7. Hotep-Ra
Man, is this guy dull. Hotep-Ra offers nothing interesting to the story because he's boring and utterly predictable. You can’t possibly not see the betrayal that was coming up, if not because he blatantly confesses it onscreen five minutes after his entrance. Even if he didn't say anything until the end, I immediately got the vibe that he was going to backstab Tucker.
If he fell off the face of the Earth, no one would give a shit about him.
6. Frostbite
Frostbite should have been a great character: mentor to Danny, jovial outlook despite his abominable appearance, keeper of ancient ghost sources, and a tribe that was ripe for potential background stories—the furball was brimming with ideas.
Instead, he was a plot device the writers used when they wanted to move the story forward by making him explain whatever the hell was going at the time. "Infinite Realms" may have been a better episode from his presence by striking up a personality, handling the Infi-Map, and building a relationship between him and Danny. "Urban Jungle" used him a bit wisely when he taught Danny to master his ice ability, but that was a measly three minute scene that was quickly contrived and did nothing but push the plot once again.
5. The Masters' Blasters (and to a lesser extent, the Extreme Ghost Busters)
"Phantom Planet" already suffered a cornucopia of suck, so the first half hour made it almost unbearable with the likes of the TOTAL RADICAL Masters' Blasters, the EXTREEEEEEEEEEME teenagers that fights ghost with RIGHTEOUS Anti-Ghosts tech. Unnecessarily pointless, they're immediately introduced, do their shit, and disappear just as quickly. Their presence disconnects the moment the Ecto-Asteroid (the greater, overall threat) takes over.
Alright, alright, the Extreme Ghost Busters is a worse example of this kind of stereotype then those three, but they came first and their added return by taking on MBs’ role would have at least invited continuity. Alas, we were stuck with the jerkass trio; what with their backwards cap, latest "teen technology", and blaring rock music. I should be thankful regardless, both groups only stayed for one episode.
4. Surfer Dude
I HATE the surfer dude stereotype. Hate it. HATE IT. HATE IT. HATE IT. Their accent is ear-piercingly annoying, they constantly abuse the word "DUDE!", and they dress up like an 80s beach-monger douchebag. For some inconceivable reason, writers think they're comedy gold.
3. Vortex
Vortex, Undergrowth, and Nocturn all have one thing in common: they’re one-noted villains with world domination fever, but no reasoning why they want to do it because they didn’t have any any personality to back it up. I chose Vortex because Undergrowth had an organized, focused plan and Nocturn has an awesome design and mysterious (read: tolerable) presence.
Vortex is irritating. I suppose he’s a crazy lunatic, but his Looney Tunes-ish antics makes him come off as a jackass. He claims his weather is his "art", but the episode never plays up on this. It felt like a feeble attempt to inject "character" in him when it only amounted to a series of wanton, unpredictable destruction. Equally as teeth-grinding is his voice which should have come with a warning label; it's screechy and raspy and he heavily gasps for air every other sentence. For crying out loud, get an inhaler.
2. Danielle Phantom
Danielle is nothing but a plot device, a third wheel half ghost, a personality-less little bag of waste, one canon step away from someone’s god-awful fancharacter, uselessly left hanging, and unfortunately living by the end of the series. The only brownie points I'll give is that she developed Vlad and Danny’s character.
SEE ALSO: Kindred Spirits summary and review, Danielle Phantom profile
1. Unseen, DAMNABLE Zookeeper in "One of A Kind"
LEARN TO PUT A "CAGE OPEN/CLOSE" SWITCH AWAY FROM THE PUBLIC! Are you crazy!? Are you fucking mad!? A fourteen-year-old Goth girl managed to easily access it. She released a goddamn gorilla because of your careless act! You should be fired! You should be penalized! You should be rocketed to Pluto and never, ever face humanity again!
Nah, I’m just kidding, the actual number one is (and you should have seen this coming)...
1. Sam Manson
It was hard deciding between Sam and Danielle for top position, but in the long run, Sam won, only because she used to be a character I could tolerate (somewhat) before she changed for the worst. If you're not new to this site, chances are you already read my rant about her, so this is basically a repeat. But if you like to hear me suffer, then by all rights, dive in.
I never liked her personality to begin with. She was forceful, demanding, bitchy, whiny, and selfish. She provided a nice balance whenever she played the rational role and kept Danny and Tucker from killing themselves, not to mention she carried a few noble qualities I did like (not using her money to squander her position for fake friends, courageously determined, etc), but I can't believe I’m suppose to be rooting for her despicable attitude when she’s one moral core away from essentially becoming Paulina (who also happens to be rich, bitchy, and whiny). This happened all over Season One and Two, but they were kind enough to let us know she had flaws regarding her traits. And despite what I said about her social issues, she was, at best, interesting, which is a good thing to have when you’re stuck playing the main character’s love interest.
By Season Three, they took her character and expanded it in the most wallbanging way possible. Now Sam impossibly became even more self-righteous and nagging. Serving as the mouthpiece for whatever Aesop he pointlessly needed to learn, Danny frequently lowered his IQ coincidentally in time for Sam to lecture him. She often provided exposition and know-how whenever the plot called for it (don’t you just love how she conveniently had a Mythology book at the right time) and she comes off as being very manipulative—pushing Danny to go with him to Nocturn’s dreams, selfishly putting the "DP" logo without his consent* (yes, I know this is from Season Two), and seemingly more in love with his alter ego then him as a whole ("Phantom Planet").
I don’t understand why she gets a free pass to criticize Paulina (or hell, anyone at this point) when she acts like a little witch. Characters are flawed for a reason and I could have taken in her hypocritical nature if the plot itself didn't back up Sam every time she badgers others whenever they break the tiniest noble code. It makes her come off as a loudmouth goody-two-shoes who can do no wrong. She’s a terrible person and the only reason I’m suppose to accept her is because she’s a good guy.
What does Danny see in her?
NOTE: I know my "Memory Blank" review says I didn’t mind Sam putting on the DP logo, but I wrote that thing two years ago and have since changed my mind. Once I revise the summary and review for the website, I will be fixing that.Back to Articles
Article written in: Mar. 25, 2010
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