Wow guys. It’s been a crazy few weeks. I’m sure you noticed my absence from the last issue of this prestigious publication. I had just got back from Hawaii and wasn’t really in a position to write anything. I had got into a standoff with a drug lord and then I had to rescue a family of drowning elephants and a bunch of other stuff happened involving volcanoes and a killer whale but I’m sure you’re not interested; you’re hungry for MOAR YOUTUBEZ right? Right.
The theme for this week’s TitT is superheroes! Who doesn’t like a good story where villains are brought to justice and the good guy/girl gets the guy/girl of his/her dreams, while simultaneously having a few laughs? Save the Supers is an entertaining web show that explores what a league of superheroes goes through when faced with a budget crisis. The show is the brainchild of Sandeep Parikh, who plays the character “Merman” (and stars as Zaboo in The Guild), and it documents the activities of “The Super Force” as they deal with unconventional super-villains, an illicit super-baby experiment and their own out-of-proportion egos, in a style inspired by The Office. The show pokes fun at standard tropes used in superhero franchises, with the characters parodying well-known superheroes. Though low-budget, the show has managed to pull off amazing sets and costumes, and the special effects aren’t half bad. The comedic style, while immature, is still mostly clever. Max Bird-Ridnell’s character Night Knight is a joy to watch for his dark humour and dramatic persona. Jordan Black (Dean Spreck on Community) as Fleet Foot is also a blast. Hopefully the show gets the views and the momentum to push it to a second season.
The second “super” show I’m reviewing is titled Platoon of Power Squadron (PoPS), which has completed six episodes, each running for about thirty minutes. PoPS has quite the cult following, and the seventh episode of this incredibly well written show was released this past Sunday. PoPS traces the shenanigans of four individuals, Jonas, Virginia, Donald, and Sebastian, who share an apartment and all have unique superpowers. Though all of them are aware of their incredible abilities, only Donald (played by Craig Benzine aka Wheezy Waiter), who can conjure lightning from his fingertips, is eager to explore them and use them to help people. Jonas, who can read minds and control people’s thoughts, prefers to not use them at all, presumably because of dark past experiences with them. Virginia has the power (or “skill” as she would like to call it) to stop time and teleport, but is focused on finding a way to get rid of her powers altogether. Sebastian can make multiples of herself but ends up with the cloning blues, with her duplicates rebelling and taking on identities of their own. PoPS’ storyline progresses slowly for a web series, but has great character arcs and development. It also has an engaging, suspenseful soundtrack that goes amazingly with the smooth panning shots and time-stop scenes. PoPS is the perfect example of an indie project: the script, videography, VFX, soundtrack and all other aspects of the production are done by a small group of dedicated people, and the hard work that goes in clearly shows in the quality of the episodes.
The final web series for this issue (which is the LAST ISSUE guys! I know, I’m sad too) is a wacky cartoon show titled Bravest Warriors, that airs on the YouTube channel “Cartoon Hangover.” Bravest Warriors was created by the same man responsible for Adventure Time existing in this world, Pendleton Ward. It follows four space-travelling teenagers, Chris, Beth, Danny and Wallow as they travel the universe helping prevent the destruction of alien civilizations. While this is a cartoon show, it is by no means for kids, as adult themes and sexual innuendo is thrown around quite a bit. The four heroes battle evil with their emotions, in addition to using their pimped out spacesuits. The crazy storyline and strange characters are what make this show. An Emotion Lord (who claims to be Chris from the future) appears often, and ends up giving more trouble than help through his powerful abilities. Smaller characters like Catbug and Impossibear have their own fan following, especially Catbug because of his adorable cuteness. Unanswered questions about Chris’ future and the disappearance of the gang’s parents (who had their own hero squad, the “Courageous Battlers”) will keep you engaged.
And so we come to the end of this issue’s review. But isn’t this the last issue of the term? Yes, yes it is! So is TitT still going to be a thing in the fall? I don’t know, guys! I’ve had a blast writing this column, and it’s helped me justify my unhealthy consumption of YouTube videos, but I might take a break for a while and write about other stuff. I know this is harsh news for you all to take in, but trust me: I’ll be back. Until then, Stay Tubed and DFTBA!
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