There's going to be a new Teen Titans
series!
As you know if you've watched some of
my older videos (if not, look them up), I was a big fan of the old
Teen Titans cartoon. It had kind of a lighthearted, anime feel to it,
sure, but it could also get really deep and dramatic, exploring the
everyday problems of roommates, teenagers and well, just life in
general, while also having points that were huge, and dramatic and
epic. The team learned about each other and themselves, and bonded to
save the world from terrible forces.
So, what's this new series going to be
like?
Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no.
Okay, for those of you who don't know
already, cartoon network has already tested the waters of this new
series with a set of mini-episodes called “Titans Go”. Whereas
the original run was kind of a mix of ultra-cartoony and high
dramatic, this one focused solely on the comedy. It wasn't about
super powered teens saving the world, it was about super powered
teens living together, facing such dire threats as...who should do
the laundry?
I know this series is going to have
fans. I know there are going to be a load of people who really get in
to the whole idea of a superhero comedy. For me though, I could not
be less enthusiastic. We already had a series that looked at
superhero roommates, and the time spent between battling for justice.
It was called the Justice Friends.
Okay, kids today aren't going to
remember that reference, and I guess that is who this is aimed after.
Kids. Its not for the die-hard fans of the original run, its not for
comic enthusiasts, its there to make kids laugh. Is that so wrong?
In this case, yes. It was not those
kids who made the series so popular, it was not their collective
voice that caught anyone's attention to bring back the series, it was
ours. It was the ones who loved the first run, with all of its
colorful, cheerful moments and especially all of its dark moments.
The episode where Robin is going slowly insane from a drug on Slade's
mask and is hallucinating being almost killed
by the guy (they literally say that) was incredibly intense, and it
stuck with us more than anything in this series will.
Bottom
line, I fear that this is going to be “Diet Teen Titans” or “Teen
Titans the sitcom.” We do not want to see laundry day in the
Batcave, we don't want to see Superman doing his taxes, its not why
superheroes exist. I guess I talk a lot about cartoons need to have a
certain gravitas to mean something, and its the same here.
