This show is a hilarious spoof of the "Superhero with his underpants on the outside" genre. The Superheroes' costumes are baggy, ill-fitting and makeshift, the acting from the young stars is appalling, and the whole thing is obviously intended to be taken about as seriously as "Batman". The villains are delightfully megalomaniacal, the plots wonderfully ludicrous (wait until you see the fifty-foot woman swatting away NZ's military forces), and there's even a girl student reporter who believes she's rumbled the secret alter ego of one of her classmates. Don't expect too much from this show, it's just a piece of lightweight fun. If all it ever achieves is to amuse a few people on a Saturday afternoon, then its purpose is served. If it helps train up some new talent as well, that's icing on the cake.
3 Reviews
Modern Day Superhero Battles
atomius1 July 2007
Warning: Spoilers
This is another attempt at trying to bring back the long dead and much too flogged horse genre of heroics. The protagonist, Ben Wilson, is a superhero, the latest holding the position and power giving 'ensignia' of Captain Xtraordinary. He battles the forces of evil in the form of Nemesis in a fictional city filmed in New Zealand using real locations under different names. This is hardly the best quality TV your'e going to see, and really isn't that entertaining. The stormtroopers and office blocks all make it try to seem grand and on a grand scale, but the action itself is, as with all of the 'superhero' genre, a tad on the small side. Nothing gets done and nothing needs to be. It's all a bunch of excuses for a pathetic battle scene. They could at least have made a proper 'comeback' for the genre rather than some story about a 'everyday' teenager. After all, who wants to watch a 'everyday' character? Two stars at best. One highlight is the opening credit graphics which feature 'comic book' style scenes which move smoothly in a pattern along with 'comic style' images of the cast. Maybe had it all been made in that style it'd be worth another star.
Amazing Extraordinary Writing
cleverhorse21 August 2017
Hopefully time has lent my fellow reviewers 10 years worth of perspective; they have somewhat missed the mark! This series doesn't punch below it's weight, nor is it a superhero reboot gone awry (wtf??).
The writing, acting and pacing are of a rare quality, comparable to those classic shows we miss with that pang of nostalgia; more so because of some of the gash currently on offer. The adventures really are well thought out so that the series interconnects, while episodes carry their own weight and identity too.
There's a chemistry here that's difficult to come by, which makes the show's short lifespan kind of understandable - things change quickly and so the magic withers. Some more robust marketing may have extended the show's audience but it's the lack of expectation which helps it exceed expectation x
The writing, acting and pacing are of a rare quality, comparable to those classic shows we miss with that pang of nostalgia; more so because of some of the gash currently on offer. The adventures really are well thought out so that the series interconnects, while episodes carry their own weight and identity too.
There's a chemistry here that's difficult to come by, which makes the show's short lifespan kind of understandable - things change quickly and so the magic withers. Some more robust marketing may have extended the show's audience but it's the lack of expectation which helps it exceed expectation x
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
