Product Description

Ben Tennyson was just an average 10-year-old kid until he discovered a strange alien watch in a crashed meteorite. Called the Omnitrix, this watch gives Ben the ability to transform into any of 10 alien heroes, all the while keeping his 10-year-old personality.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6182 in DVD
• Brand: BEN 10
• Released on: 2007-02-06
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .30 pounds
• Running time: 286 minutes

Amazon.com
Average kid Ben Tennyson becomes a host of alien-fighting superheroes with the help of an extraterrestrial device in Ben 10, an engaging and kid-friendly animated series that arrives on DVD with a smattering of extras for series devotees. Ben 10's basic premise resembles the 1960s and 1980s DC Comic title Dial H for Hero, with affable teen Ben discovering an alien device called the Omnitrix after it crashes on Earth. The Omnitrix gives Ben the power to transform into ten different and powerful alien heroes, each with their own specific super powers. Ben's discovery of the device attracts the attention of evil space warrior Vilgax, who wants it for his own universe-conquering purposes. Episodes are divided between Ben tangling with Vilgax and his crew of monstrous henchmen, and Ben's struggles to fight crime with the Omnitrix, which occasionally malfunctions and summons the wrong hero at the wrong time. Episode highlights include "Washington B.C.," in which scientist Dr. Amino mutates animals (including dinosaurs) into powerful monsters; "Hunted," with Ben battling a trio of interstellar bounty hunters sent by Vilgax; and "Kevin 11," about a maladjusted kid whose powers of energy absorption threaten to steal away the powers of the Omnitrix.

All 13 episodes of the 2005-2006 debut season of Ben 10are included on this double-disc set; fans also get a lesson on how to draw Ben from artist Scooter Tidwell, and there's a commentary track on "Secrets" from creators/Man of Action members Duncan Rouleau, Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, and writers Tramm Wigzell and Thomas Pugsley. Several of the commentary participants also contribute to a brief sneak preview of an upcoming season. -- Paul Gaita

From the back cover
Ben Tennyson was an average ten-year-old kid on an uneventful summer road trip with his Grandpa Max and Cousin Gwen. That is, till he discovered a strange alien wristwatch called the omnitrix buried in a crashed meteorite. Now, with the omnitrix, Ben can transform into any of 10 alien heroes--each with their own special powers. And Ben is going to need all the powers he can get if he is going to save the world--from Vilgax and his evil alien forces.

Customer Reviews

He's no ordinary kid - he's Ben 10
Healthily into its third season, it's only now that BEN 10's freshman year is finally coming out in dvd in all its thirteen episode glory. Debuting in December 27, 2005 on the Cartoon Network, BEN 10 was an immediate hit with the fans as the show, boasting a very cool concept, proved to be fun and eminently watchable. Plus, that theme song rocks.

The premise: Ordinary 10 year old Ben Tennyson comes upon a mysterious alien artifact (resembling a wristwatch) which grants him temporary access to the forms of ten alien species, each of whom is inherently imbued with its own superhuman ability. In the constant company of his wise and benign grandfather Max (who hints of an enigmatic past, proving that being a "plumber" is more exciting than one would think) and his clever, sassy cousin Gwen (who he initially dislikes), Ben, early on, learns his lessons as he heroically attempts to abide by the famous Spidey quote: "With great power comes great responsibility." But his attempts to live up to that credo are at constant odds with his more carefree and mischievous pre-adolescent tendencies. Accordingly, he strives to use his new-found super powers to nab villains, all the while keeping at bay the maurauding alien, octopus-faced Vilgax, who will stop at nothing to own the Omnitrix. But, as civic minded as he has become, that doesn't mean that young Ben can't have any fun...

The hook, of course, is that this young, normal kid all of a sudden gains and gets to play with the powers of ten formidable alien beings. Part of the fun is in witnessing Ben discover all the diverse forms (some of which are strange and kinda gross, and one, Ghostfreak, even really unnerving) he comes to inhabit and his varying reactions to 'em. These ten beings are rendered as visually striking and colorful, my two personal favorites being Heatblast and Upgrade. And, oh, yeah, for those who were wondering, these ten aliens whose shapes and abilities Ben can borrow, in no particular order, are: Upgrade (a biomechanical being who can integrate itself into any machine and instantly improve upon or "upgrade" it), Four Arms (a bruising, 12-foot-tall, four-armed alien with awesome strength), Heatblast (an incendiary individual whose race dwells on a sun), Diamondhead (the near invulnerable, crystalline being), XLR8 (capable of immense super speed), Ripjaws (the aquatic alien), Grey Matter (the miniscule alien, standing at 5" tall), Ghostfreak (creepy and spectre-like), Stinkfly (a winged insectoid alien), and Wildmutt (a quilled, bestial creature).

And, now, for the self-righteous, holier-than-thou part of the review: this show is perfectly catered for our impressionable young 'uns. With the expected, patented family values, as well as the mainstay credo of trying to do the right thing, being wholesomely espoused throughout the episodes (and in a non-sanctimonious way), kids should find themselves entertained as they are simultaneously taught the classic, goody-two-shoes virtues. The interactions among Ben, Grandpa Max, and Gwen are nicely portrayed as his supportive gramps and his more mature cousin strive to keep the impulsive Ben on the proper path (because Ben does lose it and act out every now and then).

Its cartoony animation is well suited to BEN 10, meshing with the show's sensibilities. This series is meant to be light, innocent, and fun-filled, in spite of all the heavy sci-fi action, and these qualities are perfectly conveyed by the clean lines and caricatured look. Young kids certainly wouldn't mind, and Ben's otherworldly personas are depicted in a nifty and energetic enough manner. The look and style of BEN 10, actually, leans towards the anime style and recalls TEEN TITANS to mind. I kinda like it.

Now, the minuses. Other than the very alluring hook of being ten different superheroes, there's really nothing new about this series. One improvement I can think of is that this show would be better served with more cohesion and more episodic continuity. Multi-part episodes would be very welcome. As it is right now, the formulaic plot has the Tennyson family travelling to some destination, only to encounter the supervillain flavor-of-the-week (although several of these baddies are sicced on by the series's main villain, Vilgax). Don't get me wrong, there is some character development and these are pretty cool stand alone episodes, but BEN 10 seemingly lacks that certain focus; and the show's story arc and plot progression are developing too slowly for my taste. But, hey, that doesn't mean I'm gonna stop watching this series. When you get to the nitty-gritty, BEN 10 is just too much fun to miss out. Not to mention, Seasons 2 and 3 do offer up several great episodes ("Gwen 10" and "Ben 10,000," to name but two).

By the way, from what I've read on Wikipedia, the Special Features will include several episode commentaries, interviews with the showmakers, a creator drawing lesson, and a collectible poster.

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Here we go with the episodes:

"And Then There Were Ten" (episode one) - On a summer cross-country trip via motorhome with his Grandpa Max and his disliked cousin Gwen, Ben Tennyson ends up with the powerful Omnitrix. But, intergalactic conqueror Vilgax is intent on gaining possession of the Omnitrix and sends his robots to get it.

"Washington B.C." (episode two) - Ben goes up against Dr. Animo, a loony but brilliant scientist who created the Transmodulator, an invention which enlarges and distorts normal animals into gigantic, dangerous beasts.

"The Krakken" (episode three) - While camping out and taking a swim in a lake, Ben bumps into a sea monster.

"Permanent Retirement" (episode four) - In a homage to (or a blatant rip off of) INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, Ben, Max, and Gwen visit Aunt Vera's tiny town and discover that the residents are exhibiting very weird behavior.

"Hunted" (episode five) - Vilgax sends three alien bounty hunters (Kraab, SixSix, and Hoverboard) after Ben's Omnitrix.

"Tourist Trap" (episode six) - Feeling let down and bitterly bored with the tourist town of Sparksville and its main attraction of a giant ball of rubber bands, Max decides to play a prank but, instead, unleashes an electrical being called the Megawhatt.

"Kevin 11" (episode seven) - Ben meets and hangs out with the psychotic, 11-year-old Kevin, who has the power to absorb energy. When Kevin learns of Ben's Omnitrix powers, he begins to absorb those.

"The Alliance" (episode eight) - Ben goes up against an ornery female armored car robber who had been converted into a destructive alien cyborg named Rojo.

"Last Laugh" (episode nine) - We find out that Ben is afraid of clowns, which sucks for him because the main baddie in this episode is an evil, parasitic clown named Zombozo.

"Lucky Girl" (episode ten) - When Ben beats the wicked magician Hex, he takes from him a magical charm as a souvenir and offers it to Gwen. Gwen discovers that the charm has the power of incredible luck and becomes a superhero herself, called Lucky Girl. But, there's no such thing as a free lunch, and a prize must be paid for all of Gwen's fortuitousness...

"A Small Problem" (episode eleven) - When there appears to be a glitch with the Omnitrix, Ben pounds the device in an attempt to activate it and ends up trapped in the form of the 5" tall Grey Matter. An alien-obssessed man named Howell Wayneright captures him and presents him to the Organization, a clandestine group aiming to collect alien technology for its own purposes.

"Side Effects" (episode twelve) - When Ben catches a cold, it has the side effect of weakening his powerful alter-egos; it's bad timing as he has to face off against an insect-controlling madman, who threatens the city with nuclear devastation.

"Secrets" (episode thirteen) - It's the head alien, Vilgax himself, versus Ben 10. Plus, we get a first look at the underground facility beneath Mount Rushmore, which is the HQ of Grandpa Max's former covert and X-Files-like goverment organization.

It's all the rage with 8-year old boys...
My son (who is almost 9) really loves this show. The animation and plot lines remind me (a little bit) of the Scooby-Do series that I watched as a kid. The twist here is that the hero in this series can transform himself into 10 different creatures with different types of powers. I think this is a pretty cool show, and I like the character of Ben.

This is the *bomb* for younger kids.
This show is the new "transformers", the new "Voltron" of our generation. My son loves it, and it's actuallly interesting enough for me to watch as well. Seeing how Ben deals with problems, and which person he's going to use to solve them is really cool. It's a good show, and I recommend it for your younger kids. Some mild violence, but other than that, it's a HIT!