Perry White
01-31-2002, 12:39 AM
A new episode of Static Shock entitled "Power Play" will air this Saturday on Kids' WB. In it, Static's friend Richie meets a man named Ragtag who gives him superpowers... but at a price!
Here are images from the first half of this episode:
http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/t-01.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/01.jpg) http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/t-02.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/02.jpg) http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/t-03.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/03.jpg) http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/t-04.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/04.jpg) http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/t-05.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/05.jpg) http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/t-06.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/06.jpg) http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/t-07.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/07.jpg) http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/t-08.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/08.jpg) http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/t-09.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/09.jpg) http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/t-10.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/10.jpg) http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/t-11.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/11.jpg) http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/t-12.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/12.jpg)
A screening of this episode was held for members of the Toon Zone crew, and presented below are some of their thoughts.
Craig Marinaro, Toon Zone's senior review guy, had this to say:
A take on the old "sidekick gets a chance to be the hero" shtick, with a "power corrupts" theme, leads to an episode that is, predictably, predictable. Everybody loves Richie and ignores Static, he gets chicks, it goes to his head. It's been done before, it'll be done again. But for the most part, it's still better than most action shows out there today. There are several nice character moments. A high point comes early on, when Static watches Richie roleplaying, in a cute fantasy bit.
Music was always an integral part of the Bat-shows, but on 'Static,' it tends to detract from the scenes rather than helping them along. While a scene is trying its best (through writing, animation, voice acting, etc.) to pull the audience in and get them involved with the emotion or the action, the music is so corny that it's just a total turnoff.
It's odd that Static is portrayed as such a mature hero when he was such a rank amateur in last week's edition. It's all perspective, I suppose. The acting showed some signs of life. Although LaMarr is still floundering in the lead role, Jason Marsden was fairly convincing as Richie. Veteran actor / voiceover actor Richard Libertini, as the old man who gives Richie his powers, puts a lot more into his performance than most of the 'Static' villains' voices seem to, and it pays off. The character is one of the most convincing things in the episode (as well as the most original use of the "Bang Baby" concept I've seen).
It's not something I'd go out of my way to get up early for, but those of you who like getting up on Saturdays and want something to watch, this is probably one of the best things out there right now.
Joe Tully, an Adult Swim board moderator, said:
While the plot for this episode isn't exactly original, it should be interesting to fans of Static Shock. Static's pal Richie begins wondering about what it would be like to have super-powers and, sure enough, he soon acquires powers very similar to Static's. The main draw of the episode is the concept, as we get to see what things might be like if Richie had powers too. We also get some further insight into Richie's personality. The story developments are mostly predictable, though I was somewhat surprised at the villain's defeat. If you're a Static fan, I'd recommend this episode. If you're not a Static fan, then you're likely to find this episode a little lacking.
Bird_Boy, a Cartoon Cartoons board moderator, had these thoughts:
"Power Play" was an enjoyable episode. Several parts were a bit on the corny side, but, hey, this is on Kids WB.
Enjoyable Bits: Seeing "Scoop" and Static battle. While it may not have lasted long, seeing the two fight each other was interesting.
Bad Parts: Some corny lines here and there... but over-all, nothing too extreme.
When I first heard of this episode's synopsis, I was worried. But, it worked out nicely, both having Virgil and Richie "duke it out" in the end without super-powers was... well, a bit weird... as the dukeing took place in an arcade..on an arcade game.
But, despite how bad the episode may sound, it was enjoyable. Check it out if you're up and about at the time Static airs in your area, but, I wouldn't worry too much if you miss it.
Overall: B-
Stay tuned for more Static Shock news here at Toon Zone!
Here are images from the first half of this episode:
http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/t-01.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/01.jpg) http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/t-02.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/02.jpg) http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/t-03.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/03.jpg) http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/t-04.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/04.jpg) http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/t-05.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/05.jpg) http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/t-06.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/06.jpg) http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/t-07.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/07.jpg) http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/t-08.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/08.jpg) http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/t-09.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/09.jpg) http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/t-10.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/10.jpg) http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/t-11.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/11.jpg) http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/t-12.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/staticshock/powerplay/12.jpg)
A screening of this episode was held for members of the Toon Zone crew, and presented below are some of their thoughts.
Craig Marinaro, Toon Zone's senior review guy, had this to say:
A take on the old "sidekick gets a chance to be the hero" shtick, with a "power corrupts" theme, leads to an episode that is, predictably, predictable. Everybody loves Richie and ignores Static, he gets chicks, it goes to his head. It's been done before, it'll be done again. But for the most part, it's still better than most action shows out there today. There are several nice character moments. A high point comes early on, when Static watches Richie roleplaying, in a cute fantasy bit.
Music was always an integral part of the Bat-shows, but on 'Static,' it tends to detract from the scenes rather than helping them along. While a scene is trying its best (through writing, animation, voice acting, etc.) to pull the audience in and get them involved with the emotion or the action, the music is so corny that it's just a total turnoff.
It's odd that Static is portrayed as such a mature hero when he was such a rank amateur in last week's edition. It's all perspective, I suppose. The acting showed some signs of life. Although LaMarr is still floundering in the lead role, Jason Marsden was fairly convincing as Richie. Veteran actor / voiceover actor Richard Libertini, as the old man who gives Richie his powers, puts a lot more into his performance than most of the 'Static' villains' voices seem to, and it pays off. The character is one of the most convincing things in the episode (as well as the most original use of the "Bang Baby" concept I've seen).
It's not something I'd go out of my way to get up early for, but those of you who like getting up on Saturdays and want something to watch, this is probably one of the best things out there right now.
Joe Tully, an Adult Swim board moderator, said:
While the plot for this episode isn't exactly original, it should be interesting to fans of Static Shock. Static's pal Richie begins wondering about what it would be like to have super-powers and, sure enough, he soon acquires powers very similar to Static's. The main draw of the episode is the concept, as we get to see what things might be like if Richie had powers too. We also get some further insight into Richie's personality. The story developments are mostly predictable, though I was somewhat surprised at the villain's defeat. If you're a Static fan, I'd recommend this episode. If you're not a Static fan, then you're likely to find this episode a little lacking.
Bird_Boy, a Cartoon Cartoons board moderator, had these thoughts:
"Power Play" was an enjoyable episode. Several parts were a bit on the corny side, but, hey, this is on Kids WB.
Enjoyable Bits: Seeing "Scoop" and Static battle. While it may not have lasted long, seeing the two fight each other was interesting.
Bad Parts: Some corny lines here and there... but over-all, nothing too extreme.
When I first heard of this episode's synopsis, I was worried. But, it worked out nicely, both having Virgil and Richie "duke it out" in the end without super-powers was... well, a bit weird... as the dukeing took place in an arcade..on an arcade game.
But, despite how bad the episode may sound, it was enjoyable. Check it out if you're up and about at the time Static airs in your area, but, I wouldn't worry too much if you miss it.
Overall: B-
Stay tuned for more Static Shock news here at Toon Zone!