Age 4-5: Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
This was where my Superman... thing... started. (interest/fandom/obsession?)
Age 5-6: Star Trek: The Next Generation
I'm a third-generation Star Trek fan on both sides of my family; I think it's fair to say Trek is in my blood. TNG was fascinating for me as a five-year-old, being deep enough to be interesting and simple enough to follow.
Age 7: Mighty Ducks
In another dimension, mutant ducks live on Puckworld, a planet named for the ducks' love of hockey. When the evil reptilian Lord Dragaunus and his minions invade and conquer Puckworld, a lone strike team of ducks retaliates, chasing Dragaunus to our planet. Now trapped on Earth, Dragaunus and his goons hide somewhere in Anaheim, California, while the team of ducks search for him from their secret base directly underneath Anaheim Stadium, where the ducks have become The Mighty Ducks, Anaheim's official hockey team.
To say that I loved this show as a kid is a severe understatement. I had a ton of the toys, I watched every one of its 26 episodes with glee, and to this day I get excited when I hear the (cheesy? silly? AMAZINGLY BADASS?) theme song.
Age 8-10: The New Batman-Superman Adventures
This was where I discovered Batman, basically. And modern good superhero storytelling. Still the best superhero stories out there, IMO.
This was where I discovered Batman, basically. And modern good superhero storytelling. Still the best superhero stories out there, IMO.
Age 11-16: Star Trek: Voyager
Right as Voyager was ending, I started to rediscover Star Trek. I watched as many reruns of Voyager as I could, only stopped by the fact that network TV simply stopped airing it.
Right as Voyager was ending, I started to rediscover Star Trek. I watched as many reruns of Voyager as I could, only stopped by the fact that network TV simply stopped airing it.
Age 12-13: Smallville (tied with Voyager I guess?)
When I was twelve, Smallville was pretty much the greatest thing I'd ever seen. A show for teenagers but with the epicness of the Superman mythos? A TV series with Hollywood-level production values? It was pretty great. I only stopped watching it because my mom wanted to watch 24 at the same time, so she made up a thing about me not being old enough to watch it anyhow.
When I was twelve, Smallville was pretty much the greatest thing I'd ever seen. A show for teenagers but with the epicness of the Superman mythos? A TV series with Hollywood-level production values? It was pretty great. I only stopped watching it because my mom wanted to watch 24 at the same time, so she made up a thing about me not being old enough to watch it anyhow.
Age 16-17: Fullmetal Alchemist (2003 series)
This was my first exposure to anime outside of Pokémon. And it's considered one of the greatest anime of all time, so I guess I started things off right. To say that FMA is amazing doesn't even cover it. It's an incredibly deep, dramatic series with an awesome sense of humor and charm to match. It diverges from the original manga storyline and has a... rather bizarre ending, but the journey is worth it nonetheless. They eventually did a new version of the series (subtitled Brotherhood), which follows the manga exactly, but it lacks the original series' amazing production value and dramatic strength. The 2003 series is up on Netflix right now, so please go watch it (in Japanese with English subtitles, because otherwise it's just wrong). Then go watch the movie sequel/finale, Conqueror of Shamballa.
This was my first exposure to anime outside of Pokémon. And it's considered one of the greatest anime of all time, so I guess I started things off right. To say that FMA is amazing doesn't even cover it. It's an incredibly deep, dramatic series with an awesome sense of humor and charm to match. It diverges from the original manga storyline and has a... rather bizarre ending, but the journey is worth it nonetheless. They eventually did a new version of the series (subtitled Brotherhood), which follows the manga exactly, but it lacks the original series' amazing production value and dramatic strength. The 2003 series is up on Netflix right now, so please go watch it (in Japanese with English subtitles, because otherwise it's just wrong). Then go watch the movie sequel/finale, Conqueror of Shamballa.
Age 18: Bleach
I don't quite remember why I started watching this. I think I'd heard good things about it and started watching it on a whim because all the episodes at the time were on Youtube. I spent countless hours watching Bleach during my breaks in-between classes at school. There's a lot of great things about Bleach: its sense of humor, its unique fantasy mythology, its action, et cetera. Maybe the coolest thing about the show, though, is its modern stylistic sense, with its heavy influences from Japanese youth and music culture. A little like The Matrix, it's a fantasy anime made for the modern day.
I don't quite remember why I started watching this. I think I'd heard good things about it and started watching it on a whim because all the episodes at the time were on Youtube. I spent countless hours watching Bleach during my breaks in-between classes at school. There's a lot of great things about Bleach: its sense of humor, its unique fantasy mythology, its action, et cetera. Maybe the coolest thing about the show, though, is its modern stylistic sense, with its heavy influences from Japanese youth and music culture. A little like The Matrix, it's a fantasy anime made for the modern day.
Age 20: Legend of the Seeker
I wrote about Legend of the Seeker awhile back, and I think my old comments are still accurate.
I wrote about Legend of the Seeker awhile back, and I think my old comments are still accurate.
Age 22: The Legend of Korra
The first season ("book") of The Legend of Korra was one of the best seasons of any show I've ever seen. Easily the best action/drama animated season of all time, in my opinion. And it was only twelve episodes.
The first season ("book") of The Legend of Korra was one of the best seasons of any show I've ever seen. Easily the best action/drama animated season of all time, in my opinion. And it was only twelve episodes.
Age 24: Video Game High School
VGHS is a web series rooted deeply in a love of video games and 80s pop culture. I can honestly say that no movie or TV series has ever captured the "heart" at the core of video gaming like VGHS. It started off a bit rocky in its early episodes, but by the end of the first season I was completely in love with it. Can't wait for Season 3.
VGHS is a web series rooted deeply in a love of video games and 80s pop culture. I can honestly say that no movie or TV series has ever captured the "heart" at the core of video gaming like VGHS. It started off a bit rocky in its early episodes, but by the end of the first season I was completely in love with it. Can't wait for Season 3.
Age 24: Arrow
The first season of Arrow walked the line between cheesy CW teen drama and serialized comic book action drama. Which is to say that it was a little bit... bleh. It was mildly fun and just deep enough to keep watching. The season 1 finale, however, was really strong, to the point where it felt like it became a totally different show. The normal storytelling tropes that CW teen shows rely upon were thrown out the window, and in its place we suddenly had a competent action drama series in the ever-fun DC Comics universe. Season 2 has thus far been tons of fun, while largely keeping up the higher standard of quality. I look forward to every episode of Arrow the way I used to look forward to new episodes of Batman in 1997.
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