February 2019

Posted 28 February 2019

This was six months ago but why not tell about this now? It’s the shows I sampled I want to talk about.

Back in August, I took a plane ride that offered in-flight cable. I don’t watch cable at home so I thought I’d spend a few dollars on the cable that the airline offered. They offered a few channels of recent movies. The advertising was so convincing and I didn’t want to be starving myself of entertainment like the previous plane rides of the past couple years. The channels I focused on were the following: Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Nickelodeon, and Nicktoons.

My memory of what I watched and when I watched them is a bit fuzzy. I’m just going to talk about what I watched and what I thought of it. I sampled a few of the aforementioned network’s current fares and here is my adventure…

I started my journey by watching Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One.” It was OK. Just OK. I was ready to get to the cartoons after I finished the movie.

A word about Teen Titans/Teen Titans Go

I watched some Teen Titans Go on Cartoon Network. Not as magical as its predecessor. I like the 2003 Teen Titans because despite the dark tone, it is much more mellower.  It is like the Titans are a team of superheroes. This is from watching a few episodes when it was new. “Go,” on the other hand, mmm…it seems Cartoon Network attempted a reboot and failed. I’m sure original Teen Titans fans were thrilled to see what could be a reboot or continuation of the original stories but what do they really get? Something reeeally cartoony. Instead of fighting crime, their battles are nothing but a party. People wanted more Teen Titans but who asked for a version like this?

Moving On…

Then Ben 10 (most likely the latest series) came on until it was time for more TTG. Though I’ve never watched the show until then, seeing the longevity of the franchise, I feel there is potential for me to have some appreciation for the series if I have a look at the others series proceeding this current one. Probably something I might try someday with available versions of the show.

Eventually Unikitty came on. I had no idea what Unikitty was until I watched a few segments. I saw the Lego logo at the beginning and thought, Oh ok, a Lego character. I still think Lego is cool despite whatever age I am. I still need to watch the Lego movies. Similar tone to Teen Titans Go, kind of hyperactive but how can you not love a creature that’s both a cat and a unicorn at the same time? However, Master Frown (a villain) can be a bit of a you-know-what. I heard what discouraging thing he told Puppycorn at his birthday party about getting older. Luckily, Unikitty *politely* asked him to leave. Seems like a cute cartoon to watch if/when I want.

I eventually jumped over to Nickelodeon and Breadwinners was on. I understand that this show originated as a YouTube video and Nick later gave it the green light for a show. Why? I’ve been trying to find a reason to like this show but I seem to have trouble. Even most of the reviews on the internet are bad. I remember a time when Nickelodeon had better standards for their shows. I’ll let you know when I get around to enjoying it but until then…This show has been just difficult to watch and is not always funny. It’s like lately the more I watch and the more I research about the show, the more I appreciate it. Let’s move on…

Flying Home

From what I remembered on the plane ride back, I watched a few segments of Cartoon Network’s We Bare Bears. It was just OK. The bears are cute. I remember one of the episodes I watched was when the baby bears get used as prizes at a fair. A game owner rigs the game so the bears can’t leave (again, my memory’s fuzzy).

Later on, I couldn’t take all this hyperness so I switch to Boomerang and watch a bit of Tom and Jerry. Ah, yes, you can’t beat these classics! I never had Boomerang in any cable package I had. I just wanted to see what was what even in this current era of the channel. I watched a few of these until I switched over to Nicktoons.

Right before the airplane touched down at the airport, I decided to end the plane trip with one of my classics, The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. It was a season one episode set I remember fondly: “Raise the Oozy Scab/I Dream of Jimmy.” Anything Jimmy Neutron – always welcomed with me :). I watched until it was time to get off the plane or whenever they turned off the screens.

A Great Alternative to Pass the Time

I like how commercial airplanes these days have TVs built in the back of the headrest of the person in front of you. This is an interesting idea even riding in coach. I’d say on my trip 6 months ago, buying the TV package was really worth the time and money. I was able to watch the channels I wanted (I really just watched these shows I haven’t seen so I can tell you about them). It was quite an experience to see what live Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Boomerang are like these days. Most of what I watch these days I stream through a streaming service or I buy the episodes through YouTube. I will very likely do this again on my next plane trip and I will tell you about that experience.