Krod Mandoon, I think I love you!

Sweet day in the morning, it's funny! It's actually funny!

I just watched the one hour premiere of Krod Mandoon And The Flaming Sword Of Fire on Comedy Central, and I can't tell you how relieved I am. This show is actually funny! Really, truly, intelligently funny! No reliance on fart jokes. No stupid, annoying routines designed to just be stupid and annoying instead of doing the work it takes to be funny. It's quick-witted, sometimes low brow, maybe a little disturbing, but it made me laugh, and nearly cry with joy as a result.

If you read my post from yesterday you understand how much I was consumed with worry that this show wouldn't live up to my high expectations. Oh, happy day, but I can listen to Beaker play 'Ode To Joy', and resonate with understanding about it's meaning. Once again I finally have a show that I will be anxiously awaiting a new episode every week. And since it's not on Fox, it may even last beyond one season!

These first two episodes give a good idea of what we're in store for in the future. Our hero, Krod Mandoon, has low self-esteem, has a pagan girlfriend who uses her sexual wiles without compunction, and apparently just because she's bored, and finds himself named 'The Golden One' by his recently deceased general. He has a pig-faced slave with the best of intentions and the worst of aim. He has a wizard on his team that is all flash, and no actual magic. He's got an evil Chancellor he must rebel against, because that's the plot. Basically, Krod has a lot on his plate.

We also get assassination plots, a rather uncomfortable conversation about a pagan ritual involving 300 men, and the revelation that the evil Chancellor Dongalor has a weapon of mass destruction, and is working his slaves and 'guests' round the clock to get it to work. But the Chancellor is not above falling in love, as he demonstrates by bringing home a sweet young girl whose father he slaughtered in front of her. It sounds horrible, but maybe it's those accents that make it funny...

Sean Maguire is easily the star as Krod Mandoon. He does the whole fighting and sword wielding believably, and meshes in all sorts of hangups without skipping a beat. He's smart enough to free himself from being dragged behind a carriage, but not smart enough to see that maybe a relationship with a sexed-up pagan isn't going to yield monogamy and faithfulness. If he went a little farther with the character he'd be whiny. Instead, he's genuine and likable, and seems right at home swinging that flaming sword around.

India de Beaufort plays the pagan warrior woman, Aneka. She wears too much makeup, not enough clothes, and kicks ass. They overdo the sex thing with her character, to the point you just shudder, but she's got such a sweet smile it was easy for me to overlook. I hope they ease up on that aspect in future episodes, however, because that could end up ruining it for me.

The entire cast is well played, but there are tons of secondary characters that keep the show's rapid pace steady. The whole thing has a Monty Python feel with all the British accents and oddball humor, but there's also a definite Mel Brooks History Of The World: Part I vibe, and that ain't a bad thing at all. The dialogue is quick, so you have to pay attention, and you have to pay attention to the visual gags, too, or you'll miss critical elements. It's the subtlety mixed in with the blatant that wins me over.

So yes, I'm doing a little dance to the tune of 'Ode To Joy'. I'm looking forward to next Thursday's episode. I've forbidden my husband from deleting these first two episodes from the DVR, even though Comedy Central is going to air the holy hell out of them between now and next Thursday. I don't care how accessible the show will be made to me by the network. I need my new love accessible to me whenever I need it, and it's name is Krod Mandoon And The Flaming Sword Of Fire!