Martin Mystery

The show I personally feel is wonderful. I hit on it one day on Nick purely by accident and fell in love with it. I've always been into the paranormal stuff and I am pleased that this show is showing that stuff as real instead of the made up lame stuff on Scooby Doo. True the animation is a bit laughable, but it is well worth it to see the unique take on monsters, ghosts, vampires, zombies...you name it. If it's paranormal and often coats our beloved heros in slime it's on the show. I look forward to watching this show more and more and if it does become avaible on DVD I will purchase it for my children to enjoy as well.

I used to really like this show as a kid. It was removed from Nicktoons Network in 2008, but i recently found episodes on youtube, been watching them a lot. And now, i now know how to critique things on different things, and i would like to do it here.

Tension- This show definitely knows how to develop tension. The dialogue and the music that plays during the scene where its building up make the pay offs very effective. There are many episodes that scare the c--p out of you. Return of the Dark Druid is a prime example.

Storyline- This show has quite a bit of story lines that are very interesting. Paranormal, extraterrestrial, and mysteries lie within and you want to know what is going on.

Characters- There are many characters in this show, each and everyone are very likable and have their own personality, and you definitely feel for them.

Humor- The show is on and off when it comes to its humor. Most of it is kinda cheesy and falls flat. 90% of it is between Martin and Diana. Martin torments Diana and her reaction is sometimes priceless, others are unfunny

Music- The music fits everything, sometimes i don't really pay attention to the music, but this time, its effective and sometimes beautiful.

There are other points i didn't get to, but it sums

Monsters and sympathy in a cartoon that is very distantly inspired by an Italian comic of a completely different kind. Although the episodes are totally self-contained and there is no evolution of the characters, this cartoon manages to stand perfectly on its own legs. It is interesting and manages to scare you when you work hard. Martin is a silly, funny but likeable protagonist while Diana and Java are shoulders that work perfectly with their interactions and reactions.

I should like to register my opinion that this cartoon is an absolute bloody delight. It is consistently well written, with exquisite animation (I notice there is frequent use of purple). The distinctive voice acting is also charismatic. In some respects, the cartoon seems to me somewhat like an animated version of Doctor Who; there is even a line of dialogue "You will be exterminated" which I think may be a deliberate allusion to the Daleks. From what little I know of the Italian comic from which this is derived, this seems to be pretty loosely based on it, but it has a distinct, definitive feel to it all of its own. There also apparent references to various films, such as Ghostbusters (particularly with the incidental music), The Exorcist, and The Thing. Probably several more as well. For some reason, I can see a bit of a resemblance to the old Tintin cartoons as well, with the wide range of superbly animated location settings. Like Doctor Who, a lot of the programme has a strong scary quality to it. I personally don't find it frightening, but I might have done as a wee'un. If it gets released on DVD in Britain, I suspect it will get at least a PG. Well done to all involved in the creation of this programme. Yaaaaay!!

The animation is a bit like anime meets the old Spiderman but somehow it works. Sometimes simpler is better. My teenage son and daughter get a big laugh out of every episode and the Martin/Diana relationship is so much like my kids it is creepy! Martin is all teenage boy with girls on the mind and an overactive imagination (er.. think "sock gnomes" being responsible for missing socks). He jumps to conclusions based on limited knowledge and has an unshakable faith in his own opinions; he also has absolutely no clue about acceptable social interaction. He can be a total pain but when it counts he stands up for his step-sister and his friends. Diana is all about doing the right thing and making sure the rules are followed... but the teenage girl in her manages to get out anyways.

Martin and Diana often act like 2 year olds when fighting with each other, and to emphasize the point they get redrawn as immature kids. The effect can be hilarious and my kids love their childish arguments. I don't point out to them how much it matches reality around our place.

The comment someone made about Martin/Diana being incestuous is just totally out to lunch. There really is nothing offensive about this show. Just fun with slime, aliens, weird monsters attacking quiet rural towns, and cursed objects that are found by innocent people. No one is hurt in the end, and Martin usually saves the day despite being such a doofus. And sometimes his bizarre theories ARE correct.

Not sophisticated but provides surprisingly satisfactory entertainment.

BTW: Martin's closet contains several outfits that all look the same. He changes his clothes but not his look.