Song for Ben 10: "Paradox"
Jul. 5th, 2008 10:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akinoameI was talking with Shaun a couple of days ago about how there are very few resources for Alien Force. Even Ben 10.net only offers summaries and screenshots of the episodes. Longing for something in-depth ala Toonzone's DCAU coverage, I figured I'd do the same thing I do everytime I can't find something to read online that I want: I'd do it myself. Thus, I'm doing reviews of the episodes. While my "random fandom musings" tag does have a couple of near-reviews, it's usually in-depth on one particular subject. Now, I'm throwing in some attempts at in-depth reviews of whatever the hell I like.
"Paradox" opens up in a small military research facility in the 1950s, where a scientist is ready to put his time travel theory using a quartz gate to the test. Of course, you know it's about to go horribly wrong--time travel always does. Sure enough, the scientist is pulled into his own time gate. Cut to fifty years later, and a creature made entirely of time is wreaking havoc on the abandoned military town outside Bellwood, and it's up to Ben's team and the scientist, nicknamed "Paradox" for his project's codename, to stop it and prevent the utter destruction of the planet--the best possible future.
Appropriately for an episode All About Time Travel, "Paradox" plays with continuity. The moment they discover the fossilized lines carved through Los Soledad, Ben suspects the DNAliens, and Gwen argues that it's not their MO. Right away, we're reminded of the as-now aborted arc. Kevin makes a couple of offhand comments that confirm what was hinted in "The Gauntlet"--that he has found a place to live in Bellwood ("This looks like my place after a party") and that he's transfered to Ben's school ("I know them from shop class").
Paradox by his very nature plays with continuity too. When Gwen suggests that to stop the time monster, they go back in time and prevent the experiment from screwing up in the first place, Paradox complains that it's just the kind of thing an energy being would say--to Gwen's angry response of "I am NOT an energy being!" ("What Are Little Girls Made Of?"). Ben, however, is praised for his insight--said to have an innate understanding of the time/space continuum. This is probably a reference to Ben's past timey wimey stuff (original series: "Ben 10,000" and movie Race Against Time). Paradox provides tantalizing hints of the future, revealing that he and Ben will one day team up to save the universe and that the Ben of now is a lot wiser and more creative than he is in the future (Ben's massive attitude problem in "Ben 10,000"). As Dwayne McDuffie previously said that Alien Force will attempt not to contradict anything in Ben 10 canon other than the potential futures and "what if" episodes like "Gwen 10," it may turn out that Ben will still wind up with a stick up his ass in the future. My personal jury is still out whether Paradox's offhand comment of watching "eons pass by" is an intentional reference to the villain from Race Against Time.
If Merlin Missy's First and Second Laws of Time Travel are "When in doubt, talk to Batman" and "No real names," then the Third must be "Always reference your predecessors." Ways of doing this are referencing within the same canon/fanon, previous work by the writer/actors, or other series featuring time travel. For example, Paradox is only called as such by Ben because his name has been censored and he doesn't remember it himself. Indeed, his name is never revealed--we are simply introduced to a British man (weeeelll...Scottish actor) calmly looking into the time vortex and offering his frightened assistant a bag of candy. Does this remind you of anyone? The fact that the only thing other than "Paradox" that anyone calls him is "Doctor"...yeah. I'm thinking that bag ofjelly babies gumballs was intentional.
There are more Laws of Time Travel according to the medium itself, and they vary from story to story. Ben 10 has shown that messing with time can be at best, reminding your asshole of a future self what it really means to be a hero, and at worst, letting some time lord (lower case intended) rip open a hole in space/time to unleash his people on Earth (because really? Something called the "Hands of Armageddon" are obviously evil). Warnings of ontological inertia are justified in that by preventing Project: Paradox, Ben's team could undo every beneficial event Paradox has set up--including that whole "saving the universe" thing.
And now that I've analyzed the good parts, it's time for the complaints. Once again, Kevin is more-or-less stuck as the Buttmonkey. He's the only one of the team to be affected by the creature's time warping powers, and he winds up being a crotchedy old man (or, as Ben put it, not much change [other than the slight maturity Gwen noticed] other than the age). Luckily, it's coming more from his personality and fighting style (tank) than in previous episodes ("The Gauntlet" for starters)--he's stubborn, easy to anger, and short-sighted. His eagerness to hit something is what caused it. Fortunately, Paradox fixes it in a (subjective) minute. Gwen's short-sightedness was an interesting change, though arguably slightly out of character. At least she provided the voice of the audience, and it's more personality than she had in the beginning. Ben, thankfully, is getting a lot more development than he had in the beginning. I'm still a bit iffy on the Gwen/Kevin, but it's looking a lot more natural and believable than in the earlier episodes. Time will tell if the romance grows on me any more.
"Paradox" was written by Jim Krieg ("Max Out").The Doctor Paradox was voiced by David McCallum.
"Paradox" opens up in a small military research facility in the 1950s, where a scientist is ready to put his time travel theory using a quartz gate to the test. Of course, you know it's about to go horribly wrong--time travel always does. Sure enough, the scientist is pulled into his own time gate. Cut to fifty years later, and a creature made entirely of time is wreaking havoc on the abandoned military town outside Bellwood, and it's up to Ben's team and the scientist, nicknamed "Paradox" for his project's codename, to stop it and prevent the utter destruction of the planet--the best possible future.
Appropriately for an episode All About Time Travel, "Paradox" plays with continuity. The moment they discover the fossilized lines carved through Los Soledad, Ben suspects the DNAliens, and Gwen argues that it's not their MO. Right away, we're reminded of the as-now aborted arc. Kevin makes a couple of offhand comments that confirm what was hinted in "The Gauntlet"--that he has found a place to live in Bellwood ("This looks like my place after a party") and that he's transfered to Ben's school ("I know them from shop class").
Paradox by his very nature plays with continuity too. When Gwen suggests that to stop the time monster, they go back in time and prevent the experiment from screwing up in the first place, Paradox complains that it's just the kind of thing an energy being would say--to Gwen's angry response of "I am NOT an energy being!" ("What Are Little Girls Made Of?"). Ben, however, is praised for his insight--said to have an innate understanding of the time/space continuum. This is probably a reference to Ben's past timey wimey stuff (original series: "Ben 10,000" and movie Race Against Time). Paradox provides tantalizing hints of the future, revealing that he and Ben will one day team up to save the universe and that the Ben of now is a lot wiser and more creative than he is in the future (Ben's massive attitude problem in "Ben 10,000"). As Dwayne McDuffie previously said that Alien Force will attempt not to contradict anything in Ben 10 canon other than the potential futures and "what if" episodes like "Gwen 10," it may turn out that Ben will still wind up with a stick up his ass in the future. My personal jury is still out whether Paradox's offhand comment of watching "eons pass by" is an intentional reference to the villain from Race Against Time.
If Merlin Missy's First and Second Laws of Time Travel are "When in doubt, talk to Batman" and "No real names," then the Third must be "Always reference your predecessors." Ways of doing this are referencing within the same canon/fanon, previous work by the writer/actors, or other series featuring time travel. For example, Paradox is only called as such by Ben because his name has been censored and he doesn't remember it himself. Indeed, his name is never revealed--we are simply introduced to a British man (weeeelll...Scottish actor) calmly looking into the time vortex and offering his frightened assistant a bag of candy. Does this remind you of anyone? The fact that the only thing other than "Paradox" that anyone calls him is "Doctor"...yeah. I'm thinking that bag of
There are more Laws of Time Travel according to the medium itself, and they vary from story to story. Ben 10 has shown that messing with time can be at best, reminding your asshole of a future self what it really means to be a hero, and at worst, letting some time lord (lower case intended) rip open a hole in space/time to unleash his people on Earth (because really? Something called the "Hands of Armageddon" are obviously evil). Warnings of ontological inertia are justified in that by preventing Project: Paradox, Ben's team could undo every beneficial event Paradox has set up--including that whole "saving the universe" thing.
And now that I've analyzed the good parts, it's time for the complaints. Once again, Kevin is more-or-less stuck as the Buttmonkey. He's the only one of the team to be affected by the creature's time warping powers, and he winds up being a crotchedy old man (or, as Ben put it, not much change [other than the slight maturity Gwen noticed] other than the age). Luckily, it's coming more from his personality and fighting style (tank) than in previous episodes ("The Gauntlet" for starters)--he's stubborn, easy to anger, and short-sighted. His eagerness to hit something is what caused it. Fortunately, Paradox fixes it in a (subjective) minute. Gwen's short-sightedness was an interesting change, though arguably slightly out of character. At least she provided the voice of the audience, and it's more personality than she had in the beginning. Ben, thankfully, is getting a lot more development than he had in the beginning. I'm still a bit iffy on the Gwen/Kevin, but it's looking a lot more natural and believable than in the earlier episodes. Time will tell if the romance grows on me any more.
"Paradox" was written by Jim Krieg ("Max Out").
