I know, I know, this topic has been done over and over and over. And I also realize that I myself have partaken in this discussion a billion times or so.
But I want to have an actual lengthy discussion about the show. I'm talking art styles, scripts, structure of the seasons, the old voice-over/live action debate...All that stuff. I think this is a chance for the brilliant minds of RAF to get together an brainstorm. Think of it as a little project for us all.
I'll start with the structure of the seasons for the show.
I think the major problem with the TV series--other than the budget and the writing-- was how the seasons were structured. After the Invasion episode(s) aired, the whole thing was kind of sloppy. One minute, we'd be watching [some] of the plot from the underground, and the next week we'd be seeing the Capture. And then there were those non-canon episodes that were more enjoyable than any of the [slightly] canon episodes. Also, the season finale was just terrible. The reason we get hooked onto a show--the reason we start watching it, and the reason we keep coming back every season-- is the Premiere and the Finale! If you don't have a decent one, you may as well get to work on another attempt at an adaptation of a children's book--like Goosebumps.
Alright, each season should follow a certain theme of sorts. Let's look at Smallville, for example. Whether you think it's a good show or not is irrelevant. I've noticed that there was a certain formula to the show. Season one: Clark is starting out as a kid, trying to live a normal life while saving his town from kryptonite-renegades. And, as each season progresses, Clark becomes more aware of his fate as Superman. Sometime after Five and Six, Clark realized this fate and starts the whole saving the world business.
Animorphs should more or less follow this in the show. I think season one needs to focus on the themes of family, friendship, loneliness, isolation and innocence. We see those themes in the first ten books at least: The Invasion, the Visitor, the Predator, and the Stranger for family and friendship, the Encounter and the Alien for loneliness and isolation, in addition to the search for identity. This season should also focus on the kid's struggle to 1) keep their identities as the Andalite bandits a secret, 2) juggle saving the world with things like school and family, and 3) and getting used to their powers. Season One is NOT, in my opinion, ready for the ethic and moral dilemma that we see later on. But we need to cut the first season at a point where the kids have gotten used to their powers, begun to realize their place in the world, and have made some sort of breakthrough that is exciting enough to keep us watching until the next season.
Here is my ideal first season for this series:
1) The Invasion (Part One and Two)
2) The Visitor
3) The Encounter
4) The Message
5) The Predator
6) The Capture
7) The Stranger
8] The Alien
9) The Secret
10) The Android
11) The Forgotten
12) The Reaction
13) The Change
14) The Andalite's Gift (Season Finale)
Breakthrough: The kids have developed enough to continue their journey as adults, not children--yet they still have some growing up to do. Tobias is back in the game, with morphing powers and his human body. And the biggest breakthrough made is the Hork-Bajir valley. This may not be too exciting, if you're expecting the season to end with a battle, but I think it's enough. I think the ending of the Change is perfect: Tobias revealing his newly acquired body to Rachel.
Now we have the Premiere of Season Two. A lot of good stuff for this season: David, mainly, and a lot of moral and ethical dilemma. The series, should it last this long, has matured enough for it. The question now, is how do we start of the show? Surely, we can't start with the Unknown...I mean, really...A Cassie based episode to start off the season? No. That won't do. This is the very tricky part of envisioning an Animorphs show--Seasons Two and Three. The books between 13 and the David Trilogy are a bit on the dull side--in MY opinon (feel free to disagree). Perhaps the solution here is to start with a non-canon episode that is well written and exciting enough to keep viewers interested...
Of course, there's also an alternative that I am in favour of. Instead of keeping the David Trilogy as...well, a trilogy, we expand it. Now, this can go on for the entire season, or it could end sometime in the middle. Either way, David would be in the opening credits (feel free to discuss this [the opening theme/credits] as well!). This would give us a chance to see David in more missions than he was given, and also gives us a chance to see some personal growth. I always felt that David was too 2-dimensional in the series. We never really go to see his side of things. This alternative approach to the TV series might just convert a few of the haters.
Anyways...Because it's difficult to plan out the second season, we'll leave the layout this way:
14) The Unknown
15) The Escape
16) The Warning
17) The Underground
18) The Decision
19) The Departure
20) The Discovery
21) The Threat
22) The Solution
23) The Pretender
24) The Suspicion
25) The Extreme
26) The Attack
Breakthrough: The kids are older, wiser and better at what they do. They're used to their morphs, and they've had their drawbacks (David). We see a lot of growing up and ethics in this season. The best way to end this is with the Attack. Crayak is introduced, and we learn more about that Ellimist guy from episode seven. It also opens up the theme for the next few seasons: free will vs determinism.
Season three is less tricky than season two, because there are a lot more interesting things to see. We've got the idea of a Hork-Bajir rebellion, the strange case of two Rachels, the Torture of Tobias, the Yeerk Peace movement, and some more development for the Chee. The problem here is where to end the season. I think it's best to end sometime before Taylor returns. We want the books between the early forties and 54 to have their own season. This means that, excluding filler and non-canon episodes (as well as Chronciles and megamorphs episodes) Animorphs will have four seasons; five at the most.
Animorphs 27: The Exposed
Animorphs 28: The Experiment
Animorphs 29: The Sickness
Animorphs 30: The Reunion
Animorphs 31: The Conspiracy
Animorphs 32: The Separation
Animorphs 33: The Illusion
Animorphs 34: The Prophecy
Animorphs 35: The Proposal
Animorphs 36: The Mutation
Animorphs 37: The Weakness
Animorphs 38: The Arrival
Animorphs 39: The Hidden
Breakthrough: This is a mostly an opportunity to see personal growth in our friend Marco. We see the themes of identity, war, some family, and what it takes to be a leader. This may be the season that ends in a canon episode, more than anything. Either we end with an episode somewhere after book 43, or before 39. I doubt anyone would want to see a season premier that deals with the buffa-human. We need something exciting to end an exciting season.
Season four and five (because I don't know if these would be separate at this point) is where we get to the really exciting stuff. This is the freaking series finale! It gets darker, harder decisions are made, and the group has reached the point where there is literally no going back. Despite being sixteen, they are not children, but soldiers. If only they could start off the show with this season, eh? That would keep just about anyone going. I mean, we'd gladly sit through gems like the buffa human incident just to get to this season! We've got Tobias' torturer returning, David's back, Jake grows a beard, Marco gets his mother, we get a lesson in civil wars of America, and Ax almost blows up California...And yea, themes, personal growth...All that stuff.
Animorphs 40: The Other
Animorphs 41: The Familiar
Animorphs 42: The Journey
Animorphs 43: The Test
Animorphs 44: The Unexpected
Animorphs 45: The Revelation
Animorphs 46: The Deception
Animorphs 47: The Resistance
Animorphs 48: The Return
Animorphs 49: The Diversion
I think the diversion is an excellent way to end the season. The Yeerks know who the Animorphs are now. The war is about to be exposed. I imagine this being a two parter, actually; with the season premier of season five being part two. I can just see the ending line to part one: "They know we're human."
And, of course, Season five ends with what we're given in season five.