I have been watching a lot of Netflix since I have been working getting over my cold. I finished watching “Firefly” – as a result I think I better understand the fixation the fans known as Browncoats have with the show; as an added bonus I appreciate Joss Whedon’s “Serentity” even more.
I am also watching – as I type – “Tron: Uprising.” It hasn’t been renewed by Disney despite being one of the most visually innovative television series on television. Its won numerous Annie Awards, and is breathtakingly beautiful at times.
Oddly enough, it has significantly more depth than “Tron: Legacy,” the movie that inspired it. This can be partially attributed to having more time to unfold its storyline, though truth be told “Tron” Legacy ” was more interested in being visually appealing than telling a cohesive and engaging story.
Thinking about the series two thoughts came to mind, one revolving around Paul Rubens (who voiced a treacherous assistant to General Tessler named Pavel) which will be the subject of another column, and another speculating as to why the series was cancelled.
I thought that I’d start with the latter.
Visually there was nothing like “Tron: Uprising” on television. A mixture of computer animation (vaguely like that of Aeon Flux, with thin, somewhat cynlindrically-drawn characters) with touches of traditional cartooning that somehow managed to seem unique to either form.
In most animated fare on television the backgrounds seem to exist independently of the foreground, which is an accurate reflection of how the characters are drawn. ‘Tron’ is different. The background here offers an odd seamlessness that isn’t sacrificed to the foreground, creating images as trailblazing as those of the original “Tron.”
So, it’s quite likely that the cartoon was quite expensive.
Though that’s not the only theory behind its cancellation. Some suggest that its themes of the average person against established power had something to do with it.
I suspect that the truth is probably a bit more mundane.
The caliber of the vocal talent is truely impressive. Actors like the aforementioned Rubens, Lance Hendrikson (Millennium, the X-Files), Elijah Wood (the ‘Lord of the Rings’ films), Donald Faison, John Glover (“In The Mouth Of Madness” and Aaron Paul (“Breaking Bad”) among other well-known actors that contributed to the series; and while their contributions are welcome and add its distinctive nature, I have to wonder if they had perhaps found cheaper talent would the series have been less expensive to produce, and therefore perhaps justify a second season.
Then again, what do I know? Supposedly its ratings were actually significantly higher before it moved to Disney XD.
