How is it that the show from the 90s is less corny and less cringe-inducing than the show produced in the early 2000s?
I was set to rewatch both and only finished the 90s Xmen series. Aside from the dated by 90s production standards and the final season being delayed and gutted for budget, it was a surprisingly joyful series. In a way I think the dated animation style worked because the characters were on model for 99% of the time. But with Evolution, I had to stop at the start of the second season. I wanted to stop even before the end of the first.
The 90s show had typical corny jokes and banter which is a writing hallmark of an 80s/90s show, its roots going back even further. Today that trope is seen as corny and kiddy. Honestly I got used to it so much so that it must have worked in its favor. It came off less like jokes to steal the attention and pad time and more like pure banter. Even if you still consider that cringeworthy, it was nowhere near the "lingo" of Evolution.
Evolution played out so self-aware and concerned with being hip that it embodies the bundle of nerves and identity issues that it focused its writing on - young teenagers. Every step of the way it felt awkward and the focus on teenager issues and immaturity felt completely phony. I guess I expected Xmen but teenagers and not "teenage behavior" with an Xmen overlay the show. The only good thing that Evolution has is that its art holds up. Everything else was awkward.
