5 Pros/4 Cons - The Legend of Korra

Last night, I finally finished The Legend of Korra on Netflix. It took me a while to get through four seasons of it (season 2 was a drag, but I’ll touch on that below), but I finished this race. I never got to watch the show as it aired on Nickelodeon since we didn’t have cable at the time. Yeah, I could’ve found a way to watch it online, but I wasn’t really into getting a lot of streaming services at the time.

For those not in the know, The Legend of Korra was the sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender. I talked about Avatar here years ago, and my opinion on it hasn’t changed: it’s perfect. There aren’t many American animated series that I can say that about. Can I say the same about Korra? Well, this is 5 PROS/5 CONS, so that’s a no. I do think it was a pretty fun show, though. I know the show was kinda divisive with some fans of the franchise. Avatar: The Last Airbender is a perfect show, so trying to create that again would be tough.

Favorites - 16 Characters Who Were Recast in Movies/TV

TV and movies can be a bit weird especially when they are serialized. One thing that is definitely a head-turner is when an actor replaces another actor in the same role. The thing that got me on this path was thinking about Harriett Winslow from Family Matters. I vividly remember Judyann Elder replacing the role that Jo Marie Payton had played for almost a decade. That’s just one I've noticed and I thought it was weird. I also saw it a lot on other shows too. Movies even go through this.

The reasons for actors replacing other actors can vary.  Some die during the role. Others get fired or just decide to quit. It can happen at the beginning, during production, or well on into the lifespan of the series. So, here are 16 characters who were recast for a show or movie series. I’ll even throw a game in this too. Hopefully, I can fit all that into a nice title for this post. I’ll only be doing shows and movies I’ve seen, so I’m sorry if I’m leaving your favorite one out. It’s also not in any order as well.

1. Vivian Banks (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) 

This is probably one of the most known recasts. Janet Hubert played Vivian on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for three years. From what I heard and read, she and Will Smith didn’t get along. She supposedly violated her contract (she was pregnant at the time) and got ousted. After that, Daphne Reid was brought in to play Vivian for the rest of the show’s run. She was actually the first Vivian I remember seeing since I didn’t watch the show until the fourth season. She even got to play the part for three years, so it sounds a little equal, you think?

As for which version I liked better, I have to go with Hubert on this one. She seemed to have more of a bite to her. She also kind of got more to do than Reid did. The episode where she decides to go back into dancing is one of her coolest moments. Reid’s Vivian seemed to be more in the background at times. Even though she didn’t much to do, I did like her and she had some good moments. Still, the first Vivian did it for me.

Favorites - 11 Villainous Characters Gone Good

“Everyone loves a good redemption story.”

I don’t know who said the quote, but it's a true one. While we sometimes like seeing folk be bad, we also like seeing them go good. You can look everywhere for this common trope as well. This list was actually what started the whole thing. I didn’t have to think hard about which heroic figures have gone evil, though. I did have to put a little more thought into this one. While some names popped into my head easily, others took a minute. These aren't necessarily my favorite characters and it’s not in any order, so let’s start off with someone really random.

1. Sami Brady (Days of Our Lives)

I know you’re looking at me weird, so let me explain. When I was younger, my grandmother was an avid watcher of Days of Our Lives. Guess what we more or less had to watch at about 2pm? We didn’t have another TV, so I had to do something with that time! If you’re wondering, no, I’m not a DOOL fan. I haven’t watched the show in years. I do glance at it at the YMCA if it's showing, though. Even though I’m not a fan, I can say I got fond memories of it. Sami wasn’t necessarily one of them.

To put it nicely, she was one… witch. She was usually scheming to get some dude. I think one of them was named Austin. Even when she got the dude, she’d screw it up somehow. She was pretty much the jealous sister of the show. After some time, I do remember her becoming less of a witch and turning into a somewhat nice person. I guess the writers or actress got tired of that constant role of villainess. I don’t know if she stayed that way since soap operas are a lot like comic books. I can say that Alison Sweeney did a good job with that role. The fact that I remember her says something. 

2. Vegeta (Dragonball Z)

I think it’s time to swerve away from the odd and look at “The Prince of all Saiyans!” When Vegeta came onto the scene, he was a straight-up bad guy. No one can doubt that. I don’t think anyone can forget what happened to poor Nappa, aka “Mr. Clean with a ‘Stache.” Even after his time on Namek where he allied with the heroes, he wasn’t a good dude. Vegeta was obsessed with being better than Goku and he even did some really stupid things because of his Sayian pride. When you let the evil android get stronger instead of taking him out earlier, you’re not exactly good, are you?

Even when Goku returned for the World Tournament years later, he was still a douche. He let himself be taken over by Babadi (some green thing?) and went on a rampage. It wasn’t until his own son was in danger that he actually began to look heroic. He sacrificed himself to take out Majin Buu and even though that Pepto Bismal-looking thing didn’t die, it was a noble sacrifice. Like all characters in the DBZ universe, he did come back but he came back different. He even put an end to his rivalry with Goku.

TV Talk - Avatar: The Last Airbender

This installment of TV Talk has been brought to you by the Fire Nation's Ember Island Players. Their rendition of Avatar is leagues better than the thing that Hollywood released back in 2010.

As you can probably tell by now, I’m not talking about James Cameron’s Avatar. While that movie was unoriginal, it was still better than the live-action version of the show I’m talking about today. I really don’t have much of a preamble, so let’s get to it.

Background

When Avatar first came on, I watched it but I wasn’t an avid watcher of the show. I was on and off during its duration since I was in college and didn’t know when it would air. I didn’t get to see much of the third season either. I don’t know if Nickelodeon had a love/hate relationship with that show or what. I was able to watch the last four episodes when they finally aired. After that, I tried to view the third season episodes online, but it wasn’t happening for a while. Then Netflix showed up and I was able to finally see it all. I also own the first season on DVD and will try to get the other two seasons.

For those who don’t know, the show takes place in its own world. This world is made up of four nations: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. In each nation, most of their people have the ability to control (bend) those elements. The Avatar is essentially the master of all four elements. When the Fire Nation rose up and decided to rule over everything, the Avatar disappeared. 100 years later, a brother and sister find the newest incarnation of the Avatar in a young Airbender named Aang. The show details Aang and his friends as they try to restore peace between the four nations. If my little summation doesn't do it for you, here's something that might.

Top 22 Villains - Part 2

Well, it's part two of this pretty big list. I got eight for this run.

16. The Predator from Predator

It’s the alien with the awesome dreadlocks, ‘mon! In Predator, the… Predator (he gets no name) hunts down a team of US soldiers in a South American jungle. What makes him cool and interesting is that so much about him is really hidden until the end. He’s mostly in cloak using some advanced weaponry throughout the movie. He’s still awesome when we finally see him in all of his ugliness and Arnold wasn’t lying about that. He’s not out for something nefarious. He just wants to hunt, prove himself over the soldiers, and be the best hunter.