The awesomeness (pun intended) of the June 5, 2018 releases from Mill Creek Entertainment includes the separate DVD and Blu-ray (both of which include codes for digital copies) complete series sets of "The Awesomes." This 3-season 30-episodes 2013-15 animated Hulu series joins (reviewed) DVD and Blu-ray releases of the fairy-tale-influenced mini-series "The 10th Kingdom" and a (soon-to-be-reviewed) DVD set that includes the complete first seasons of "Knight Rider" and "Miami Vice" as hot-off-the-presses additions to the Mill Creek catalog.
"Awesomes" is the brainchild of SNL alum and current "Late Night" host Seth Meyers and his long-time collaborator Mike Shoemaker with tons of voiceover help from friends who include Ike Barinholtz and Bill Hader. The end result is success where many others fail regarding a superhero spoof. The winning formula this time is placing the guardians of our galaxy in a setting that is very reminiscent of the 2004-07 Comedy Central animated faux reality show "Drawn Together" that has virtually every central casting type from Saturday morning cartoons and video games under one roof "Teen Titans" style.
The following YouTube clip of the "Awesomes" series trailer provides a good primer on the lore and the humor of the show. The even better news is that the Blu-ray version of the show looks much brighter than this promo. The best news is that the trailer includes the top moment from the series.
The pilot begins with Mitt Romney superpowered lookalike Mr. Awesome (Steve Higgins) announcing his retirement after 50 years of leading the titular league. Son Jeremy "Prock" Awesome (Meyers) convincing Dad to let him take over the family business leads to a unanimous walkout by the current squad with the exception of childhood friend Muscleman (Barinholtz). The only other leftover is low-level administrator Concierge (Emily Spiveey).
Desperate times in the form of losing federal government funding and other support if he does not rapidly form a new team prompts Prock (Professor plus Doctor) to recruit misfits who have exceptional abilities but are in the "reject" file because of severe flaws.
Frantic (Taran Killam) is an excitable boy who can run 500 m.p.h. Having the mother of all mommy issues strongly affects the ability of Impresario (Keenan Thompson), who can conjure up any tangible image with his mind. Eleven year-old Asian boy Tim (Bobby Lee) hulks out to a 600-pound Sumo wrestler with the slightest provocation. The remaining problem child is Gadget Girl (Paula Pell), who is a golden girl with a magic bag full of tricks and a lack of understanding that what is appropriate in the '50s is unacceptable in the 21st century.
A need to fill one more slot leads to hiring Hot Wire (Rashida Jones), who can manipulate electricity ala Static Shock. The issue regarding her is the strong possibility that she is a Trojan Horse.
Each group of episodes revolves around a season-long threat. This begins with Awesomes nemesis Dr. Malocchio (Hader) deciding that the retirement of Mr. Awesome provides a good chance for escaping from prison to implement a grand evil scheme. The fun of this includes that plot involving discrediting Awesomes 2.0.
Season 2 finds the surviving team members battling a Legion of Doom that another foe spends the season assembling from individuals whom our heroes offend in one manner or another throughout this season. An example of this is the team learning the truth regarding the saying that Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
The series winds up with the final season-long foe hitting very close to home on many levels. The episodes remain strong, but the underlying premise of the story arc is weak in that the final episodes of the season (and the series) reveals that the wolf in spandex clothing goes to a great deal of unnecessary trouble to achieve his penultimate objective.
The most hilarious episode in the series is the S3 season premiere "Seaman's Revenge," which starts with the standard story of a day off leading to a mission to save the day. The aforementioned glee largely relates to an oblivious Gadget Girl responding to questions about her experiences with Aquaman clone former Awesomes member Seaman. One missed opportunity is not asking her whether she finds Seaman hard to swallow.
The next strongest outing is an S2 one in which The Awesomes agreeing to make a "Drawn Together" reality show goes comically horribly awry. A highlight this time is a team member making a coming out announcement to boost his profile on this show within a show.
Other fun episodes parody scifi and/or superhero staples. These include the gang meeting alternate superpowered versions of themselves, and Meyers and Shoemaker provide a strong outing in which the gang obliviously is leading normal lives. The only disappointment is that evil versions of the good guys lack goatees.
The series finale achieves the modern show ideal of serving equally well as a season finale or the last hurrah for the characters in the event that the series is cancelled. In this case, all is right with the world until a new threat appears in the final seconds. This creates hope for three streaming seasons and a direct-to-DVD movie.
The special feature primarily consist of a one-shot ComicCon panel and trailers and promos for each season.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Awesomes" is strongly encouraged to email me; you alternatively can connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy.
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