Rousseau's  Reviews

Space Dandy (DUB)

Season 1




Space Dandy. Hoo boy, uhhh.... I have a lot of mixed feelings about Space Dandy, but I want to say, straight-away that I (think I) liked it overall, and want to see more, in case this review seems too critical of the show.

I'm not really sure what I expected when I saw the promos for Space Dandy. I think I was kind of put off by the eye-rolling silliness of the "Boobies" (a "breasturant") waitresses (and the dreadful Flash Gordon space suit that could have doubled for a Venture-brand "speed suit"), but at the same time, I believed I was in for a good-but-weird sci-fi action show with a probable dose of satire. So it was early on in the show's run that I found myself somewhat frustrated. I remember feeling that I just wasn't getting something about the show and that's why I was so lukewarm towards it. I briefly considered that I was too dumb, or not "anime-y-ish" (is that a thing? I don't think so, but I thought so then) enough for this show's offerings. In any case, it just wasn't translating, and my impression was clearly outside what I figured must have been an unanimous chorus of Dandy amour. However, when I read the season sampler review at the AVClub (who, I am TOTALLY NOT COPYING), I felt some relief. In it (and for the record they gave the show a B+) they remarked that Space Dandy "was a vicim of it's own hype."

Ok, so I'm not a(n entirely) crazy person.

That's a very accurate statement and does seem to get at part of why I was so tepid. The show was billed as the fusion of efforts by the folks behind Cowboy Beebop, FMA, and Soul Eater and for this I think I (like others) expected some kind of second coming of Spike (or Spike-ness)... and if not, expected a show that was at least tonally more serious. I can't say I ever truly thought we'd be delivered Cowboy Soul Alchemist 2: Electric Boogaloo, but I wasn't expecting what we got with Space Dandy either. The light-hearted, comedic tone; the self-important, not quite self-parodying title character; the more far out, surreal elements (not that there's anything necessarily wrong with that). It's a heady mix that I wasn't prepared for especially given what I thought I'd be getting. In my mind, we'd see something more straightforward, and while most likely episodic, had an overall arcing narrative.

That we did not get. (see picture to right)

Though to be fair we did get a gorgeous looking weird sci-fi show, from BONES (Wolf's Rain, FMA series, et al). Space Dandy excelled at its visuals but not in a way that could make up for some spots of weak writing and the fact that its use of loose or non continuity was problematic even if a partial strength. Its best parts were its action sequences, and when it landed, the humor. Space Dandy also gave us quite a bit of variety in what felt like an almost literary level of conceptual science fiction scenarios--and the experimentation of continuity may in fact fold into that conceptual area. [My strange theory is that we are seeing the multiple possibilities of Dandy and his escapades across varying universes, but this mechanic is not explained to the audience.] Still, the show *is* gorgeous, as if there could be any doubt. The visuals in the show were nothing short of dazzling: character design, landscape, starship design, and overall use of color were all exceptional. Some of the best design features happened in the episodes "Plants are Living Things too, Baby" and "A Race in Space is Dangerous, Baby."

It was clear, though, by episode two that I was very confused. See, a main character essentially died (maybe not) at the end of episode one, and this episode finishes with a "to be continued" title card. Ok, I guess we see what happens in this cliffhanger then. I hope Meow survives. Nope. No continuation of the story. No explanation for how Meow escaped or survived. Then everyone dies and becomes a zombie. Wat. Don't get me wrong, I actually kind of dug the story telling technique after I got used to it, but at first I, what with my conception of linearly connected and sequenced time, was a little befuddled. And while this way of telling stories, in a self-contained story-of-the-week where each episode is in a certain way its own little universe with no real continuity, is an aggressive way to do television by today's standards, and it comes with certain risks. The biggest problem is that it weakens and undermines any attempt at a true narrative arc both plot wise, and in terms of characterization because there is only at best, a loose continuity. Without permanence the characters don't have to change at all. They truly never have to react to any situation. This technique can also, it should be warned, even if experimental, be seen as middling laziness. I get what they were shooting for with episodic-reset style, I'm just not sure it worked.

However there were two real, but weak throughlines in Space Dandy. One was the vaguely flirtatious relationship Dandy had with Scarlet, the red haired woman at the alien registry (though how is this any different than how Dandy interacts with any woman). The second was the vague subplot involving the (bad?) guys from the Gogol Empire, and their machinations to get Space Dandy. The first thing with the woman was kind of just a running thing, not quite a gag to be honest... and wasn't she revealed to be a total badass ealy on? Kind of a waste of a character or at least her trait. The second thing with the Gogol Empire is never made clear in the faintest: not in who or what they were, not what they were doing (other than being at constant war with some other unseen empire), and not in what their intention exactly was to Dandy. It's just presented as "bad guys after good guys, because that's what bad guys do" schtick. I think it's supposed to be an abstract joke of some kind, like in a Goddard film or something, but it just comes off as lazy. Dandy's only ever shown to be important in his own head, so me buying that Dandy might be Space Neo just doesn't work even if in irony... all of which may be complicated if they do eventually decide to create some reason Space Dandy is important enough to pursue other than the tautological reason that he is Space Dandy. But again, the characters feel rather wasted: they didn't do much besides influence the plotlines in a round about way, and their whole intent amounted to a lot of nothing. Besides the somewhat humorous rise of assistant Bea's powerlust, the Gogol guys didn't do much to feel to not feel like they were tacked on villians or worse, space versions of Boris and Natasha.

There were other things I was put off by. Too often for me the humor just didn't land. The show's (ironic?) use of sexual imagery got old fast, even if it was the future-vision satire of Hooters. It just wore thin and seemed less in the service of a straight satire and felt more intentional. Further, because of the story-telling technique, I felt that the actual writing suffered a little. The show's explorations ended up being cramped in a couple places. A key example is the episode "It's a Lonely Pooch Planet, Baby," which was really two episodes cut in half and welded together in some nether-beast of a half hour of television. The episode "A Merry Companion is a Wagon in Space, Baby" seemed too quickly resolved, leaned on montage far too much, and I think would have been really good as a two parter. Another issue with the self-contained episodic style was that characterization was few and far between and was never obligated to maintain changes.

I remarked to Mr. J a while back that the show did not know what kind of show it wanted to be. I feel like that's still a fair criticism, but for different reasons than I originally stated. Many shows when they premier are kind of feeling things out a bit for a while, put become more sure of themselves as they go on. [Two big counter-examples to this were the recent additions of Broad City on Comedy Central and Rick & Morty on [adult swim]. Those two shows *know* what they are and present themselves with a confidence that is very compelling, and refreshing.] I said this in the relation to show's approach to continuity which broaches on the well-worn word of (commercial) postmodernism. The trade off is that as the show can explore and experiment with different styles, different tones, and radically different stories it can unfortunately appear non-cohesive and (too) random. Truthfully, it's an ambitious attempt. The action/comedy/surreal/spoof/genre-breakdown all in a westernish cum sci-fi (or sci-fantasy) medium is a tough act. Balancing all those parts is a heady exercise in keeping balls in the air. Not to draw an unfair comparison, but I can't help but think of FLCL, which also was a frenzied attempt at genre-mashups with (far more) meta-commentary. But with FLCL it was more tonal, and FLCL also was on the whole much, much more surreal, and more serious than Space Dandy. Maybe serious isn't the right word... mature? More fully-realized?

Space Dandy kicks off with "Live with the Flow, Baby," which is advice I probably should have taken, both in actually living, and in understanding this show from the get go. The whole point of "living with the flow" is to just lie back and enjoy the show for what it is--just accept it, because you're not going to change it. And again, for the most part, I did after I understood the show's main conceit. Like I said, I'm just not sure it worked. Still though, this first episode introduces us to Dandy, QT, Meow, the odd subplot(?) with Dr. Gel and Admiral Perry pursuing Dandy (and their unique character designs)... oh, and everyone dies, but that doesn't matter. Within the next few episodes we get an intergalactic ramen stand accessible by wormhole-only with a side order of existential melancholia, a somewhat obvious honeypot-monster (and all the expectation-reversal that follows... and boob-monster, just.... boob-monster), a large zombie themed episode (that for the record, I recall liking--though I don't recall why, even if I think we all are suffering from zombie fatigue) where everyone dies again, and then we land on something of a milestone in episode five. [Edit: I recently caught the zombie episode again, and realized I was grossly mistaken in my memory. The episode is more clever by half than what I was giving it. Several references, ranging from slight to overt, to George Romero populated the episode (notably a poster homage, a referential joke about zombies loving shopping malls, and the end "credit," which is very honest if we think about the deriviative nature of so much zombie media). Briefly, I think this episode's back half, which I completely forgot, may have been more allegorical, using zombie-hood as a reference to settling down and growing old, becoming ingrained in the patterens that dominate the rythyms of our bodily time. It may have also been a subtle comment on our cultural moment and fatigue with zombies ("everyone in the universe is a zombie now"). I thus feel compelled to bump the grade up as it did less bad, and more good overall.]

Episode five, "A Merry Companion is a Wagon in Space, Baby," was from the moment I saw the previews with the young Adelie, I knew, a tonal shift to a more emotional story, which would bring with it a moment of growth for ole Dandy. The episode was kind of mixed in my opinion actually. Dandy's moments of development always feel partial and never seem to crystallize; and this is true beyond this episode. I wanted to believe that he was feigning his return to cliched macho-guy attitude at the end. Of course, Dandy is a Zap Brannigan, and he might be, by design, unable to really self-actualize. But the episode had other problems mostly with pacing and storytelling. Part of me thought that the episode could have been told in a different order and been more impactful. I also thought it could have been better with less montage, which when used more than once, just appears lazy or worse shows that there was more story that couldn't be told. That leads me to my feeling that if this episode was two parts, it would have been great. Really great. Though, it was a good attempt. The episode did create some emotional resonance and was overall a cute story.

Speaking of Dandy's Zapness, QT is arguably his Kif. He does seem rather flustered by Dandy's Dandyness. If I recall, QT was in disbelief at Dandy's conversation about whether boobs or ass were better. QT for all his simple vacuum-computer-robot-autotune ways is the last main character to get a real story. Of course, in recognizing QT and Dandy's dynamic I do think that the characters' personalities were complimentary. Meow's laziness/apathy plays well off of Dandy's self-importance and brings out his own slackerly ways at times, which usually is quite funny. At the same time, QT, the frequent straightman, is probably the only one with any sense, even if he can be a bit eccentric. His biggest moment comes at the end of the season, in the last episode, where he forms a doomed affection towards a coffee maker. Similar to episode five, I felt like that story didn't quite work, but it was a healthy attempt. All the more so since it infused the character of QT with some dimension beyond odd worry, being (robotically) smart, and reacting to Dandy. Further, the simple reversal of the flesh and blood folks investing in shallow experiences (read: a lot social media app type stuff) with women, real or simulated is contrasted to QT, a robot, and his(?) attempt and ability to seek and develop a deep emotional relationship. This reversal may be old, but it gets a refreshing twist in that the alienation that Dandy and Meow have towards women was fueled by technology and its attendant social customs are, for us, recent cultural developments.

For Meow's part though, he gets his moment in the season's best episode, in my opinion, which was also just a great episode of television. "There's Always Tomorrow, Baby," was the strongest conceptually, emotionally, and perhaps not coincidentally was the most straightforward in terms of fleshing out a character. It's because of this that Meow actually feels the most developed, even if he defaults to being lazy/non-noteworthy afterward. There was real strength in this episode which focused on Meow's family on Betelgeuse. It told a story with distinct parts and themes. There was a sci-fi element (a la Groundhog Day) which created a social satire about existential hazards of being a worker--perhaps unfulfilled by the monotony of the endless and meaningless repetition of (post?)fordism. The emotionally resonant story had two parts: the primary one being about a prodigal son and family. The second one being a what-could-have-been, which carried a humourous futility to it--even if you could go back and do everything right, there is no guarantee the other party is even going to say yes.

Several other episodes represent the solid, though not quite exceptional season. Episode six, "The War of Undies and Vests, Baby", a clear satire as two different sects (actually, just two people) war over the remains of their ruined planet, depicts the tragic silliness of war. It's telling that the issue is over something so arbitrary, though the idea is hardly new: an area's eternal conflict is hardly ever understandable to an outsider, and thus implies the meaninglessness of it. We don't exactly tread new ground so much as get an old idea in a new outfit. Episode seven, "A Race in Space is Dangerous, Baby" played up to the shows visual strengths with a race that I couldn't help but compare it to the movie Redline. Regardless, the episode was very straightforward with a ridiculous antagonist in Prince, who was instantly unlikable, and ended with in a crazy Dandy-esque conclusion. Episode eleven, "I'm Never Remembering You, Baby" is a bit more conceptual, hitting on the idea of memory and its relation to reality when Dandy and company interact with a book-type alien (a species which absorb information and control others' minds and are capable of inducing amnesia), who essentially used them to escape the Gogol Empire. As thanks the alien, a librarian, sends them on their way with a Pandora's Box of sorts that ultimately leads to a "format war" (read: Dandy-esque punchline). Episode twelve, "Nobody Knows the Chameleon Alien, Baby" is an episode with a bit of a chase theme, as Dandy and company go on the hunt for a Chameleonian, which is exactly what it sound like, and makes for some humorous moments, and twists the old doppleganger idea into something with a little more give, as the alien comes to believe that it truly is Dandy. However this space is barely inhabited before being abandoned for the episode's end with a "waa-waa" joke in the style of a Dandy-esque punchline. Still though it was a solid idea.

I think I just figured it out in describing the above episodes. The Dandy-esque punchlines all operate as the final statements of shaggydog stories (which is most of the episodes). That's what it is. These are just shaggydog stories windowdressed as these conceptually episodic, stand-alone pieces. That's the real storytelling conceit here, and it's one that brings the series down as a whole. At that's unfortunate, because in my mind, the series could be really great with just a little more effort in terms of writing. Although if this was a meditation in shaggydogs, well, it's problematic, because it may not work for audience for the same reason those kinds of stories leave more to be desired anyway. If the episodes weren't shaggydog stories, they'd have at least a tightness of form wrapped inside non-continutiy (Louie is a very good example of this, although, that is a completely different show). [To be fair, many, many sitcoms go with a "reset" where changes to characters from one week do not port in the next. In South Park, there's a similar loose-continuity and resetting going on, but at least they commented on this TV trope with the running joke about Kenny dying, only to reappear next week with no explanation.] Space Dandy though was a bit aggressive in selling the point of non-coninuity/reset for it's own sake (and not commenting on it, or not commenting on it well enough), but didn't do much with it since the stories all kind of flamed out anyway.

While I liked Space Dandy at times, it never felt like something I would naturally have a drive to revisit because it didn't really give me a reason to do so. I felt like the whole was less than the sum of its parts, and it may have meandered too much lacking a tightness of form. My biggest gripe was that throughout the series, I was waiting for something to happen, something to take up this empty space that seemed to surround the action and dialogue. I can't say that the characters were lifeless, but they weren't animated with any real sense of vim either. Ultimately they didn't feel driven. This is all to say, the series felt like it was missing something, was lacking some nebulous ingredient I was anticipating. I suppose that's a nice way of saying Space Dandy had more potential than it played with, but never quite got around to figuring out how to tap and use it. There still is however, real potential here, and I'd like to see this show simply do more, better. And I think it can.

Oddbits:

Strange thing I noticed: I didn't recall the theme song in the DUB, and when I watched the SUB, I was blown away by it and the title sequence thinking I had seen something different and unremarkable in the DUB. Of course, I just wasn't paying attention since they were the same. Also I should note that the tone of the SUB was actually a little (more) muted--granted SUBs can be a little hard to work out the nuance in general. However I did notice some wording shifting the context around making a few jokes a bit more abstract sounding.

I also kind of want to fault [adult swim] for using some sweet futuresynth/synthwave/retronewwave/whatever in the promo, and making me think that kind of music would be used throughout. Of course, I can't really fault Space Dandy for this.

The Gogol Empire goons' ship was the head of the Statue of Liberty wearing a ballgag. I'm sure that's a statement on something. Something, indeed.

The ship, the Aloha Oe is named after the the popular Hawaiian song which translates as Farewell to Thee. Elvis did a cover of it. Elvis... haircut... Space Dandy, you know the rest.

Overall Grade: B* [see Edit]