Ben 10 (2005 TV series)
| Ben 10 | |
|---|---|
| File:Ben10showlogo.JPG Ben 10 official show logo. | |
| Created by | Duncan Rouleau Joe Casey Joe Kelly Steven T. Seagle |
| Starring | Dee Bradley Baker Fred Tatasciore Jim Ward Meagan Smith Paul Eiding Richard McGonagle Richard Steven Horvitz Steven Jay Blum Tara Strong |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 25 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Sam Register Mark Burton |
| Running time | 22 minutes approx. |
| Original release | |
| Network | Cartoon Network |
| Release | December 27, 2005 – present |
Ben 10 is an American animated television series created by Man of Action (a group consisting of Duncan Rouleau, Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, and Steven T. Seagle), and produced by Cartoon Network Studios. The pilot episode aired on December 27, 2005, as part of a sneak peek for Cartoon Network's Saturday morning lineup. The second episode was shown as a special on Cartoon Network's Fridays on January 13, 2006, on which the first and second episodes were shown back-to-back. Currently, Ben 10 airs every Saturday morning (10:00 A.M. EST/PST) as part of their new action lineup on Saturday morning, as well as on Friday Nights (on Cartoon Cartoon Fridays) (8:30 P.M. EST/PST). The theme song for the show is written by Andy Sturmer and sung by Moxy.
The show revolves around Ben Tennyson, his cousin Gwen, and his grandfather Max. At the start of their summer camping trip, Ben is nearly hit by an alien pod. When he examines it, he finds a mysterious, watch-like device, called the Omnitrix, stored inside. The device attaches to his wrist and gives him the ability to transform into different alien heroes, each with their own unique powers (similar to DC's Dial H for Hero comic). Although Ben realizes that he has a responsibility to help others with these new abilities at his disposal, he isn't above a little superpowered mischief now and then. However, unfortunately for Ben, an evil alien warlord named Vilgax also wants the Omnitrix, and will stop at nothing to acquire it.
Main characters
Benjamin "Ben" Tennyson
Ben is a typical 10-year-old boy – he plays video games, rides his bike, and sometimes gets into some mischief. During a camping trip with his grandfather Max and his cousin Gwen, he finds the Omnitrix, an alien device that gives him the ability to turn into various aliens, but for only about ten minutes at a time. Unable to remove it, he uses its powers to stop evil alien invasions and many other monsters. He finds the job trickier than he imagined, especially with the evil alien conqueror Vilgax pursuing him relentlessly to retrieve the Omnitrix. However, no matter what bizarre form Ben takes, inside he's still the same mischievous yet good-hearted 10-year-old boy.
Gwendolyn "Gwen" Tennyson
Ben's 10-year-old cousin, Gwen (the two share the same birthday), is the voice of reason, often unsuccessfully trying to keep him from trouble when Ben is ready to dive headfirst into a bad situation. Ben usually wants to ignore her and thinks (from his point of view) that she has no idea when to stop nagging him. Gwen is always trying to plan ahead and calculate the consequences of their (mostly Ben's) actions, because of Ben's brash attitude, rash behavior, and reckless actions. She uses her laptop to research any strange people and/or creatures they might come across, and continually tries to help Ben figure out how the Omnitrix works (much to her own dismay). Although she holds Ben in contempt and insults him with dry wit and sarcasm that results in the two of them bickering most of the time, she has some respect for him deep down but dislikes showing it, usually preferring to cover up her respect with incessant quips. She seems to take some smug enjoyment whenever Ben accidenatlly turns into Wildmutt, since Wildmutt can't verbally defend himself.
Gwen has shown an almost innate skill in using various complicated devices or objects. When using the luck-giving charm of Bezel, she was able to activate it instinctively, whereas Hex didn't (or couldn't). Later on, as Lucky Girl (her Bezel-empowered alter ego), she is able to make it fire an energy blast when she gets a hold of his staff, which only a master magician should be able to do (according to Hex as told to Charmcaster). In the out-of-continuity, "What If?"-styled episode "Gwen 10," she gained the Omnitrix instead of Ben, and proved to be far more adept in its use than he was or still is. She's also an accomplished martial artist.
Max Tennyson
Max Tennyson, or Grandpa Max as his grandchildren call him, is Ben's and Gwen's grandfather. With a keen sense for adventure and a strange taste in food, Max always ends up taking the kids (and their taste buds) on interesting trips. As soon as school lets out, Ben looks forward to going on a traditional summer road trip with Max. However, much to Ben's dismay, Ben discovers that his cousin Gwen (whom he dislikes) is joining them as well. Max, who was in the army* (among other things, it seems) and has been through his share of scrapes, takes his grandson gaining superpowers in stride, and supports Ben in any way he can. At first, Ben and Gwen were ignorant of this, believing him to have been a plumber. After several incidents, they began questioning this after he displayed knowledge and skills that are unusual for a plumber to have, such as military-style hand signals and working knowledge of nuclear reactors. Also, Max and Vilgax are old enemies, with Vilgax even going as far as to call Max "a thorn in my side". In actuality, he was indeed a plumber, but not the kind that Ben and Gwen thought he was. He was part of a government organization, known as "The Plumbers", that dealt with aliens, the paranormal, and other such situations that others could not handle. Their base was beneath Mount Rushmore. Despite claiming to have heard of the Omnitrix, Max only thought it to be a rumor. The group was disbanded shortly after Max defeated Vilgax for the first time, suggesting that Vilgax had been largely responsible for the various incidents they dealt with. In "Truth", he also mentions stock-car driving experience.
Vilgax
A vicious, intergalactic conqueror from a currently unknown alien species and unspecified planet, Vilgax will stop at nothing to obtain the Omnitrix and mass produce it to build an army capable of conquering every planet in the galaxy. After being severely injured after a final attack from the ship that was transporting the Omnitrix, he was confined to a regeneration tank, ordering his robotic minions and cosmic bounty hunters to track down the Omnitrix, not realizing that Ben outsmarted and outfought his minions. However, while his body was being repaired, he was also being cybernetically enhanced. When he was finally able to leave the regeneration tank, he had been enhanced to the point that none of the Omnitrix's aliens could so much as scratch him. Vilgax's ship was destroyed with him still aboard, but because he survived every attack from the Omnitrix's aliens and a sizeable fall puts his demise into question. His ability to survive the destruction of his previous ship from a nuclear missile, at which point he had not been enhanced, casts further doubt on his demise. Also, since Ben Ten has been renewed for a new season, Vilgax would most likely appear in the new season.
Secondary characters
Ben 10 has a wide array of secondary characters that have been the focus of one episode or another. Often times, those characters will be the main villain for the episode. Other times, they'll be supporting characters for the heroes.
Omnitrix
The Omnitrix is a watch-like alien device. When the button on the side is pressed, the face pops up and shows a silhouette of an alien. The face can then be twisted to select different aliens. By settling on a specific alien and pushing the face back down, the Omnitrix transforms the bearer into the alien they selected for about ten minutes. However, the Omnitrix occasionally malfunctions, and transforms the bearer into an alien that wasn't the one selected, or a previously unknown one in rare circumstances.
Episodes
So far, 52 episodes have been ordered, which are split into 13-episode seasons. Only the first two seasons have titles. The third and fourth seasons have only been confirmed to exist.[1][2]
| Episode # | Production # | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
Season 1: 2005-2006 | |||
| 01 | 101 | "And Then There Were 10" | December 27, 2005 |
| 02 | 102 | "Washington B.C." | January 13, 2006 |
| 03 | 103 | "The Krakken" | January 14, 2006 |
| 04 | 104 | "Permanent Retirement" | January 21, 2006 |
| 05 | 105 | "Hunted" | January 28, 2006 |
| 06 | 108 | "Tourist Trap" | February 4, 2006 |
| 07 | 107 | "Kevin 11" | February 11, 2006 |
| 08 | 109 | "The Alliance" | February 18, 2006 |
| 09 | 106 | "Last Laugh" | February 25, 2006 |
| 10 | 110 | "Lucky Girl" | March 4, 2006 |
| 11 | 111 | "A Small Problem" | March 11, 2006 |
| 12 | 112 | "Side Effects" | March 18, 2006 |
| 13 | 113 | "Secrets" | March 25, 2006 |
Season 2: 2006 | |||
| 14 | 201 | "Truth" | May 29, 2006 |
| 15 | 202 | "The Big Tick" | May 30, 2006 |
| 16 | 203 | "Framed" | May 31, 2006 |
| 17 | 204 | "Gwen 10" | June 01, 2006 |
| 18 | 205 | "Grudge Match" | June 07, 2006 |
| 19 | 206 | "Galactic Enforcers" | June 13, 2006 |
| 20 | 207 | "Camp Fear" | June 21, 2006 |
| 21 | 208 | "Ultimate Weapon" | July 6, 2006 |
| 22 | 209 | "Tough Luck" | July 12, 2006 |
| 23 | 210 | "They Lurk Below" | July 18, 2006 |
| 24 | 211 | "Ghostfreaked Out" | July 25, 2006 |
| 25 | 212 | "Dr. Animo and the Mutant Ray" | August 25, 2006 |
Voice actors
- Tara Strong - Ben Tennyson and Upgrade
- Meagan Smith - Gwen Tennyson
- Paul Eiding - Max Tennyson
- Dee Bradley Baker - Stinkfly and Wildmutt
- Steven Blum - Ghostfreak, Heatblast, and Vilgax
- Richard Steven Horvitz - Grey Matter
- Richard McGonagle - Fourarms
- Fred Tatasciore - Cannonbolt and Ripjaws
- Jim Ward - Diamondhead, Wildvine, and XLR8
External links
