Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)With the old writers having left by the tail end of Season Two (story planner Steve Marmel with writers Sib Ventress - though he worked on two Season 3 episodes - and Marty Isenberg or as I call them, "The Great Trio"), new writers had to fill in to start up Season Three and wrap up the DP mytho. Short term: they got the head, but not the heart. Season Three is lackluster, inferior, average and half the time, downright terrible.
Oh, it starts off promising. Steve Marmel's final story (planned by him, written by Ventress) "Eye for an Eye" is Season Three's premiere. It's an excellent, emotional, and intense focus on the newly-built rivalry between Danny and Vlad after the tragic events of "Kindred Spirits". I'd have expected great and darker stories with this excellent set up, but the adventure is short lived. The next episode ("Infinite Realms") is all action, action, action with little character interaction; Vlad's character here is quickly and painfully derailed (he doesn't find his own destiny - he creates it!)
Others don't flail. "Torrent of Terror" had the good idea to work on Danny's emotional problems, but doesn't thoroughly develop or complete it. Not to mention that episode and others ("Urban Jungle" and "Frightmare") introduces villains who are all boring one-notes with goals for world domination, but no reason why. Worse, their personalities are practically non-existent which would have saved their otherwise unremarkable plans. Good guy Frostbite is more Mr. Exposition then character and Pandora might as well not be in the episode, only truly appearing in the end to deliver a quick Deus Ex Machina. Only Amorpho have any sense of personality (His episode appearance "Forever Phantom" is actually one of the few gems; excellent story and overall use on Danny's character).
Special mentions go to "Girls' Night Out", "Boxed Up Fury", and "Livin' Large": the former a "girl power" episode that ironically focuses too much on the chicks obsessing, hating, and loving their men and the heroes acting severely incompetent. The latter an exercise in frustration; proving Box Ghost is best left as a minor running gag instead of a full time villain - especially when they had to spend 22 minutes telling us that. And the last creates a disposable behavior in Danny by making him selfish and ignorant that clashes with his maturity (not to mention a cheap ending and some nagging plotholes: a lock on the Fenton Portal - well, gee! That would have solved a lot of ghostly invasions 46 episodes ago!) These are not only the worst Season Three episodes, but some of the worst overall.
This season also made me hate Sam. The goth girl was someone I never cared for, but she was a valued character who had her own set of flaws. Here, she turned into a walking Mary Sue. Always with the answer, always delivering moral actions, always proving she's the most incredible, competent person in the whole world. She may have acted this role in the past, but back then, Danny equally argued back or protest against her instead of taking her speech like a good little boy. Back then, she attempted to fix any mistakes she made or get repercussions for creating them. Back then, she was self-righteous to the point of hypocritical behavior, not the "You know I'm right" attitude she's sporting, completely with the plot backing her up. In short, she was flawed.
Not to mention the romance between Danny and Sam is shoehorned in. The past two seasons only explored the love between Danny and Sam (and others) when the plot called for it. Here, they dump it in inappropriate moments and so frequently that it makes me wanna gag myself from all its sugary infection. Why do they need to have Sam give a useful book to Danny romantically or why does their romantic dreams have to overshadow the others' dreams? And so forth. I couldn't stand it and I can't stand her. At this point, Danny does not deserve her. Not one bit.
And the character derailment doesn't stop there. Tucker is frequently and brutally ignored (mostly to work in the Danny/Sam subplot), the already characterless Danielle is still plot device then her own person, Spectra for some reason hates Bertrand despite no evidence of such, someone decided it was good to hook up Skulker and Ember for no discernible reason, and Vlad...god, Vlad; the once clever, manipulative genius spends half the time acting like Dick Dastardly or ruined by the writer's plots to make him greedy or narcissistic, two traits that Vlad is NOT. His quest for world domination is also haphazardly put together for no reason, so chock him up there with the other new villains' dull goals!
But I will give them some credit: the last five or so episodes are consistently above average and tolerable to watch. Walker is diabolical and awesome in "Claw of the Wild" and Vlad returns to form in "D-Stabilized". Even then, they are flawed or unimpressive compared to the superior Season One and Two. The grand finale also stands out as one of the biggest mixed feelings I've had on a cartoon because it gets so many things right and wrapped up, but also gets SO many things wrong. Lest of all, some aborted arcs from the previous season (Valerie's story arc is never resolved, what did Vlad plan to do with the Fright Knight OR his elaborate Underground Base, Tucker's corrupted darkness is never solved, and oh, Dark Danny).
It was clear story planner Marmel had different plans for Season Three and it was even clearer the new writers didn't take advantage of the blatant and obvious. In some ways, I can't blame them. Season Three was rushed due to DP's cancellation and I could imagine them having to churn out stories with their limited time. But it's still not an excuse for poor writing. Especially with the creator himself who proves he just cannot write his own show unless Marmel was babysitting him. That should not be.
With yet another barebones DVD with no extras (still not even subtitles!) and the fact that I absolutely despise this season, this Danny Phantom DVD is a no recommendation from my end. Others may feel differently. The only good thing is that they put the episodes in proper chronological order. Even the info on the back of the box is accurate outside of claiming it holds 12 episodes (guys, "Phantom Planet" counts as two separate episodes).
Click Here to see more reviews about: Danny Phantom Season 3 (3 Disc Set)
You're in for over four hours of frighteningly good adventures with Danny Phantom! For the first time ever, you'll find the complete Season 3, featuring all 12 episodes of the hit show, in one 3-disc set! Hang on for spirited encounters with vile villains from another dimension, all bent on taking Danny down. But with the help of pals Sam and Tucker, Danny is ready to take on the evil forces that want to put an end to his ghostly meddling!
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