tlso1987

I enjoy watching The Red Green Show, and when I found out the cast made a movie, I was curious to see how it held up. Movies adapted from 5-minute sketch comedies have a reputation for spreading their routine too thin. Red Green benefits in having a large ensemble to draw on, and the antics of the other famed Possum Lakers break up the plot at intervals.

The gist of the story is that a land developer is demanding compensation for his limo that fell into a sinkhole outside the lodge. While the gang finds it fishy that a limo would be driving anywhere within 10 miles of the lodge, Harold comes up with a plan to enter a duct tape sculpture contest with a third-place prize large enough to pay their obligation.

It's a goofy movie, and while occasionally the actors still seem to have their TV-hamminess stuck on, the film is broken up to give different members of the cast a spotlight - highlights including scenes with Mike, Edgar, and Ranger Gord. While it does deviate a little from the show for some dramatic tension, it does so with Red's wry commentary and never feels terribly forced or out of place.

If you're a fan of the show, approach this as more of an extended outing with the gang than something that's really theatrical in scope. There's a little more budget (but not much), a little more story (again), but it's an enjoyable break from the norm of the series overall.

I'd never really heard of My Life as a Teenage Robot, but it caught my eye stumbling across channels one day. I stayed tuned as the episodes kept rolling, and it struck me - this show is really good!

The plot's pretty simple - mad scientist Dr. Wakeman programmed XJ-9 to defend the Earth, but after being discovered by her human neighbors, Brad and Tuck, "Jenny" decides she'd much rather fit in with humans - but has to get over some of the social hurdles of being a 6 foot-tall, steel-plated, heavily armed war machine.

The show does really well with its premise. Even at their extremes, the characters are all likable, and have some great voice talent to back them up. The pacing is very relaxed, without a lot of the exhausting hyperactivity you see in a lot of newer shows.

The animation has a very traditional style. The characters are a mix of '60s Hanna-Barbera, Astro Boy, and Felix the Cat. The backgrounds look hand-painted with abstract Art Deco and Populuxe designs. And despite being a scifi-themed show, there's none of the conspicuous CGI common to classics Futurama and Invader Zim.

I was just getting started with this show when I found out it had been canceled for a couple of years, which is a shame because it still seemed to have a lot of energy in it. I'd call it an underrated classic for fans of scifi and animation, and probably good enough for Nick's intended audience, too.