tek's rating:

Ben 10: Alien Force, Cartoon Network, Fridays 9:30pm
Cartoon Network; IMDb; Otakuphrenia Gallery; TV.com; Wikipedia
For more links see cartoon links.

Caution: potential spoilers.

Set five years after the original Ben 10 series. So of course, Ben and Gwen are now 15 years old (which means I can now say we like Gwen). Apparently the Tennysons haven't had adventures with aliens or the Omnitrix or anything for some time, though as of the end of the original series, it seems all that stuff was still going on. So hopefully the series will eventually fill us in on what happened in the interim. Meanwhile, it seems Max was investigating some renewed alien activity on Earth, and now he's disappeared. So Ben once again dons the Omnitrix, which now has a number of new aliens he can become. (He also seems to have become much more proficient in its use; he becomes the alien he intends, and the time limit seems gone, he switches aliens quickly, etc.) Gwen, meanwhile, has apparently been studying karate or something, and more importnatly, she's continued to develop her magical skills. Oh, and the two of them don't seem to fight anymore; clearly, they've matured emotionally as well as physically. Though Ben also clearly still enjoys coming up with names for the new alien heroes he transforms into (it gets a bit annoying that he says the hero's name whenever he transforms).

Anyway, they try to find their grandpa, and get some unexpected help from Kevin Levin, aka "Kevin 11," who was involved in some alien weapons deal between the Forever Knights and an alien group called the Highbreed. It's unknown right now how he escaped the Null Void, or what's happened to him, since he looks normal again, not all mutated; however, he can absorb the properties of any solid matter he touches, which certainly comes in handy. It should also be noted that he's obviously attracted to Gwen now, and the feeling is kind of mutual. So he's not an enemy anymore, though he and Ben still don't seem to really get along. In any event, the three of them will not only try to find Max, but also try to complete his mission.

Well, the three of them will occasionally fight the Highbreed, or the Forever Knights, but there are other enemies to face, as well. And occasionally they meet descendants of Plumbers, who may have powers of their own. We also learn that Max was involved with an alien (an Anodite) named Verdona, and they had two sons (Ben and Gwen's fathers). So Ben and Gwen are actually both part alien, though only Gwen has Anodite powers (which is where her "magic" comes from, though personally I think that doesn't completely explain it). At the end of season 1, Ben tries out a new alien hero, which he calls Alien X, whose power is virtually unlimited. But there's a major drawback, and he vows never to use that alien again.

Season 2 starts with a magister prior Plumber named Gilhil intending to arrest Ben, Gwen, and Kevin for impersonating Plumbers, though at the end of the episode, he instead drafts them, so they carry on as they have been. And that's as far as I've seen so far, but I look forward to seeing more....


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