OK, lots of things being worked on, a few I've neglected but trying to get back to. But in my idling here and there, I realized I haven't checked in on Spyro in awhile. He's been busy apparently, and I realized why a little while ago but waited till now to bring it up.

We all know what happened to the purple short-stop's heroic career. First he started off as a little twit that became a dragon with attitude that we just can't help but like...then things got weird when he went through a weird look/talk phase during his adventures that were chronicled in Hero's Tail and Enter the Dragonfly.
Then we got a look back in his legend series where we see he was quite a caring person in his youth...and linked up with someone who wasn't an Amy clone. And at the end, in chrono-stasis, he finally had that good dream of when he was taller, knew dragon-fu, and placed a cracked world back together.
And then...Skylanders happened.

Yeah yeah yeah, we all know. Activision took the dragon with 'tude who we adored (given how few playable dragons there are in games), and...well...to recall a picture I saw...threw him between the doors of an elevator and banged his head a couple times with it saying "you've gotta break'em to remake'em". And the result was Spyro looking like a dragon that got hit with an orc-stick (ugly-stick for those who don't get the referrence)....a LOT.
Spyro fans didn't like this change, and who could blame them? This dude looked nothing like Spyro at all. But lets be fair...this was Activisions fault, not our purple little dude's. I know Skylanders is taking the trail of being for kids, but honestly, the REAL Spyro looked more kid friendly than this new version of him. But moving from that, as said, not his fault.
Even more removed than his looks, Spyro was also placed in the ironically named "Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure"....ironic in that it had NOTHING TO DO WITH HIM. And that is true in so many ways...because it's not just him, it's Skylanders...and there are a lot to choose from. You can just pop "Spyro" off and put somebody else on and they'd be the hero of the story...well faceless as they may be plot-wise. Spyro was the center of his own journey. Sure, he had some pals, but they didn't overshadow him. Here, he's just another in the cango line. But that's the name of the game in toy (or card) video games. Ya gotta be faceless to the plot if you want to be an interchanging character maverick.
So, check list. Guy looks nothing like himself? Check. A story with his name on it that has barely if anything to do with him? Check. Oh yeah, lets add in the fact that all these Skylanders are actually toys. Yep, everyone remember that? They were real at some point, got ejected from their world, then frozen as toys which we bring to live with a portal. Guess you gotta explain the whole toy concept somehow...though you should really explain how there are 3 million Spyros out there if your going with that one. Loose-end explanation for gimmick? Double check. In some ways, I guess you could say this is like an AU Spyro I guess...

So, Spyro got the worst of it. But as said, lets be fair. Personally, I have the game but haven't played it just yet. Who knows, maybe it is fun and entertaining. And certainly, as far as business goes, it's a profitable hook. It's like Pokemon. You keep making up all these weird characters who barely any background and have kids eat'em up. It's been done, but it's a money maker. They certainly keep expanding with each installment with fresh (maybe not new) ideas.

So I won't knock the series for being what it is. But...it's not Spyro. He was brought in as a gimmick for everything else...while, if it should be for Spyro, it should be the other way around. It's like all those celebrity commercials you see. You don't really want to by the product, but you like seeing your favorite actor/actress. That's kind of the same thing. He's a bargaining chip instead of the slightly-snarky hero we adored way back. And he's a dragon too, that's a plus, everybody likes dragons.
THAT'S what bugs me about this series. The Legend Trilogy, may have made him slightly different, and showed a bit more of a compassionate side, but it was still about him. Skylanders is just a bit celebrity commercial. It's not the say the product isn't bad, it's just the concept of the celebrity in question being used in such a way.

But on to why I'm talking about the above. Well, recently it was announced that Skylanders...was getting a series. Yep, that's right, there's an animated series about Skylanders coming to Netflix in the Fall.
Called "Skylanders Academy", it's something of a stand-alone series...that makes me think of "characters in school with superpowers that stop evil every episode" sorta thing. There's not too much on about it now, but speculation can go for the fans I suppose.

Here, obviously, is where Skylanders are trained. That's the basis. Apparently at some point Spyro's dark counterpart Malefor was involved at some point, which lead to the academy being reconstructed. But anyway, apparently it seems there are these things called "Minis" and "Sidekicks" that are sorta like the apprentices I guess that train to be proper Skylanders...
.....Uh...huh...somebody uhh...want to explain the Mini called "Spry" to us? Is this like...Skylander Spyro when he was younger or...?
Anyway, so yeah...school. Everybody likes school. Well, it's better when weird stuff happens or classmates are fire-breathing dragons. Seriously, you can find a screenshot of Spyro in what seems to be a classroom at the Academy. There also seems to be some sort of arena too, probably with fighting competitions. And the so-called baddie Kaos is possibly a student too, so this may be a prequel sorta deal and kinda brings up why he went all evil-portal-master on everybody.

But anyway, there ya go. Skylanders is getting a series. And, again, it's riding on Spyro a bit too. A reviewer on the news of this reveal once called it "Spyro and Friends" which may be more akin to how the first game was called "Spyro's Adventure", again, riding coattails.
AGAIN, though, can't judge yet. It's not even out. What I can say is that I'm a bit disappointed that we don't get to see Spyro on the screen (big or small) as he WAS (or rather is, or should be). Instead, we get this mock-up version from Activision. Sure, with comedy writers like Eric Rogers (who did some episodes of Futurama, and that's not ENTIRELY kid-friendly). the show might be interesting for everyone.
It's just...an example of the times I suppose. Or maybe how some things work. Activision has cornered some large groups with it's franchises (Call of Duty: Shooters, Destiny: RPGers (kind of), Guitar Hero: Rockers (or who think they are), Tony Hawk: Sports (mainly skaters), and now kids with Skylanders).
It's not a question of "true" Spyro fans and "Skylander" fans...it's more of a conflict between something that came from humble beginnings to something that was "claimed" by a bigger property and dangled in front of a new audience to make cash.

Naturally, Spyro had his own opinion that he wanted to share to his different counter-part. Needless to say, he marched right into an academy classroom and wanted to have a few words about what's what and entitlement.
I have a sneaking suspicion that people would wonder who would win in a fight between these two. Personally, despite his uhh...state...I gotta go with OG Spyro on this. Not because of loyalty, but hey...HE can breath fire, lighting, ice, a whole bunch of other stuff Skylander Spyro can't. More variety. Not to mention actually...more experience. Skylander Spyro may have been in a classroom, but OG Spyro has much more experience (that doesn't really...come from age...).

But, whatever your "side", don't hate the series just yet. Give it a season. At least SOME form of Spyro FINALLY made it to the screen. Maybe, if it does well perhaps, one day our OG Spyro will get there too.