sheer repetitiveness is really sinking in and I'm afraid even someone as amazing as Everest can't save that.

Will say this half makes me ship ZumaXSkye because they have so many good moments in this season.