So the G.I. Joe: Renegades era has begun, and seems to have begun with a bang. General consensus among the fandom seems to indicate folks are excited about G.I. Joe: Renegades and while reaction is based on some very early and very small samples, people seem enthusiastic about its potential.
But what about the rest of 2010? What can we expect?
Well, using some online TV Listings sites, I compiled a short, but sweet episode guide that has been posted on the sidebar of my G.I. Joe: Renegades Superpage.
According to that guide, new G.I. Joe: Renegades episodes are expected to continue at least through December 24th.
The Hub has also sent along a press release mentioning that there will be a G.I. Joe: Renegades marathon on December 30th from 4:00pm – 7:00pm. That time slot will accommodate 6 episodes, which leaves me wondering what about Episode 7?
At this point, it’s unknown when more episodes of G.I. Joe: Renegades will air after the Christmas Eve showing and subsequent December 30th marathon. One thing that we do know is that after the 5-Part mini-series, Transformers: Prime will not air again until February, 2011. Does the same fate await G.I. Joe: Renegades? Time will tell.
Personally, I much prefer the fact that G.I. Joe is doing an episode per week through the end of the year…then even if there is a gap, it’s only about a one-month gap. Prime, on the other hand, airs until this Friday, and then disappears for at least 8 weeks if not longer.
One thing I do know is that the debut of Renegades has sparked a lot of excitement in certain corners of the fandom, and some great conversation. I know there are plenty of folks who disagree, but I like having this new continuity to spark interest in the fandom once again. It’s refreshing after a lot of the same conversations over the past few years.
You know, something has kind of gotten lost in the shuffle, at least on my end, regarding the animated goodness that is to come later on this evening. I’ve already gone over how much I’m looking forward to G.I. Joe: Renegades, and of course, I’ve talked about Avengers, and even Young Justice.
But what about this whole Transformers: Prime thing?
Since the days of Beast Wars, I’ve been loving the animated universes of the Transformers (well… besides the whole Armada/Energon/Whatever fiasco) and you would think this next generation of Transformers animated coolness would have me excited. But it’s kind of gotten lost in the shuffle. I think part of me has kind of been looking forward to it, but with all of the Renegades furor, I hadn’t really thought about it a whole lot.
Well, the guys over at Seibertron have thought about it, and even received early screeners for it, and posted a review.
Okay, I’m officially excited.
Certainly the discerning folks at Seibertron.com are more well versed in Transformers lore than I am, and probably are harsher judges of how a new animated universe fits into the whole mythology, but they seem pretty enamored with it already. They claim it takes the best parts of Beast Wars and the best parts of the live action films and blends them all together into a very serious, “aggressive” story…and I really like the sounds of that.
So yes, most of my giddy impatience tomorrow will be waiting for 5:00pm and the debut of G.I. Joe: Renegades, but I will be honest and say a healthy portion of the excitement is also now reserved for Transformers: Prime. Two cool looking reinventions of the 80’s corner stones of after school animated greatness. Could we be on the verge of another golden age of boys action animation? Certainly seems possible. Even as the father of two girls, I’m all for it.
So, anyone who has been hitting this site knows by now that G.I. Joe: Renegades is hitting The Hub on November 26th. Well, anyone who is a fan of action animation has a lot more to look forward to than just that.
Check out what’s hitting TV on Friday, the 26th, all times are from the Eastern Time Zone:
3:00pm – Hubworld Exclusive featuring a Transformers: Prime preview – The Hub
3:30pm – Hubworld Exclusive featuring Behind the Scenes looks at G.I. Joe: Renegades and Transformers: Prime – The Hub
4:00pm – Transformers: Prime Darkness Rising, Part 1 – The Hub
4:30pm – Transformers: Prime Darkness Rising, Part 2 – The Hub
5:00pm – G.I. Joe: Renegades Descent, Part 1 – The Hub
5:30pm – G.I. Joe: Renegades Descent, Part 2 – The Hub
7:00pm – Young Justice Independence Day, Part 1 – Cartoon Network
7:30pm – Young Justice Independence Day, Part 2 – Cartoon Network
So, yeah… that’s like 5 hours of awesome action animation for the evening after Thanksgiving. Best part is, none of it overlaps. Of course, to me, G.I. Joe: Renegades is the highlight of it, but Young Justice looks amazing, Avengers has been terrific, and I’m looking forward to Transformers: Prime, too. Wow there is some great animated series on the air right now. It’s almost like the comic book-heavy 90’s again!
Here are some videos to wet your whistle…I know I can’t wait!
G.I. Joe: Renegades
Okay, I’m having a rough couple of days. Not only did I totally miss news about the 12″ Cobra Viper from my Sideshow Collectibles update yesterday, but today I totally misread a press release for Transformers: Prime and insinuated that a later release date for Prime would likely invalidate a G.I. Joe: Renegades rumor that we’ve heard.
Well, I read the press release with listed episodes more closely and found that… whaddya know? It looks like this might be confirmation for the G.I. Joe: Renegades air date, not a conflict of it. While the press release proudly advertises the 5-day Transformers: Prime mini-series event, reading more closely indicates that the debut for Transformers: Prime will indeed be 4:00 – 4:30 on November 26th, as indicated from previous stories.
The exact schedule can be seen below: “Transformers: Prime” – Part 1 of “Darkness Rising”(premiere: Friday, November 26, 4 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Encore presentations: 6 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. and 12 a.m. – 12:30 a.m.; Monday, November 29, 6:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.; Tuesday, November 30, 6 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, December 4, 1:30 p.m. – 2 p.m.)
So, yes…I jumped the gun a bit, and in fact, Transformers: Prime will make it’s Hub debut on Friday, November 26th from 4:00pm – 4:30pm. So that means chances are pretty good that the previously leaked schedule for G.I. Joe: Renegades will debut the same day.
Now if The Hub would just announce something officially so we could all stop hypothesizing… 😉
While we STILL have no official confirmed word about G.I. Joe: Renegades, The Hub has announced the debut event for Transformers: Prime via a Press Release. According to official word from The Hub, Transformers: Prime will debut with a 5-part mini-series 11/29/2010 – 12/03/2010.
What does this mean for G.I. Joe: Renegades? Unfortunately, nobody really knows at this point…but considering Transformers: Prime was initially listed alongside Renegades on November 26th, and that launch date is apparently incorrect, we can only assume that perhaps G.I. Joe: Renegades might not be airing that date either.
I really wish we could get some final word from The Hub, as frustration is starting to set in. I know we cannot blame The Hub for any of this, as it is all our assumption based on un-official television listings, but it would be nice to get an announcement for Renegades sometime soon.
It is cool to finally get some intel on Transformers: Prime, and I can only assume G.I. Joe: Renegades is close behind. Check out the full press release after the jump. (more…)
