According to Nick and More, Transformers: Animated and Sigma 6 will be coming to the Hub…and that’s not necessarily a good thing!
Nah, I’m kidding…mostly. As much as I love the Sigma 6 concept and the Sigma 6 toys, even as a raging fanboy I cannot encourage folks to watch the Sigma 6 animated series. While it certainly did have some redeeming qualities (the computer generated vehicle battles were great, and Season 2 was a massive improvement over Season 1) the feel and tone of the series just felt totally wrong for G.I. Joe.
From Tunnel Rat becoming “King of the Ninjas” and having hamburger eating contests with Heavy Duty to the world-ravaging Cobra plot being foiled by robotic dog urine there were some pretty ridiculous points about the two seasons of Sigma 6.
BUT…there were some definite fun aspects, too. It wasn’t all bad I swear!
As proof of the coolness of some aspects of Sigma 6, Click the “Read the Rest of this Entry” link below for video clips from the series.
Yes, by and large the Sigma 6 series was a painful watch. Voice acting was pretty terrible, production values were a real mixed bag. It just wasn’t what the G.I. Joe brand needed in a mass media animated format to promote itself. But it wasn’t all bad…there were some cool spots.
A while ago, I posted a “Sigma 6 Celebration” about the Sigma 6 toyline and the redeeming factors of it. Within the confines of that celebration I provided recaps of both seasons of the animated series. I’m posting links to those recaps below, and also some of the better video clips from the series:
Enjoy some video clip highlights!
Season 2 is watching for the Stone/Firefly plot. Season 1 can be skipped. Please skip season 1. Oh mercy, season 1.
My boys love Sigma 6. It was what brought them into G.I. Joe. If the figures didn’t cost $10 to $15 a piece – they would have had a boat load of them. To me anything that keeps Joe going is a good thing. My 5-year-old was sad Sunday when I gave my dad (his Grampa) a 12″ G.I. JOe Firefighter because he doesn’t even have 1 G.I. Joe. He wants an Army Man one…so Dollar General Duke is what I have to hunt down and find!
I find it interesting that a small figure coming out now is $10 🙁 .
Really hope they play all of the Sigma 6 episodes and don’t drop it after Season 1. Season 2 is when it started to get watchable. Regardless, really glad we kept the cable tier with The Hub now.
The announcement specifies that 26 episodes would be available, which is both seasons. Yipee!
Quite honestly, you lost me at robotic dog urine.
What??????????
Wow. The 80’s cartoon is way better than this, and I’m one of the folks who dislikes the RAH cartoons to begin with!
What I liked most about this series was the fact that it was animated by one of my favorite Anime studios, GONZO, and the quality of the animation really is out of the park good. On the other hand though the General is right, the writing, voice acting, and story plots are extremely bad (we’re talking DiC level bad). However with that said if given a choice between Sigma 6 and Renegades, I’d still take Sigma 6. Although Resolute still stands as the crowning achievement.
japanese shite.
The only thing i like about Sigma 6 is the character designs. But I don’t like how those designs were realized in the Sigma 6 toyline, which is far more angular and exaggerated than the show. Just look at Cobra Commander at the 27 second mark of the second video; that could easily be made into a regular Joe figure.
IMO Sigma 6 didn’t suck as badly the Dic cartoons, but it came close.
Stone still rocks.
Agreed. The first season with the kid and the dog was just plain dumb. It felt like it was trying to be Tformers almost. The second season was pretty cool. The sea base was cool and the Stone/FF storyline was neat. The shots with the Dragonhawk in it are great. I think Stone is the neatest character and the coolest figure from the Sigma 6 line.
The first thing I thought of when I saw this headline was the Bed Intruder song. *shifty eyes*
Duke’s climbing in your windows! He’s snatching your people up!
When Sigma 6 was originally broadcast I was splitting time in two different major media markets and it didn’t air in either. Of course, I’ve seen some since and at least I wasn’t missing anything.
My G.I. Joe cartoon series power rankings go:
1. Sunbow ARAH (Great animation + great voice work + smart writing despite what some joyless adults may say)
2. Renegades (Ugly as sin designs + great voice work + mediocre storyline that spends way too much time borrowing from The A-Team and never really kicks into gear until the final episodes)
3. Extreme (Cheap animation + buffed up 90s designs + mediocre voice work but with an intriguing storyline. Hard to believe this was produced by Sunbow.)
4. Dic ARAH (Cheap error-filled animation + good voice work + lazy writing that seemed to reflect way too much on the writers’ feelings about their budget)
5. Sigma 6 (Misplaced “anime” designs that don’t feel like G.I. Joe + awful voice work + a horrible 1st season)
6. Resolute (Great designs + uninspired voice work + a cast of completely unlikable heroes + an incredibly flimsy storyline. Unbelievably overrated.)
7. Operation: HISS (Video game designs, literally + mediocre voice work and I don’t think the final episode was ever posted. Better than ROC though.)
I think a lot of people rate Renegades and Resolute far more on their potential than what was actually delivered. It’s sad that Hasbro hasn’t been able to figure out how to capture an audience’s imagination like they did in the 80s with the Sunbow series. Personally, I feel like there’s big gaps between 1 & 2 and 4 & 5.
Man I have to disagree with you. I love Renegades. I like the design, the storyline and especially the figs. The Sunbow toon is great too but some of those episodes had storylines that were just stupid.
The fight sequences aren’t that bad, it’s just the dialogue. Everything is a one liner. If you took the series and rerecorded all the dialogue I think it could be a much better show. Minus the hamburger contests and Tunnel Rats’ stupid face pulling. You never know, if it does weel we might get some reissues of the toys! Unlikely, but a boy can dream…
I remembering thinking this show would be good when it first came out, but it was bad as it progressed. Second season was more interesting, but still bad. Watching the clips, it feels like the dialogue/voice acting are the main culprits. Nevertheless, I wonder if this bodes well for a DVD release?
*breaks into song*: “King ninja Tunnel Rat!! King ninja Tunnel Rat!!”
I loved watching the Sigma 6 cartoons with my son and some of the episodes aren’t half bad. Especially some of the Ninja battles. And the second season with Stone and Firefly was pretty cool. I think the cartoon gets a bum rap…just like the toys. However, the toys are great, while the cartoon is simply “not that bad”. 🙂
If everyone watches (and gets their friends to watch too) maybe Hasbro will release some Sigma figures….(I can dream can’t I???). Sigma 6 Adventure Team Joe Colton & Gorilla pack anyone?
–Dirk–
You forgot the most impoprtant part, next to Renegades, Sigma 6 was freakin’ Shakespear!!!
I prefer Sigma 6 over Renegades any day