Show #40: Tony Stark's Cybernetic Long Johns

Greetings culture lovers! Imagine what would happen if Niall and D, better known as SOTSM, came face to face with the bizarre influence of Season 1 of Iron Man 1994? You don't have to imagine! It's coming up next!

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Iron Man 3 is in cinemas very soon so we thought we'd glance back at a less successful adaptation of old Shell Head and boy is it a doozy. Animation inconsistencies, characters fascinated with watching videos all the time, awkward attempts at humour and some particularly heinous CG sections add up to a not-so-spectacular package. Luckily the series found its feet (and a better production team) by Season 2 but that's a thrilling tale for another podcast. See ya!

THE SHORT VERSION

An improvement.

SEAMLESS.

More Comic Interludes!

Show #39: Staring Into The Eyes Of A Cow

The galaxy is under threat from less-than-stellar anime adaptations of Western properties. Can Mass Effect: Paragon Lost save the day?

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Unfortunately, not really. Mass Effect: Paragon Lost is content to tow the line of its forbears and produce a feature which is simply "good enough", which is a huge shame considering the material it has to work with. A diverse galaxy teeming with different races and cultures, rich in history with much opportunity to explore characters and the moral quandaries the games are famous for. Instead we get a fairly straightforward action piece featuring a cast we don't really get to know or indeed feel attached to which ultimately leaves us wanting. For the die-hard Mass Effect fans only.

THE SHORT VERSION

His gaze... consumes you...

You guys seem cool.

Dude can pull off an eyepatch.

Show #38: Inu-chan, You're The Only One Who Understands Me

An old favourite reborn in a new era, we get to grips with the first half of Season 1 of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012!

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A pleasant surprise! Speculation mounted in the months leading up to the airing of this show as the promotional art displayed the radical direction the franchise appeared to be taking, leading many to worry that it's aesthetics and CG animation would be too much of a departure from the beloved Turtles they know and love.

Luckily for all this modern interpretation does a wonderful job of updating and developing the characters made famous by it's predecessors. The tone is well balanced between humour and peril, the action is fast-paced and brilliantly choreographed and the new animation style turns out to be a great fit for the show's new direction (with a few caveats however). We're looking forward to watching more in the future.

THE SHORT VERSION

Ninjas done right

The master

This Rat King > Old Rat King

Show #37: Stiffen The Snake

With the second live action film on everybody's minds right now it's as good a time as any to delve into the original feature length adventure of America's highly trained special mission force in G.I. Joe: The Movie!

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This is the biggest exposure that some of us here at SOTSM have had to the 1980s cartoon of the G.I. Joe toy franchise and boy does it throw you in at the deep end. Departing from the series' usual military hardware based firefights in favour of a battle against ancient serpent men from beneath the earth, this film isn't as fondly remembered as contemporaries such as the Transformers movie despite their similarities in introducing a plethora of new characters for the toyline and the dramatic (almost) death of a key figure.

At the very least it is an endearingly silly romp with animation that delivers on the promise of the show's intro, including a gorgeous opening action sequence that neatly sums up all the best points of G.I. Joe.

THE SHORT VERSION

'MURIKAW!

Drama

These snake men hate our lives and our freedoms!