Reviews

I may be among a small minority but I ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, HATE THIS SHOW! While it was not nearly as bad as "The New Adventures of He-Man" from 1990, this latest incarnation of He-Man is still a joke. Dolph Lundgren's "Master's of the Universe" was better than this. As with alot of these newer shows (but old in Japan) like Pokemon, Digimon, and Yu-Gi-Oh, this one is too chock full of drama and/or corny jokes. Less emphasis is put on the actual action vs. the non stop action of the original. I really don't care how Adam of Eternia evolves as a person. I just want to see him fight the forces of evil. I know they are trying to sell toys again but it's like they were trying too hard or something. I am a fan of Japanese Anime just like the next guy, but I do not like this new style of bright, soft and colorful Japanese animation that you commonly see on Fox and WB. The older style seen in everything from Gundam Wing to Akira is more visually stunning. One good thing about this mockery is that all of the characters from the original He-Man are present and the dialog is better. Cam Clarke is the man but I can't help picturing Leonardo from the Ninja Turtles when Adam is speaking. However, the sequence when Adam and Cringer become He-Man and Battle Cat does not even come close to the wonderful effects of the original. In addition, why is it that people cannot come up with original ideas anymore. I am sick and tired of seeing these rehashed versions of older cartoons. First, they butchered the Transformers with the travesties that are "Transformers: Robots in Disguise" and "Transformers: Armada." Now they have destroyed He-Man and TMNT is being ruined in '03. What's next, are they gonna mess G.I. Joe up? If they are going to show anything, show the originals. I guess maybe I am showing my age but I prefer the jerky animation from the original Filmation production from 83. I watched the original show religously in the 80s and would still prefer it over this crap. I saw a kid with a T-shirt based on this new junk and I almost threw up. There is no more appreciation for history. They need to start an 80s toons channel. DIC (except for G.I. Joe Extreme), Filmation, Sunbow, Ruby Spears, and Mirage Studios all Rule!!!

What can I say? The early 90's rocked for video gamers. Nick Arcade and Video Power were the greatest Video Game game shows on Earth. Where Video Power's second and final season (in 1991) started the trend of allowing players to demonstrate their skills against other players, Nick Arcade took the idea to another level by setting scores for players to beat and presented the winning team with the honor of being part of a Video Game. The host, Phil Moore was the man, and should be back on TV hosting another show. The prizes on Video Power were understandably video games. Nick Arcade gave it's winners things like cameras and bikes and trips to sunny destinations or Space Camp but who really wants to go on a crummy vacation anyhow versus getting new games? Personally, I think Nickelodeon should bring the show back (no not in Re-Runs) with the same format except for having more up to date games for kids to play. They should also bring back other shows like Guts and Legends of the Hidden Temple. Although the games on the old show weren't actual arcade games (and were gaming consoles hooked to monitors built into cabinets), they could trace their roots to those found commonly at Arcades of the day. Kids today do not have an appreciation for the classic Arcade as those of my day. The arcade to them is family fun centers like Chuck 'E' Cheese and other family fun centers. This might help those who want to reconnect to the past and introduce a new generation of gamers to ideas of old.

Like the previous person's comments, this was like the "Top Gun" on the ground. He just forgot to also mention that it was also done in the Sea and in the Air. I feel that it was similar also to Chuck Norris' Delta Force; however, it was alot more realistic. Well, the actors in this film did a wonderful job of portraying the actions of the elite Navy SEAL teams. This movie should serve as a testament to the courage and valor displayed by all of the great Special Operations and Special Forces teams of the Armed Forces. The characters were really believable and the script was top-notch. Those who are from the Hampton Roads area of Virginia (like myself) will definitely notice many of the stateside locales. You could definitely watch this movie over and over again! It definitely provides a boost of adrenaline to all couch potatoes and action junkies, not to mention any of those who have either served in the military or were born in military households like myself!

Well, everyone else did a great job of summarizing Showdown but I had to add my two cents!

I for one thought it was a pretty good movie that could have been alot better if it weren't for the $10 budget and the obvious storyline theft from a 1984 classic! I recently recorded it off of the TBS Superstation (and I know I am probably missing a bit of it) but from what I saw, I couldn't stop crying from laughing. I don't care what anyone says, Billy Blanks is the man! Anyone who thinks otherwise, is just mad because the dude is making a fortune off of Tae Bo! Although he has not much of an actor (like Steven Segal), he is a great martial artist and kicks rear with the best of them! He has been in some pretty bad movies but always entertains with his skill. But I don't know why he decided to play, Billy, the Janitor. He could of at least used a different name like Bobby, the Custodian or something.

I couldn't help rooting for the good guy, Ken Marks. (played by Kenn Scott and I don't know what it is with people using their real names in movies) I don't know whether I was having Karate Kid flashbacks or what, but I liked the guy's performance (although he had better moves as a Ninja Turtle). However, if I were him, I would have left Julie (Christine Taylor) and her Marsha Brady playin behind alone. I mean especially since she had that crazy boyfriend Tom (Ken McCloud). Although he kept going up to her, I found myself saying, "He must really want to get his butt kicked!" after awhile.

Enter the "Token Nerd" Mike (played by John Mallory Asher)! In a "Weird Science" sort of way, he adds some funny sarcasm to the mix with his "I told you so" but "Please hang out with me" attitude. Lee (played by Patrick Kilpatrick) should have had more lines or better ones. One thing I don't understand is how he went from sounding like a whining Al Bundy (remember the line "You killed my brother pig!") in the beginning of the movie, to the soft/loud spoken master of martial arts.

He is a great actor and was good in "Death Warrant" as the psycho. Yeah I know both guys needed their own respective nemesis but he was as unbelievable as the ones who played Tom's friends, Rob (Michael Cavalieri) and Gina (Seidy Lopez) but I guess it's Different Strokes for Different Folks. As soon as Ken starts training with Billy, I could not believe the timing or the fact that they even made reference to the idea that they stole from the Karate Kid. When Billy made Ken clean the toilets and Ken was like "I get it! So it's like Wax On, Wax Off!" I almost fell out. I was thinking that right before he said it and when Billy added his "No, this is Toilet Cleaning!" line, I was like this was so wrong.

By the way, what was up with the guy Tom's hair in the fight at the end of the movie. He looked like he stuck his finger in an outlet. Anyway, this whole movie was worthy of being shown at 3:00am when I saw it but it was a riot and I can still watch it over and over again!

Although everyone up here has pretty much summed up the show, I will do my best to offer my own unique story. At the time, I was 10 or 11. I will say that the first season of the show was pretty cool. However, things would have been even better if they stayed on the video game tips and previews instead of cutting to the corny Power Team Cartoon. When I saw the first episode of the second season, I was in shock. Not only did they cut out most of the previews and tips from the first season, they converted the set into a circus. But it was a circus that I wanted to be a part of. Back then, I would have given anything to be on that show. I knew that I could whoop every one of those kids and stump Johnny Arcade. So many times the questions would be wrong in the quiz round. I remember a time when it was the music question and the music was clearly from the NES game Snake's Revenge and the answer they had for it was Top Gun. Any one who is a true video game afficianado, (and I'm not talking about the Playstation generation) would recognize that. Another thing that further fueled my need to be a contestant was the fact that the winner would always get to go through that maze of games and grab whatever the heck they wanted. Finally, perhaps the biggest reason I wanted to go on the show was because I wanted to win the prize of all prizes, a Neo Geo Gold System. But of course that wouldn't happen because almost 500 miles of America separated me from New York City and there would be no way that my parents would take me up there to be on a stupid kids show. Now that I look back on it and I have a Neo Geo (CD) system of my own (after waiting 9 years), I would still jump at the chance to be on that show even going on 22 years old.