CNtober; Ben 10: No this is not the reboot, put the pitchforks down

Before anyone asks, no I have not seen the reboot.

How's this for a story idea. A grandfather and his grandchildren are on a trip around America for summer vacation. The grandson has a special alien watch that can temporarily change his DNA to other alien species, the granddaughter is learning magic from a spell book stolen from two evil magicians, and the grandfather is a member of a secret army (of sorts), knows a lot about alien weapons, and is always packing heat when it comes to weekly dangers from aliens, mutants, magicians and more, wanting the watch stuck on the grandson's arm. Would you watch that show? Well I did growing up, and now I'm going to review it because its something I've been meaning to for quite some time now, and so I'm going to use this marathon as an excuse to talk about it.

CNtober; Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: A license to go nuts

Now we get into the eras of Cartoon Network that I grew up with, that I remember watching as a kid, or in this case the constant reruns of the same season 1 episodes, which probably explains why when I want to watch a show now, I until I can binge watch it. But, as we move into this period of Cartoon network, the eras kinda start to blend together a bit which is why this review, and next week's review from me could be argued either way for if they count as different eras. For me, I just wanted to do them because I've been meaning to review next weeks material for a while, and I wanted an excuse to look at this weeks. So with that, let's look at Foster's.

CNtober; Dexter Laboratory: FOR SCIENCE!!!

Sorry this took so long, around four hours of travel for work can do things to you. As to why I don't do writing in travel... I actually get motion sick on busses...

Dexter's Laboratory, a very fondly remembered show from Cartoon Network... that I've never really seen before until now. I don't know why, but it just never appealed to me when I had Foxtel the first time. It may just be that it was never on at a good time for me. But, I have finally been able to sit down and watch it (it was why I wanted to do it for the marathon, the site was founded on trying new things after all). So in the midst of a busy week, how did Dexter hold up?

CNtober: Tom & Jerry

Checkerboard Era: Tom & Jerry

                Tom and Jerry were one of the original cat and mouse chases. Popularized by Loony Tunes chase duos such as Sylvester & Tweety, Roadrunner & Coyote, and Bugs Bunny and...the rest of the world I guess. Tom and Jerry stands out because of their character dynamic, and the inclusion of familiar recurring characters that are on and off the show occasionally.

                The premise is simple; Tom the cat chases the mouse Jerry through some various scenarios. What make this show unique are the characters that show up from time to time. Tom and Jerry themselves are straight forward. Tom is a headstrong cat who tries various tactics to catch Jerry, and most likely eat him. Jerry is a cheeky mouse who is always one step ahead of Tom. The reoccurring characters are a bulldog that eventually gets a son, and he is protective of, Jerry’s younger cousin that is just adorable half the time, a bully alley cat that also antagonizes Tom, and a bunch of others.

                Tom and Jerry also go throughout different house owners. The earlier seasons had this mean spirited middle aged guy that always ended up threatening and beating up Tom. Later seasons usually have little to no owners at all. The most memorable owner was a black lady that was actually named Mammy Two Shoes, no joke. I never thought that Two Shoes was supposed to be racist; she was honestly one of my favorite characters in the show. Just remember that this show takes place in the “modern” 40’s to 60’s.

                Tom and Jerry weren’t always bound to the house. They go to other time periods and settings as well. They could get pretty creative sometimes when they go to the future or when they go to medieval eras. Sometimes the tone of the show is lighthearted, and sometimes it can be surprisingly dark. There was indeed an episode where Tom actually dies and needs to beg Jerry for forgiveness or else Tom would be sent to hell.

                Overall, Tom & Jerry is a timeless classic. The show itself went on for almost 20 years. Even at today’s standards, the show still holds up well both in its episodic storytelling and amazing animation. It’s still running re runs to this very day. There are still Tom and Jerry movies being made even as recent as 2017. However, I don’t think flash animation will ever replicate the same animation styles used traditionally.