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Cartoon Network US lines up
action series
'Ben 10' for 2006 A fun and new animated television series
scheduled to hit the airwaves of Cartoon Network in spring of next year, Ben
10, will bring adventure and science fiction to the network's programming
once it gets underway.
Announced just recently, Ben 10 is a new
superhero television program for a new generation, and seeks to give its viewers
an adolescent hero with some rather unusual abilities, which often translate
into some real adult problems. The show's lead character, Ben Tennyson, is kind
of your normal ten-year-old boy. But there's one small thing that separates Ben
from the rest of the kids his age: with the flick of his wrist, he's able to
transform into ten different alien beings with incredible superpowers.
Tara Strong provides the voice of
Ben.
Ben Tennyson will be the focus of the new thirty-minute science fiction and action program on Cartoon Network as he tries to figure out not only how to properly manage his transformation abilities, but Ben also has to figure out how to choose the right transformation and when. Ben 10 begins with Ben discovering a strange little device that at one point, locks itself onto his wrist. The device is called the Omnitrix, and it is with this that Ben goes on a journey into what may just be the most hectic time of his youth. With "the watch," Ben has the ability to morph into bizarre aliens like Heatblast, Upgrade, Grey Matter, Stinkfly, Ghostfreak, Razorjaws, Wildmutt and Diamondhead, each with its own set of special abilities, while still maintaining his 10-year-old personality. This to which is the problem with Ben's new object, no matter what form Ben takes on, he's still just a kid inside. It's most certainly his dream to be a superhero, and ten superheroes at that, things suddenly a little crazy in Ben 10 as the lead character is suddenly burdened with responsibilities unlike any other. "What kid doesn't want to be a superhero? And wouldn't being 10-superheroes be 10-times as cool?" Sam Register, Cartoon Network senior vice president of development, commented. "Ben 10 will continue in the tradition that Cartoon Network has established of creating a new generation of superhero shows, like Teen Titans and Justice League Unlimited, for a new generation of kids. It's an undeniably original premise with amazing alien heroes and incredible villains." This original animated television series is currently being produces at Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank, California. The series is presently scheduled to premiere in the month of May 2006, with all of its superhero goodness. Ben 10, created by Man Of Action (Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, Duncan Rouleau, & Steve Seagle), has been given the greenlight for 26 half-hour episodes. With his powers, Ben can play the part of a superhero, righting wrongs, saving the world and getting into some old-fashioned kid-style trouble. Ben and the Omnitrix catch the attention of an intergalactic bad guy named Vilgax who will stop at nothing to get the kind of power that Ben has managed to acquire. When he's not tangling with Vilgax's cronies or other earthbound villains, Ben is traveling the country in his Grandpa Max's RV. Grandpa Max is a good-humored, open-minded and unsuspecting mentor who wants to put a little more excitement into his grandson's life by taking him on a cross-country summer vacation. Ben's cousin Gwen, who is smart, levelheaded and not exactly thrilled to be along for the ride, joins Ben and Grandpa on their road trip. Still, as the voice of reason, she's invaluable in times of chaos, which is pretty much all the time. Ben's main challenges are finding the best way to harness his power and making good decisions about when to summon his inner superheroes. It's a good thing that his worldly and wise grandfather and shrewd cousin Gwen are there to keep him in check – and bail him out of trouble when he needs it. |