Fantastic Fest ’14 Review – DANGER 5: SEASON 2 (EP 1-3)

[youtube id=”UVBPGN3g14c” width=”600″ height=”350″]

Man, this show is wild. Hysterical, too. To describe the Australian TV show as a parody isn’t quite accurate as it’s not directly poking fun at anything in particular. This is more of a subversive take on a post WWII world where Hitler has survived, human sized animal people are a thing, and an elite group of five diverse people are a task force led by an eagle-man. Yes, this show is bizarre. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen — and I need more of it.

I took a gander at the first season after reading on Twitch about a second season being prepped, which was accompanied by a screen shot which tickled me (though I can’t remember what it was now). I tracked down the first season, including it’s YouTube pilot, and was wildly entertained. The humor ranges from the extremely, overtly broad, to the subtle and minute. It’s tone is a perfect blend of lunacy and nostalgia. Creators David Ashby and Dario Russo have such a talent for filming things which look extremely dated, influenced by sitcoms and foreign television (specifically Italian and Spanish).  For a special treat check out their short Italian Spiderman on Youtube to see a precursor.  The closest I can come to a comparison would be to imagine a live action version of Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s Team America: World Police, but it’s not really fair to compare it to anything. There is NOTHING like Danger 5. Each character is so perfectly drawn into a stereotype that they feel imported from another show, and their personalities blended together make for some especially classic moments of which I shall not spoil.

There were only three screened episodes of a presumably six episode second season. It’s obviously heavily advised to check out the first season prior to these, but it’s not entirely necessary. Jumping headfirst into this season is no different than jumping into the first, as you’re equally baffled and amused at what’s going on. It had been a long while for me, but after one episode I fell in love all over again. The second episode has Hitler — who despite always having Hitler somewhere in his name and LOOKING LIKE HITLER isn’t recognized — is enrolled in high school, causing the Danger 5 team to go undercover (poorly) to stop his nefarious plans. This was my favorite of the three episodes shown.

The only problem I had was that there wasn’t enough!! The next episode, shown in scenes at the end of the third episode, looked like a blast. There’s also a promo shot that appears to be Power Rangers inspired. Frankly, I can’t wait. The show’s second season begins airing in Australia in October, and I’m praying that someone like Adult Swim or Comedy Central picks up the rights quickly! If you’ll excuse me, I’ve gotta go record my new single now.