tek's rating:

The Big O, on WOWOW (s1) / Sun TV (s2)
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The first season was pretty good. I didn't care too much for the second season, though, so it brings down my average ranking of the series as a whole. I tend to wonder if the second season's decline in quality has anything to do with Cartoon Network's involvement with its production. In any event, the show is fairly stylized, and noirish I guess. It's kind of like Batman, after a fashion, though little if anything in the following description will sound like it. You'll have to watch it if you want to know how it seems that way. Also, the whole thing is um, rather operatic. Oh, and the way androids all have the initial "R" in front of their names kinda reminds me of Asimov's robot novels.

Anyway, 40 years ago, everyone lost their memories. The story is set in Paradigm City, apparently the only city left on Earth, and I guess most people live within the city's giant domes. Roger Smith is a negotiator. He also has a Megadeus (a giant robot) called Big O, which he pilots to occasionally fight other Megadeuses or monsters or whatever. Um... the guy has a butler, Norman. And he rescues an android named Dorothy, who comes to work for him or whatever. A lot of the stories seem to have to do with lost memories, and the Paradigm Corporation (run by Alex Rosewater) seems particularly interested in the recovery of such memories. The corporation basically runs Paradigm City. Roger also has a friend, Dan Dastun, who's a high-ranking officer in the military police, for which Roger used to work, himself. And there's a woman called Angel, who works for the Paradigm Corporation, but while Roger sometimes takes jobs for them himself, he doesn't like them, especially Rosewater... nevertheless, he often seems to end up working presumably on the same side as Angel, who's rather mysterious, herself.

Roger also has a few recurring nemeses who sometimes pilot their own Megadeuses or less impressive giant robots. And, I suppose there are a few other recurring characters, friend and foe, and... um... hmmm... well, it's really a strange, complicated show and I'm not sure what else to say. But it's cool. Although there is a rather odd fixation with tomatoes....


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