Day One Hundred and Forty-six - Tron:Uprising, Isolated, "I... may have been hasty."

A few days ago, I was just so happy to finally get a chance to check out the animated tie-in of the Tron universe that I probably forgave more than I should have when it came to plotholes, flat characters, and just general overall cheese.

Now that I'm a couple of episodes in, the bloom is definitely off the rose.

It's not that I don't still enjoy it, somewhat, it's just that there are only so many times I can take awkward scenes, characters acting against type, and the tendency towards episodic resets.

I mean, for a city of thousands, if not tens or hundreds of thousands, of programs... The Occupation sure finds plenty of time to interact specifically with Beck and the rest of the garage's mechanics on a regular basis, yet completely forget them once the half-hour is over. I've seen Beck's two compatriots arrested and held several times now by the bad guys and not once do any of the red/orange-shirts stop and say, "Hey, didn't I round you up last week and you escaped? That's suspicious!"

That and the blatant incompetence that the big bad forgives of his direct subordinates, yet punishes with deadly force the slightest infraction by the no-face Redshirts of his army. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad Paul Reubens is getting work, but the crap his character Pavel and Emmanuelle's Paige (who should've been named Page... no 'i') get away with, they should've been derezzed long ago.

I mean, consider this episode, Isolated. Paige and Pavel chase the disguised Beck to an island of code out in the middle of the Sea of Simulation. What should be a prime case of actual character development is just more Pavel backstabbing (with no consequences, other than venomous looks) and Paige's mopey hostility.

Sure, the one highlight is the cameo by Olivia Wilde, reprising her role of Quorra from Legacy, but the interactions we see here via Paige's flashbacks are all awkward and ultimately pointless. The whole Iso angle should have deepened both the overall universe and Paige's own personal quest, but thanks to terrible writing and direction, it's useless... a failure.

And that's the whole problem with the series. I really have no trouble understanding why it was cancelled, now. I want to like it. Hell, I want to love it. But for every small moment of potential that peeks through the veil, there are dozens of pathetic, cliche ones that come straight out of Horrible Trope Television 101.

At this point, I can only recommend Tron:Uprising for folks who are desperately in love with Legacy as it retains the fighting and graphic styles. For fans of great television and storytelling? Stay far, far away.

Day One Hundred and Thirty-seven - TRON:UPRISING: Pilot, "Captain Sheridan and Frodo battle Bishop and Hisae? Yes, Please!"

There are several shows that I wish I was a Nielsen's Box-holder for. I, like just about everyone else on the planet, wish that my opinion mattered when it came to what shows get renewed and saved from the ignorant masses and penny-pinching TV executives. The programs that I wish I could've saved were Pushing Daisies, Better Off Ted, and... after watching the pilot episode for the first time, TRON:UPRISING (which Disney recently put on the chopping block).

I don't think it's unfair to say that I am one of the few fans that really, really dug TRON:LEGACY. To me, it was beauty and philosophy wrapped in a ridiculous premise that appealed both to my lizard brain and my sense of poetry.

Plus, it didn't hurt that it was scored by probably my favorite techno band of all time, Daft Punk... and starred the beautiful and talented Olivia Wilde as Quorra (who apparently makes at least one appearance in the series).

When I heard about TRON:UPRISING, I was cautious, as most made-for-tv tie-in series aren't exactly what one would call "quality." Still, it had a pretty stellar voice cast, which included the original Tron, himself, Bruce Boxleitner (whom most folks would probably remember as Captain Sheridan from Babylon 5). I was so happy when he and Jeff Bridges reprised their roles for LEGACY and, while Jeff bowed out of UPRISING, Bruce came back to play the mentor role for Elijah Wood's Beck.

Set sometime between the original TRON and LEGACY, UPRISING tells the story of Clu's takeover of The Grid and how it drives Beck (Wood) to take up the mantle of Tron to try and put a stop to the encroaching military junta under the command of Tesler (Lance Henriksen) and his lieutenant, Paige (Emmanuelle Chriqui).

Unlike LEGACY, UPRISING is rather light on the philosophy, favoring more the immaculately choreographed disc battles and lightcycle chases. In that, I'm a bit bummed, but I think the series was worth saving as a stylistic adventure, even if it was missing the deeper qualities of the films. Anything to fill in the backstory of how The Grid evolved from what it was under Sark and the MCP's command in the labs of ENCOM to the basement of the abandoned Flynn's Arcade of the present day is fine in my book.

This is especially true when you consider how beautifully animated the digital world is. Aside from how annoyingly Aeon Flux most of the character faces and hair are, I'm deeply in love with The Grid and its neon landscapes.

To me, UPRISING is a worthy tie-in. Sure, it fails to capture the totality of what I thought made LEGACY great, but (in only its pilot episode) it's proven itself better than countless adventure series before it. It's a shame Disney cancelled it.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~