The Hits and Misses of Kim Possible Season 4

I have stated in the past that Kim Possible is easily one of the best TV shows of my childhood. I've been re-watching it (because I like to spend my recently discovered free time wisely) and have been noticing that the last season seems a bit unbalanced in regards to the rest of the series. What I'm trying to say is that while the series had its ups and downs as most shows do, it stayed very strong for the most part through its course until the movie, Kim Possible: So the Drama. That movie was originally supposed to be the finale, ending with Dr. Drakken's most epic plot yet (where he actually almost won), and then of course Kim and Ron finally getting together.

Looking back, I see that the movie was basically the perfect ending. It wrapped up everything very nicely, leaving the fans satisfied. However, DisneyChannel decided to renew the series for one more season, which alright, in the words of KP herself, "no big". At the time, I had no idea that the movie was supposed to be the end and was simply excited to see more episodes of my favorite show coming out. However, there were some major changes made that irked me. They were not enough to put me off the show because the plots and characters were still endearing, but they were still questionable. As a kid/preteen, I overlooked them and simply enjoyed the show, but now I'm watching it again as an adult and wondering what made the writers decide to go in this direction. I think what they were attempting to do was take it in a fresh new direction, but ended up changing a lot of what we loved about it instead.

Diving right in…

Kim's new mission outfit. One of the most iconic things about Kim Possible was her mission outfit; the black crop-top, the cargo pants, the gray gloves. There was absolutely no reason to change it… except that the writers wanted to give her a fresh new look (my theory). The reasoning behind it in the show is so ridiculous: her outfit had been discontinued. Really? You can't find cargo pants or a black crop-top ANYWHERE? I mean, there's some pretty dumb stuff in the show, but that one is probably one of the stupidest. However, I do have to say that her new look is pretty cool. I like the purple. Plus those pants are probably easier to move around in than her baggy cargo ones. And I think that pocket on her leg is pretty cool. (It did bum me out that they changed only Kim's look, but not Ron's. I liked that they matched before. It made them look like a team. However, I don't think that purple is really his color. Of course, their outfits weren't what made them a team, so I sucked it up.)
So, I'd say that it is a HIT, but an unnecessary one.

Wade leaving his room. How could they do this!?! All through the show it was a running joke that Wade never left his room. Absolutely never, ever, EVER! Every time Kim and/or Ron was supposed to meet him, he would always have a robot, computer, or hologram there instead, always bumming Ron out. Even on Mother's Day, he had his mom come into his room while he simulated a beach, instead of them actually going to the beach. He could practically run the word from his room, which was why it was so awesome/funny. Having him actually leave, ruined the illusion and the joke. And they didn't stop at just once, he kept doing it! He became Kim's backup sidekick! No! He is supposed to be Kim's tech guy! Ron is the sidekick! If he's not at the computer, then who is? Only once in the previous seasons did he leave his room, but it was for a legit reason and it worked… but then it was ruined because the writers had to keep doing it.
As you can tell, this is most definitely a MISS

Wirst Kim-munniator. One of the other iconic things about Kim Possible was the Kim-munnicator. A hand-held device that looked sort of like a video game, but worked like a phone. Wade and Kim were Face-timing before it was cool ;) It had all sorts of gadgets, Wade could control it from his room, turning it into a robot. Kim could slip him samples to analyze. It had mega battery power… To name a few things. Of course, everyone knows its four beep ringtone followed by Kim's, "What's the sitch?".
The change in season four was that Wade upgraded it into watch form. Instead of Kim carrying it in her pocket like a phone, she wore it on her wrist like a watch. Apple-watches before they were… not cool. Anyways, I was a bit saddened by the change. I loved the Kim-munnicator the way it was. There was really no call for a change. But, like with the new mission clothes, I think the writers were just trying to spice it up. There wasn't anything necessarily bad about the change except for a crime against fashion. Why would you want to walk around with such a huge, bulky thing strapped to your wrist like that? Even image-conscious Kim should have realized this! It didn't go with anything! Maybe with her mission outfit it was alright, but her school clothes? Nope.
Since it didn't add anything, I think this was probably a MISS

Kim's car. Since season four takes place during Kim and Ron's senior year of high school, it only makes sense that Kim should get a car. Of course it's purple to match her new outfit and of course it's no ordinary car. This time it's not tricked out by Wade, but by the Tweebs. As we've seen, the Tweebs are boy-geniuses nearly on the level of Wade, but they usually use their inventions and experiments for mischief. However, they agreed to build Kim a car with all sorts of gadgets and gismos. The car is pretty cool, it's got all the tech (except for aquatic capabilities), and works like a driving Kim-munnicator with a screen on the dashboard. The only downside I found was that it took away the need for Kim to call in favors to get rides everywhere she went, thus taking away the iconic, "Thanks for the lift…", which I was very sad to see go.
However, the pros beat the cons, so this is a HIT

Kim and Ron dating. Of course, the biggest head turner of the movie was that Kim and Ron finally got together. After three seasons of their awesome chemistry and occasional teasings from the writers, the fans were at last satisfied. So continuing the show meant that their newfound relationship had to be explored. Tread carefully, writers. This is often where many shows stumble and fall. So, how did the Kim Possible writers fare? Well, I'm a bit torn. Kim and Ron still acted like best friends with a little bit of romance thrown in on the side. Which… I guess that's sort of a good thing. I mean in a good relationship, the partners should be best friends, right? But I think my problem was that they still seemed more like best friends and less like boyfriend/girlfriend. They acted exactly like they did before and then every once in a while they would say something mushy, almost kiss, or something of the likes. On top of that, it never seemed very natural, it seemed sort of forced. Also, notice that I did not say "kiss"? I said "almost kiss". I swear, they actually kissed only like two or three times. They would always lean in, but then be interrupted. I think the writers were trying to make it a running gag. It started out kind of funny, but got really old really fast. Not that they had to kiss every episode or anything, but for crying out loud, they didn't have to tease it every episode either!
Now that I have expressed all the downsides, I have to say that I still did enjoy the idea. Even though some of it seemed forced, the hopeless romantic inside of me still squeed at their cuteness. There are some legitimately good scenes and plots revolving around their relationship. It's not always pushed to the sidelines (just sometimes). I don't know, maybe it's the twelve-year-old inside of me that shipped them before I even knew what shipping was. I still love them!
I think this might be a HIT and a MISS at the same time.

Finale. After the epic Kim Possible movie, there did not seem like there was any way to top it. Was there a better way to end a series? Could they come up with an even more epic plot from Drakken? Something else to top Kim and Ron getting together? What could it be? 'Graduation' parts I and II, that's what. I must say, I think that if anything could wrap a series better than So the Drama, these two episodes did. Without spoiling TOO much, I'll just say that it simply tied up a lot of loose ends, showed us the future of the main characters (Kim, Ron, Rufus, Dr, Drakken, Shego, etc.), had an epic climax, brought back lots of our favorite characters even just for cameos (Sensei, Warmonga, Señor Senior Junior, etc.), had its heavy moments, had its funny moments, had its awesome moments, and was just fun all around.
In a nutshell, this was definitely a HIT

Hits: 4
Misses: 3

So, I think that season 4 was the clunkiest season of the show, but it still held it's ground. It's still a totally fun show that I thoroughly enjoy watching (even if Wade does leave his room -__- Sorry, not going to get over that). The characters are strong, the comedy is gold, the plots are entertaining, the action is great, the animation is stellar, and everything is just awesome!

READ MY KIM POSSIBLE POST HERE