- Director: Zeb Wells
- Disc Format: AC-3, Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
- Language: English
- Subtitles: French, English
- Region: Region 1
- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
- Number of discs: 2
- Rated: Not Rated
- Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
- DVD Release Date: October 11, 2016
- Run Time: 286 minutes
It isn’t
difficult to imagine “Supermansion” coming from the same minds as “Robot
Chicken,” as it often feels as if the formula would have worked better as a shorter
segment within that show. While the formula of “Robot Chicken” allows for gags
and skits to be discarded as soon as they stop working, “Supermansion” remains
stuck in the same jokes for the entire season. Even though a few bold narrative
choices are made along the way, this is a show that irreverently spoofs the
superhero genre, so the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of the humor is more
significant than plot twists or character development.
Although it
might seem that Adult Swim would be the perfect home for a show such as this
(joining “Robot Chicken”), “Supermansion” is yet another desperate attempt to
get audiences to use the streaming service of Crackle. Despite the free viewing
options, I don’t know many people who have delved into this viewing site. When
I tried to watch “Community,” a show revived by the streaming service, it had
enough technical issues to keep me away. While they have recently had more
success getting some viewers to watch a few of their other shows, I can’t
imagine “Supermansion” being the site’s savior.
They clearly put
a decent amount of money into the show, at least in terms of the voice actors
that they were able to get, but something about it still feels somewhat
unoriginal. Even expanding the idea into a continuous narrative, somehow this
show just feels like an extended skit within an episode of “Robot Chicken.” I
often felt myself longing for the gag to end and for the next skit to begin,
but was unfortunately stuck with these same characters for the entire first
season.
These gags may
be funny at first, especially when they poke fun at the ever-popular superhero
genre, but the humor wears thin when the writers simply repeat the same running
jokes throughout the season. Titanium Rex (voiced by Bryan Cranston) is an
aging Superman-like alien superhero, although he emerged from the Earth’s core
rather than space. When Rex discovers that he is a father to a young woman
named Lex (Jillian Bell), she begins training to join the league of
superheroes. Along with Lex and Rex, these heroes include Black Saturn, whose
gravel voice (lent by Tucker Gilmore) and costume is clearly referencing
Batman, an oversexualized female hero named Cooch (Heidi Gardner), a hulked-out
massive muscle-man in Brad (Tom Root), a Jewish robot called Jewbot (Zeb
Wells), and a Captain America type in American Ranger (Keegan-Michael Key).
Guest actors such as Seth Green, Chris Pine, and Ron Perlman also lend their
voices to supporting characters.
Despite all of
the talent lending their voice to the show, there are a surprising number of
episodes that are entirely forgettable. Even with only 13 episodes in the first
season, it seemed to drag. Part of the issue was the lengthier episodes. Again,
this might have been easier to swallow if not already accustomed to the
10-minute format of “Robot Chicken.” Uncensored versions of all 13 episodes are
included in the 2-disc DVD set of the first season. I have no idea if there
will be a second season. I don’t really care all that much, and the carnage of
the last episode seems to imply that the show runners feel the same or don’t
expect to get renewed. There are no special features to mention.
Entertainment Value:
6/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 5.5/10
Historical
Significance: 3/10
Special Features: 0/10
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