We got the Teen Titans show we wanted, why the complaints?

[I.R Joey]

I guess this is kind of out of the blue for me as I'm not the most active person on the DCAU board....

I've only recently begun consistantly posting in the Teen Titans talkbacks, but I've seen most of the episodes of the show more than once so I think I'm qualified to write this. It Fone Bone (I think) or one of the other senior members who brought it to my attention.

Back in early to mid 2003, when word of the new Teen Titans show was just starting to come out. Many of us (and I'll include myself here) were aghast when we learned that this cartoon (while borrowing from the 80's comic), would be a far more silly, abstract, and generally out there show than we would have imagined. Infact I remember, quite comically, a Wizard magazine from 2003 that interviewed the people behind the show. They told us emphatically that they would not be doing long story arcs. Yes, yes we can all laugh now just like we can with "we'll never do Justice Leauge to many charecters." Anyway, alot of us (again including me) really wanted our long story arcs. We wanted a show that was really serious, that was ultra dramatic in the spirit of the Wolfman/Perez run, something that was kind of like a Justice Leauge junior.

But the show we got was of course an entierly diffrent animal. It took a while but many of us with time and lots of patience were won over to this often wacky off the wall show.

Yet this season it seems that the writers have given us the show we originally wanted. We have guest stars all over the place, the mentioning of the first name of one of the charecters (I was suprised personally) and most profoundly this season has had a single story thread throughout every single one of the episodes (Titans/allies vs. Brotherhood of evil). Infact many of us have nicknamed this season [I]Teen Titans Unlimited[I/] for it's obvious similarities to it's DC cartoon JLU. If fan approval was all a matter of formula and equations this season should be the most popular one ever...

but it isn't.

For some reason the reaction to this season has been at best inconsistant, and at worst outright disgust among the shows fans. Many of the same people who so wanted the Titans to be more like their comic book incarnations, are now longing for the show to return to the feel of prior seasons. Personally, I don't mind this season as much as other people seem to (some episodes have been inconsistant), but I think this is a very curious thing.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

[efumf]

I never liked Teen Titans until this season, and I've noticed the complainers are a lot more vocal than those of us who are happy with the new direction. I love the guest stars, I love the arcs, I love the character development and improved continuity, I don't miss the constant and unfunny anime-isms and if it went back to only appealing to children, I'd stop watching again. Right now there are only a couple of cartoons that all ages can enjoy - kids have tons of toons all to themselves. And as an adult, I couldn't care less if some guy on the internet who doesn't ever want to grow up thinks a show has grown up too much.

[bobspoland]

looks likes its the last! titanstower posted this and i quote.

"
Teen Titans' Sixth Season Looks Unlikely

A source very close to production of Teen Titans has alerted titanstower.com: The prospect of a sixth season of the popular series is looking very, very, very dim. So if anyone was inclined to start a letter writing campaign, it needs to be started yesterday!

If you feel there are more Titans stories to be told, let Cartoon Network know how you feel. Snail mail is the most effective way. Scores of individual letters have the most impact; Petitions are generally worthless in networks' eyes. The best bet is to start a letter writing campaign with individual heartfelt letters stating you would like the show to continue.

Cartoon Network Official Mailing Address:
Cartoon Network
1050 Techwood Drive
Atlanta, GA 30318
Cartoon Network Feedback on the web

Spread the word and tell your friends. Titans Fans - Go!"

mods if ive gone too far, edit the post.

[S.C.B]

I never liked Teen Titans until this season, and I've noticed the complainers are a lot more vocal than those of us who are happy with the new direction.

I find that's usually the way when a show changes like this. I've personally enjoyed this season (though I've enjoyed this show since I saw Masks, but I digress), and I was surprised by the all round negative reaction to this new direction (althought there are some who agree - check out fanboyplanet.com's reviews). Of course, I have odd niggles here and there, but then again, I've had little problems with all the previous seasons, and none of them were big enough to ruin my enjoyment of the whole thing.

I think I'm going to take the news of this being the final season with a big ol' lump of salt, as I have with the rumours surrounding JLU. I'm not sure how Teen Titans has been doing ratings wise (and how great this new season is doing with the kiddies), but it is a very popular franchise, so I'm not sure if they'll end it just yet.

And even if they do, we've got a DTV coming, which could possibly lead to more DTVs, so... there you go.

[adoptedBatpuppy]

looks likes its the last! titanstower posted this and i quote.

"
Teen Titans' Sixth Season Looks Unlikely

A source very close to production of Teen Titans has alerted titanstower.com: The prospect of a sixth season of the popular series is looking very, very, very dim. So if anyone was inclined to start a letter writing campaign, it needs to be started yesterday!

If you feel there are more Titans stories to be told, let Cartoon Network know how you feel. Snail mail is the most effective way. Scores of individual letters have the most impact; Petitions are generally worthless in networks' eyes. The best bet is to start a letter writing campaign with individual heartfelt letters stating you would like the show to continue.

Cartoon Network Official Mailing Address:
Cartoon Network
1050 Techwood Drive
Atlanta, GA 30318
Cartoon Network Feedback on the web

Spread the word and tell your friends. Titans Fans - Go!"

mods if ive gone too far, edit the post.

Are you 100% positive?

[Bird Boy]

My disdain with this season comes from the fact that the show is suddenly shifting it's gears after four seasons. That's great if they want to change it up in (what appears to be) its final season, but the execution of it has just been dull and boring. The stories are just re-treads from past seasons or other animated DC shows and there really hasn't been much character evolution as there has in past seasons.

I don't know why everyones suddenly seeing this season as a "sprawling story arc." We've gotten as little information in half a season as we have in all past seasons story-arcs, so I really don't know how this show has changed, other than to change it's focus away from the Titans and focus on the sorely underdeveloped "new" Titans who aren't nearly as interesting.

-BB

[spidl]

I personally like the change in direction if not the excution of some of the episodes. I wish that like the JLU they had started making the rooster expansion more of a gradual thing. I think it would have helped the Raven story if there were more Titans to fight Triton. I never found the anime influcence to be that funny so I don't miss it when its gone.

[A.J]

Sorry to say this BirdBoy but I think you are being to hard on the TT reviews for the new season. I used to dislike TT but lately I just love the show. I love the new season. I love changes, new characters & long season arcs. Now, you may have more experience on Animation than me and maybe thats why you can review the episodes from a different point of view but honestly I dont share your thoughts that much with the new TT season.

[Temple Fugate]

I never really cared if the Titans roster changed or not. I did like the introduction, and subsequent fallout, of Terra in season 2, and I'm looking forward to a few new Titans this season, but I don't think Titans is doing any worse now than when they started. We've seen a consistency in terms of the ratio of good : okay : bad episodes per season, and season 5 is pretty much on-par as far as an average season goes. (haven't seen the "bad" episode yet, but I'm sure we'll get one.) There have been some amazing episodes in Titans' run, but we hardly get them every week. If I'm more critical of this season than seasons past, it's probably because I'm disappointed they decided to take this show in a new direction, but they're still allowing themselves into the pitfalls that bring many of the episodes down a peg. They've done over 50 shows and should be learning from their mistakes by now.

[sdp]

i think Teen Titans started loosing their magic halfway through season 4, and the story arc was boring, but season 5 is actually a lot of fun, the titans the way they were started to bore me, it was the same thing, but with season 5 they changed things up and i love it, my favorite episode is For Real, that is exactly what Teen Titans needs, a different cast, i love the original but we already saw everything they do, we need something different a new cast gave the "magic" back to the show, i'm enjoying the team up episodes but an entire or mostly new team would be a lot better, like i said we already saw the original team too much.

[CyberCubed]

This Season of TT is definitely not what I always wanted. A lot of the episodes are bland and uninteresting, a problem that plagued the first season of Justice League.

Teen Titans should have stayed the way it was in the first four seasons.

Teen Titans is still a brilliant show, and I'm glad it was made this way instead of trying to be a Justice League clone. Sadly, Season 5 is going in that direction.

[Duke Psychology]

It Fone Bone (I think) or one of the other senior members who brought it to my attention.

the egoist in me wants to say I did, but i'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume Fone Bone or someone else is just the one who brought it to your attention.

anyway, i wouldn't say this season hasn't given us *exactly* what people originally wanted. the silliness is still there. the stories are still simple. we supposedly have a "long story arc", but no new information or plot advancement has happened since "Trust" aside from meeting people and that only counts if you go by the most basic definition of "plot advancement". it's still pretty much the same Teen Titans more or less, just with some new faces tossed in.

[shoujoaifan]

IF it was better executed.....than people would still complain.....but not as many either. (The last few episodes HAVE been pretty good in my opinion.....and NOT just because that last one with Raven was all anime-like either, I also liked "Kole". which had 1 or 2 anime expressions tops.)

The problem hasn't been the last few episodes, but the earlier ones. I ALSO liked the first episode of the season, and LOVE the serious episodes of any season...if done right ("Haunted", not "Homecoming Part 2).



My complaints on major problems:

1. "Homecoming Part 2". Like I said, I like Part 1, but the second one with Mentor's sudden OOC change, the TT and the rest of the DP saving their butt in the end with no foreshadowing but just "We're alive and ready to kick butt!", and the overbearing message they repeatedly preached, BADLY. (Yeah, his friends died, and maybe he "opened" his heart, but it hardly fazed him WHILE they were dying. Maybe he regretted later on like some of us would if we made those decisions first and then regretted them, maybe it was just bad writing.)

2. "Trust" Aside from the plothole of Madame Rouge not being able to touch Hotspot so thus she had to trick him, the WHOLE PLOT of the episode, BUT she can easily grab his face later and start plowing him into the ground, BESIDES that.....it starts the practice of Robin or someome giving a communicator to EVERYONE they meet. They SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO better have this be a plan to trick the Brotherhood and the TT's aren't that stupid.....

Hell, its hit-miss ratio of guest characters has been more or less like JLU's, a more or less even amount of throwaway characters that were executed badly and those that did work and would be great if they showed up again.



My complaints on minor things that weren't TOO much a problem.

1. "Snowblind", AKA "This power inside me...this power inside me...this power inside me...this-". Was the episode cliche as hell, with angsty boy with uncontrollable power hiding from a society that shuns him so he can protect him? Yes. Would it still have been more emotional and touching if part of the time you weren't slightly annoyed? Yes.

I can however live with Starfire tossing Red Star into space to blow-up, and then saying he'll return. Its likes "Aftershock Part 2" with Raven saying they'll do everything to reverse Terra transfomation. It's not going to happen. They had to say those things for the censors. And we nerds on the net know how little leeway the production crews are allowed. I'm mature enough to except an "another dimension"-type of line.

2. "Kole". Kole was.....well, I can't really call her a Mary Sue. IF she became an important character later on and acted the same, then yeah, she would be. But HERE she worked fine, since she was meant to play-off of G'narkk, watch over him as he does her, but more importantly, set up G'narkk jealousy over Cyborg as well as force him to confront his fears of the world above to save her.

So I don't have a problem with Kole's Mary Sue character. Because "Kole" wasn't really about Kole! It was about G'narrk and Cyborg helping him help Kole, thus confronting his fears. The episode should've been "G'narkk" instead. (Or better yet, "Kole and G'narkk".)

(Hell, I love that episode for showing some screentime on Cyborg that, while not specfically on him, was the first time he was one of the main focuses, and the episode NOT focusing on him being a cyborg! YEAH, his lightbulb frightened G'narkk and him being the one G'narkk was jealous of, and also helped him confront his fears, so it was probably intentional and more than just a little symbolic, BUT at least they finally got away from Cyborg's angst over being a cyborg for once.)





I'm more forgiving than some when it comes to alot of shows. I even sat through every episode of "Tom Goes To The Mayor" to see if it would fianlly live up to its potential and use its wackiness to tell actual jokes instead of just assuming being wacky was funny. (It didn't and it wasn't.) Super Milk-Chan was one of the few shows I just stopped watching and didn't watch the whole season of. I even watched ALL of Pilot Candidate!

And this season HAS been becoming better, and NOT just because of the Raven episode, but because the writing is starting to go back up.

So do I think that this season in the be-all-end-all of poor writing? No. But Teen Titans has done better.

Not because of the wacky anime expressions.

No, it was the writing that backed up all those expressions and all the serious parts inbetween.

[Bird Boy]

Sorry to say this BirdBoy but I think you are being to hard on the TT reviews for the new season.

It hasn't even really been this season. While season four was OK, I really didn't like season three either. The fifth season just continues to unimpress me.

I used to dislike TT but lately I just love the show.

That's probably the reason for my dislike for it then. I loved TT and now I don't. They shifted gears and pleased some and others just aren't digging it like they used to. I still find some small level of enjoyment in the episodes but they really aren't doing anything that's even remotely "wow" anymore.

I love the new season. I love changes, new characters & long season arcs.

So do I, but we got all of that in past seasons of Teen Titans too. Looking at this season, we really haven't gotten anything really THAT different. This season we're just getting a higher roster of new characters who all seem to do nothing for an episode and then get rewarded with a communicator at the end.

Now, you may have more experience on Animation than me and maybe thats why you can review the episodes from a different point of view but honestly I dont share your thoughts that much with the new TT season.

My harshness probably stems from the fact I've been watching the show since day one, seen every episode and worked with every episode...and I just don't like to see such generic plotlines and stale animation/fights come out episode after episode.

My enjoyment of the season is probably marred by the fact this may very well be the last season (if the TitansTower reports are true), something I expected from the beginning. I don't want the show to leave a bad taste in my mouth, but there's still six episodes left for it to redeem itself to me (and really, I did enjoy a handful of this seasons episodes).

In the end, it's just a cartoon about teenage super heros, so I can't honestly over-analyze it without wondering what the hell is wrong with me. As I said, my boredom with this season just comes from what feel like repetitious stories.

-BB

[Fone Bone]

looks likes its the last! titanstower posted this and i quote.

"
Teen Titans' Sixth Season Looks Unlikely

A source very close to production of Teen Titans has alerted titanstower.com: The prospect of a sixth season of the popular series is looking very, very, very dim. So if anyone was inclined to start a letter writing campaign, it needs to be started yesterday!

If you feel there are more Titans stories to be told, let Cartoon Network know how you feel. Snail mail is the most effective way. Scores of individual letters have the most impact; Petitions are generally worthless in networks' eyes. The best bet is to start a letter writing campaign with individual heartfelt letters stating you would like the show to continue.

Cartoon Network Official Mailing Address:
Cartoon Network
1050 Techwood Drive
Atlanta, GA 30318
Cartoon Network Feedback on the web

Spread the word and tell your friends. Titans Fans - Go!"

mods if ive gone too far, edit the post.

Aaaw, CRAP! What is wrong with Cartoon Network? This probably spells doom for JLU. Outside of Foster's and Krypto now the network won't have a decent new show on it's schedule. Why the heck do only uberfad shows like Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh last so long when shows that deliver consistantly good ratings, good toyline sales, and high quality always go Plooie? Batman Beyond, TNBA, STAS, Static Shock, Samurai Jack, X-Men: Evolution, The Zeta Project, Duck Dodgers...Why aren't these show allowed to stay on the air? Instead we get Puffy AmiYumi, and Codename: KND and Loonatics. Jeez! I'm sorry but if they are cancelling Duck Doggers, Teen Titans AND JLU there will be practically no reason left to watch the channel!

I think I'll write a letter to CN and Fox and see if Justice League Unlimited and The Simpsons can trade networks.

[Juu-kuchi]

It's not a problem with the episode content and story arc and everything, it's just the execution of it all. They could make their episodes much more interesting instead of mundane if at all possible, but they're just half-assing what could have been a potentially good season.

[A.J]

Aaaw, CRAP! What is wrong with Cartoon Network? This probably spells doom for JLU. Outside of Foster's and Krypto now the network won't have a decent new show on it's schedule. Why the heck do only uberfad shows like Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh last so long when shows that deliver consistantly good ratings, good toyline sales, and high quality always go Plooie? Batman Beyond, TNBA, STAS, Static Shock, Samurai Jack, X-Men: Evolution, The Zeta Project, Duck Dodgers...Why aren't these show allowed to stay on the air? Instead we get Puffy AmiYumi, and Codename: KND and Loonatics. Jeez! I'm sorry but if they are cancelling Duck Doggers, Teen Titans AND JLU there will be practically no reason left to watch the channel!

I think I'll write a letter to CN and Fox and see if Justice League Unlimited and The Simpsons can trade networks.

I feel exactly the same FB. Maybe its because expenses on productions. CN doesnt pay for the production of crappy Pokemon and the rest of Animes. Who knows. ANyway, I am very sad now cause it looks like JLU is not getting a 4th season due to the fate of TT.

[Arrakhat]

So do I, but we got all of that in past seasons of Teen Titans too. Looking at this season, we really haven't gotten anything really THAT different. This season we're just getting a higher roster of new characters who all seem to do nothing for an episode and then get rewarded with a communicator at the end.

Exactly. Up til now, whether you liked them or not, we've seen Aqualad, Speedy, Bumblebee, Mas y Menos, Hotspot, Wildebeast, and, if you count him, Larry the Titan. These heros at least served a purpose, even if they weren't that big. Now we've seen the Doom Patrol, Red Star, Kole, Gnark, Melvin, Timmy, Teether, Bobby, and soon we'll have Kid Flash. That many cameos is just ridiculous.

But that's part of the bigger problem: Poor execution. Some newer episodes lack in logical plots, purposes for new character, and just general amusement. I wasn't too hot on Homecoming, but Trust sealed the deal for me. Titans shouldn't try to do serious this often. Later episodes however, have shaped up some.

[TokyoMeowMeow]

I don't really mind if we added drama to Teen Titans, just as long as you could laugh during the show as well. I mean, to me a great show is something that has plenty of action, a little romance, and a definate show of comedy. I must say the show is getting more serious, but as long as there's still a laugh, a chibi, and something to remember, than I don't have a problem.

[Snailbait]

While I don't think this season is horrible, it's not as good as it should be. If they want to deliver a serious storyline then they need to back it up with better writing. The plot this season has been inconsistent. For Real was actually a very, very good episode. The others have been...less than good. They weren't so bad I'm going to stop watching, but they weren't as good as they should have been. Kole was a very charming episode, but it wasn't great. It was mediocre at best. In fact, one of the only interesting things about this season is the new characters. Kole herself made her episode charming. The Brotherhood have been interesting characters. That's one of the only reasons to watch. For the neat characters (I feel I should mention...Red Star was NOT a good character). The only real stinker of the bunch is Snowblind. That episode was simply terrible. Trust was on the verge. The two-part beginning was actually quite good, I felt. For Real was brilliant. Kole was mediocre, and Hide and Seek was OK (Raven did deliver a couple of funny lines, such as the "bedtime story"). I am feeling the next couple of episodes will be lousy. I mean, come on! Have you read the synopsis of Revved Up? And I don't think Kid Flash will be handled properly. Go should be interesting. As for the finale, my fingers are crossed. Let's hope the finale makes up for the average rest of the season.