JL Unlimited vs JL
Even though I`ve gotten the newly released JLU season one box this week, I managed to view all the episodes in one week. And for those wondering if my live is that pathetic that I spend a whole week watching cartoons, no, I actually had a whole week off from work, and thus had plenty of time to do other stuff - like watching two seasons of JLU ;)But the real reason I watched the entire box in just a few days, is because JLU is really a good show, and once you start watching you just can`t stop.
As said in my initial post of teh JLU box, the JLU season One box actually consists of two seasons, namely season one and season two. And in the stories this clearly shows.
The first 13 episodes of JLU are actually very different from the JL episodes. Gone are the multi episode story arcs, and the main focus isn`t just on the original members (i.e. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Flash and Hawkgirl) but instead on the other DC heroes who are part of the JL rooster now in the JLU set-up.
Also the stories are more comical, and the threats from the villains are less menacing (in the sense that the whole world or even the galaxy is in danger, which usually was the main threat in the JL stories). I especially enjoyed the episodes 'Kids Stuff' and 'The Greatest Story Never Told', which were very humorous.
In 'Kids Stuff' Bats, Supes, Wonder Woman and GL get transformed to kids to save the world (hey, there was one world threatening menace in the early JLU episodes ;) And not only do they get physically transformed, but also their personalities inherit many childlike character flaws, resulting in some very comical situations (like WW`s obvious crush on Bats). And of course the babylike Demon steals the show in the cuteness department.
In 'The Greatest Story Never Told' the focus is on Booster Gold (whom I honestly had never heard of before - I never was that big a DC fan), and it`s very funny to see what a wannabe superstar superhero has to go through to get some recognition.
The episodes are in general more 'kid friendly' and less serious than JL, but nevertheless still very enjoyable - though in a slight different way.
In the second season though (the last 13 episodes of this set), JLU seems to resemble the JL again with it`s multi episode story arc, and a serious threat to the entire world that may even be more powerful than the whole JL.
This time the threat comes from the government itself, and is fuelled by a fear of the JL and their powers by the general public.
With the exception of a few stand alone episodes (e.g. 'The Cat and the Canary', 'Hunter`s Moon') the entire season two can be best regarded as one big episode.
Starting with 'The Doomsday Sanction' the entire season focuses on building up the public (and the government) mistrusting the JL and taking corresponding actions (in the form of secret project Cadmus) to the final clash between humanity and the JL, with a suprise villain behind it all.
It`s amazing to see how the creators managed to tell a story in such an excellent way with such excitement, that after each cliffhanger you want to watch the next episode as soon as possible just to see how it will continue - and that for an animated show.
The only minor downside is that you actually have to watch all the episodes in order to 'get' the story. In comparison to the first 13 episodes this means less episodes that stand on their own, and you can only judge the 13 episodes of season two by watching them all (again with the exception of the stand alone episode).
Also the final episode of the 2nd season, 'Epilogue', is more of a Batman Beyond story and should have been included in the BB serie instead of JLU.
I`m guessing it was a story Timm & Co really wanted to tell, but due to the cancellation of BB, never had gotten to do so and thus included it in the JLU schedule. Personally I think it`s one of the worst episodes, basically destroying the choices and motives of Terry McGinnis as BB with no apparent reason other than to have a remote link with the events from JLU.
But watching the JLU certainly is no punishment, and I stand by my previous statement that JL(U) is indeed one of the finest TV cartoons ever. Can`t wait for the final 13 episodes to be released on DVD.
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