One of my problems with BOTH series is the way that they introduce the first ten aliens and yet only used some of them. As stated earlier Ghostfreak was used approximately 3 times before he vamoosed, then there is that fish one from Ben 10 (Riptide? Ripjaw?) that was used probably all of 5 times, with like 2 of those actually being useful in any way. I didn't watch Alien Force much, but it seemed like Echo Echo and Goop weren't used often. And let's not even start on Alien X.
I mean, honestly, excluding Ghostfreak's surprise Heel–Face Turn, what was the point of even including them? If you're gonna create characters like that and introduce them to us, DO SOMETHING WITH THEM! Sure Ripjaw probably would have turned into the Aquaman of the group, but they didn't even attempt it, even though he was one of the original ten, which is what's so frustrating.
edited 3rd Aug '11 10:23:34 AM by equiNoxequiLight
Let's not speak of what was just said, shall we?I find it So Okay, It's Average. Though I hated both Ultimate Alien and Ben Ten .
No... not really. She appears in lots of capabilities and roles beyond her relationship to Kevin.
Personally, I think they more tried to instill too much of a Closer to Earth personality into her (but only because that character type shows up so much that its starting to grate on me), a trait portrayed as mostly independent of being Kevin's girlfriend (which didn't happen in a solid way for a while anyways), except for when it was done in regards to Kevin himself.
Though I still prefer it to her 10-year old personality.
Anyway, as for Alien Force, my opinion is that though it had it's moments, it's generally not as good/interesting as what came before or after, though it at least got me watching. Ultimate Alien was definitely a kind of Growing the Beard (again) of sorts, however honestly imo all three series are varying degrees of average. Though Alien Force is definitely more obviously average than the other two.
edited 1st Dec '11 11:07:07 AM by KnownUnknown
Eh, it's a pretty good show. Although I do hate how the only things that Kevin and Gwen have in common with their Ben 10 counterparts are their names; honestly, if I was flicking through channels and saw an episode without knowing anyone's name I would assume that Gwen and Kevin were just two teens Ben met in highschool.
Also, they downgraded Vilgax and whitewashed Charmcaster. Just... What.
On a positive note, Paradox is absolutely fantastic.
edited 11th Dec '11 1:10:43 AM by Francoeur
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I'd rather have Bratty Half-Pint Ben and Gwen back than what they are now.
Agreed, though in Charmcaster's case, "whitewashing" was just about the only thing they could do at that point seeing as she too had recieved a total downgrade as a villain.
And yes, aside from the often Out of Focus Grandpa Max, Paradox is the best character ever in this show.
edited 11th Dec '11 11:27:57 AM by ManwiththePlan
And as a villain I didn't see much to Charmcaster's motivation besides being Evulz for the sake of it.
It was less "for the sake of it" and more "to show off her power and lash out at the world", like most teen delinquents except with magical powers.
And that's kind of the problem with retconning her motives into wanting to liberate her domain and free her people; none of her actions and her attitude in general in the previous series' suggested she had any noble or well meaning intentions. She knew damn well she was a bad guy and wanted to have fun with it. She had sympathetic points to her (mainly due to Hex's abuse), but nothing indicating good motives. The only reason I can accept the new direction is, again, she had become a really stale villainess before it came up.
edited 11th Dec '11 6:13:02 PM by ManwiththePlan
Yeah I understand what you're saying. Sudden retcons like that are a pain. And yeah, maybe not for the evil, but teen delinquent just lashing out is just as common. No matter what way you look at things from decay to sudden retcon the whole situation after her initial appearances were handled badly.
Just like the Osmosian insanity thing and many other retcons.
Then
and now
◊. Even if she was just a tanned caucasian rather than a different nationality or race the color change is still glaringly obvious (and before anyone tries to use the "that's just because the lighting is darker" excuse, even the lit up areas of her face are darker than her new skin tone).
edited 12th Dec '11 4:24:58 AM by Francoeur
Not much of a difference to me.
◊
Just like the Osmosian insanity thing and many other retcons.
Gah, yes. That was even weaker than the reasoning behind Charmcaster's Heel–Face Turn and handled weaker. At least Charmcaster took throughout the episode with her new backstory to turn face. Kevin did it in the first episode of AF, with no reason behind it, and the Osmosian insanity thing came up much later than it should, considering it should be something Kevin ought to explain to his new friends shortly after turning face!
I am sort of glad for it as an Author's Saving Throw, since AF generally tried to pretend Kevin was just a delinquent ala Charmcaster rather than sociopathically crazy, but it was still handled in an Ass Pull manner.
edited 12th Dec '11 7:53:04 AM by ManwiththePlan
That's pretty much at the core of the problem I have with AF & UA. Though several ideas are interesting and even good, next to none of them are executed well due to the staff's blatant disregard for damn near everything laid down in Man of Action's original show. In this kind of business, you need to stick with continuity; the effects of just not caring turns many people off.
I like the idea of the true point of the Omnitrix being to ensure all species' survival, but the execution was bad. I like the idea of Charmcaster turning good, but the execution was bad. I like the idea of characters like Professor Paradox and Albedo, but their execution has gone bad too (Just how often do they show up, and just how much of an impact do they leave on the show? Answer: Not much.) I like the idea of Gwen and Kevin.....OK, I don't really like that one, but even that could have been executed well if their relationship actually built up and grew, rather than being forced in from the start. Long story short: AF/UA is a shining example of sadly wasted potential.
edited 12th Dec '11 9:20:14 AM by ManwiththePlan

Ghost freak was an interesting alien however Bigchill is one of the few alien force original aliens that I thought was a significant improvement over the ones from the original series. I'm not saying I don't like Ghost Freak however I just like Big Chill better.
With the power of a dragon I can make up for my inability to spill.