Gav
Drone
John Travoltage!
Posts: 2,047
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Post by Gav on Mar 10, 2010 18:24:48 GMT
While doing my usual internet rounds (News, Forums, Webcomics, Twitter) I engaged in a conversation with an old school friend of mine. While reminiscing on our years in high school, he posed this question. A question which has stumped me for the last few days:
Which was better, Centurions or Visionaries?
I know that there will be more than a few raised eyebrows amongst the denizens of this forum as they scoff and roll their eyes, thinking "VISIONARIES IS THE BEST OF COURSE" or "JAKE ROCKWELL FTW" respectively, but I'm at a complete loss.
As a child, It was MOTU or TF (and still is, really). I had small infatuations with lines like TMNT or Bravestarr but nothing that detracted from the favoured lines. I was never in possession of any Centurion toys and I think I only had Leoric from Visionaries, so the toys remain a mystery to me.
With regards to the television show, I was always more interested in Centurions. The sci-fi elements struck a chord with me and soon I would be running around pretending to be Ace McCloud. My experience with Visionaries was limited to an old VHS containing two episodes, that was rarely watched. So Centurions win, right?
Well now that I've watched a few episodes of each, I'd have to say that Visionaries appears to be a much better show. In terms of character designs and they way the shows play out, Visionaries takes the lead. The inclusion of Latta is always a welcome one.
So do I say Centurions from a nostalgic point of view, or Visionaries now that I know/believe it's a better show?
Did I just waste 5 minutes typing this out?
Probably!
Anyway, what do you think?
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Post by The Doctor on Mar 10, 2010 18:31:49 GMT
As a child, I loved Centurians. I really liked the Visionaries comic and was annoyted it was cancelled quickly. I remember the toys of both being great, especially Centurians. The latter also had cool books and cassette tales!
Recently got into watching the Visionaries cartoon and really like it. Sunbow's best show by a country mile. Not seen Centurians in a loooooooooooooong time.
-Ralph
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Post by blueshift on Mar 10, 2010 18:40:29 GMT
The Centurions show is okay, but the quality of the Visionaries cartoon is absolutely stunning. Nearly everything about the writing is modern and adult, there's wit, characterisation, plots, series-long subplots.
AND the botanical garden committee!
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Post by Jaymz on Mar 10, 2010 20:45:35 GMT
Visionaries, the cartoon is great and the toys had holograms!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2010 22:59:34 GMT
Allow me to throw a hammer in the works!
Centurions was the better cartoon!
I've never owned toys from either of the two lines mentioned and I never read any of the comics either so all I'm going on is the cartoons. As a kid I loved Centurions but I can't remember if I ever watched Visionaries. The scenes where they called upon their special body armour will always stand out in my mind and those scenes bugged me for many years as to what cartoon they came from. A few years ago I watched one or two episodes of Centurions on Youtube and also did the same for Visionaries and I thought upon comparison that the former was better than the latter. Another factor is that although Visionaries was released on DVD and we can all watch a bit of classic 80's goodness until it rots our teeth (or our minds) the Centurions release on DVD didn't quite go according to plan.
A few years ago Contender Entertainment Group released the He-Man and Dungeons and Dragons cartoons onto DVD (as well as other 80's classics) and I'm sure that they released a few episodes of Centurions on DVD as well before the company was brought up by some other big name DVD production company. The problem is that no matter how hard I've looked on the net I just cannot find this DVD release. Is it just my mind playing tricks with me or was the DVD actually released but then subsequently deleted for reasons unknown? Anyway, the only copies of the Centurions cartoon we can currently pick up on DVD are bootleg copies of TV rips and as such Centurions will (at least for a while) hold the distinction of being one of those 80's cartoons where your memory says it was a fantastic cartoon and the lack of a decent DVD release will allow it to remain as such because we can't watch the show properly and enjoy it (or loathe it) as an adult.
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Post by Jaymz on Mar 11, 2010 9:46:31 GMT
I have a couple of Centurions episodes on VHS and I don't like watching them as they are a bit rubbish.
Whereas the Visionaries cartoon I can happily rewatch as it's better written. Especially episode 7, "The Overthrow of Merklynn", that's a classic.
Maybe the episodes of Centurions I have are an unfair representation of the series, and the rest of it [or at least the first 13 episodes] are really good, but I don't feel like using my time to find out.
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Post by blueshift on Mar 11, 2010 9:54:34 GMT
I like the episode with the cloak of undetectability, it is pretty much perfect!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2010 19:14:36 GMT
Maybe the episodes of Centurions I have are an unfair representation of the series, and the rest of it [or at least the first 13 episodes] are really good, but I don't feel like using my time to find out. That the same with the M.A.S.K series. The first half of the first season is excellent but then afterwards it goes from bad to unwatchable in just a few short episodes. It briefly picks up again near the end of the season but then drops back down to its more familiar crap just before the season ends.
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Post by Jaymz on Mar 12, 2010 1:00:59 GMT
That the same with the M.A.S.K series. The first half of the first season is excellent but then afterwards it goes from bad to unwatchable in just a few short episodes. It briefly picks up again near the end of the season but then drops back down to its more familiar crap just before the season ends. I made it to episode 7 of MASK and it's currently in the "I don't want to watch anymore of this, but I bought it on DVD so I should" pile. The only redeeming feature was the PSA about hitchhiking:
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Post by The Doctor on Mar 12, 2010 8:02:54 GMT
"It could be a venom agent or worse, a child molester."
Damn near spat out my cereal.
-Ralph
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2010 18:04:47 GMT
Some of those PSA's made me laugh at the end of the episodes. There was one episode near the end of Season 1 where during the episode Scott climbs up one of those magic indian rope trick ropes and never thinks once about his safety. In the PSA at the end of the very same episode he advises somebody not to climb up a tree because they might fall and hurt themselves!
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Nigel
Thunderjet
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Post by Nigel on Mar 12, 2010 18:22:13 GMT
Which was better, Centurions or Visionaries? There's only one way to find out. Fight! Well, somebody had to say it.
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Post by jonathan85 on Mar 12, 2010 23:47:34 GMT
I will add my backing to Visionaries here - watching it on DVD a few years brought home how well it's stood up. As someone pointed out, the Overthrow of Merklynn is outstanding - an 80s cartoon that nearly entirely focuses on the villains! Strong characterization and wit throughout the whole series.
As an aside, M.A.S.K really doesn't hold up well at all, and that's before getting to the run of episodes where they become racing drivers...
Jonathan
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Mar 13, 2010 8:54:52 GMT
That PSA was brilliant!
Andy
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2010 20:22:32 GMT
I've got several classic 80's cartoons on DVD like M.A.S.K, Thundercats and Dungeons and Dragons but my favourite out of all of them has to be Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors. So far only the first half of the season has been released on DVD but every episode is classic stuff and doesn't drop into the absurd and the unwatchable like other 80's cartoons do.
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Post by blueshift on Mar 13, 2010 21:19:58 GMT
Wait, what, Jayce is on dvd?
When did that happen? Region 2?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2010 19:14:07 GMT
Not exactly region 2 but rather multi-region. It's an American release that was released about a year ago that plays on UK DVD players. Unfortunately, it's only the first half of the season - the second half is still in release date hell.
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