"Ben 10" (2005)TV series 2005-????

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:

Number In Title | Character Name In Title

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Mon. July 21	8:30 AM	TOON	Perfect Day	#4.1
Mon. July 21	10:30 PM	TOON	The Ultimate Weapon	#2.7

Cast

Tara Strong	...	Ben Tennyson / ... (45 episodes, 2005-2007)
Meagan Smith	...	Gwen Tennyson / ... (45 episodes, 2005-2007)
Paul Eiding	...	Grandpa Max / ... (45 episodes, 2005-2007)
Dee Bradley Baker	...	Stinkfly / ... (32 episodes, 2005-2007)
Jim Ward	...	XLR8 / ... (28 episodes, 2005-2007)
Steve Blum	...	Vilgax / ... (24 episodes, 2005-2007)
Richard McGonagle	...	Four Arms / ... (24 episodes, 2006-2007)
Fred Tatasciore	...	Cannon Bolt / ... (20 episodes, 2006-2007)

Runtime:

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

Country:

USA

Language:

English | English

Color:

Color | Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Stereo (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

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

The evilest road trip EVER.

Is it just me, or do villains pop out everywhere Ben and his family travel to? Arizona? Lightning aliens! Old folks home? More evil aliens! New Orleans? Necromancers! Suburbs? Evil geek! Circus? Evil clowns! Well, clowns are always evil. But in any case, it seems that bad guys either follow Ben around, or show up conveniently when he shows up. And most of the time the bad guys aren't in anyway affiliated with the main alien enemies trying to get the Omnitrix back. It's the same most episodes. Bad guys with unexplained superpowers show up, Ben fights them. WITH HIS 10 YEAR OLD COUSIN AND GRANDFATHER. You'd think a person with 10 varied superpowers could handle this with out putting elderly and young family members in mortal peril. But I guess not. It's the villain-of-the-week formula, people. It's unoriginal and (in this case) jagged in plot structure.

What this show desperately needs is some plot cohesion. The action is pretty good, Ben (as a character) has a lot of potential. The back story involving his grandfather is interesting. The main alien antagonist is a good villain. But all of this is hampered by writing that never stays on one subject. Coming of age story? That could work. Coming of age story one episode... PSYCHO FISHERMEN NEXT EPISODE! Not so much. If this show could give reasons for the various super-powered fiends (and not just HAY LOOK AT DEEZ BAD GUYZ!!!1), then at least I could get into it. But how can you when each episode is completely random and pointless? They've managed to do this with other shows. There's a reason the good guys fight and a reason behind the bad guys. The Teen Titans live in a world of super-powered beings. That's why the bad guys are super-powered. In Ben 10, Ben just seems to go with the flow. Travel on summer vacation? Bad guys on the way? Sure, why not. There's no motivation, no logic, no reason.

This show could be SOO much better if the writers, I don't now, picked up a book? Watched The Godfather? I understand a Saturday morning cartoon can only do so much, but it just seems like the writers are lazy.