Wow, it’s apparently been an eventful weekend in the comments section of the page over here.  Yikes. Moving on to other subjects…  while folks are still oohing and aahing over G.I. Joe: The Pursuit of Cobra (myself absolutely included!) those who crave the mythos as well as the toys are already looking ahead to G.I. Joe: Renegades.  Granted, Renegades as an animated series will debut long before the PoC toys transform into a slightly more animated aesthetic on retail pegs.
But I have read throughout the ‘net lots of kneejerk reaction saying “if it’s not Resolute, it sucks”, or “if it’s a kid show, it sucks” and I’m definitely not ready to write it off that quickly.
Granted, Hasbro and its various licensors have been totally unable to produce a decent G.I. Joe animated series for kids within the last two decades, but here’s hoping that’s changed this time around.  One of the reasons why I’m maintaining a large level of confidence is because of Jeff Kline.
Jeff Kline was at JoeCon this past year in Providence, and said all of the right things during the Hasbro round table.  I gathered all of the notes together in my Renegades Quick Hits already.  Now, Jeff Kline probably isn’t a name most folks have heard of, but he’s worked on many features you’ve seen.  One of the lead producers and writers behind the Jackie Chan Adventures, Men in Black (the series), Max Steel, and Extreme Ghostbusters he has an impressive resume.  Max Steel is a series that I feel gets a serious bum rap and was one of the better animated adventures of the 90’s, in my mind.
But perhaps the biggest notch in Mr. Kline’s belt for me is Roughnecks: The Starship Trooper Chronicles.  Yes, Mr. Kline was the lead producer behind that series, which was a fantastic look into the world of the Starship Troopers, and many would say represented that universe even better than the films did.  It pulled no punches and presented a complex, intricate story woven throughout episodes.
Now, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman are also getting behind him, as he apparently is one of the writers for Transformers: Prime, the series they are front-running for the  Hub to air alongside Renegades.  In this article on TFormers.com, they talk about Mr. Kline’s resume and how lucky they are to be working with a man of his talent and background.
Considering what he said about Renegades at the round table, that certainly leaves me with some level of optimism.  Time will tell.