I was unpleasantly disappointed by volume 7 of Ben 10: Alien Force, and pleasantly surprised by volume 8. Volume 9 splits the difference, turning in a brace of solid but not exceptional episodes of the show while wrapping up this season and kicking off the next series, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien. While this disc doesn’t get quite as much wrong as volume 7, it also doesn’t really get as much right as volume 8 while many of the series’ storytelling tics begin to really grate.

Teenaged Ben Tennyson is the guardian of the Omnitrix, a wristwatch-like device that allows him to transform into various super-powered alien life forms. He serves as Earth’s intergalactic law enforcement as an agent of the Plumbers, with help from his magic-wielding cousin Gwen and her matter-absorbing boyfriend Kevin. Volume 7 brought back the original series villain Vilgax with significantly higher power levels and a real grudge against Ben, while also leaving Kevin in a monstrously deformed state. Volume 9 wraps up both plots fairly neatly, although it’s a bit of a letdown to see that a number of tantalizing hints early on don’t develop into anything by the series end.

“Primus” takes three Ben 10: Alien Force plots (Omnitrix is malfunctioning, Vilgax Wants the Omnitrix, and Omnitrix creator Azmuth doesn’t trust Ben with it) and smashes them together to produce a moderately entertaining episode that avoids cliché only through some interesting third-act plot twists. “Above and Beyond” focuses on a team of Plumber cadets who are summoned by their mentor (Ben and Gwen’s grandfather, a veteran Plumber himself) to a space station where they have to battle an out-of-control Ben. The lesson about teamwork and the underlying plot twist are singularly unsurprising, but the direction the episode takes at the end elevates this episode just above the norm. “The Secret of Chromastone” feels very much like filler, pulling out numerous plot devices we’ve seen before to take us on an utterly unimportant trip, heavily padded by unnecessary and extended fight scenes and throwing in another appearance by Vilgax to boot.

Things get a little better in the next two episodes by taking the focus away from Ben and putting it onto his supporting cast. “Vendetta” puts the spotlight on Kevin, who finds the alien responsible for his father’s death and sets out to get even. While most of the earlier episodes set up entirely conventional story elements and expected plot twists, “Vendetta” manages to surprise us with its cold-bloodedness all along the way, which turns out to be perfectly appropriate for a story about revenge. “Time Heals” puts the focus on Gwen, who attempts a time-travel trick to fix Kevin’s condition. Again, while a lot of the elements in the episode feel familiar, they are executed well enough to make their relative lack of originality more palatable. The two-part “Final Battle” purports to be the last showdown between Ben and Vilgax, with Ben making a surprising sacrifice at the end of part 1 and an equally surprising comeback in part 2. That comeback also sets up Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, whose first episode is also included here as a bonus feature. When Ben’s identity becomes public knowledge, he becomes the target of a muckracking TV journalist J. Jonah Jameson wanna-be while also uncovering a handful of kidnapped aliens squirreled away on Earth in need of his help.

The worst part about Ben 10: Alien Force is that it skirts and twists the genre conventions often enough that it makes it really disappointing when they just go for the tried-and-true instead. This tendency coupled with disappointing action sequences that often feel like stalling for time are the major reason why I’ve never fallen for Ben 10 in quite the same way as other action shows like Avatar or Justice League. It doesn’t help that Ben has often been an arrogant, impulsive idiot for a good portion of this season. This becomes infuriating in “The Final Battle,” when someone even calls him on it and then notes how many times his planned course of action has gone wrong for him. And yet, despite his full and complete understanding, Ben does the rash and impulsive thing and then has the nerve to look surprised when it all goes horribly wrong for him. Character consistency is normally a good thing, but carried this far it only makes Ben look like a complete idiot.

The DVD of Ben 10: Alien Force Vol. 9 will not surprise those who have watched earlier volumes. The good news is that this disc comes with a whopping eight episodes, all in anamorphic widescreen with 2.0 Dolby Digital stereo soundtracks and sensible chapter breaks. Bonus features include another “Alien database,” which chronicles the powers and appearances of a number of Alien species.

The criticisms above are why Ben 10: Alien Force remains just a good, watchable show rather than a great one that I actively seek out. If you’ve been committed up to now, your faithfulness will be rewarded on this disc, but that purchase would also seem to have been a foregone conclusion anyway. In any event, it seems like there is no major course correction in store for Ben 10: Ultimate Alien; once it starts hitting DVD, let’s hope Warner Home Video starts packaging bigger season sets rather than the single discs we’ve been getting.

We’ve got a number of shows that are leaving us for a bit. First Dollhouse, and now word on the street is that this is the last new Ben 10 AF ep for a bit, this production cycle has burned off all it’s current episodes, and it’ll be a few months before the second half of this season airs. It always happens, doesn’t it? These WB shows just about start to hit their stride when – bang – back on the shelf they go. Irritating.

PLAY BY PLAY

Ben’s fighting a huge techno-axe-wielding lummox named “Sunder,” who collects and sells rare artifacts. While fighting Ben, he gets in a good chop on the omnitrix, and Ben finds himself in the Nullvoid – without a hand! Back in the real world, Sunder has collected Ben’s hand – which still has the Omnitrix on it – but hand is still alive, and moving, evidently, under its own power. It gets free of Sunder, and attempts to get to Julie, but is caught by a dog, then some kids, then, eventually, to Julie who takes it to Gwen and Kevin. Kevin laughs uncontrollably, but recognizes the problem and “Kluges” together a geegaw to fix it.

All this time, Ben is in the nullvoid dealing with various beasties. He decides to make his way to grandpa’s old hovel, and see if he can find a gadget that’ll get him home. No sooner does he get there when…

Sunder attacks again, and Julie and Gwen fight him off – Julie rather cleverly – until Ben finally appears, but still without a hand, which now is acting under its own power in the Nullvoid. Kevin quickly realizes it’s because the power axe hit the omnitrix, and works out a gadget to fix it with deliberately whovian solutions galore (“Reverse the polarity.”) Sunder attacks again, and gets swept in to the null void, where the beasties who lived in Grandpa’s hovel attack him.

The End.

OBSERVATIONS

Man, was tonight the night for format-breaking episodes of shows, or what? We had the musical Batman Brave and the Bold episode, the Sierra-centric Dollhouse, and now this one? Yow! The stars aligned in our geekish favor tonight, didn’t they? Excepting for the Batman musical, of course: that was just gay.

Having Ben solo for most of the episode was kind of a daring choice – he’s never been a solo hero – and it really worked, it gave him some great subtle character development, and I love how his voice keeps getting increasingly shrill every time something goes wrong. By the end of the episode, it’s practically a falsetto.

Holy Crap! Kevin Levin is voiced by the same guy who did Beast Boy on Teen Titans! I had no idea, they sound nothing alike, but then again, they kind of do, as I noticed when a little kid showed up in this episode sounding like Beastboy, and somehow I realized that was Kevin an octave higher. The actor’s name is Greg Cipes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Cipes Now I have to buy his damn album.

Nice bits of continuity, with grandpa’s past in the Nullvoid coming up again. Man, did his hovel – which was just a shack last year – get huge in the final scene of tonight’s episode, or what? Now that Grandpas’ back from the dead, we’re seeing him only barely more than we did when he was missing.

The title, obviously, is a gag based on Ben missing a hand through most of the episode.

I love how no one seems terribly freaked out by a severed hand wandering around. The kids touch it and play with it, Gwen’s matter of fact about it, and Kevin – rather hilariously – just laughs at it for a really long time. The only one mildly put out by it all is Julie, who’s relatively new. Her prominent appearance in this episode suggests what I figured last week – that she’s a full-time member of the team now.

Kevin, by the way, was a whole lot funnier than we’re used to seeing him. Cracking jokes, not taking stuff seriously, amused by the whole thing. I liked this rendition of him. I like that, once again, they make no apologies for him being a con man, but sometimes it’s handy to have him around. I like that he’s smart, too, not a dumb hood.

So how was Ben’s hand moving around? Ben clearly wasn’t controlling it, so how and why did it get to Julie? How did it know to get to her? My thinking is that the Omnitrix was controlling it, but if so, how? Is it sentient? If not, it’s particularly adaptive and resilient for a dumb machine.

Ben Tennyson was an ordinary 10-year old kid who loved video games, biking, and goofing off. Then he found the Omnitrix and gained the incredible power to change into 10 different aliens with crazy powers! Teaming up with his way-cool grandpa and worry-wart cousin, Gwen, he foght crime, had fun, and tried to figure out how the Omnitrix worked. The chaos of Ben 10 fast forwards five years to Ben 10: Alien Force on Cartoon Network, Saturdays at 10am.

Ben 10 :: Original Roll-Call!

· Ben Tennyson – Take one ordinary video-game-playing, bike-riding, kid. Add one alien doohickey that can turn him into 10 aliens with wacky powers. Sha-zammo! It’s time to fight crime and save the day.

· Gwen Tennyson – Gwen isn’t an alien, she’s worse, she’s Ben’s cousin! She’s got the ‘fu, which is cool, but she’s a worry-wart, which sucks.

· Grandpa Max – Ben’s ex-army grandpa isn’t an alien, but he knows something about ‘em. He’s also really cool and helps Ben out with his alien thingamajigger.

· Fourarms – Got butt-kickin’ powers? This 12-foot tall four-armed brute does! He’s Ben’s fave alien form for putting the smackdown on bad guys.

· Stinkfly – This bug-alien form lets Ben take to the sky like a jet pilot and battle bad guys with pincers and a sharp tail. Just don’t get him wet or he’s grounded.

· Ripjaw – It’s uglier than dirt, but Ben’s Ripjaw form can swim like a fish! It also lets Ben breathe underwater and munch burgers (and bad guys) with a nasty ste of teeth.

· XLR8 – Ben’s high-speed dino form can race at 300 mph across ground, mud, water, and even up buildings! It can also make a tornado by running in circles, but it still takes forever to do homework in this form.

· Heatblast – This hot alien form is on fire and can spit, spray, hurl, and shoot bolts of fire. It’s awesome, as long as it doesn’t get wet!

· Grey Matter – Even aliens are nerds. This little alien form is a ‘wee grey guy that makes Ben super smart so he can fix stuff. It’s great, but it’s super weak!

· Ghostfreak – Turning into this shadowy alien lets Ben walk through walls and turn invisible, as long as it’s kinda dark. It’s super-powerful and super-spooky.

· Diamondhead – When Ben turns into this crystal alien, he’s impervious to damage, super strong, and can bounce lasers around. But, loud rock ‘n roll tunes can shatter him!

· Wildmutt – This dog-like alien form is part wolverine, part quill-shooting porcupine, and all blind. Ben can’t talk in this form either, but its super-senses means it doesn’t need to see to pee on your leg!

· Upgrade – Changing into this liquid-metal alien form lets Ben merge with mechanical stuff and upgrade it. Just imagine plugging him into an Xbox 360!

· Vilgax – This tentacle-faced alien is after Omnitrix and wants it, bad!

· Dr. Animo – This mad scientist has a gadget that lets him bring dinosaurs back from the dead and turn normal critters into mutant freaks.

· Zombozo – When he’s not winning awards for “Lamest Villain Name Ever” this psychic vampire clown runs an evil circus.

· Megawhatt – Ben unleashes this mischievous dynamo of electrical destruction when he’s pulling a prank. Whoops.

Ben 10 :: Alien Force New Characters

· Kevin Levin – A former enemy of Ben’s in the first series, Kevin joins on this time to help Ben and Gwen find their Grandpa Max, who disappeared at the end of the first series.

· Highbreed – A breed of aliens who thinks themselves the most superior species, they want to wipe out all other beings–including humans!

· DNAliens – Human/alien hybrids who can disguise themselves via identity masks.

· The Forever Knights – Formed way back in the Middle Ages (think 1000s – 1300s), this group of alien arms dealers is currently working with the Highbreed–without knowing their full intentions, of course!

Ben 10 :: Info 101

· The new show, Alien Force, was originally called Hero Generation.

· In this new series, Ben meets many other children of Plumbers (like his Grandpa Max) and discovers that they, too, have alien super powers!

· There is talk of a live-action Ben 10 movie in the near future!

· Ben’s afraid of clowns!

· Ben’s first alien form is Heatblast.

Ben Tennyson is back! He’s 15, as recklessly brave as ever and certainly studlier than before. Shortly after successfully defeating the alien menace of Vilgax, Ben learned how to remove the watch, and he hasn’t needed its powers since. His adventures as a shape-shifting hero are little more than fond memories. The last thing on his mind was to get involved in another series of adventures, but that was before he discovers his Grandpa Max is missing!

After 5 years without using the Omnitrix the device has reconfigured itself and Ben must master the strength of all the new aliens and use their power to find his Grandpa Max and defeat the blood-chilling DNAliens, the metal bound Forever Knights and the terrifying High Breed – who were the very first intelligent species in the universe.

According to Alan Musa, Vice President and General Manager, Middle East, Africa & Pan Region for Turner Broadcasting Systems, “The new series of Ben 10 is edgier, faster and is guaranteed to keep our young viewers glued to their seats. The characters have all been developed and are richer and far more interesting to watch. Ben10 Alien Force will definitely be a viewing experience to be reckoned with.”

120 lucky children can win themselves, a parent / guardian and a friend tickets to the Ben10 Alien Force launch event taking place at Gold Reef City in Johannesburg and Gateway in Durban. For a chance to win, Ben 10 fans need to SMS their name, age and city to 37404. The competition begins on the 17th of August and closes on the 3rd of September.

Winners will be first in South Africa to watch the first two episodes of the new series and they will also be treated to a day full of delicious food, adventures, games and goodie bags. Ben 10: Alien Force premieres on Cartoon Network on Monday the 21st of September at 4:40pm.

Remember SMS your name, age and city to 37404 to stand a chance to be the first to see Ben, Gwen and Kevin Levin back in action in South Africa.

Cartoon Network are going Ben 10 Alien Force crazy this half-term, with back-to-back Ben 10 all day on May 25 and brand new episodes every day at 9am and 5pm.

To celebrate, we’re giving one lucky Sunday Mirror reader the chance to win a complete Ben 10 Alien Force bedroom set before you can buy it in the shops! The set will include bed sheets, curtains, a rug, fleece, a towel and much more – along with a goody bag of Ben 10 Alien Force toys! We show a selection above of what you’ll get. The winner can sleep soundly knowing they’ve got the only Ben 10 bedroom set in the UK until it goes on sale in the late summer.

Car toon Network’s new real-life adventure seekers the Incredikids take over the channel this half-term with cool missions, games and pranks and can show how to be just like Ben 10. Tune in or go online to www.cartoonnetwork.co.uk and get involved in the fun.

To be in with a chance of winning, all you need to do is answer the following question: What’s the name of Ben’s Grandpa? a) ……………………………….. Max b) ……………………………… Matt c) ……………………………… Mike HOW TO ENTER GO online to www.mirror.co.uk/ben10 to make your entry. Make sure you include your name, full postal address including postcode and contact telephone number. The closing date is Friday May 29, 2009..

Terms And Conditions 1. One winner will be randomly selected from all correct entries after the closing date.

2. Prize: one bedroom set (single duvet and pillow covers, rug, fleece, towel, poncho, heat transfer cushion), one goody bag (Ultimate Omnitrix, Kevin Levin’s Action Cruiser, Dissolving Alien Rocks, Planetary Powder set, 15cm DNAlien figure, two 20cm Alien Figures). 3. Prizes are non-transferable, no whole/part cash alternatives. 4. Goody bag will be delivered within 28 days of notification. Bedroom sets will be sent out in July. 5. Standard MGN Ltd rules apply..

Season: 2
Episode: 10
First Aired: 3/24/2009
Prod Code: 210

The gang helps the prince of the arachna-chimps regain power.