Tron: Uprising

Like STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS animated series succeeded where its feature counterparts, EPISODES 1-3, failed the franchise, TRON: UPRISING surpasses the recent film, TRON: EVOLUTION, in nearly every way. The impressionistic art design is unique and evocative. The voice acting is first rate. The story lines are surprisingly layered for an animated series, and it does a good job of telling a complete story each episode while furthering the serialized plot. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention Daft Punk's original score and some of the best action sequences I've ever seen choreographed. At the time of this review, only 7 episodes of the first season have been aired. I have watched them all twice (being a dweeb, obviously) and look forward to seeing how TRON: UPRISING continues to explore and expand the Tron universe.

Excellent art direction is one of the hallmarks of this series. Combine that with great writing, exceptional voice acting, compelling score, and a ton of interesting characters and plot twists, and you have a winner.

Plenty of call-backs to both TRON films show that the writers and designers are unafraid to apply their formidable attention to detail. This is a project to be proud of.

Once-again though, Disney has shot themselves in the foot by canceling this series. Yet another critical mistake by Disney management in the last few years.

This show has taken the themes lightly explored in the Tron Legacy movie and continued to build on them with a level of care that shows genuine commitment by the cast and crew of this production. Characters are fleshed out, links are formed to Legacy and the whole thing is knitted together with sneaky plots, a beautiful look and a soundtrack that evokes Daft Punks best sounds. Haven't felt motivated enough to review anything in over a decade on IMDb or other sites but this show made me dig out my login details and make the effort. It's tricky to find on TV (especially overseas), but make the effort and buy the episodes online or just buy the upcoming bluray (fingers crossed) and you won't be disappointed. Kudos to all involved. Hopefully Disney will look past the initial ratings and allow a second season to be made. Like Firefly, it would be a shame if this show were canceled based on ratings.

Upon seeing the teaser trailer preview for Tron Uprising around January 2012, I dismissed the series as being nothing that I would have interest in watching. Based off the favorable buzz generated from the first episode, I decided to give the show a chance. Thank god I did.

This version of Tron takes the best parts of the Tron movies, combines stylized CGI graphics that capture the heart of Tron perfectly, mixed up with a wonderful collection of sounds that would make DaftPunk proud, and balances the delivery with a sensation cast of voices.

Give this series a chance, easily one of best American made Sci-Fi series of 2012.

"Tron: Uprising" is a TV Show meant to fill in the gap between the original "Tron", and the sequel "Tron Legacy." It focuses on the rise of Clu's tyrannic regime across the Grid, a virtual world filled with sentient programs. During the beginning of Clu's oppression, a revolution begins to grow, starting with the rogue program, Beck, a simple mechanic who decides to take on the identity of Tron.

From the very first episode, "Tron: Uprising" feels like an energetic mix between the Batman cartoons and "The Legend of Korra," with one of the most creative styles of animation I have seen, and a technologic score and soundtrack that just hums with the sounds of a virtual city. Character designs are mostly angular and artistic, and backgrounds are mostly geometric. The color palette is limited to mostly blues and oranges. The style is simply amazing, and I cannot believe that Disney only approved of a single season.

This show is also not entirely for children. There are adult concepts of forced memory loss, untrustworthy governments, blind devotion, mass genocide of a race, torture, and public execution. And though there is no blood in the show, they manage to get away with a lot of gore by making the "blood" into pixels. Many characters will brutally be crushed into tiny cubes on screen.

"Tron: Uprising" also has great conflict in it, as you are watching other characters reactions to Beck's secret identity of Tron. Some people are glad he is taking action against Clu's Commanders, Paige and Pavel, and the Supreme General Tesler, while others are afraid his actions will result in more oppression to the people of the Grid. For a TV Show that could so easily be a Good Vs. Evil tale, but it gives every character many layers. Good guys will lie and not apologize for certain actions, and bad guys will believe that they are truly doing the right thing for the citizens. Sometimes, main villains even have bad "dreams" of their own defeat. Almost every primary character has an arc that either ends, or would have ended if only another season was approved.

In my opinion, if this series had gone past one season, I believe this could have been the next "Avatar: The Last Airbender." It holds a special place in my heart. Even though this show ended abruptly, the cliff-hanger ending almost feels as if you can interpret what may tragically happen in the future to nearly all of these characters. It is on Disney Plus right now, and I implore you to watch it with an open mind. I would recommend you watch both of the Tron films before this, but in my opinion, it is better than both. This is in my personal top 5 tv shows of all time (though I am a bit biased).