The one show I would have saved from cancellation.
Significantly better than Reboot, though not as good as Beast Wars/Machines(but then again, what is?) , War Planets (I hate the name Shadow Raiders) is a grand space opera. I still remember how I came across it. I had gotten some of the toys, then one Saturday morning my mom was reading the network listings in the newspaper & told me how there was a show called War Planets. I thought this beared looking into, so as soon as it was time I sat down & waited for it. I wasn't really aware of the backstory, so I was overwhelmed by what I saw. Although it was the 2nd episode, I still managed to understand it & was, of course, hooked.
Aside from the unoriginal names for the planets (Rock, Fire, etc.) I would have had no idea that this was based on a toy line. Even as a kid, I was able to believe that some shows were based on a toyline (like Transformers, although that turned out to be my favorite cartoon series), and could even be called 20-minute commercials, but not War Planets. The toyline didn't have any distinct characters, so they had to create a bunch of original characters for the show. I liked all of them. None of them were annoying. My favorite was Graveheart. He had the best voice, & he was a very cool character. Oh, & I can't forget about the plots. They were intense, yet almost every episode had one bit that was funny (the writers at Mainframe really know how to tell a joke). They also had story lines that weren't resolved in one episode. I like it when it takes a bit for a story to resolve. That keeps you interested. The crowning touch was the animation. It was, simply put, the best CGI I have ever seen.
In short, this was a really good show. My mom even liked watching it with me, as she did with a few other of my favorites. The only complaint I have is how it was canceled after 2 seasons. I really wish that they could've gone on, since not everything was resolved. But at least it didn't have a cliffhanger ending like Reboot, all 26 episodes were sufficiently entertaining (unlike Reboot).
BOTTOM LINE: 10/10. Tied with Sonic the Hedgehog & SWAT Kats for 4th best cartoon ever.
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