The 2000s were a transitional period for cartoons, when shows wanted a more epic scope, but were still afraid of losing viewers who missed an episode, so they would reset to the status quo for most of the run. Ben 10 was one of the worst cases of this.

1:25 ""So if Ben forgets a lesson he already learned, or if we reset his character, I'm gonna be pretty annoyed" Oh honey, if you're looking for consistent character growth or consistent maturity from Ben, then you're gonna be in for a rough ride with this franchise.

I think this show suffers a lot from Cartoon Network talking down to the target demographic, young kids, and how one of them is the protagonist. At times, Ben can be one of the most likable protagonists in any cartoon, and other times, he can be the literal embodiment of a stereotypical elementary schooler. No room for growth, regressing on his lessons, always acting like a brat, it sucks. It just feels like so many times an episode could have been perfect, but the characterization of Ben brings it down so much.

I guess the writers didn’t expect kids to catch every episode of the show. You would catch stand-alone episodes on rerun. Watching them all sequentially highlights the repetitive nature of the episodes.

I feel like you'll really enjoy alien force given your thoughts in the beginning.

Can't wait for you to get to Alien Force, basically, everything you want from this show is there

20:22 just know every season 3 of a ben 10 series is insufferable because network starts to medle in

Regarding character development it was always my thought that they never really had a clear plan for the character past vilgax coming to earth...... I don't think they really expected Ben 10 to be so marketable However I do agree that it's not an excuse for the writers to completely rewrite Ben every other episode

Spoilers regarding Ben's character? This is more like a warning or a heads up really: Yeah, regarding Ben. That's pretty much how Ben operates through the entirety of the series. He "develops" then regresses, then develops. If there's something consistent about Ben is that he isn't. I guess the writers just decided to keep him as a static character instead of one with an arc. EDIT: But this means that Ben has some high highs and really low lows. You'll like what they do to him during the first 2 seasons of Alien Force, but sadly, that's not going to last after the third season.

Okay, I know everyone is saying the same thing, but... hold out for Alien Force. Seriously. Its like Ben 10 Classic but with lasting character development and a proper overarching narrative.

I can't wait for u to review Alien Force, considering ur reviews I think it will be ur favorite. To me that is peak of the entire franchise. Thank you for doing these.

The mummy episode on the farm is one of those that stuck for me, I can still remember how it scared me as a kid to this day it isn't very complex but it untouched horror to a mew audience in a good way while keeping some of the new aliens secrets

The inconsistency of the seasonal writing can definitely be attributed to its directors. If you look at the wiki, you can see that 2 names regularly interchange Scooter Tidwell and Sebastian O. Montes. Now im not making statement on their abilities to direct they both have fantastic and terrible episodes to their names, but an important thing to note is that while the directors are fairly consistent the writers are all over the place. There was a different one almost every episode. And with them flip flopping between both directors and writers, internal consistency was going to be very difficult. I imagine there wasn’t a lot of communication between the teams as tv broadcasts are notoriously mismanaged.

Just hold out for Alien Force and Ultimate Alien, PLEASE.

“Have this really cathartic moment where Ben looks at them and says ‘I don’t care about you anymore’” *laugh in Alien Force season 1*

I feel like all you want is done in Alien Force (keeping character development throughout all episodes, one consistent story etc.). Can't wait till you get to it!

Ben 10 original master control scene is one of the best omnitrix scene

I really hope you can weather through season 4, because literally all the stuff you want to see is in Alien Force's first two seasons.

Lowart : "i dont know why ben has regressed so much" The fans : "the studio"

I was SO excited for the Ben Ten-Thousand episode, because I remembered it being my favorite, but not where in the show it happened. And then... jeez what a letdown

We all know his answer is gonna be no, but I've really enjoyed this series so far

I hated watching Ben being disrespectful to his grandfather at that concert. That was a Go sit in the van and time out for a moment ...moment.

Yeah, Ben's character regression was a very big issue for the OG series.

This series works best as a tv show, as in you watch whatever random episode they air and the one weekly new episode

Everyone is mentioning Alien Force, but I'd also love to see you cover Generator Rex, I prefer that over any Ben 10 series and Rex is a way more consistent and introspective protagonist.

Some really great editing choices in this episode.

I think you will love first two seasons of Alien Force and some episodes of Ultimate Alien. Also i think you would really like Generator Rex. That was what Ben 10 classic should've been. Had consistent and usually likeable characters, better animation (especially morphing sequences), a great voice cast and season long story arcs. It doesn't reset to the same status quo after every episode. But does all of those while still being a action cartoon. Alien Force isn't exactly a action cartoon and i love it for that. But Generator Rex is like a spiritual succesor to Ben 10 classic. Also it has a crossover with Ben 10 Ultimate Alien and that is a great episode. Cartoon Network cancelled the show but they managed to make a finale. So it didn't end on a major cliffhanger like Teen Titans.

Cartoon Network has never really been good at arc-based shows and it's sad. A series that's episodic is more accessible to a broader audience. Granted that's not always the case, Nickelodeon during the same time period showed that Avatar: The Last Airbender was a major hit. It did something different, it had a clear end goal, it showed that this was gonna have an ending. Ben 10 also did this, but when it showed it was making money, enough to get a 3rd season, I wouldn't be surprised if corporate execs said "Hey, great show, love the direction. Just do me a favor, year make season 1 again so people coming into the series now don't get confused". And what did we get? Mediocre, monster/villain of the week episodes that reverted Ben to a brat, but still tried to show growth, like with Gwen getting better at magic, and Grandpa Max still doing badass plumber stuff. Season 3 left us with a mix of the main character being basic and stagnant, while still trying to move the plot around. And this isn't just a Ben 10 issue, this is Cartoon Network wanting their grubby hands in everything, and if they don't like what's going on, it gets cancelled. Thundercats 2011, for all its love triangle bullshit, was still a good show worth it's time. Nope, cancelled and rushed the conclusion. Sym-Bionic Titan had an amazing premise, and I remember it fondly and loving the animation and story it was telling. Nope, cancelled and the last season gets rushed to the conclusion. And it's sad, I want all of these shows that I saw as a kid that got unjustly cancelled to be brought back in the care of a better company, especially with modern streaming involved now is the best time for a show that tells a story from beginning to end. But we're not gonna get it. We have a kids show version of Thundercats designed in the same vein as every art student from California it seems, and I see 0 hope in Sym-Bionic Titan ever coming back because of how poorly the second season was handled. This is a rant I didn't know I had in me that I needed to say. What the fuck

Frankly, I never understood why they showed the Omnitrix recaptured Ghostfreak DNA when Ben never turned into him again during the original series

Thank you Lowart ive been waiting patiently THANK YOU

Good work with the consistency of these videos. Love Ben 10 but I love the critiques

I'd say the original Ben 10's greatest strengths were the animation and action, while it's weakest was the characterization. Future installments in the franchise sometimes have better characterization, sometimes they have worse, but they never reach the same levels of quality in the action department as the original (which imo was the most appealing factor of the OG show, along with the premise itself, to the people - myself included, that adore it to this day). It's a shame though, that throughout the entirety of the franchise, the consistently worst part about every single entry is Ben himself as a character (par from Alien Force S1 and S2). I will forever curse the execs over at Cartoon Network for forcing the writers to revert teenage Ben to his 10-year-old brat self in AF S3 in a misguided effort to boost the ratings, instead of idk, giving more funding for better fight scenes, for example, or anything else, lol.

I hope he joins us on the anti-Kai train later, especially in Omniverse lol

Oh no, poor soul, classic season 4 is like the worst pre-omniverse season of all of Ben 10.

The ghostfreak two parter also suffers from not really explaining how he could set up this whole plan when he was dead.

Monster Weather at least had some grade A animation, basically every fight scene with S.A.M. was really visually appealing. Now if only Ben wasn't at his absolute worst personality-wise in that episode.

these vids are straight bangers

You know I think this is the first time I've heard you break down in a review. I quite enjoy it.

Grandpa Max really loves aliens.

I don’t know, why does a show for kids need to be serialized for the second half of the series? It seems like a weird thing to require. Yeah Avatar did it, but Ben 10’s premise doesn’t suggest that it’s serialized.

Perfect timing! Right when I was looking for a video to watch LMAO

ben really reminds me of me at the age of 10, going back on lessons and doing the same childish stuff. kinda sucks that he regresses so much because watching this so many years later shows it but the target audience probably relates to it more

"Cathartic moment where Ben tells his bullies 'I've moved past you, I don't care about you anymore'" Oh boy, I cannot wait to see what you think of Alien Force

Look! The Boy! In The Thumbnail! Good for you Lowart for talking about this beautiful franchise!

I can't wait for him to watch alien force

It really feels like this show was not made to be watched in a order it really feels like its just something that kids catched in on every once and awhile and during the start end and sometimes in the middle of each season they would have a episode were they would hype up and advertise that's relevant to the story I remember as a kid the video game episode and the episode were we find out the watch was for grandpa were some of my favorites but put in the context of it being the 3rd season and how much ben has progressed in previous episodes they seem alot more lacking. I dont think its as much of the shows falt because what it aims for to be a entertaining action show for kids that they can watch before they go to school in the morning but it does fail at what I think the second most important part of kids programing like this should be give something for the parents to enjoy because the kids are going to want to have their parents watch it or they will happen to be the same room as them but any story arcs get cut up the characters can get annoying for adults and without any major serious conflict for older audiences to enjoy even if you look at it from a lessons point of view its repetitive copying the same lesson every handful of episodes for the kids to learn them selves or for the parents to teach their kids.

As a kid, I have already found this trait of Ben being a brat after he supposedly learned his lessons too annoying, consistency matters. I did not understand that he had regress his progress, I just thought he wasn't supposed to act this way.

Oh boy, I can't wait for Alien Force season 3.

As always, really appreciate the honesty. Alien Force is a solid continuation, abd im curious to see your thoughts on that if you’re interested, but i can’t in good faith recommend Alien Force season 3 and potentially onward. If memory serves, its really more of the same, Ben forgetting lessons and while occasional episodes are great, many are bland. Either way, looking forward to your future content.

First episode of season 3 was one of my favorite eoisodes!

Top 3 Best Episodes Of Ben 10 Classic Season 3: 1. The Visitor (Love Xilene's debut) 2. Be Afraid Of The Dark 3. The Return

I agree the part with ben when he acted like a brat, Ben learnt a lot but he always forgets what he learnt and learn it again it’s so annoying so I agree with you, Ben is so clueless and cocky in one of these episodes, why can’t the creators make Ben act mature and adult like

I love reviews like these. Another youtuber made the full series and movie review of Tmnt 2003

I really hope season 4 will redeem your opinion. The secrets of the omnitrix will DEFINITELY change your opinion. It’s best to watch it after the negative 10. I also want to see your opinion on Ken 10 the episode. This show is still one of the best superhero shows in history. Benwolf and game over are pretty interesting episodes imo, but you can tell they love designing concepts for the aliens

Can't wait for you to start Ben 10: Alien Force

I know a lot of people don't like omniverse but I loved the shit out of it

I am with you on all the points you made so I look forward to the next season and what you think of it

Funny thing about Charmcaster, there’s actually some good episodes in Ultimate Alien that deal with her as a character, especially on the lengths she’d go to for her family. Her conflict becomes an almost rivalry of sorts with Gwen, rather than just being evil for the sake of it. That said, it gets undone a little in Omniverse where she’s just more aloof. The Charmcaster episode in season 3 is also important for starting Gwen in her magic journey, but there are things that could’ve been done better. Also guilty pleasure but the Benwolf episode was always one of my favourites, for a while it was the only one of the “horror” episodes I could watch as a kid lmao

Friendly reminder that Ben flies around the world delivering presents in 10 minutes with stinkfly

You would love alien force season 1 and 2. It follows pretty much exactly what you said you enjoy a tv show for

Ben 10, the show that the main character have to learn the same lesson every single fucking episode. I mean, even when i was a kid that shit bothered me. The problems with the cartoons, in general, is that they think the audience does not grow up, does not get more mature., so they keep making the same fucking show over and over.

I kind of wish you would talk about the production side of shows you review more: the writers, the directors, etc. Maybe that information is hard to find, but there might be trends between the episodes you don’t like and which specific people were tasked with putting those episodes together.

Will you be making similar videos about Alien Force, Ultimate Alien and Omniverse?

@Lowart you said "thats probably enough fanfiction though" NO LOWART GIVE ME YOUR ALTERNATE CHARMCASTER PLOTLINE! I wanted to care about her so much. I empathize with her backstory and wanted SOMETHING good or bad for her and the show just... doesn't do much with her. found family charm caster with the Tennyson's is something I would read or watch so much content of.

Right now I'm binged my watching for the 3rd time in a row on Ben 10 Classic Season 3 the first 4 episodes (Ben 10.000 to A Change Of Face) giving my chance and opportunity to finished the other 9 remaining episodes.

I never really noticed till now that most of Ben 10s greatest and most memorable episodes were ones either near the end of the season or in the beginning woth some middle episodes chugging along.

you know bit of trivia the ben 10,000 was written by Greg Weisman before he did young justice and spectacular Spiderman

Just out of curiosity, would you consider doing Generator Rex? It's one of those shows I remember adoring as a kid and would like to see your opinions on it.

This came out at a rough time for cartoons, and it came out on Cartoon Network. Trying to increase the scope and make things more epic but ending up reverting everything so any kid watching any episode could enjoy it. Honestly, I thought they fixed this with Alien Force, it felt like every episode there had a purpose. And then they took this more mature Ben, and reverted him to an egocentric brat, where he's more concerned about smoothies half the time than being a proper hero.

In all of the episodes seasons 1-4 and the special movies of the Classic Ben 10, Ben Tennison is always one consistent fresh presence as a heroic character with interesting character development arc for his growth regarding him learning from his mistakes by becoming a better person as a whole. And also not to mention that he is very complex and relatable teenage boy that we can relate to him regarding his flaws being expanded to his character being interesting in some sort of way.

Honestly this is why Generator Rex was just the superior show imo. Granted it came a lil later cause the crossover with Ben 10 was an older Ben, but still.

Honestly the mummy alien was one of my favorite designs in the original show aside from XLR8

Man, you'll probably like Ben 10 Alien Force seasons 1 and 2 a lot. Season 3 of AF though, I think that you will probably have a similar opinion compared with season 3 of classic.

The omnitrix gives ben a huge ego boost throughout every series because how easy it makes things for him, he even loses it a couple times and becomes more responsible and respectful

Clicked off another vid midway to watch this 😍

Ben being so obnoxious is especially bad when he's up against villains whose lives are far worse, like Kevin, Charmcaster and even Ghostfreak. Kid should appreciate what he has.

Oh boy, sınce you didn,t like season 3,ı am sure you going to dislike season 4 even more.although please watch at least first two season of alien force it does fix some problems with classic ben 10.(especially since af ben does not forget his lesson and actually grow over course of the series)

16:20 ... wait till he reviews Alien Force

when i watched the first part of your series, i knew you would lose your mind over how many times they reset ben's personality to the status quo

Dude u are absolutely gonna love Alien force , I really hope you'll watch it

I don't remember Ben being this annoying honestly, maybe Because I watched this when I was 10 or something like that. It's crazy how inconsistant the show is, I didn't remember that either. I do remember alien force way better because I watched it sereval times and more recently. I remember loving Ben in aliean force because he was an actual heroe, but then they made him annoying again. There is an explanation for this in the last reason of Alien Force when a younger version of Ben is questioned about him not taking things seriously and basically his answer is that it's a coping mechanism to deal with the stress of knowing that people can die if he, as a heroe, makes mistakes. But honestly, I think that's just an excuse of the writers.I kind of like the idea, but I don't buy it.

Ghostfreak's motivation was a bit confusing. Why did he want to conquer Earth? Doesn't he already have a planet under his thumb? He could've literally gone back to Anur Phaetos and reclaimed his Ecto Lord title. And how was he able to coordinate the plan with his monster minions if he was dead?

I feel bad because this is my favorite season..

@Lowart please stick it out and review Alien Force!

Season 4 huh... How do we tell him?

wondering up until which point he'll cover... Will he do Alien Force?

ben and gwen being at odds with each other is fine within reason, so long as it's done in an entertaining way and it's trivial and trolly rather than mean. my sister and i still get on each other's case despite being adults. it can't be at a bad time, it can't be overdone, and being overly mean to max is not excusable. and it can't act as a character regression, either. it has to be clear that they're just messing with each other to mess with each other. and again, you can't overdo it.

Not gonna lie. Kai liking Ben more as a werewolf rather than human despite the shitty interaction, is lowkey an accurate representation of girls irl especially at that age

Let's fucking goooooo!!!

“I know what this watch is mainly about” LMAO I doubt that.

Despite you listing all of these flaws with these episodes, I still enjoy this show I think it’s peak America “shounen” cartoon along with avatar and Danny phantom

Really the first two seasons were mostly see realised however the other two are half episodic half serialise

For the rock and roll episode I really liked it because of the sonic reference. (Chaos)

Well I liked the return of Ghostfreak especially with the monsters that foreshadow the event and have you seen the Negative 10 rewrite?

An actual arc and the characters, specifically Ben, learning something, developing and progressing as people? Sounds like Alien Force's first 2 Season's for sure. As well as the first big arc of Ultimate Alien. The OG Ben 10 imo...yeah has always been a bit overrated, for pretty much the exact reasons you disclose here. People are somewhat nostalgia blinded

Cool video also are we gonna get a part 2 to young justice season 4?

YES

Would be interested in your take on Generator Rex. I enjoyed that one a lot as a kid

Please do alien force after. That was my favorite

You get to alien Force going to be interesting.😺