Criticism of "Arthur"

Hey all. I'm back from spring break and I just wanted to voice my opinions on the internet yet once again. Hopefully, I can remember to post articles to this thing.

This week's article features my favorite TV Show "Arthur." The TV show is made by PBS and Cookie Jar Entertainment (formally known as Cinar). I have been watching the show since the second season (That would be late season, in 1998, mind you) and I will never stop watching it. However, the newer episodes disappoint me somewhat. And I will list a few reasons why and talk about them a bit.

Animation Style
According to the almighty deity known as Wikipedia, after the 11th season was wrapped up, Cookie Jar switched animation companies. Because of this, the animation looks different. I really enjoy Canadian-made cartoons and I really like how well the animation is done by them. But this company is BAD! The animation looks shoddy, and it feels like a semi-flash cartoons. And personally, I cannot stand flash cartoons made on a computer. The words don't exactly fit the lips like the original company made the animations do. Here is a picture showing the difference between to versions of the character Francine.

New on left, old on right. Pitiful.

Acting:

Voice acting is one of my favorite parts of cartoons. I really want to be one. I've imitated actors and cartoon characters, including Bugs Bunny, George Harrison, Wakko Warner (Wakko and George have very similar voices), George Takei and I've even tried my hand at Ian McKellan. (For guys, I try to catch some elements of his voice like how he says "never be the same" in "The Hobbit" trailer. I know, I'm weird.) The show has had some very good actors in it (not counting celeb). A good idea is that Arthur, D.W., and several other characters had been voiced by children. One problem with this, however, is that when a boy's voice changed, he had to leave the show and he was replaced by a different actor. The first three actors of Arthur and D.W. were great, but when the third Arthur actor left, he was replaced by Cameron Ansell, and when he left he was replaced by an actor named Dallas Jokic. When the third actor of D.W. left (D.W. has only ever been played by boys), he was replaced with Robert Naylor. While Cameron Ansell had a girlier voice (which improved when his voice started to change) but the current actor of Arthur has a lame voice, and his angry voices sounds pitiful, and he doesn't put a lot of good emotion into the role, unlike Michael Yarmush and Mark Rendall, the first and third actor respectively. Robert Naylor, the current actor of D.W. just isn't funny in the role. In fact, he is annoying. EXTREMELY annoying. Personally, I don't understand why they picked him to play D.W. Fortunately, since they are boys, there voices will change sometime. Dallas's is starting to all ready. I cannot wait for the next season to start to see the different actor (if they decide to have a new one).

Stories:

This is the last of my gripes. The show has been running for 15 seasons now (14 in countries outside the U.S.) and it seems like the are scraping the bottom of the barrel for show ideas. There is an episode in season 15 where Buster has a toy car that gets into the teachers lounge. Timmy Tibble gets mad when he finds out that he can't whistle and his brother Tommy can. The preschooler James is treated like a king because of a little lamb doll. Lame right? By all means, they need to keep Peter K. Hirsch on the show (he's been writing shows since the first season), but please Cookie Jar, bring back the old writers or hire new ones! We need great episodes!

So I am not dismissing the show entirely. I'm not saying that show is doomed to stink. I still have hope that the show will get better, and maybe they will. We will have to see later on down the road. So what are your opinions about the current state of the show? Tell me in the comments. Thank you so much for reading and come again!

Opinions on the Oscar's Last Night

I watched the Oscars last night for the very first time last year and I really enjoyed it. I got to see "The King's Speech" win "Best Picture" and "Toy Story 3" get best animated picture. So, having a really enjoyable time last year, I wanted to watch them again this year. Here is my story and opinions. (And I am snubbed I didn't win an Oscar for "Most Excited Movie Goer." I'll win it next year for "The Avengers" and "The Hobbit: Part 1!" You'll see!")

On movies nominated for best picture: I was disappointed. I know a boatload of people are mad that the last Harry Potter movie wasn't nominated for best picture. Looking through the Oscar Roster (see what I did there? I guess not...), I was amazed by how many movies that I loved that weren't nominated. "Captain America: The First Avenger" and "Soul Surfer" should have been nominated for best picture (especially the latter, because of its subject matter). I was amazed to see "The Muppets" being the only Disney movie to get nominated. The movie I was the most snubbed about: "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn" was not in the running for best animated picture. I was extremely disappointed. (Because one: I love comics. Two: I love cartoons. And three, the most important one of all: it was incredibly well made. It took years to make!)

I watched the event last night, with Billy Crystal being the host. The intro was hilarious, with Mr. Crystal being kissed by George Clooney, encountering Justin Bieber in France, and finally role-playing as Tintin. The first two Oscars were won by the film "Hugo." (I am in the process of reading the book, and from what I can see, this movie deserves its Oscars. ) It was intresting to see the last Transformers movie get nominated thrice.

As was with last year, the movie I was rooting for did not get best picture. I decided to root for "Hugo" this year. It lost to "The Artist." The premise of "The Artist" sounds like a great one, so I MIGHT add it to Oscar-Winning Movies list. Both "The Artist" and "Hugo" won five Oscars. And has anyone noticed that THREE of the movies nominated for best picture were set in France? Weird.

All in all, it was okay, but not as cool as last year's was. I hope the first "Hobbit" movie and "The Avengers" are nominated for best picture at least. So what did you guys think of the Oscar's? Tell me in the comments!

Top 5 Trading Card Games That Never Should Have Died

Here we go! First article on this blog! (Ah, procrastination is NEVER a good thing.) In this article, I will talk about my favorite hobby: Trading Card Games.

Trading Card Games have been around since the early 90's and is one of the coolest (if not THE coolest) aspect of the nerdy hobbies. Kids, Teens, and Adults have played them. Some games have been around almost 20 years, while some died in the first year. (For clarification, "died" means "discontinued.") Here is a list of the Top 5 Games that never died at all.

Honorable Mentions:

Looney Tunes
Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast
Game's Run: 2000

A kid's TCG based on the classic Looney Tunes cartoons, this is what Scrye's Guide to Collectible Card Games said was D.O.A. This was only added out of my love for Looney Tunes game, and it was a great concept.

Duel Masters
Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast
Game's Run: 2004 - 2006

A game in which WOTC and some other company tried to copy Yu-Gi-Oh! in this TCG. However, resources were used, and its art was leaning toward something that would be in Magic: The Gathering or some other fantasy TCG than an anime game. However, this game had some really good gameplay and really good art. It made the honorable mention list for one reason: It's coming back. (Thanks Wizards and Hasbro!)

Star Trek
Manufacturer: Decipher
Game's Run: 1994-2007

This card game had two versions. A first edition, which in my opinion, plays more like episodes from the TV series and movies. The second edition is more balanced and plays more like a standard TCG. It was the second TCG to be based on a licensed property and the first Non-Fantasy TCG. It had a big following among players. The reason that this did not make the top five is because there is an organization that continues to make fun cards for people to play for both first and second edition versions. They also run unofficial tournaments. The website is the Star Trek CCG Continuing Committee.

TOP 5 TCG's THAT NEVER SHOULD HAVE DIED

5. Legend of the Burning Sands
Manufacturer: Alderac Entertainment/ Wizards of the Coast (Five Rings Division)
Game's Run: 1998

This game is an Arabian version of Legend of the Five Rings. In fact, it is in the same world as L5R is set in! (And the Unicorn Clan from L5R is a playable faction!) An Arabian fantasy, just think of something like 1001 Arabian Nights. And from what I know, the game was fought over water for the most part. (Obviously  , it is a valuable commodity because they are in a desert!) This game ran for a few months and then croaked. The universe isn't dead though, as it is continued in an RPG by Alderac Entertainment.

4. Neopets TCG
Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast
Game's Run: 2003-2006

I'm almost embarrassed to add this on this list. Well, gosh darn it, if people can be obsessed with ponies, than why can't I post this? Oh well. This game was based on an online game called "Neopets," and surely you must have heard of it. It was the Webkinz before the Webkinz..... sorta. But at any rate, this game had some really solid gameplay. Players would have Neopets (yes, the actually pets are used in the game. How could they not be?) and they would have do battle in arenas, based off of Strength, Agility, Magic, and Intelligence. This game actually used dice, which was interesting. (There aren't many that do.) Occasionally, heroes or villains (who are stronger than the standard neopet) come out and fight. If you win, you actually score points. (Some other things here are required and I can't name them off of the top of my head.) First player to score 21 points wins. This game should have lasted longer in my opinion, even if the fad died out and Webkinz took the digital throne of children's online gaming.

3. Lord of the Rings TCG
Manufacturer: Decipher
Games's Run: 2001-2007

This game was sheer genius. (As opposed to a sheer khan. And yes, that was a terrible reference to the Jungle Book.) It was an award-winner, and the game play was great. Based on the Lord of the Rings movies (with appearances of characters from the books!) characters created a fellowship and tried to travel down the adventure path so that good ol' Mr. Frodo can destroy Sauron's evil ring. Players can win by going through the entire adventure path, or they could corrupt the Ringbearer and make him turn evil (or join the dark side, if you will), or simply kill him. This game had a very resources mechanic. The more good guys one would play, the more bad guys the opponent had the opportunity to play! This game was KO'd when Decipher lost her license from New Line, and Fantasy Flight Games has a Living Card Game based on the books. (And it is pretty darn good! In fact, it is better, and that is saying something!)

2. VS System TCG
Manufacturer: Upper Deck Entertainment (Wow! A game here by a company OTHER than WOTC or Decipher!)
Game's Run: 2004 (Officially) - 2009

Where to begin? This is the first TCG I picked up after I started Redemption back in 2004. This game features superheros from both Marvel and DC Comics, and with a few characters from the Hellboy comics. Players have a team (or teams) of superheroes or villains and duke out with an opponents. It felt like a comic book being played out! (Sorta of like Heroclix does in the CMG world.) This game won awards as well, and had some really good (and complicated) game play. It also featured incredible art from big name comic artists, such as Alex Ross, Ariel Olivetti, Alex Garner, and Lenil Francis Yu. However, being the horrible company as it is now, it was discontinued by UDE. The company just escaped the fires of angry companies you probably never heard of called Konami and Blizzard and some organization that no one knows about called Major League Baseball. They now have some crummy Marvel-based game with tops. Bleagh. This game should be made by Cryptozoic Inc., the current makers of the WoW TCG. This simply never should have died. (And while people made fun cards sets, it just doesn't feel the same as Star Trek in terms of fan's willingness to have this back.)

1. Star Wars CCG
Manufacturer: Decipher
Game's Run: 1995-2001
One of three CCG's ever to beat Magic: the Gathering in terms of popularity, this game won, deserved, and still deserves lot of respect. Players with either a Light Side deck or a Dark Side deck and duke out with ships and characters. This had a really neat mechanic using the deck. The deck was your resource and your source of life! (I believe.) This game was mostly based on the Classic Trilogy (Episode 1 was added in its last year), and it had occasional characters from the expanded universe, such as Mara Jade. This game shouldn't have bit the dust so soon. The reason of its death was because of Wizards of the Coast, who snatched the license from under Decipher's nose. There is still a player's committee, and this game still has breath in it.  This game has been, and always will be, the best licensed CCG ever created.

So that's my list. What do you think should have been here? Please let me know in the comments! Thank you for reading and God Bless!

Hi there! My name is James Martin, and this is a blog I created to voice various opinions on things, such as gaming and movies. The most important thing though is that I am a Christian. Jesus Christ saved my soul and nothing can take that away.

I will post some things about the games I play, (such as Redemption, Heroclix, and Lord of the Rings: The Card Game), movies that I have watched and hope to watch and Christian and secular music. I hope that this blog will entertain and maybe help you walk away from the site with something good morally. So, stay tuned for things to come!