So that new Voltron show...what happend to it? Rating Options

[Benbot]

It did?! Must of missed those episodes. But with Daniel I was just trying to be brief with the explanation.

I know. I was just expressing my frustration with the stupidity of the show.

[Cat]

Yellow lion set just arrived.

No time to even open it now, but hopefully I'll have some pics up tonight, if anyone's interested.

[Daith]

Yellow lion set just arrived.

No time to even open it now, but hopefully I'll have some pics up tonight, if anyone's interested.

Would love to see the pics since that is all I'll ever see of this set (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-fire.gif)

[Cat]

Alright, here we go.

Usual disclaimer about me being terrible at taking photos, and having a messy desk.

I've used the same Wheeljack for size comparison.

I've also used the same cat. She's loose but in fairly good condition, and for once, was able to sit still for more than 2 minutes.

(IMG:http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m80/KJ_81/IMG_1442s.jpg)

(IMG:http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m80/KJ_81/IMG_1452s.jpg)

(IMG:http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m80/KJ_81/IMG_1440s.jpg)

(IMG:http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m80/KJ_81/IMG_1462s.jpg)

So all up, pretty nice.

I'm really concerned about space though. I don't have enough room for these monstrosities!

[Zodberg]

So dude, has he show gotten better?

[Elegant Mess]

So dude, has he show gotten better?

Well, it's over now and not really.

[Benbot]

Over forever, or just for the season?

[Elegant Mess]

Over forever, or just for the season?

Well, they set up for another season but with any luck it will never happen.

[Daith]

Well all Voltron Shows are now available on tthe US's Netflix's Instant streaming. Gives me a chance to watch V: The Third Dimension. And we can all share the joy of Voltron Force now (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-fire.gif)

This post has been edited by Daith: Jun 30 2012, 02:35 PM

[Fnu Aw]

I was really looking forward to this show, but I just couldn't get into it.

[Sabrblade]

I watched it all from start to finish and, in all honesty, I found it to be the best of all three series.

V:DotU was unwatchably painful for me since the voices, dialogue, writing, editing, and certain plots all wrecked of the some of the worst 1980's cartoon styles that made them absolutely atrocious. The animation was good, though. Never saw the Vehicle Voltron series since the reruns only aired the Lion episodes. but I did see the Fleet of Doom special, in which Vehicle Voltron seemed criminally underportrayed, since it seemed to be the cooler of the two Voltrons in that special.

V:T3D was a bit subpar in the animation department, but EPIC in the writing and voice acting! Tim Curry was an excellent Lotor and Kevin Micheal Richardson turned Zarkon into a Magnificent Dastard. Also helped that the returning voice cats had significantly improved since their time on the first series. The whole angle of the Voltron Lion Force being gradually viewed as renegades by Galaxy Garrison was cool, especially when they were put on trial and it was Coran who (in his shining moment of all time) defended them diligently. And I LIKED Stealth Voltron. Especially in that one episode where they go to an "almost-but-not-quite-Shattered Glass-type" dimension in which we got to see two Voltrons face against each other. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-ironhide.gif)

With Voltron Force, I got the best of both. Decent (but not terrible) animation with intriguing (and at time engaging) plots and character arcs, as well as top notch voice acting. Of all three series, this one seemed to be the one with the most effort put into it, with plenty of homages to the previous shows, along with some new appeal to it. The cadet were not bad in the slightest, and were oftentimes used competently. They were not kids, but teenagers (with attitude (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-waspy.gif) ), and each added something new to the team that came in handy quite often.

And, no matter what anyone says, Pidge was completely a child in in the first series, not a small person, a child. So these cadets get a pass since they are older than Pidge was when first he started piloting in V:DotU.

The homages were spread throughout the series, each one coming when least expected. Off the top of my head, a few examples include playing the classic theme song for the combination sequence starting at episode 13, Wade taking over the Galaxy Alliance and labeling Voltron as an enemy a la Zarkon in V:T3D (this notion is what made me kinda hope Wade was a still-alive King Zarkon in disguise, but nope), Haggar's face in the Haggarium nebula, Commander Cossack returning (with a more militant personality instead of the eccentric coward he was in V:DotU), a King Zarkon statue in Lotor's throne room, King Alfor's spirit ghost mentoring Allura in his tomb, the Lion Head Attack in the final episode of season 1, and the Castle of Lions turning into its warship mode in the same episode. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-fire.gif)

The animation honestly did not bother me. The designs seemed to fit their personalities well enough, and the CGI was just fine. Well, okay, the CGI movements were a bit shaky at times, but not unbearable.

The voice acting was superb! I think people has said enough of Garry Chalk as Sky Marshall Wade, so I'll instead talk about Mark Hildreth as Lotor. In a word: PERFECT! Forget Lennie Weinrib, Mark Hildreth IS Lotor! While Tim Curry was also very good, and even made him come off as being charasmatic in a way, Mark Hildreth just excellently captures Lotor's menacing side, along with his charm and ambition.

Something else I really liked was how this show does not try to hide death. AT ALL. The characters casually use the words "death", "dead", "die", "died", "kill", "killed", etc. They even shoot Lotor dead in Lance "I'm forming the head?!" episode. On screen murder, ladies and gentlemen. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-bee.gif) Of course, he's resurrected (again) later in the episode, but still, they *shot* him dead on screen.

Now, all this praise isn't o say that there aren't things that I don't like. For starters, I kinda felt Green Center being ninja-themed was kind of a (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-blitz.gif) moment. Black is normal (energy-based?), Red is fire-based, Yellow is earth-based, and Blue is water-based, so wouldn't Green better fit as an elemental base as well? And "Boomerang Shield" is probably the silliest of the five finishing attacks, so it kinda bugged me how easily and quickly it disposed of the Predator RoBeast during it rematch with Voltron (which, BTW, was also rather abrupt). There's also the fact that season 1 really felt like it was building up to something bigger for another season and ended with aquick cliffhanger, so if there's no season 2, this new plot thread will be left unresolved. And the theme song is (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-kicker.gif) . I always fast forwarded through it. Imaging how much cooler another update to the original opening sequence with Garry Chalk as the narrator (like what they did with V:T3D's first opening with Kevin Michael Richardson as the narrator) would have been.

But, all in all, Voltron Force was, IMHO, the best of all three Voltron series, and I do wish to see it continue. And, who know, should it continue, maybe the makers have heard these criticisms and will work to make it better for future episodes to come. One can only hope.

[Daith]

Really a lot of us here have some very large Nostalgia glasses on around here. When I was a kid I loved DotU and had about 3 or 4 pairs of little Voltron Tennis Shoes (I was very young during the first run so toys were still a ways off). Today while I love the concept still I can't get myself to sit through more than the first few episodes. Despite obvious animation flaws which some of us seem not to be able to forgive, Voltron Force isn't that bad of a next gen series. I'm not married to the One version of Voltron combining and having the other four forms save for Green center was pretty cool. Yellow center barely passes for good.

My biggest beef other than the cadets replacing the classic characters just for the sake of giving it to the next generation was the horrible character retcons. Namely Pidges's home planet being home to scientist ninjas (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-blitz.gif) But I really want them to finish their whole origins of Voltron deal here. If they cut this off before exploring the last planet I'm gonna be a tad irked.

[Fnu Aw]

I just hoped we could get some new Voltron toys out of this show.

[Elegant Mess]

I just hoped we could get some new Voltron toys out of this show.

Not really sure how that would work with the whole changing center gimmick. Either option (lions all the same size or keeping the sizes as they always have been) would likely lead to a Voltron with horrible proportions in at least 4 out of 5 modes.

[Glenn]

So I just watched it on Netflix... and gotta say I don't get all the hate. I found it rather enjoyable..

Sure I could nitpick a few plot points like forgetting they've done 4 lion Voltron, and the castle flying before.. but really, its not so major a grievance

[Stungun]

Really a lot of us here have some very large Nostalgia glasses on around here.

As someone who didn't grow up in the 80's and finds the original Voltron, Thundercats, G.I. Joe and even G1 Transformers goofy as all hell... It's because it wasn't just a bad reboot, it was also simply a bad show. Renegades, TFA and New!Thundercats all had great animation, solid writing and characterization, and/or actual effort put into the series (Renegades had the best balance of good animation and writing, Thundercats had the best animation, and TFA had the best plotting). This show had none of those.

[Axaday]

I like the show fine. I'm not nominating it for an Emmy.

Anybody else watching this show and scratching their heads at the commercials that say "A brand new episode of Dragonball GT!"? Really? Not 15 year old episodes that aired in America like 10 years ago?

[Waspinator]

Didn't they show off toys for this at SDCC? What happened to them?

[Dake]

Didn't they show off toys for this at SDCC? What happened to them?

Sort of. Some mockups at least from 2011.

This post has been edited by Dake: Aug 18 2012, 12:08 AM

[Zodberg]

V:T3D was a bit subpar in the animation department,

Dude, it was miles sub-par in the animation department. It was tragic and comical and had every problem with CGI a show could have before Transformers: Energon invented some new ones.