Adventures in Animation: The X-Men Animated Series

This week, I've started watching or re-watching some of the cartoon series I enjoyed as a kid (or somehow or other missed out on). I started with X-Men because, as I said the other day, "I'm pretty sure this show is TERRIBLE."

I got the first disc from the library. Technically, I guess I got the first SEASON, but Disc 2 of Season 1 is so scratched up my DVD player won't even READ it. Seriously, folks, take good care of your library check-outs. Otherwise, you might make a grown nerd cry, and nobody wants that.

So, verdict: Is X-Men really such a terrible show?

Well, yes and no. The first several episodes - and especially the two-part pilot - are full of some really questionable dialog. Among the worst offenders is the genius Beast, who uses "big woids" ALL the dang time so everyone knows he's the smart one, regardless of whether those words make ANY sense in the context.

The animation's pretty bad, too. There's an episode early on that features the characters Jean Grey and Cyclops on a date. The midriff on Jean's outfit keeps disappearing, as if half the animation team thought she was wearing a full-length dress while the other half wanted her in a skirt and crop-top.

Despite the shoddiness of the production, the stories the individual episodes tell are still pretty solid. Yeah, they're full of hokey dialog and intense dramatics, but those are pretty much just the cumin and clove to the wonderful curry that is the superhero story.

And, besides, there's always...

...oh, yeah. I forgot about her.

Watching X-Men reminded me of something I'd repressed forgotten: I used to have a HUGE crush on Rogue. She may actually be up there with Gadget and April O'Neil as the first real formative crushes I ever had. And, I mean, what's not to like? She's confident, she's strong, and more than a little sassy. I guess there's that whole "touch me and you will die thing, but..."

Wait a minute! So my earliest fictional crush was a woman who literally kills people by touching them? That explains SO MUCH!

THAT'S why I love Pushing Daisies! It all makes sense now.