I was born in 1982, and thus, I have experienced many low-quality Saturday morning cartoons with insipid plots and terrible voice acting. I was able to casually saunter past the likes of Pokemon and Naruto, while remembering shows like ReBoot and of course, Batman: The Animated Series.
While my childhood consisted primarily of TMNT, Transformers, and later, Power Rangers, I have to appreciate a well-done animated series. As has been mentioned, Bruce Timm is as the helm of this, and I honestly think it shows. In fact, the writing of this show, in some ways, outshines that of Batman: TAS in some ways.
When I was young, the idea of a season-long story-arc was almost unheard-of. Yes, you had recurring themes, constant bad-guys, and plenty of returning characters, but most of what I grew up with was far more episodic than this. Batman: TAS was largely episodic, with the occasional two-part episode. This show manages to flow between episodes in a way that Doctor Who has put forward. No, I doubt there are any hidden clues or quiet plot elements that will show up later, as is seen in Doctor Who, but this show is giving me the feel of a very long movie, rather than several episodes of a TV show.
The animation absolutely sucks. I'm not going to lie here. Despite what I've seen so far as an absolutely wonderful series, the animation is still stuffed into that god-awful CGI "Clone Wars" garbage. That doesn't mean it's not enjoyable, however. I grew up in a time when re-using animation was the norm, and only existed to sell us kids the latest toys. This isn't anything like that, however. The animation rightfully takes a back-seat to telling a fluid, compelling story. It's unrealistic and, well, cartoony. And in some ways, that's actually beneficial. I take back the statement that it absolutely sucks, actually. It's simplistic, but fluid. It's exaggerated, but identifiable. Even the female characters exude enough femininity for a kids' cartoon, and that works just fine for me. Overall, yes, it looks like something Genndy Tartovsky would vomit out, but it suits the show better than ultra-realistic, or even hand-drawn would do in this day and age.
The storyline, so far as I've seen, is simply well-done. As mentioned before, it's a very clear ongoing series, not just episodes. It's very much an adventure series, with an epic quest intertwined throughout. I don't want to have to throw a spoiler tag on this, so I won't give anything away, but I will say that the overall feel is very strong. From the first episode, I had a feeling it was going to be a typical kids' show with everyone having a hearty laugh at the end of each episode. In some ways, it does this, just as many serials do, but it doesn't give you a feeling of closure each episode. You want to keep watching to find out what happens.
Overall, I'd put this show into the category of "serial", rather than "episodic". Mainly meaning, yes, every episode has them visiting different events and meeting new people, but it is ongoing, rather than a "let's go save the world, okay, world's saved, let's head back home" sort of thing. In a way, it feels a bit like Star Trek: Voyager, rather than Batman: TAS. It's well-handled, and very engrossing.
The voice acting is good. Really, that's one of the few things that hold this review back from being a 9. It's not spectacular, nor is it endearing. Oftentimes, I feel like the character is being played as a gross exaggeration, rather than as a good character. It's a fairly minor quibble, but it's there. The feeling of emotion that one might get from, say, Batman Begins, isn't there, but it doesn't really need to be.
In the end, I'd say this is one of the better animated shows I've run across in recent years. I'm not even much of a DC Comics fan, but I find myself very interested in this show. Maybe the fact that I'm not hugely into Hal Jordan helps this a bit. I don't mind that he's missing the white accents in his hair, nor that his characterization is different from the comics. The term "space cowboy" has been used here many times, and I agree with it, to an extent. He's more of a Marshall Dillon than he is a Captain Kirk. So he's not the interpretation that people expected. That, to me, isn't a huge problem with this character. My strongest memory of Hal Jordan is the insanely vengeful being who destroyed Mongul with his bare hands and crushed Machine City in the Return of Superman series. I like that character, but that's not what I expect of a cartoon aimed at young teens.
To conclude, this show is definitely worth checking out if you want a good storyline and well-written characters. If you hate long threads of story, or short resolutions to crises, this probably isn't for you. If you're a die-hard DC fan and hate change (because God knows change doesn't happen in the DCU once every couple decades anyway), you might not care for this show. But if you just want to sit down and watch some good, engrossing entertainment, with a decent overall story arc? Go for it.
While my childhood consisted primarily of TMNT, Transformers, and later, Power Rangers, I have to appreciate a well-done animated series. As has been mentioned, Bruce Timm is as the helm of this, and I honestly think it shows. In fact, the writing of this show, in some ways, outshines that of Batman: TAS in some ways.
When I was young, the idea of a season-long story-arc was almost unheard-of. Yes, you had recurring themes, constant bad-guys, and plenty of returning characters, but most of what I grew up with was far more episodic than this. Batman: TAS was largely episodic, with the occasional two-part episode. This show manages to flow between episodes in a way that Doctor Who has put forward. No, I doubt there are any hidden clues or quiet plot elements that will show up later, as is seen in Doctor Who, but this show is giving me the feel of a very long movie, rather than several episodes of a TV show.
The animation absolutely sucks. I'm not going to lie here. Despite what I've seen so far as an absolutely wonderful series, the animation is still stuffed into that god-awful CGI "Clone Wars" garbage. That doesn't mean it's not enjoyable, however. I grew up in a time when re-using animation was the norm, and only existed to sell us kids the latest toys. This isn't anything like that, however. The animation rightfully takes a back-seat to telling a fluid, compelling story. It's unrealistic and, well, cartoony. And in some ways, that's actually beneficial. I take back the statement that it absolutely sucks, actually. It's simplistic, but fluid. It's exaggerated, but identifiable. Even the female characters exude enough femininity for a kids' cartoon, and that works just fine for me. Overall, yes, it looks like something Genndy Tartovsky would vomit out, but it suits the show better than ultra-realistic, or even hand-drawn would do in this day and age.
The storyline, so far as I've seen, is simply well-done. As mentioned before, it's a very clear ongoing series, not just episodes. It's very much an adventure series, with an epic quest intertwined throughout. I don't want to have to throw a spoiler tag on this, so I won't give anything away, but I will say that the overall feel is very strong. From the first episode, I had a feeling it was going to be a typical kids' show with everyone having a hearty laugh at the end of each episode. In some ways, it does this, just as many serials do, but it doesn't give you a feeling of closure each episode. You want to keep watching to find out what happens.
Overall, I'd put this show into the category of "serial", rather than "episodic". Mainly meaning, yes, every episode has them visiting different events and meeting new people, but it is ongoing, rather than a "let's go save the world, okay, world's saved, let's head back home" sort of thing. In a way, it feels a bit like Star Trek: Voyager, rather than Batman: TAS. It's well-handled, and very engrossing.
The voice acting is good. Really, that's one of the few things that hold this review back from being a 9. It's not spectacular, nor is it endearing. Oftentimes, I feel like the character is being played as a gross exaggeration, rather than as a good character. It's a fairly minor quibble, but it's there. The feeling of emotion that one might get from, say, Batman Begins, isn't there, but it doesn't really need to be.
In the end, I'd say this is one of the better animated shows I've run across in recent years. I'm not even much of a DC Comics fan, but I find myself very interested in this show. Maybe the fact that I'm not hugely into Hal Jordan helps this a bit. I don't mind that he's missing the white accents in his hair, nor that his characterization is different from the comics. The term "space cowboy" has been used here many times, and I agree with it, to an extent. He's more of a Marshall Dillon than he is a Captain Kirk. So he's not the interpretation that people expected. That, to me, isn't a huge problem with this character. My strongest memory of Hal Jordan is the insanely vengeful being who destroyed Mongul with his bare hands and crushed Machine City in the Return of Superman series. I like that character, but that's not what I expect of a cartoon aimed at young teens.
To conclude, this show is definitely worth checking out if you want a good storyline and well-written characters. If you hate long threads of story, or short resolutions to crises, this probably isn't for you. If you're a die-hard DC fan and hate change (because God knows change doesn't happen in the DCU once every couple decades anyway), you might not care for this show. But if you just want to sit down and watch some good, engrossing entertainment, with a decent overall story arc? Go for it.