G.I. Joe vs. G.I.Joe Part 1: the series

As you may be aware, the original episodes of G.I.Joe are now available on DVD and BluRay, at your local DVD store. Now, according to[url=http://www.biffbampop.com/2010/04/dvd-tuesday-with-scotty-g_27.html]BiffBamPop (bottom of the review)[/url], the show did not hold up well over time. While I normally hold a special place in my heart for those guys, in this case would I agree or part ways?

Maybe the poor review was due to the 2009 feature film, which I hadn't seen but had heard poor reviews, especially regarding the Iron Man suits in the car chase; and having seen other beloved stories become movies, just how disappointing the Transformers franchise had been. In short, I didn't want to ruin another childhood memory with adult thinking, during a movie that really wasn't meant for me but a different age group, so I admit I gave it a miss.

That is, until a kindly brother-in-law reintroduced me to the cartoon through a well-timed gift. It was an opportunity to answer the burning question of whether or not shows were better "way back when", to get to know a program that was a staple of my formative years. In fact, laugh all you want, but the "knowing is half the battle" moral or lesson at the end of every episode did have an effect on my thinking and safety around traffic. This sort of show is powerful for kids, and I felt it was time to take a good look at it, and myself. And, for a kicker, I wanted to compare it to the 2009 movie.

The first half of the series does not disappoint! The initial show was a mini-series movie, followed by another miniseries, both five episodes-worth, and then regular one-shot episodes. The writers kept the show fairly grounded: GI Joe was an American special forces squad that hunted a terrorist organization called Cobra. It was about espionage, politics, and action, and while there were a few suspensions of disbelief (genetically modified monsters, or the occasional magical tomb guardian), the action was great and the characters engaging.

The Joes were about trying hard and never giving up, about being unconventional and part of a team. Moreover, every one of them had their own personality, more than just a set of clothes and a haircut; even, no, especially the villains had interpersonal dynamics that made them fun to watch. Cobra Commander's power struggle with Destro, Destro's dislike for Zartan, and the twins Tomax and Xamot who were as much about corporate greed as they were about global terrorism. Librally peppered with love triangles and well-timed (not simply instinctive) betrayals among the villains, the show kept hitting hard with entertainment.
Cobra truly was menacing, and the plots were genuine examples of social injustice, global terror and humanitarian issues. I think I missed that growing up, but at least initially it was sophisticated stuff slipped under the radar.

As a fan of kitch, and of the original James Bond films, I really enjoyed it. As the series went on, some of the plots become more outlandish: Cobra Commander seems to use television a lot, and about forty-five episodes in they attempt mind control by dressing up as a rock band. That, in fact, is the first dud episode in over forty, and I've never seen that before.
Moreover, there were episodes that could have been duds, but that ninja-flipped over them. Example: the Christmas episode. Cobra invents a shrink-ray and hides inside the donation toys the Joes had collected for Orphans, in order to grow to normal size and take over Joe HQ. Could the episode have been terrible? yes. Was it? Strangely not, turning what could have devolved into a laugh-riot for yuks into a serious plot.

While I'm not done the series, I do have questions:

1) How good was the movie? (well, I watched it and will get to that next)

2) What about the second half? (I recall growing up someone names Sgt. Slaughter showing up, as a GI Joe of all people...)