Saturday, October 18, 2008

A Robin for all Seasons

Today we've something of a double billing. First, we've posted a review of the DC Universe Classics Robin figure over at our sister site, The Clearance Bin. Take a look if you like toys.

And, we ask you, could the timing be better? Clearly not. For recently we screened the fifth and final season of Teen Titans here in The Middle Room. Teen Titans is a show we've always had a turbulent relationship with. While we certainly enjoy aspects of the program, other elements have often left us disappointed.

It should be added that we've seen the rest of the series, and largely held off due to less than favorable reviews on Amazon.

Having viewed the final season, we now understand where the negative reactions were coming from. The fifth season represents a betrayal of sorts, deviating from the status quo set up for the program.

Fortunately, we were getting bored of the status quo. Still, we feel sorry for the fans of show who'd grown accustomed to mediocre programming and were therefore disheartened when confronted with an intelligent, intriguing show instead.

For those of us who would always have preferred more thoughtful, character-driven entertainment, the fifth season proved well worth the time and expense. The cast expanded to include characters occupying nearly every corner of the DCU, including dozens of Teen Titans drawn from years of comics.

There is, however, a final issue we feel we should mention. The last season of Teen Titans failed to rectify our main complaint; namely that the Justice League was nowhere to be seen. The Titans, to us, are defined by the place they occupy in the DC Universe. While they know that one day, should they survive, they're destined to become the world's heroes, they are still children. And they are in the shadows of their mentors.

But, tragically, the Justice League makes no appearance. Most egregiously, Batman is nowhere to be seen. Oddly enough, The Doom Patrol, Beast Boy's original partners, show up in the first two episodes. Why his team is acceptable and not the better known League is beyond our understanding.

But no matter. There is little reason to dwell on a single flaw in so great a season.

Though we do wonder if it the omission of Batman may have paved the way for The Graysons to follow suit....

1 comment:

Threat Quality Press said...

Why this team is acceptable and not the better known League is beyond our understanding.

It's called "property management." It's when you, in an effort to continue to be able to extract value from a brand or intellectual property, rigorously govern what places and forms it's allowed to appear in. It's something that DC does often, though rarely well.