Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire
Starring Sean Maguire, Roger Allam, Matt Lucas, India de Beaufort
Comedy Central
If only Comedy Central knew how to spend their money a little better. Every time the network I so dearly love scores a hit and is suddenly flush with revenue, they race out and greenlight a few more new series that often prove to look better on paper than on the high-definition television screen (remember The Naked Trucker and T-Bone?). Their newest effort, Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire, is no ill-advised exception. A vain attempt to satirize the beloved sword-and-sorcery genre much like Monty Python and the Holy Grail took on the legend of King Arthur and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (the books and the BBC radio and television adaptations I mean of course; the 2005 movie blew chunks that not even Amy Winehouse could top) turned a jaundiced eye on science fiction, Krod is a noble effort that misses a great deal more than it hits. For a fan of great epics such as Conan the Barbarian, Excalibur, and the Lord of the Rings trilogy that celebrate the awesome beauty of worlds where magic and clashing steel are as commonplace as traffic and acid reflux are here, watching this show is like watching a mediocre stand-up comedian: you may chuckle occasionally, and you may be shocked when you do, but don’t expect any big laughs.
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