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This week, a summary and reviews of "Beauty is a Beast", and other news. 3.68 MB, 16 minutes.



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Transcript

Everyone called it, folks: King Radius' surprise is that he's marrying Chimera's mom, and she's disappointingly stereotypical (as in EVIL). But the worst is still to come for Stella. All this, plus news from the Winx world, in WinxTalk Podcast #6, with your host SpiderBraids.

Before we get to the 2nd episode, though, here's a late review for the first episode:

Melashaan likes Chimera, and writes: "Add me to the fanclub, especially for her 'owning' of Flora. I'd love to hear her take on her (gag) relationship (ugh) with Helia. ... She's gonna be the Winx version of Mandy - an 'evil' version of a heroic character (Stella) who's simply her counterpart cranked to eleven."

She has slightly mixed opinions on Baltor, saying: "Baltor's whole power, look, & attitude are pretty cool, and I'm curious why he's targeting Tides in particular. Still, I'd like him a lot more if they didn't have that cheesy heavy-metal guitar riff as his 'theme' music."

[audio clip: his arrival in Solaria in 3x02]

Lastly, Mela has a message for the writers: "Please give me two things, show makers: a look at the Beta school (I mean a full look, not just a cameo or two) and Stormy a chance to do something (one showdown with Musa in two seasons is kind of sad for a regular villainess)."

Frank Maggiore also has a review up, and you can check that out, along with reviews of the other episodes, at his website, www.angelfire.com/la3/goldenroad15.

And now, news from the Winx world.

Our first ratings report of the new season, and it's a bit of a disappointment for Winx. Among the 6-11 crowd, "The Princess' Ball" got 0.6 ratings point, with a 4 percent share. In comparison, the very next show, Bratz, got more than double their ratings at 1.3 and a 7 share. Winx's ratings were equivalent to those of the previous week's airing. The 8am time slot has been taking a toll on their ratings.

It should be noted, however, that this was still enough for 2nd among broadcast networks in its time slot. However, it was a very distant 2nd, behind Monster Allergy's 1.7 and a 9 share for Kids' WB.

Ironically enough, Monster Allergy is animated by the same studio as Winx. And as if it wasn't ironic enough, one of the artists of the original comic version of Monster Allergy... also drew the W.i.t.c.h. comic.

As of last weekend, no ratings have been posted for the 2nd episode.

Tecna's Enchantix is up at WinxClub.com , and while at first glance, there's nothing technological about it, Lori notes that the wings seem to be of a holographic nature. Meanwhile, hooray for short-haired girls: Tecna retains her short hair in the Enchantix form. Also, just before press time, Musa's Enchantix has also been posted at WinxClub.com, although it had been floating around online for a few weeks prior.

Michael's Favorites reports that Rainbow SPA has officially announced a Winx Club film to take place after Season 3. You can find details on his page at michaelsfavorites.com.

And that's news from the Winx world.

Okay, now on to the current episode, "Beauty is a Beast": So, last week, Layla had to separate from the other Winx to check out problems in her home realm. This week, she's at her home realm, and all she gets to do is shield a few mermaids from a tidal wave with her pink shield, and check out the situation.

[Layla: "Something is happening under the sea of Andros: Something dark. Something terrible!"]

Under the ocean, Baltor is busy turning the mermaids of Tides into monsters. And yes, "Tides" is the name of her realm, although, as you just heard, its Italian name "Andros" gets a mention as well. Hmm... Anyways, after he's done expositing stuff to the Trix (in their only scene), he takes an interdimensional portal and leaves for Solaria...

...where the other Winx are also heading over. Stella takes Bloom on a tour of her crib, and I note this because it ends with Bloom asking about her birth parents in a place known as the Hall of the Universe.

[Stella and Bloom in the Hall: "You asked the room to show you what happened to them. What it showed you has to mean that they're out there somewhere."]

So basically, her parents are still alive. Where I live, we already knew this since season 1.

Anyways, back to the main plot. We meet Chimera's mom, Count Cassandra.

[Cassandra calls Stella "dreadful"]

So as it turns out, Cassandra? Hates Stella. A lot. And that blows, especially to those who were expecting something different from Cassandra, and there were a few, but we'll put the whole "Not another evil stepmom!" angle aside for now. While Chimera is trying to be nice, Stella is offended at the idea of being offered second-hand clothes... even if it's the dress Chimera "stole" from Stella last week.

[Stella gets mad at Chimera and her "hand-me-downs"]

Chimera, having sworn revenge on Stella for that insult, decides to ruin her party. Dude, your mom's marriage to Daddy Radius is going to ruin it for her anyway, so why rub it in?

Anyways, first she goes for her hair, a la Miss Magix. After that hilariously backfires, Baltor comes in and decides to get both her and her mom as minions, before recharging his powers in the sun, well, the Steeple of the Sun, anyway, and giving them a power boost (shades of Darkar giving the Trix their Gloomix, perhaps?).

Last week, one of Lori's highlights was the mention of Mirta, as part of the guest list for the princess ball. Well, this week, Flora drops a mention of being disappointed at Helia's ship breaking down, so besides Mirta; Timmy, Riven, and Helia are also absent from the ball. I bet you're not the only one who's disappointed at their absences, Flora... and speaking of absences, the pixies are not in this episode at all either, and for them, there's no explanation. I think it's the first pixie-less episode since the 2nd season started.

Anyways, time for the princess ball, and Daddy Radius' big announcement...

[Radius announces his marriage to Cassandra]

Oh yeah, we called this. Just about the only people who didn't call this were the Winx, especially Stella, who as you'd expect, does NOT take this lightly at all. She calls it the worst thing dad could have ever done to her. (But not in front of his face, so, what's the point?)

This raises the question, of course: Why would Radius let his ex plan his ball if he wasn't going to get back together with her? But let's shove that issue aside, because the worst is yet to come for Stella...

...as during the traditional dance, Chimera casts a spell to turn Stella into a fat and ugly monster.

[Chimera casts her spell on Stella]

Fair play for Stella being such a jerk to Chimera when she was offered the "stolen" dress, yes?

And you're probably going to say, "Hey! Daddy Radius wouldn't have missed that!" Well, the show fixes this potential plot hole by having Cassandra deliver an under the belt blow by cutting off Stella's one potential source of salvation: her dad, by doing some spelling of her own.

[Cassandra casts her spell on Daddy Radius so that he ends up ordering his guards to lock the monster up in the dungeon, and later says to Chimera: "I really like this new power we have, it's going to take us far."]

Reminds me a bit of the time when the Griz wouldn't let Bloom explain the Winx's trip to Cloud Tower.

At least one 4Kids forum poster has said, about this, that this would be a good time to use the Truth Orb they learned last season. But since it didn't exist in the original, it doesn't come into play here. And so you end up having a frantic chase to a dove tower, involving hip hop and wrap (ivy wrap, that is!), which ends on fairy Bloom diving off said tower to rescue Ugly Stella after she gets blown out a window.

HEY WAIT A MINUTE! Didn't another episode end something like this, with non-fairy Stella diving off a cliff after Brandon fell off another? Gee, and I wonder where all the originality has gone, what with the evil stepmom-to-be and stuff?

Speaking of cliffs, that's quite a nasty 'hanger we end on, and it'll be a while before we see it resolved: The next episode isn't until October 28, and from what we know so far, the whole Ugly Stella plot will last a few more episodes at least.

So, let's see what everyone else thought...

Lori says, "Overall, this was a good episode, but a weak follow-up to the first. Or maybe the first was just so strong that anything would have looked weak behind it."

In the highlights column, she liked Bloom a lot, saying, "Bloom was very strong this episode from her joking with Stella to her thumbs up while sleeping to her diving off the aviary. Her moment in the Hall of the Universe was sweet and touching. I hope we see more of this side of Bloom."

Other highlights include funny moments from Sky and Brandon, and, despite the lack of screentime for the Trix, Stormy's crush on Baltor. Of the latter, she says "It’s about time we get to see more depth to her than just being “stormy.” He would be exactly the type of guy to break her, too. Break her hatred of love, I mean."

On the flipside, she didn't like how Chimera's mom turned out: stereotypically evil. She says, "I would have liked to have seen something different and have Chimera’s mom be weaker and honestly in love with Radius, while Chimera was the power-hungry daughter."

Actually, you'd be surprised at how many people have actually said they would have preferred this. Basically, at least it's DIFFERENT.

Anyways, she continued to dislike Musa's new 'do, saying "I still don’t like Musa’s hair, though it looks better down than in the AniMusa style. She still looks too much like Chimera though. If they knew they were going to do this with Musa, they should have given Chimera a different hair color."

She also didn't like Stella this episode, saying "I don’t blame Chimera at all for wanting to ruin Stella’s party. Stella in this episode reeked of early season 1 Stella. Bratty, "witchy," rude, selfish and demanding. UGH. She has a couple good moments, but overall, this beast thing is really good for her. She needs a lesson in humility. "

In the minor annoyances bin, she cites name confusion regarding Layla's home realm. She also notes that Musa's and Layla's pixies have yet to be shown this season, and that although they appeared last week, none of the pixies were even in this week's show, even though they're all supposed to be inseperable from their bonded fairies.

Freedom Fighter said of this episode: "Not as good as last week's thrilling start, but still nothing horrendously bad to report. Let's keep that streak going, please... 7 out of 10."

The best line of FF's review regards Chimera's fat and ugly spell: "Anyone think it would've been funnier if Stella suddenly croaked like a frog?"

FF does have a few points to complain, though. For example, FF writes on Stella's voice: "Do my ears deceive or did Stella get a VA change too now? Weird... at times she sounded like she always did, but most of the time she has this calmer tone, unlike the usual screechiness Stella usually projects. Basically, Stella now sounds like she's on helium."

And a plot inconsistency... "if Bloom's going to go through the trouble of bursting down a door, then why doesn't she burst open a window instead? Didn't flying away with the group carrying Stella ever cross any of their minds?"

Melashaan writes about Chimera: "She reminds me a lot of Leelee from Mystic Force. Her timidness and embarrassment during her meeting with Stella in front of her mother seemed like a genuine attempt to start fresh & preserve her dignity, and Stella's bite-her-head-off reaction sealed their rivalry. What I'd like to see - Chimera realize that the deal with Baltor will bite her in the ass and become a reluctant heroine in the hope of escaping it. She's certainly likeable enough to pull it off."

She also notes a big improvement for Bloom: "Man, is Bloom going for the win or what so far? It's like that self-righteous whiner from the first season was a whole different character, and I for one am glad. Anyone who can blow off Stella when she's being an utter diva earns major points. I'm glad they're still addressing her 'looking for my birth parents' storyline, too. It seems like it gets mentioned, then dropped. Her reaction to Baltor hints that it won't be tossed aside this easily."

Her negative points, besides seemingly-obligatory hate for Cassandra the Evil, include, of all things, Ugly Stella being fat: "I speak from experience - fat kids get enough grief without being equated to monsters. You could've make her gaunt & horrific (like the possessed mermaids), but going for fat re-enforces another nasty stereotype."

The lack of pixies also bugs Mela a bit too. Although she doesn't really mind, she says, "It strikes me as lazy that you introduce all those new characters and then they disappear."

Hey, wouldn't be the first time the show completely got rid of a halfway-major character from the previous season. They marginalized Knut and got rid of Pepe in Season 2.

My own quick takes:
1. If Stella was pissed at her dad for marrying Cassandra, why didn't she just say so in front of everyone? I can see it now: "Dad, I thought your surprise was supposed to make me happy! This? Is a NIGHTMARE! I thought you invited mom to plan this party so you two could get back together!" Really, why DID Radius have mom as his party planner?

2. As for Ugly Stella being fat, I don't think it's as much as stereotype problems that Stella is conscious of her appearance, and would probably sooner DIE than be fat. So, why not humiliate her in public by making her fat (on top of turning her into a monster, of course!)? Makes her all the more unattractive.

3. Speaking of Stella, during her scene in the Hall of the Universe, she sounded more like Chatta. Hmm...

4. Still reserving thought on Evil Cassandra, but the writers better write the heck out of this to make up for it being a cliche.

And that's it for this edition. You can leave your feedback at my blog at spiderbraids.livejournal.com , and we'll see you in two weeks. Thanks for listening.

Date: 2006-10-19 02:24 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tanz-fanatika.livejournal.com
You make it sound as if 4Kids has definitely referred to Tides as Andros. They didn't. That could easily be the name of the sea.

Count Cassandra? Only if she's in drag. The term is "countess."

Funny how you don't mention that Stella hates Cassandra even before she's announced as her would-be step-mother. That hate isn't one-sided.

Stella's mom didn't plan the ball. Stella just assumed she did.

Date: 2006-11-02 02:48 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] spiderbraids.livejournal.com
Yo, sorry for the lateness, but I'm using your corrections in my podcast. That okay?

Date: 2006-11-02 03:14 am (UTC)

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