Final C yourgod
05-01-2003, 08:31 PM
Synopsis: Static teams up with Superman when the Man of Steel's old nemesis, Toyman, arrives in Dakota on a kidnapping scheme.
I was really looking forward to this episode, but when I sat down to watch it I had just one "what the--" moment after another. As in, what the heck is up with the story, what the heck is up with Superman's theme, and what the heck is up with Toyman?
ImageThe story started out fine at first, but as soon as it's revealed that Darcy is the one behind the scheme and not Toyman (okay, just a moment, I gotta ask: Since when does Toyman get controlled by Darcy?), it just really doesn't make much sense. Here you have a perfectly good story about Darcy hiding from Toyman, and then you find out that Darcy isn't the one Toyman wants, but Daisy instead. You begin to wonder what's up, and then Darcy comes in and reveals her plans to the world (i.e., the audience), and I sit there thinking "what, why?"
(Is it really confusing the way I've described it? Well, I only report I see, folks.)
ImageSo it turns out that Darcy wants to be real -- a real human, a real everything -- and has chosen Daisy because she is ... what? Cute? Available? Static's love interest? Probably because she knows that Daisy is already well-known to the viewers. (I mean, god forbid something bad should happen to someone who is new to the series. Then the animators might have to come up with a new character design.) Seriously though, why didn't Darcy choose someone her own age? Why did she pick a teenager, meaning she'd have to go through school, talk with her parents, friends, and eventually it'd screw up and get revealed in the end? No amount of studying one person allows you to be him or her, and maybe that's the general message the episode was sending, albeit layered with a sorry excuse for a Superman theme, and a sad excuse for re-introducing Toyman.
ImageAh, yes, Toyman. What a great character. So I really can't get across how much I hate how he was portrayed in this episode. If Superman fans thought the Man of Steel got "dumbed down" in Justice League, then Toyman fans will really holler over the way he's handled in this episode. His creepiness is gone, his obsession is gone, and his overall character is gone. (Amazing, really, considering that it's still Bud Cort doing the voice.) Heck, the final confrontation was one of the lamest I'd ever seen. All he did was stand there underneath a plastic bubble, didn't even try to push it off -- and after he got out, STILL all he did was stand there until Darcy made a run for it. Instead of letting her get away, he melted her into a pile of goo -- which, as with the rest of the episode, didn't make a lot of sense.
ImageAs for Superman himself: Well, he didn't do squat, really. This could've been just a Static/Daisy/Darcy episode for all it mattered. Superman flew around, got trapped by kryptonite plastic Toy Men, and only slowed Static down in the end. As "cool" as it was for them to work with him, he sure didn't do much. But I have to say that George Newbern did sound very much like Tim Daly in this ep (which will please some of the naysayers) so maybe he's really getting the hang of Superman's voice. Also, to my eye, it sure looked like the original STAS design was back in place -- another small consolation.
Out of Static's four crossovers this year ("Hard as Nails," both parts of "A League of Their Own," and this one), this one was definitely the poorest.
"Toys in the Hood" airs Saturday, May 3, at 10:30am ET on Kids WB.
I was really looking forward to this episode, but when I sat down to watch it I had just one "what the--" moment after another. As in, what the heck is up with the story, what the heck is up with Superman's theme, and what the heck is up with Toyman?
ImageThe story started out fine at first, but as soon as it's revealed that Darcy is the one behind the scheme and not Toyman (okay, just a moment, I gotta ask: Since when does Toyman get controlled by Darcy?), it just really doesn't make much sense. Here you have a perfectly good story about Darcy hiding from Toyman, and then you find out that Darcy isn't the one Toyman wants, but Daisy instead. You begin to wonder what's up, and then Darcy comes in and reveals her plans to the world (i.e., the audience), and I sit there thinking "what, why?"
(Is it really confusing the way I've described it? Well, I only report I see, folks.)
ImageSo it turns out that Darcy wants to be real -- a real human, a real everything -- and has chosen Daisy because she is ... what? Cute? Available? Static's love interest? Probably because she knows that Daisy is already well-known to the viewers. (I mean, god forbid something bad should happen to someone who is new to the series. Then the animators might have to come up with a new character design.) Seriously though, why didn't Darcy choose someone her own age? Why did she pick a teenager, meaning she'd have to go through school, talk with her parents, friends, and eventually it'd screw up and get revealed in the end? No amount of studying one person allows you to be him or her, and maybe that's the general message the episode was sending, albeit layered with a sorry excuse for a Superman theme, and a sad excuse for re-introducing Toyman.
ImageAh, yes, Toyman. What a great character. So I really can't get across how much I hate how he was portrayed in this episode. If Superman fans thought the Man of Steel got "dumbed down" in Justice League, then Toyman fans will really holler over the way he's handled in this episode. His creepiness is gone, his obsession is gone, and his overall character is gone. (Amazing, really, considering that it's still Bud Cort doing the voice.) Heck, the final confrontation was one of the lamest I'd ever seen. All he did was stand there underneath a plastic bubble, didn't even try to push it off -- and after he got out, STILL all he did was stand there until Darcy made a run for it. Instead of letting her get away, he melted her into a pile of goo -- which, as with the rest of the episode, didn't make a lot of sense.
ImageAs for Superman himself: Well, he didn't do squat, really. This could've been just a Static/Daisy/Darcy episode for all it mattered. Superman flew around, got trapped by kryptonite plastic Toy Men, and only slowed Static down in the end. As "cool" as it was for them to work with him, he sure didn't do much. But I have to say that George Newbern did sound very much like Tim Daly in this ep (which will please some of the naysayers) so maybe he's really getting the hang of Superman's voice. Also, to my eye, it sure looked like the original STAS design was back in place -- another small consolation.
Out of Static's four crossovers this year ("Hard as Nails," both parts of "A League of Their Own," and this one), this one was definitely the poorest.
"Toys in the Hood" airs Saturday, May 3, at 10:30am ET on Kids WB.