There is nothing but silence in this misty fog...

Unlike past installments which had Mystery Inc. traveling the world and being praised for their work, this series has our main characters as teenagers living in a small tourist town called Crystal Cove. Instead of being applauded for their mystery-solving prowess, they’re disliked by the police chief and their parents wish them to cease this activity. All this group of teens (and their meddling dog) want is to solve and honest-to-goodness mystery, and it seems like they finally have their chance. To spoil a story-arc that already long spoiled by the sneak peek months ago, it becomes apparent that there truly is a deep-dark mystery behind this town. The characters are “stuck” in Crystal Cove, a hub for all sorts of paranormal activity. An idea like this isn’t necessarily bad: it forces creativity and can give way for some pretty interesting stories. Crystal Cove is a nice mixture of the 60s/70s and modern-day, with the general atmosphere being that of nostalgia; respect for the original series was quite evident.

That said, the character designs are reminiscent of those from Where Are You?, with the original outfits and such things are Shaggy’s dot eyes making a return. Unlike WAY, the characters are far less stiff and move smoothly across the screen. Nothing seems jerky with character movements, with the simple character models happening greatly with that. The entire show is colorful and vibrant: the background designs are wonderful, achieving a nice watercolor look. There is little I can say about the art: everything works, and works together well.

"Good thing we aren't in this to be liked."

The stories are episodic, but with each one building up to the climax: the reveal of the secret of Crystal Cove though the use of major clues recovered sometime past episode. Other than The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, this is the only Scooby series that has an over-arcing plot. Mystery Incorporated also shares something with What’s New Scooby-Doo, in that the characters have real personality beyond their base attribute. Shaggy is a big eater and coward, as he always was. But some insecurity and intelligence is presented at times, in his relationship with Velma and when it comes to making plans. Velma is more than a genius in this series, becoming a bit of a cynic and more prone to anger. Fred is still the man who comes up with the traps, but he is also more one-track minded and is oblivious to Daphne’s affection. We also see Daphne’s attempts to get Fred to notice her as more than a friend. SDMI is just as much about the human characters as it is about their Great Dane. The humor is well-done and the chase scenes are still decent, despite the lack of musical accompaniment.

Slime monsters invoke great dread...

At the end of the day, I find Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated to be one of the best installments of this series. If you weren’t a fan a Scooby-Doo before, then this series might be the one to bring you into the franchise. If you are a fan, then expect some surprises. And if you just the average viewer, then I greatly insist that you check out the adventures of these kids and dog at least once.

Formerly known as "Total Drama Musical"

Creator(s): Jennifer Pertsch and Tom McGillis

Running Time: 22 minutes

Network: Teletoon/Cartoon Network

Production House(s): Fresh TV

Premiered: June 10th/June 21st, 2010

Unlike Total Drama Island which took place on an “island,” or Total Drama Action which took place on an abandoned film lot, Total Drama World Tour has the characters traveling the globe. From France, to Egypt, to London, our seventeen contestants face challenges that correspond to wherever they currently are. In Egypt? Go through pyramids and ride camels. Japan? Wacky Japanese game show. An added bonus is the fact that they must also sing at random times (at least once) during the program. These random musical numbers, mixed with the locale, can lead to some funny situations and character interactions.

World Tour has two new characters entering the fray, by the names of Sierra and Alejandro. Sierra is a crazed fan of the reality show, and due to a strange series of events that took place during the between-season special, Celebrity Manhunt, was able to compete. Less is known about Alejandro, who can also be classified as our “villain” for the season, using his charm and wit to advance in the game. Other than them, the rest of our cast of seventeen is made-up of returning favorites who are carrying baggage from the previous two seasons. Some of the characters that have developed the most throughout the previous 52 episodes & 2 specials are Gwen, Duncan, and Courtney who have formed a little love triangle. Some of these returners, however, have yet to develop much past the stereotypes of Island. Due to me putting a lot of stake in character development when in comes to entertainment of any kind, I find theis a problem and I desperately hope will be remedied in future episodes.

♫ Come fly with us!!!! ♫

Unlike previous seasons, creators Pertsch and McGillis have little involvement with the actual production. Despite this, the writing and storyboarding doesn’t suffer: in fact, it has improved  from the quality of Action, managing to keep my attention at all times. There were several times throughout the first episode of this season where I found myself laughing at the dialogue, the situations, or both. More than I can say for Island, and far more than I can say for Action. Past seasons pale in comparison when it comes to writing quality of this season. I also find it worth noting that the animation has also improved. Everything feels more vibrant and the characters all move less stiffly. This personally makes it more bearable to for me to watch.

If you weren’t a fan of the first two seasons, don’t expect this hold too much value for you, as the style of humor is very much the same. If you were a fan, then I’d be surprised if you weren’t watching this series already, as it is a massive leap in quality over the previous two installments.

Make way, let's start a revolution...

Creator(s): Man of Action (Joe Kelly, Duncan Rouleau, Joe Casey and Steven T. Seagle)

Running Time: 22 minutes

Network: Cartoon Network

Production House(s): Cartoon Network Studios

Premiered: April 23th, 2010

Rex is our protagonist and our guide through the world of “Generator Rex,” serving as the narrator at the beginning and end of each episode. Rex is often acts like a jerk and rarely listens to authority: something that is completely justified. He is a teenager who has no memory of his past before an mysterious event that caused both him and every other living thing on the planet to become infected with microscopic machines known as nanites. Most of the time, the nanites do nothing and are generally harmless: but they can occasionally get out of control and mutate its host into a monster called an EVO. However, unlike other EVOs, Rex has control over his nanites and can use them to transform parts of his body into weapons and various other gadgets. Rex can also use his nanites to shut down the nanites of other EVOs, thus “curing” them. It’s this ability that has Rex locked up by an organization known as Providence, which treats him as a tool and little else. Rex has no freedom, his only friend is a chimpanzee, the guy has no idea who he really is, and he is rarely treated as a human being (resulting in low self-esteem, which can affect his powers). Rex is a jerk at times, but he has a right to be one with how bad his life is.

Other characters include Bobo Haha, Agent Six, and the villain Van Kleiss. Bobo Haha is a talking chimpanzee that serves as Rex’s trusty sidekick and best friend. The primate is the show’s manadatory comic relief, making biting commentary on the events that occur around him, from Rex’s attempts at flirting with Dr. Holiday to a huge fight with a dangerous EVO. Agent Six is described as Rex to be a “nanny, just more argo.” The sixth most deadly man in the world, he serves as Rex’s caretaker and in turn, a father figure in some ways. Possibly being an EVO himself, Agent Six is both the sixth most deadly man in the world and quite an emotionally distant person, hiding any feeling he may have behind a figurative mask. Then there is Van Kleiss, who is bound to the very Earth itself and as such, cannot die as long as he is in the area surrounding the lab where the nanite accident occurred. But with this power comes an unstable body that requires a constant stream of fresh nanites to stay alive.

Oh, the usual: all work, no play.

The writing and storyboarding for this series is great: the action series are well-choreographed, and there was never a time where the dialogue seemed weak or cheesy. I can take the premise seriously, not raising an eyebrow at any of the events, and the basic story behind the nanite event was told to the viewer right away. That may have been good choice, considering that event is not so much the focus of the show as is Rex’s unknown past. Getting it out the way early may allow the writers to focus on other things such as Van Kleiss, The Pack, and Rex’s relationship with Circe. The voice acting is incredibly well-done, with the only hiccup being early in the episode, when Rex was crashing into the side of a building. The animation is clean-and-smooth, working really well with the character designs. There really isn’t much else to say, other than this is a series that is off to a great start.

Where will you run to?