"Marvel's Daredevil": Season 1

I was late to board the Netflix train, but now that my new roommate has it I have definitely fallen under its spell. This is largely due to my first Netflix original series, "Daredevil."

First of all, I am pleased that the show has rescued the Daredevil character from the low point that the 2003 movie starring Ben Affleck had left it. Now, to be honest, I was not one of those who thought that movie was terrible. I'd place it in the middle ground of Marvel movies: not as good as the first two "Spider-Man" entries, most "X-Men" movies and pretty much all of the "Avengers" movies, but much better than its spin-off "Elektra" or the abysmal "Ghost Rider." I especially enjoyed Colin Ferrell's (admitted hammy) performance as the assassin Bullseye.

"Daredevil" the series, however, blows that film completely out of the water. No hit-of-the-week nu-metal bands to be heard, no cheesy overblown special effects, and no overuse of gratuitous slow-mo. Instead, you have a well-crafted, brilliantly acted, and marvelously choreographed thirteen episodes that are an inspired addition to the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).



One thing that "Daredevil" does remarkably well: deliver multi-dimensional, interesting characters. I can't think of a single weak link in the cast. Charlie Cox is great as Matt Murdock, the blind attorney who moonlights as a masked vigilante, desperately trying to save his neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen from those who would destroy it. Deborah Ann Woll and Elden Henson are equally effective as Matt's friends and coworkers, Karen Page and Foggy Nelson. Foggy is his best friend and partner at their law firm, while Karen is an early client who becomes their secretary and friend. Together, the three make a very believable group of friends and coworkers that have their ups and downs but always are there for each other in the end. Vondie Curtis-Hall plays Ben Ulrich, a newspaper reporter ally of the trio who brings pathos of his own to the story.

Of course, every effective hero story should have a strong villain, and this is where the series' most well-known actor, Vincent D'Onofrio, comes in. His portrayal of Wilson Fisk, aka The Kingpin, is terrifying and memorable. An interesting facet of the series: the most prominent love story we see is not that of the hero, but of the villain. Over the course of the season we see Fisk go on awkward first dates with the beautiful Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer) and gradually build his relationship with her. In fact, after a few episodes of Fisk being a never-seen, barely named boogie man, we first meet him during his first meeting with Vanessa. The season is just as much Fisk's story as it is Murdoch's.



The show does a great job of building tension, raising stakes, and offering up surprises. Even minor characters that you expect to just be passing through can end up being crucial players in the deadly game of cat and mouse between our heroes and the antagonists. There are also plenty of Easter Eggs for perceptive viewers, both those that are fans of the other films and TV shows in the MCU and those who are die-hard enthusiasts of the original comic book source material.

Thinking back to the origins of these characters, it's amazing that they have come so far. That goes for Marvel Comics in general. It's little wonder that Stan Lee has a cameo in practically every Marvel movie or TV show (he's not present in the flesh in "Daredevil," but eagle-eyed viewers might spot his photo on the wall in the police station). These characters all started out as nothing more than ideas in the imaginations of several remarkable men. Now, new generations of creatives are able to give their own spins to them, retelling their stories in new mediums of which the original creators would not have even dreamed.

The recent superhero trend, which started in the movies and has moved to television, is still going strong with no sign of slowing. As long as we are still given material of the high quality of "Daredevil," I don't see it slowing anytime soon.

Freakazoid!

Carrying on the topic of comedy from the previous entry, I thought I would look at the cartoon from my childhood that I thought was most hilarioius: Freakazoid.



Freakazoid was part of the Kids WB block and aired from 1995-1997. It was from Steven Spielberg's production company, much like other classics such as Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, and Pinky and the Brain. Freakazoid isn't as widely known as those other shows; perhaps it's this underdog status that makes it one of my favorites. The other reason is its subject matter: it's a parody of superhero cartoons. In fact, since we are the midst of a superhero craze in pop culture, I'd say it's prime time that Freakazoid's cult classic status was given a boost!

The show focuses on an unlikely protagonist: Dexter Douglas, an ultra-geeky computer nerd whose extreme wimpiness is often played for laughs. Due to a random accident involving a cat and a computer chip, he is given a superpowered alter ego by the name of Freakazoid: a blue skinned, pop culture-referencing, pun-loving nutcase that is basically Dexter's id come to life. The theme song says it all: "He turned into the Freakazoid, whose strong and super quick. He drives the villains crazy, 'cuz he's a lunatic!"

Speaking of villains, the show has them in spades, and they are quite memorable. Much of the humor in the characters comes from skewing the audience's expectations. For instance, there's a muscle bound ruffian named Cave Guy. However, he's very articulate and speaks like a snooty British intellectual. Or Freakazoid's arch nemesis, The Lobe. On the one hand he's an evil super-genius. On the other he is deeply insecure and in one episode stars in his own parody of "Hello, Dolly!" Then there's Candle Jack, a villain that has transcended his limited appearance on the show to become a bonafide internet meme. The joke goes, say his name and at some point he'll come and abduct you, leaving your sentence incom



Freakazoid's allies are memorable too. Whether it's his girlfriend Steph, who manages to make a catchphrase out of "That was quite a jolt, Freak!," Cosgrove, the easily distracted police officer, or the always put-upon Professor Jones, who very well may be Dr. Smith from Lost in Space.

The show's humor is very zany and wacky, with countless pop culture references that probably went over 90% of the target audience's heads. Heck, I only caught the "Hello, Dolly!" reference fairly recently, when I finally heard the actual song. It isn't all about Freakazoid either. The creators throw in other recurring shorts as well, such as a parody of Johnny Quest and a very Monty Pythonesque hero named Lord Bravery.

The show is one of my all-time favorites. Yes, at times it could be a little too silly or weird. But that was part of its charm. You could feel the creativity of the writers at work. And on what other 90's cartoon could you get a great villainous performance from Tim Curry? Uhh . . . okay pretty much all of them. But what about the great Ricardo Montalban? I will always remember him shouting maniacally, "Laugh with me!!"

Yes, Ricardo, I will.