"Ben 10" (2005) TV series 2005-2007

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Creators:

Joe Casey
Joe Kelly
Duncan Rouleau

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

27 December 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Family | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

An alter ego for every occasion.

Plot:

The story of Ben, a typical kid who becomes very atypical after he discovers the Omnitrix, a mysterious alien weapon with the power to transform the wearer into ten different alien species.

Plot Keywords:

Mount Rushmore | Digit In Title | Hair As Weapon | Character Name In Title | Number In Title

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Claudia Schmidt	...	Ben Tennyson (50 episodes, 2005-2008)
Ulf Söhmisch	...	Opa Max Tennyson (50 episodes, 2005-2008)
Tara Strong	...	Ben Tennyson / ... (49 episodes, 2005-2008)
Paul Eiding	...	Grandpa Max / ... (49 episodes, 2005-2008)
Meagan Smith	...	Gwen Tennyson / ... (48 episodes, 2005-2008)
Dee Bradley Baker	...	Stinkfly / ... (36 episodes, 2005-2008)
Jim Ward	...	XLR8 / ... (32 episodes, 2005-2008)
Steve Blum	...	Heat Blast / ... (27 episodes, 2005-2008)
Richard McGonagle	...	Four Arms / ... (26 episodes, 2006-2007)
Fred Tatasciore	...	Cannon Bolt / ... (23 episodes, 2006-2008)

Runtime:

USA:30 min | USA:30 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | English

Color:

Color | Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Stereo (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Singapore:PG | New Zealand:PG

Company:

Cartoon Network

Trivia:

Loosely based on the '60s comic book series, "Dial H for Hero".

Quotes:

Grandpa Max Tennyson: Being a hero isn't about letting others know you did the right thing, it's about you knowing you did the right thing.
Ben Tennyson: What were you just doing, reading greeting cards back at the Mega Mart?
Grandpa Max Tennyson: Well... yes.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Lost: Ji Yeon (#4.7)" (2008)

Like a tight spring: lots of energy, and most of it's potential

I was like (almost) everyone else in my initial reaction to the torrent of advertisements that Cartoon Network ran on a new series about a boy with a watch. It was mainly along the lines of, "Oh, wonderful. Another pointless show to displace my favorite regulars." Rarely have I "Ben" more wrong, and rarely have I been this glad to be wrong.

My brothers were watching it long before I saw my first complete episode, but they will watch anything that moves on the television screen, so I thought little of it. After my first episode, I watched another, and so on. Yes, I noticed that it was primarily for 8-14 year olds, but I still found it entertaining. Here's the thing, though: yes, my brothers like it, and they are the target age group, I like it, and I am 18 years old; my dad even likes it, a little, and he's 40 and hates cartoons. I humbly submit that age has less to do with it than one might think.

To those of you who have not seen the series, watch it (at least one episode, start to finish) before you criticize. Okay, fine, the presentation is aimed at the younger audiences, but the concept is solid super-hero-hits-sci-fi awesomeness: A person finds a watch-like, alien device that is "the key to an ancient power-struggle..." (Presented like that, I'm interested already). This person (a kid in the cartoon (probably) because that is their target audience) decides to use the abilities of the watch fight for good and serve those around him. But his struggle is not so easy, as the forces of the galaxy are not all so benevolent. An alien warlord wants the device to equip an army to conquer (it's not cliché, it's classic). Now he must do battle with the evil in his own people, as well as that within other races of the galaxy. And he must do it using the powers of a device that does not enhance his own power, but gives him the great strengths of others.

I'd be sold after a description like that, but that's not the point. The point is that it could be one of the great superhero stories along the lines of Batman, Superman, Spider-man, etc., and maybe even a live-action movie. Maybe one day, but for now, I can't wait to see how the next episode turns out.