Watch Ben 10

"Ben 10" is an American animated show. It combines a number of genres into a single interesting entity, including science fiction, action, adventure, and comedy in one entertaining package. It is a rare pleasure to see such a well done kid's show of this sort aimed at a relatively young audience (5-14). Such sophistication is typically reserved for something more adult.

Benjamin Tennyson becomes "Ben 10" when he stumbles across the Omnitrix, an alien device with the ability to turn him into any one of (initially) ten different alien creatures based on stored samples of DNA. The series largely follows him, his sister Gwen Tennyson and his grandfather Max Tennyson in their adventures and misadventures as they come up against various villains and gradually discover the various powers and limitations of the Omnitrix, often by happenstance or mishap.

Over time, it is revealed that the Omnitrix was originally intended for Ben's grandfather but locked onto his wrist permanently when Ben found it because his DNA was close enough to his grandfather's to trigger recognition. It was intended to be a force for good, to promote peace and understanding in the galaxy, but in the wrong hands has the potential to be a powerful weapon of evil.

Grandma Max turns out to be somewhat more than the mild mannered retired plumber he first seems to be. Gwen has budding magic powers and provides a satisfying sense of girl power to the series. The villains run the gamut from Vilgax, one of the galaxy's baddest aliens ever, to Kevin E. Levin, a sociopathic 11 year old human with mutant powers, to Dr. Aloysius James Animo, former scientist and one of the sillier villains with an almost Aquaman-like control over animals due to his inventions and experiments. Fighting the villains is inevitably complicated by Ben's lack of knowledge about the Omnitrix, leading him to transform into creatures he didn't intend or having his powers desert him and turn back into a boy at the worst possible time.

The series had an especially strong start. After a particularly good first year, its quality remained quite high. Ultimately, it fostered a number of spin off series and became a full blown franchise, branching out to include films, games and merchandise.

Ben 10 is a series that is currently running and has 15 seasons (263 episodes). The series first aired on December 27, 2005.

Where to Watch Ben 10