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bevaneborges
Reviews
Total Drama All Stars (2013)
So forgettable and this season ruined almost every contestant
When I watched Total Drama as a kid and teenager (I was a teenager when All-Stars came out), I remembered all the season names ... except for this one.
Even as a teenager, I completely forgot there was an All-Stars season, and having rewatched it in April 2022, I can completely see why this was the case.
I could make a 5 page list of all of the problems in this season, but to give you the short answer:
1. Many of the contestants we knew and loved have been flanderised into idiotic or charmless versions of their former selves.
2. Mal is the worst villain in Total Drama history.
3. Chris McLean has worsened his sociopathic, sadistic personality.
4. The eliminations are too predictable.
5. Much like Revenge of the Island (the previous season), there are only 13 episodes instead of 26 like Island, Action and World Tour (the first three seasons), excluding Island and Action's specials.
This season was apparently also rushed and had just four writers, the least of any of the seven iterations of the show (counting the Ridonculous Race spin-off), which really shows in the final product of some episodes including the infamous Sundae Muddy Sundae, which is the worst episode in the show's history.
In my opinion, the only contestant who wasn't ruined was Scott who actually improved from his Revenge of the Island self and had a wholesome romance with Courtney.
Speaking of Courtney, while she did appear to improve on her behaviour displayed in previous seasons, the aforementioned Sundae Muddy Sundae episode completely destroyed her character. And I later found out that the show did NOT intend to improve Courtney meaning that her romance with Scott and friendship with Gwen were pointless!
Alejandro is also flanderised. Despite being one of the best players of the game in World Tour, he thinks it's OK to tell Mal (really an obvious evil alternate personality of Mike) that he knows about him and wants to take him down. Keep in mind, Alejandro's cleverness got MOST of World Tour's contestants eliminated.
Speaking of Mike, the show's portrayal of his Multiple Personality Disorder is confusing as hell. How on earth did Chris know what was going on inside Mike's brain? And why did Mal, the personality who became the season's prime antagonist, get defeated by a stupid reset button? The latter event was so underwhelming.
Also the finale was the worst of the show's seven finales to date. Not only was this the first finale not to have all the eliminated contestants return on-screen (eight of the twelve were seen inside balloons in silhouette but did not appear), but it was hard to root for Mike due to Mal or Zoey (who is ironically Mike's girlfriend) because of her stupidity in choosing to ignore the clearly dangerous Mal. I live in Australia, and we got the ending which had Zoey as the winner, and while I was happy Mike didn't win due to what he did under Mal's influence, I can't say I was entirely enthused about Zoey's victory.
Also, Camp Wawanakwa, the season's setting, sinks to the bottom of the ocean even though Total Drama Island's special established it was not an island (this itself has been contradicted multiple times in the past) and there is no indication as to what Mike and Zoey would want to do with the $1 million they won. Also, the finale was a bad ending for Gwen, Cameron, Alejandro and Heather as there was little indication as to what they wanted to do in the future (except for Heather and Alejandro now being in a relationship) and the characters never returned to the show (excluding Total DramaRama).
Some additional issues include Lindsay and Jo being completely wasted, Sierra and Sam being pointless, especially the former due to Cody's absence and the fact that there are only 14 contestants. Personally, I would have wanted Bridgette and Geoff to come back, especially because Bridgette's eliminations in Island and World Tour didn't make any sense and I feel like she should have made it to at least the top 5 in one of her competing seasons. I also feel like Geoff not competing after Action meant his character did not get sufficient development, though he returned in the Ridonculous Race spin-off.
Also those who have watched the previous seasons of Total Drama may notice that 6 of the 14 contestants (Gwen, Duncan, Alejandro, Heather, Cameron and Lightning) have already been finalists in a previous season. While it is kind of understandable why Gwen, Alejandro and Heather would be fine coming back as their prize money ended up being lost (Gwen's was eaten by a shark, while Alejandro's/Heather's was burned in Hawaii), the other 3 probably don't need to come back as they have already won the million dollar prize in the past.
The Next Step (2013)
Started off great, had a rough patch in Seasons 4-5, got better in Season 6, and went downhill again in Season 7
I remember discovering this show when I was 14 years old and had randomly turned on the TV. I was immediately hooked to this show with its themes of family relationships and dance in Season 1 and I found the characters and their storylines generally relatable. Sure Tiffany barely got a plot and Chris could have had more development but everything else was great.
Season 2 was great but a slight step-down from Season 1. I liked the espionage plot of Amanda that played throughout the season and the wide variety of plots and locations that it had. However, I didn't really like that some storylines were closed and never brought up again (e.g. Hunter and Emily's relationship). In addition, Chris left and the character of Phoebe was brought in and felt almost entirely unnecessary with little to no character development.
Season 3 was a little better than Season 2 and I really liked that the characters' plots that were built up over the previous seasons appeared to come to a grand conclusion. I also liked Eldon and Thalia's relationship and how we FINALLY had Eldon find someone he could stay with forever. However, the character of Max barely did much during this season. The show started to become slightly absurd in this season with the Margie disappearance scene that hinted she was not even human. Phoebe literally served no purpose again.
Season 4 was the low-point of the show for me. I remember watching this less than a year after being introduced to the show (aged 15) and, despite being in the show's teen demographic, I started skipping through scenes in certain episodes. While there was a lot of dancing in this season, it was completely held back by its deep dive into absurdity with Alfie being a Swiss prince and a supposedly 16-year-old Riley becoming studio head. Also, the show seemed to be running out of ideas already, with a rehashed love triangle plot line from Season 2. Also Season 4 was way too long. Despite telling the same story as Season 1, Season 4 had 40 episodes in comparison to Season 1's 30 episodes. Some of them felt like filler.
Season 5 was a slight improvement, but it felt too short. Also, this season rehashed one of the show's first storylines (the rivalry between Emily and Michelle). However, I grew to like Lola and Zara (but not Josh) in contrast to Cassie, LaTroy and Sloane from Season 4 who were underused and their plots in that season was boring. I also liked that Amy had more relevance and that we were introduced to Jacquie.
Season 6 was the best season since Season 3 in my opinion. It felt like its own uniquely good version of Season 1 and A-Troupe started to feel more like a family again. I really liked the new characters of Summer, Finn and Kenzie. Unfortunately, on the topic of characters, I didn't like Lola, Josh, Zara, Daniel and West were exited with no reason as to why. I understand that the actors probably moved on but no explanation has ever been given as to why these characters left. That being said, I still enjoyed the Regionals scenes and the rivalry The Next Step Dance Studio had with AcroNation.
Unfortunately, Season 7 made the show go downhill again. While this season was filmed in a short period of time and several of the cast members were busy doing other projects, the scenes and storylines they had on-screen were mostly either boring or pointless. Also, we barely saw any on-screen rehearsals and I have mixed feelings about the final scene. I did like the concept of DanceMania and the main characters leaving the show as professional dancers (although they did not leave the show as such)
Overall, I think the show is good but not without its flaws. I feel like there should definitely be an eighth season which should end it on a high note. I think this show should not continue indefinitely because if it does, it may result in more rehashes of plotlines from previous seasons and a seasonal rot.
The Human Body: An Everyday Miracle (1998)
Wonderfully filmed and told
Robert Winston narrates yet another episode, but this time discussing the topic of pregnancy and childbirth. He really takes us through the process in a wonderful way.
By the way, Philippa was an incredibly helpful, explaining the difficulties she faces as her pregnancy progresses and I loved seeing the birth of her daughter.
I know some people may have issues with the nudity in this episode (bar the opening), but I think it shows helps show how pregnancy evolves without covering any of the body changes.
Ice Age: Collision Course (2016)
Garbage as hell
Where did this nonsense come from? How did this franchise go from being one of honest emotion to one of the characters practising downward dogs?
Enough is enough! To the garbage bin with all these useless, insufferable film devices:
1. Overload of unnecessary characters.
2. Idiotic pop culture references.
3. Exploitation of celebrity talent.
4. Borrowing plot devices from decent films.
5. Sitcom plots and alternate plot cliches.
6. Fast pacing.
No more of this nonsense, Blue Sky! This should be a box office BOMB! If you make a sixth film this should be one at least be a disappointment financially.