Byte List: media that deserves a sequel

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Clone High - Graham Taylor

Way way back in the mid-2000s, there was this little animated show called Clone High. It’s premise was simple: a bunch of historical figures are cloned, and the clones all attend the same high school. This specific story revolves around the trio of Abraham Lincoln, Joan of Arc, and Gandhi, chronicling their adolescent misadventures.

It was a fun lampooning of the teen drama genre, and for the most part it was pretty good. The writing was fun, the characters colorful, and the plotlines interesting to say the least. You have your stock episodes revolving around peer pressure, the big dance, the general awkwardness of being a teen, and of course the danger of smoking raisins.

If all of this hasn’t convinced you to watch it, Clone High was created by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the minds behind the Jump Street movies and The LEGO Movie.

Unfortunately, the show’s surreal reign of comedy only lasted one short 13 episode season. If that wasn’t bad enough, it was cancelled on what is probably one of TV’s biggest cliffhangers of all time. Clone High doesn’t deserve a continuation just because it’s an all around good time, it deserves a continuation simply to wrap it all up.

The duo have expressed interest in continuing the series, joking that "Our entire career has just been about getting Clone High back on the air.” So while there is hope for the show’s future, we may not see something for quite some time.


Bioshock - Nolan Leahy

Ok. For some of us, we don’t feel that the Bioshock games have been gone long enough for anyone to miss them; however, in 2013 Bioshock Infinite was indeed the last installment without plans for a new game.

One reason for having loved this series for so long is because of the thrilling combat such as the flames of the Incinerate plasmid that scorch foes and that of using Elizabeth’s tear powers to provide cover from enemy bullets as you sniped enemies.

The games also permitted you to take high advantage of the surrounding environment with being able to hack turrets, security cameras, and ride the sky rails for launching melee attacks in Bioshock Infinite.

The other reason this franchise should come back is due to how the story presented itself through well crafted environments and character dialogue that left many players with emotionally powerful moments that are embedded into the minds.

Although I do believe that this game should have a sequel or another installment, it would be with high hope that the masterful Ken Levine, who left Bioshock developer 2K after the productions of Infinite, would be on the task for the universe simply would not be the same without his creative genius.


Tiger & Bunny - Meghan Duffy

Tiger & Bunny is the anime that has impacted me the most. It’s probably one of the anime that I still have the same passion for now that I had five years ago when it was first released. The plot of Tiger & Bunny was not the most original, pretty much standard superhero fare, but its characters are what drove it to become my favorite anime of all time.

Yet despite its incredible sales, massive money making power from merchandise, and the perfect lead up to a second season, it’s never gotten past one season and two movies -- well three if you count the live action Hollywood adaptation that’s in the works.

There’s not a lot of anime that leave me clamoring for a sequel, but Tiger & Bunny was such a fresh breath of air for anime. That came from its attempts to bring a new audience to anime, the middle aged men who don’t usually watch anime.

The attempts to bring a new audience brought a sophistication to the show that really shone through. Of course, the audience primarily became women, but I doubt Sunrise could complain that much seeing as the amounts of merchandise sold was astronomical. The fact that there still is no second season to Tiger & Bunny five years later is astounding, but maybe one day it will finally come out and I’ll be able to die happy.


Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt - Dalton Martin

I have never been too huge of a fan of anime series, mostly focusing on the hugely popular shows like Dragonball Z, One Piece, or even Naruto. However, while trying to expand my tastes I stumbled upon the Gainax production Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt and fell instantly in love with the show. Everything about seeing an Eastern studio create a show entirely focused on poking fun of Western animation was hilarious and refreshing.

The gross-out humor, hyper sexualization, and the extreme use of vulgarity make it seem like any regular show you’d normally see from Comedy Central, but the execution of all three of these elements is so amazing, you often overlook the crudeness. After watching the rather short season showcasing the antics of Panty and Stocking Anarchy, two angelic sisters cast down from Heaven, I had never been so upset at a show being over.

Normally stories wrap up perfectly, but PSG doesn’t tie everything up in a nice lacey bow, but instead does the exact opposite by purposely leaving everything in an infuriating cliff-hanger that will probably never be resolved. Sure there is a fan comic devoted to finishing where the show left off, but I would much prefer to have the series continue on in a regular show format.

For a series that was made initially as a joke, PSG  has since spawned off a legion of rabid fans whom to this day still await a second season of the raunchy show.


Halo 3: ODST - Michael Robb

Now I know what you are probably thinking, the Halo series has plenty of sequels, what makes ODST so special? For starters, this side story set within the Halo universe follows the struggles of a team of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. This sets it apart from the mainline games, which follow Halo’s flagship character, the Master Chief.

Additionally, the darker, noir style plot of the game is unique amongst the normal Halo line up. The use of saxophones in the soundtrack and the urban, rainy setting is reminiscent of classic film noir, and it ended up working surprisingly well in an FPS shooter campaign.

From a gameplay standpoint, since you play as a normal human rather than the super soldier Master Chief, the customary shield you are normally equipped with is nonexistent. This, combined with Halo’s higher than average time to kill, forces you to fight much more cautiously than you normally would in most FPS’s.

A sequel that follows a similar style to Halo 3: ODST would be a fantastic addition to the Halo series, even if it isn't a direct continuation of the original story.

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