Captain N - Der Game Master

What a show! I remember watching this when I was so young, and for the longest time whenever I talked about it everyone thought I was crazy because no one remembered it. But just because a lot of people don't remember it that doesn't mean it wasn't terrific! This show had everything that little kids would want in a TV show—video game heroes, an imaginary land where your games come to life, a princess to appeal to little girls, and characters that could make you laugh. The main character, Kevin, completely has the whole 80's character feel to him: a smart aleck who loves everything electronic, takes on the world single-handedly, and being more into his video games than real life. It totally takes me back to being little, to the good 'ol days when 8-bit Nintendo was the best $100 you could spend, and cartoons were the way they should be—animation that ISN'T done on a computer, innocent (for the most part), and free of big-eyed, big-lipped sassy girls who only care about their clothes and makeup. I give this show an eight rating for its content, characters, and being so kid-friendly. The negative two points only exist because I haven't seen this show in seventeen years, and can't make an adult decision. It'd probably be more if I watched it now. : )

The show was created to sell Nintendo games. Even though it was made for that purpose, it was surprising to see entertainment in it. In other shows made to sell games, the quality and entertainment level is extremely low. So that makes this show refreshing. It's interesting to see various Nintendo characters team up but the disappointment was no team up with Nintendo's best character, Mario. Anyway, I have to say this to NBC. This show came from a time when NBC's Saturday morning line up really didn't suck. NBC should scrap there horrible live teen show line up and bring this show back.

Captain N is a show that existed to sell Nintendo. All the episodes and characters (execpt for Kevin and Lana) are based off Nintendo games, which makes this show more of a showcase for Nintendo products. Because of this, the writers didn't really put any thought into the episodes. The plots were generic, the villains were stock villains and because of this the show was very bland. Disposable. Forgettable. In this series, a teenage boy called Kevin, is playing his NES, and gets sucked through his TV and transported to Videoland, where he meets Princess Lana, Simon Belmont (from Castlevania), Pit (from Kid Icarus), and Mega Man (from Mega Man) Kevin and Lana were alright characters. Simon Belmont had a vain, whiny, narcisstic personality and is jealous of the affection that Lana shows towards Kevin. Even though I've never played Castlevania, I don't think Simon is like that in the games. Pit and Mega Man had annoying speech mannerisms. Pit kept adding 'icus" to everything he said, and Mega Man added 'mega' to everything he said. Plus, they had annoying voices as well. In series 2 they introduced the character Gameboy. Yes, Gameboy was actually a Gameboy console that talked. Gameboy was added just to promote the Gameboy that was just released at the time. I do have a positive. In a few episodes Link and Princess Zelda (from The Legend of Zelda) did appear in a few episodes, and those episodes were mildly entertaining. At least in this, Link no longer says 'Excuuse me, Princess!' The show in general, is just an advert for Nintendo. Which makes it very boring. The writers are concentrating more on 'how can we show off the Nintendo products' than actually thinking of decent plots that would entertain you. It smacks of a cash grab that tries to get you to buy the latest Nintendo product. But out of all the Nintendo cartoons though, it's not that bad. It's slightly better than the Zelda cartoon.

For a show created to sell video games, this wasn't too bad. Kevin got live every video game fans dream and meet the character he played and travel to there worlds. While the episodes were meant to be silly most of the time, they did have some really good moments. Like when Mother Brain transported Kevin's school to Videoland or when Princess Launa found her father. Plus, Simon Belmont was great comic relief.

I almost gave this show a higher rating purely for nostalgia reasons. Although, it's probably the nostalgia that keeps me from giving it the lower rating it probably deserves. I grew up in the 80's and was the perfect age for 'Captain N' when it originally aired. I loved it back then, but then again, I was young and naive. I was happy enough just seeing characters from my favorite video games brought together in one show. Nowadays, my views have shifted drastically. The series was recently released on DVD, so I immediately ran out and picked up a copy. I figured it was a good way to relive one of my favorite shows from my childhood and share with my children in the future. What was I thinking?

The premise is this: every Nintendo game is actually a separate world and the worlds are connected by warp zones. Ruling over this "Videoland" is Princess Lana, who is aided by Simon Belmont (of 'Castlevania'), Kid Icarus (Pit, from 'Kid Icarus'), and Megaman. Videoland is constantly under attack by the 'Forces of Chaos', led by Mother Brain from 'Metroid'. During one such attack, Lana is forced to call on the power of the 'Ultimate Warp Zone', which is prophecised to bring a powerful warrior to fight the forces of evil. The powerful warrior: a kid named Kevin Keene, from the real world, who happens to be really, really good at video games and his dog, Duke.

For a kids' show, it doesn't sound too bad, right? Well, maybe if they had put a little more thought into it. One of my major complaints (and a popular complaint from anyone who's watched the show) was the depiction of the characters. People who have played the video game have certain expectations when the characters are brought to another medium. Belmont, in the video games, gives off the impression of a skilled warrior, noble and strong. In the show, Belmont is portrayed as a narcissistic wuss, frequently running from battle with a high-pitched whine. My only real beef with Megaman and Kid Icarus are their speech mannerisms. By the end of the first episode, I was ready to beat the crap out of them if Megaman preceded one more word with 'Mega' or if Kid Icarus added '-icus' or 'maximus' to another statement. A lot of people complain about Megaman's appearance, complaining that it isn't his famous blue armor. It looks to me like they modeled the character after the packaging for the first Megaman game released for the NES back in 1987, so I see no real reason to complain. I won't even bother wasting space in discussing the so-called "villains"...not even worth it.

Something that got on my nerves, but was to be expected, was how annoyingly corny the episodes were. I know a lot of kids' shows are corny so I can't hold it against 'Captain N', but there were points where I was left baffled at how completely stupid something was. Example: what was the purpose of making the elven king of Faxanadu (Episode 2.8 - The Feud of Faxanadu) a blue Elvis Presley clone? And for that matter, why was the dwarven queen a Barbara Streisand wannabe? And I still don't understand the whole Puss 'n Boots episode (Episode 2.7 - Once Upon a Time Machine). Something about that whole episode seemed completely off.

Of course, after watching the show, it is obvious to see that it was basically used as a 30-minute long commercial for the newest in Nintendo's line-up. With episodes centered completely on 'The Adventures of Bayou Billy' and 'Paperboy', you could practically hear the cash registers in the background. And don't get me started on the character of Gameboy, the walking, talking advertisement for Nintendo's newest hand-held game system that became a series regular in season 2.

After spouting off about the series's weaknesses so much, one would think I found nothing good about the show, but that's not true. It did occasionally have a moral to the story and besides, my complaints come from the standpoint of a matured adult, which isn't exactly the target audience for the program. When I watched the show years ago, I loved it. The idea of a kid being sucked into his favorite video games and getting to meet all of the characters he loved. I was addicted, and I overlooked the many inconsistencies. So, while it's definitely not award-winning material and it never really stays true to the subject matter, I still can't wait to introduce the show to my kids when they're old enough.