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DP - Torrent of Terror Review (SPOiLERS)
*SPOiLER WARNiNG: Seriously, if you guys haven't seen this episode or have not seen Season 3 of DP, I advise you to move along, not unless you wanna be spoiled. This review will eventually be my website and is in my DA journal as well.
That said, enjoy my review for "Torrent of Terror".
Maybe its cuz’ he had Butch Hartman writing with him, maybe cuz’ Steve Marmel isn’t there to help hold his hand, but for reasons I don’t know, Sib Ventress suddenly sucked writing for Vlad. Now, he’s not completely out of character (and this is one of the guys who wrote Vlad’s first entrance on screen), but like half the time, the rich billionaire’s behavior was not himself. Suave-ness? Barely there. Clever and/or intelligence? For God’s sake, he handled a rogue ghost whose mind I’m pretty sure isn’t in the realm of stability. He also didn’t seem to care Vortex was shitting with the entire planet--barometer or not (especially considering Vlad’s own increasing growth and lust for world domination at this point, so I figured he wanted the planet in one piece) and his general mannerism--Dick Dastardly, as I stated before in the “Infinite Realms” review. For the entirely of ToT, Vlad walked, talked, and breathed like a 1960’s cartoon villain: He says "Curses” (a word I just can't associate with Vlad), he “makes” a weather machine that any villains of that time period could and would (and better get away with such a stupid plot, too since cartoons during that time followed even less logic then they do now), and any sense of depth we usually see in Masters were negligent in this one. The crew might as well have given him a dark cape with matching top hat as he snickers on his latest plan while twirling his handlebar mustache. I get and don’t mind an episode where we see how Vlad handles the world of politics, but after seeing Vlad run in a comical manner from a tiny rain cloud, it just killed my brain cells that not enough of Vlad’s sexiness could save this disaster of a character change. Sorry, Hartman, Vlad's character is more interesting when he's scheming plans for his own benefit and not on his increase on people's opinions of him.
Vortex is also another line of crappy Season 3 characters with one straightforward personality, but no depth. He just wants to perfect his weather "art" by spreading it all over the damn planet for perfectly no reason whatsoever. Yeah, that’s real memorable; let me sign you up for the best character of the year award, Mr. Mother Nature. Oh, yeah, and Vortex, your voice is also painfully annoying, sounding more overreacting then plain crazy as you seem to be. I hope they have ghost therapy in whatever jail the Observants gonna send you to (Why ARE the Observants sentencing Vortex when Walker and his crew are perfectly capable of doing the same thing? Are they only limited to ghosts who tries to destroy Earth?). Speaking of bad acting, Danny also doesn’t sound sad in that one scene near the end when he sees the cute animals, more like he’s trying to sound sad, but can only cringe in secret over the fact that he’s seemingly immune to tear ducts and anything that involves the word “sad” which is weird coming from the same actor who managed to portray a heartbroken, upset Danny when Sam "broke" his heart in "Fanning the Flames". It's so weird how I feel when I write about the flaws of Danny Phantom’s voice acting when the show is absolutely brilliant with it.
Other then that, this episode’s decent. Yes, you heard right--decent. Not bad, not average, not good, not super excellent, not special, just above average, but just barely decent which is hard to say in Season 3 episodes. Oh, I didn’t care about Vortex’s yawn-infested villainy (which, despite his short sided personality was pretty big and ambitious which I usually like in a villain), and I certainly didn’t care for it’s stupor plot right out of a Penelope Pitstop episode, but rather the strong Vlad/Danny vibe and no, I’m not just talking about the father/son nor the romantic angle, I’m talking about the immense aura of chemistry they built on screen as the two bounce off each other, trying to outdo one another while keeping said person’s temper from flaring out of control and unleashing whatever sets of powers they have. One of the reasons why I enjoy seeing Vlad so much outside of the sexy looks/personality/plot he carries is that he’s immediately going to have some form of contact with Danny. The two are so similar and opposite with one another that just seeing the two stand dully and talk for minutes on end are engaging because they make it engaging. Vlad and Danny was fun here as they were in previous episodes, period.
I was also wondering when the show would ever emphasize Danny’s emotions outside of "Flirting with Disaster" which was more of his romantic emotions (and then some). He’s grown over the course of the series--mostly heading in the right direction--maturing enough to better understand and handle the situations he gets into, yet his emotions are as moody as ever which is the case of him being a 14 year old. The growth he’s gained is through more of his experiences in battle and the responsibilities he’s given himself, something he’ll usually react to in an emotional manner, it’s one of his biggest weakness that when utilized right, can be used to his greatest asset in battle--most notably this one when he used Tucker’s mood helmet (surprisingly not the latest Fenton object--and if I remember--his first gateway into inventing his own shit) and kicked Vortex’s ass, despite the rather stupid nature on how it was perceived (how the hell does the Fenton Jet plane harness his weather powers, I ask). I suppose with Danny all grown as much as he could at this point, they felt the need to focus on other aspects of his personality, which is good. It's certainly better then Vlad's political story of how he tries to get down Amity Park's pants.
Animation is merely more of a decent thing then outrageously good or bad. Few minor errors, but overall decent to watch with some good character movement (Panicking Jazz, Vortex’s craziness, that one scene where Masters eyes glowed red --SEX) as well as some good action scenes (Danny masterfully flying away from Vortex's blasts), which are quickly improving as the season pass--which is great since one of my complaints on an action-comedy show like DP is the lack of any decent fighting going on between Danny and his foes. I however, am not very much in love with the general color scheme they used so far--not possessing the usually array of prettyful eye candy DP is good at; all that red amongst the grays and yellows really just didn’t do it for me.
7/10
That said, enjoy my review for "Torrent of Terror".
Maybe its cuz’ he had Butch Hartman writing with him, maybe cuz’ Steve Marmel isn’t there to help hold his hand, but for reasons I don’t know, Sib Ventress suddenly sucked writing for Vlad. Now, he’s not completely out of character (and this is one of the guys who wrote Vlad’s first entrance on screen), but like half the time, the rich billionaire’s behavior was not himself. Suave-ness? Barely there. Clever and/or intelligence? For God’s sake, he handled a rogue ghost whose mind I’m pretty sure isn’t in the realm of stability. He also didn’t seem to care Vortex was shitting with the entire planet--barometer or not (especially considering Vlad’s own increasing growth and lust for world domination at this point, so I figured he wanted the planet in one piece) and his general mannerism--Dick Dastardly, as I stated before in the “Infinite Realms” review. For the entirely of ToT, Vlad walked, talked, and breathed like a 1960’s cartoon villain: He says "Curses” (a word I just can't associate with Vlad), he “makes” a weather machine that any villains of that time period could and would (and better get away with such a stupid plot, too since cartoons during that time followed even less logic then they do now), and any sense of depth we usually see in Masters were negligent in this one. The crew might as well have given him a dark cape with matching top hat as he snickers on his latest plan while twirling his handlebar mustache. I get and don’t mind an episode where we see how Vlad handles the world of politics, but after seeing Vlad run in a comical manner from a tiny rain cloud, it just killed my brain cells that not enough of Vlad’s sexiness could save this disaster of a character change. Sorry, Hartman, Vlad's character is more interesting when he's scheming plans for his own benefit and not on his increase on people's opinions of him.
Vortex is also another line of crappy Season 3 characters with one straightforward personality, but no depth. He just wants to perfect his weather "art" by spreading it all over the damn planet for perfectly no reason whatsoever. Yeah, that’s real memorable; let me sign you up for the best character of the year award, Mr. Mother Nature. Oh, yeah, and Vortex, your voice is also painfully annoying, sounding more overreacting then plain crazy as you seem to be. I hope they have ghost therapy in whatever jail the Observants gonna send you to (Why ARE the Observants sentencing Vortex when Walker and his crew are perfectly capable of doing the same thing? Are they only limited to ghosts who tries to destroy Earth?). Speaking of bad acting, Danny also doesn’t sound sad in that one scene near the end when he sees the cute animals, more like he’s trying to sound sad, but can only cringe in secret over the fact that he’s seemingly immune to tear ducts and anything that involves the word “sad” which is weird coming from the same actor who managed to portray a heartbroken, upset Danny when Sam "broke" his heart in "Fanning the Flames". It's so weird how I feel when I write about the flaws of Danny Phantom’s voice acting when the show is absolutely brilliant with it.
Other then that, this episode’s decent. Yes, you heard right--decent. Not bad, not average, not good, not super excellent, not special, just above average, but just barely decent which is hard to say in Season 3 episodes. Oh, I didn’t care about Vortex’s yawn-infested villainy (which, despite his short sided personality was pretty big and ambitious which I usually like in a villain), and I certainly didn’t care for it’s stupor plot right out of a Penelope Pitstop episode, but rather the strong Vlad/Danny vibe and no, I’m not just talking about the father/son nor the romantic angle, I’m talking about the immense aura of chemistry they built on screen as the two bounce off each other, trying to outdo one another while keeping said person’s temper from flaring out of control and unleashing whatever sets of powers they have. One of the reasons why I enjoy seeing Vlad so much outside of the sexy looks/personality/plot he carries is that he’s immediately going to have some form of contact with Danny. The two are so similar and opposite with one another that just seeing the two stand dully and talk for minutes on end are engaging because they make it engaging. Vlad and Danny was fun here as they were in previous episodes, period.
I was also wondering when the show would ever emphasize Danny’s emotions outside of "Flirting with Disaster" which was more of his romantic emotions (and then some). He’s grown over the course of the series--mostly heading in the right direction--maturing enough to better understand and handle the situations he gets into, yet his emotions are as moody as ever which is the case of him being a 14 year old. The growth he’s gained is through more of his experiences in battle and the responsibilities he’s given himself, something he’ll usually react to in an emotional manner, it’s one of his biggest weakness that when utilized right, can be used to his greatest asset in battle--most notably this one when he used Tucker’s mood helmet (surprisingly not the latest Fenton object--and if I remember--his first gateway into inventing his own shit) and kicked Vortex’s ass, despite the rather stupid nature on how it was perceived (how the hell does the Fenton Jet plane harness his weather powers, I ask). I suppose with Danny all grown as much as he could at this point, they felt the need to focus on other aspects of his personality, which is good. It's certainly better then Vlad's political story of how he tries to get down Amity Park's pants.
Animation is merely more of a decent thing then outrageously good or bad. Few minor errors, but overall decent to watch with some good character movement (Panicking Jazz, Vortex’s craziness, that one scene where Masters eyes glowed red --SEX) as well as some good action scenes (Danny masterfully flying away from Vortex's blasts), which are quickly improving as the season pass--which is great since one of my complaints on an action-comedy show like DP is the lack of any decent fighting going on between Danny and his foes. I however, am not very much in love with the general color scheme they used so far--not possessing the usually array of prettyful eye candy DP is good at; all that red amongst the grays and yellows really just didn’t do it for me.
7/10
no subject
I guess, considering the Observants goals earlier, they just try to keep the planet from being destroyed. Anybody else, Walker takes, but planetary destruction is too large a crime?
And Fenton-aerial technology can do anything. It's a top of a house! It's a blimp! It's a jet! It's all of these in one. Of course it's also a weather-controlling station.
:D
no subject
As for the Fenton Jet Plane--gah, the plot and handling was just too stupid/unexplained for me to get into it, much like the majority of this episode. I mean, how does connecting metal hooks around Danny generate his powers? He's not a robot.
ToT
By the time "Torrent" came along, the Phantom writing staff, as you knew it, was long gone. Marmel had already moved on to Disney (where I currently reside alongside him), and Marty and myself had been let go. I was called in to write two eps. - "Eye for an Eye" (story by Marmel, which has been mysteriously AWOL) and "Torrent".
I've already read another review on another site that said that "Torrent" seemed like "old school" Danny. That said, I'll admit that I haven't sat down and watched this episode - but there's no telling that the draft that left my hand is entirely the one that ended up on air. As a freelancer, my input ends at a certain point. There is no "hand holding" involved. I've been doing this long enough to stand - and fall - on my own merits (and I think Marmel would be the first to agree to that).
It's funny, but I've always felt that fans have a general misconception about how these shows are actually produced. I have occasionally been given credit for things that were the fruits of others' fabulous imaginations, taken the hit for miscues that I had nothing to do with and, on other occasions, seen others get the credit for the odd moments of brilliance that have somehow mushroomed out of my own addled brain. It's all par for the course, and part of a grand collaboration that, by and large, entertains a lot of folks - and gets them talking.
Unless "Eye" airs at some point, this will be the last episode you'll see where any of the core writing staff was involved. I will take this moment to thank all the fans for being so loyal...and to Butch for creating a great show that was a blast to be involved with. It was a great ride.
I hope that's a diplomatic enough answer. Take care.
Sib V.
Re: ToT
I had general assumptions the original writers left sometime around Season Three (seeing the new writers spread throughout the season's title card credits gave me a bit of a clue) and I knew new writers would bring about their own change of pace, something I either had to prepare for the best or worst. I'm not gonna ignore that they all gave it the ol' college try, but I have my own taste on what I like and dislike. Nothing I can do to stop it, but it's there. Any misconception of you is obviously something I didn't know and honestly, most of the time, it's just sarcastic humor--though I get how it might have been hard to interpret since the internet fails to convey emotions. No insults are being made, I'm just a stupid fan. *grins*
I still stick by my views that Season Three isn't as good as the first two, but this episode review doesn't entirely represent my whole view of this season (which, I hate to confess, has since been lowered in score) nor you. I've made some positive reviews, too ("Eye for an Eye" got a 9/10 from me, by the way) and I have respect for you and Hartman and whoever that made DP possible (I was growing pretty cynical on cartoons till this popped on my TV screen). Like you said, it gets the folks talking and that's gotta merit for something.
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It annoys me to no end that in the fandom it seems largely that Butch Hartman is the only one that gets any of the glory, and people forget that while he may have created the original concept, it's the writers that fill out that concept and the animators that bring it to life. You guys deserve some long overdue thanks for the hard work.
Man, I gotta keep an eye on the guest lists for all the local conventions if I ever want to get the entire crew's autographs on my Ember guitar.
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I also like to add that I do give my props to the storyboard artists (and anybody who had a part in this show). I am aiming to be a professional artist in the field of cartoons (mostly in comics, though animations and whatnot has crossed my mind), so major respect to those guys.
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