Ben 10

I was like (almost) everyone else in my initial reaction to the torrent of advertisements that Cartoon Network ran on a new series about a boy with a watch. It was mainly along the lines of, "Oh, wonderful. Another pointless show to displace my favorite regulars." Rarely have I "Ben" more wrong, and rarely have I been this glad to be wrong.

My brothers were watching it long before I saw my first complete episode, but they will watch anything that moves on the television screen, so I thought little of it. After my first episode, I watched another, and so on. Yes, I noticed that it was primarily for 8-14 year olds, but I still found it entertaining. Here's the thing, though: yes, my brothers like it, and they are the target age group, I like it, and I am 18 years old; my dad even likes it, a little, and he's 40 and hates cartoons. I humbly submit that age has less to do with it than one might think.

To those of you who have not seen the series, watch it (at least one episode, start to finish) before you criticize. Okay, fine, the presentation is aimed at the younger audiences, but the concept is solid super-hero-hits-sci-fi awesomeness: A person finds a watch-like, alien device that is "the key to an ancient power-struggle..." (Presented like that, I'm interested already). This person (a kid in the cartoon (probably) because that is their target audience) decides to use the abilities of the watch fight for good and serve those around him. But his struggle is not so easy, as the forces of the galaxy are not all so benevolent. An alien warlord wants the device to equip an army to conquer (it's not cliché, it's classic). Now he must do battle with the evil in his own people, as well as that within other races of the galaxy. And he must do it using the powers of a device that does not enhance his own power, but gives him the great strengths of others.

I'd be sold after a description like that, but that's not the point. The point is that it could be one of the great superhero stories along the lines of Batman, Superman, Spider-man, etc., and maybe even a live-action movie. Maybe one day, but for now, I can't wait to see how the next episode turns out.

When I was 7 I used to be scared of aliens and supernatural things but when I saw Ben 10 then I really got interested and less scared. I even remember coming home from school and looking forward to evening the time when I would watch the show with my sister and sometimes my dad. Call me weird but I actually asked for an Omnitrix toy for my birthday as well. My favorite alien used to be Wildmutt. Vilgax was definitely scary when I was younger.

The best episodes of the series are "Secrets", "Back for Vengeance", The purple lighting arc, "Perfect Day" and the Negative 10 arc.

I also liked the Ben 10000 episodes especially since Greg Wisemen (the creator of Young Justice: very good show by the way) wrote those episodes. He also wrote Under Wrap.

If you haven't seen this show yet I would honestly recommend it. Please don't watch that horrible reboot it is nothing more then a poor excuse for a Ben 10 series and just a show which is just made to sell toys.

I love it to the core and it made my childhood.i really love those characters

I will admit I do prefer Ben 10: Alien Force where the characters are maturer and the episode ideas and writing cleverer. That said, Ben 10 is a thoroughly decent show. Is it the best show on Cartoon Network? No, Dexter's Laboratory was my all-time favourite. Is it the worst? No again, Johnny Test is one of the most unoriginal and annoying shows I have seen recently.

So what about Ben 10? Well I really like its energy, each episode goes at a great pace and there is a lot of spirit. The animation is colourful and quite detailed, while the theme song love it or hate it is pretty good too. The story lines are predictable on occasions and the characters have their annoying moments, but they do have their interest points, plus the writing is funny and energetic. The voice acting is also solid.

All in all, not a bad show, not outstanding but I was expecting worse. However if you want something more mature and clever, which is probably the case with some people here, watch Ben 10: Alien Force. 8/10 Bethany Cox

I must say that "Ben 10" is awesome. I really enjoy watching the show, and just watching it progress further and further from where it started. The characters and voices are great (especially Gwen's...he he he). I think that its worthy of watching every Saturday morning on cartoon network, so everyone should give a chance before they say anything, and no one should be saying that its just like "Teen Titans". Because it isn't, it's "Ben 10"...So all that being said, I hope that everybody gives the show a chance. Be sure to catch the new season because it's going to be amazing...Good job to everyone on the show you all deserve some praise because you all truly are amazing!

--Kassandra Kate