With this, we are thrust into the futuristic, dystopian, stylized world of Samurai Jack. First premiering on August 10, 2001 as a television movie on Cartoon Network, Samurai Jack tells the story of the titular character and his quest to travel back in time from the future to defeat his greatest foe: the tyrannical demon Aku. During his adventures he meets great allies, rights many wrongs, and learns many skills that help him down the line. He also occasionally gets close to returning to the past, but only ends up failing in his attempts due to Aku’s constant meddling.

When it ended in 2004, many fans were shocked. There was no solid closure for the protagonist as he never got to the past or defeated Aku. It was the worst possible kind of cliffhanger to have happen. Eventually, Samurai Jack became a distant memory, occasionally being mentioned here and there. Fans ended up losing faith that there would ever be a conclusion to the series. That is until December 2, 2015 when Cartoon Network made the announcement of a new season.

And this is when the world suddenly went crazy…but in a good way.

An announcement such as this was considered as manna from heaven for those who grew up watching the series. No one expected this announcement, especially when it seemed as if show creator, Genndy Tartakovsky, just forgot about the phenomenal series he made. So when this announcement came, fans were eager to find out how the story would pick up. Would Jack still be trapped in the future? Has time passed since we last saw our protagonist? These were some of the few questions that came into light and now we don’t have to wait much longer for an answer. The new (and possibly) final season of Samurai Jack is only a few months away. March 11 to be exact.

According to Tartakovsky, the new season will have a much darker tone compared to its predecessors. It will form a cohesive story that will see Jack fifty years later on the final leg of his journey. Each episode will have a ‘reveal’ that unravels the mystery that surrounds the story and constantly keeps us guessing.

There is much more that Tartakovsky has mentioned about the new season, but for the sake of surprise and just so we all share in this great moment, I’m not telling. What I will tell you though is that this personally for me is one of the shows I am ecstatic about this year next to the DuckTales reboot. This show was the cornucopia of my childhood and introduced me to the concept of the Samurai and Japanese culture. It was something that became near and dear to my heart and only expanded in greatness as I grew up. I’m sure this is the case for many who watched the show. It was a good escape from the mundane and fulfilled the heroic fantasies that we wish were true.

So what is to come of our hero Jack as he completes his grand adventure? I guess we will have to find out when Season 5 premieres on March 11 on Cartoon Network’s Toonami. Until then, we can reminisce about the good ol’ days.

The post Remember the Good Ol’ Days: Samurai Jack appeared first on SCAD Radio.

Now that I have got that off my chest, I can actually continue writing this. Back in 2013 when the show first premiered, this writer, like many, expected a sort of revival of the original show that we grew up on more than a decade ago. Instead, Cartoon Network was offered a lowbrow show that used subpar satire to entertain an audience.

Now, I’m aware that this show is for kids nowadays who never knew about the original series, but the problem still lies that ‘Teen Titans Go’ cannot match up to the level of storytelling that the original ‘Teen Titans’ was able to accomplish.

The original Teen Titans of first premiered on Cartoon Network on July 19, 2003 and lasted five seasons and a film before ending on September 15, 2006. In this time the show was able to give heartfelt stories that really touched an audience by exploring serious themes of friendship, loss, growing up, and just overall teamwork through the lives of these teenage superheroes. Moreover, the characters themselves go through so much development that its makes sense that by the end of the series you can call them superheroes; a perfect example of this is Raven.

In the series’ beginning, the magic filled goth demon comes off as cynical and hard to get along with or understand. She is the type of character that keeps to herself and doesn’t let anyone into her shell; especially Beast Boy. As the series story progresses, the audience learns more about her background and why she is the way she is. We get to see her open up more to her teammates and show genuine emotion from her that we don’t really see in a serious way from the ‘Teen Titans Go’ variation. It would be recommending to watch the episodes listed below in order to understand the examples I mentioned:

* Season 1, Episode 6, “Nevermore”
* Season 4, Episode 3, “Birthmark”
* Season 4, Episode 7, “The Prophecy”
* Season 4, Episodes 11, 12, 13, “The End”

These episodes I think touch on the serious tones and character development that is lacking from the 2013 incarnation.

Now, like I said before, I understand that Cartoon Network is trying tointroduce classic shows to a newer generation, but much like how they handled the new Powerpuff Girls reboot (talk about that in a later article), they are using relevant but idiotic comedy that does not fit into the Teen Titans mythos; such as memes and new dancing sensations (curse you Twerking). Moreover, what disturbs me the most is how the show has the audacity to make reference to the old Teen Titans series in some way or another like children would know exactly what is being stated. If you’re are going to make reference to an original series, then what stops you as a company from just bringing it back in some shape or form and make it watchable? N-O-T-H-I-N-G. It does not have to be a new series per say but a TV movie would be nice, much like how Warner Bros. made ‘Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo’ to serve as the series finale. I mean, VIACOM and specifically Nickelodeon are doing the smart thing and bringing back ‘Hey Arnold!’ but as a TV Movie (talk about that also in a later article). Granted it serves as finale to everything ‘Hey Arnold’, but it already sounds better than anything that ‘Teen Titans Go’ writing staff is cooking up.

In the end though, “Teen Titans Go” will most likely end up staying on the air because children eat this crap up. We’ve reached a generation where low-brow humor somehow comes out on top and sensible and timed humor no longer exist. As a writer, I’m not trying to be cynical about all this; I just wish that there was more shows with deeper meaning to it than just fart jokes. Those were the ‘Good Ole Days’.

I’m going to give Teen Titans Go 1 Titan Tower out of 5.

The post Remember the ‘Good Ole Days’?: Teen Titans Vs Teen Titans Go appeared first on SCAD Radio.