Time Bandits
Genre Fantasy Adventure, Comedy
Created by Jemaine Clement, Iain Morris, Taika Waititi
Based on Characters by Terry Gilliam & Michael Palin
Starring
Lisa Kudrow as Penelope
Kal-El Tuck as Kevin
Tadhg Murphy as Alto
Roger Jean Nsengiyumva as Widgit
Rune Temte as Bittelig
Charlyne Yi as Judy
Rachel House as Fianna
Kiera Thompson as Saffron
Recurring
Jonathan Brugh as Damon
Jemaine Clement as Pure Evil
Taika Waititi as Supreme Being
James Dryden as Mr. Haddock
Felicity Ward as Mrs. Haddock
No. of episodes 10
Production
Executive producers Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement, Iain Morris, Garrett Basch, Jane Stanton
Production companies Waititi, HandMade Films, Waka Atea, Anonymous Content, MRC Television, Paramount Television Studios
Original release Network Apple TV+, Release July 24, 2024
Anyone expecting this to be a reprise of the great Gilliam and Palin movie of some 40 years ago is going to be disappointed. Those two brought the same absurdist and free-flowing humor and effortless literacy that was the trademark of Monty Python comedy.
This remake reminds me of nothing so much as a 1960’s American television sitcom. The characters are all prototypes, each with a distinct personality that is almost instantly identifiable and which never troubles the viewers with such sophistications as development or growth. Think of Gilligan’s Island. You had Gilligan, the Skipper, Mary Jane, the Professor, Thurston Howell III, his wife, and Ginger.
This is like that, only they’ve added an eleven year old kid to give the ensemble some intellectual gravitas. Kal-El Tuck. No, that’s not the name of the character. That would be Kevin. Kal-El Tuck is the name of the actor. Kevin Haddock, a name that just screams “Monty Python.” He has a sister, who for some reason isn’t named Ann Elk. Saffron Haddock, who starts out as Kevin’s annoying little sister who despairs that her brother is such a colossal history nerd but due the vagueries of time travels ends up as Kevin’s annoying older sister who also despairs that her brother is such a colossal history nerd. OK, so that character did show some growth, as she’s now a head taller then Kevin, but so far as development goes, she’s wearing about forty pounds of animal skins and fur from her stint with the Neanderthals. Someone really should be up on report to child protective services for the names they burden these kids with.
Granted, none of this sounds very promising, but the show does have some rather arresting features.
For starters, someone put an amazing amount of time, study, and effort in to making the various places and eras our Lost-in-Time not-really heroes visit; cultural and historical references, set design, clothing, all that. It’s not perfect, but it’s far better than you might reasonably expect.
Saffron gets stranded with a Neanderthal tribe and is stuck with them for two years. During this time, she essays to teach them English. The result is that the tribe all speak like an English tweener from the midlands. Frank Zappa would be proud of that touch.
Supreme Being and Pure Evil won’t be replacing Zeus and Prometheus anytime soon, or even Jehovah and Lucifer. Neither would be out of place in an episode of Red Dwarf. But anyone watching the absolutely brilliant show Kaos could be excused for mixing Supreme Being up with Jeff Goldblum’s Zeus; for two shows so utterly different, the resemblance between the resident Gods is startling.
Time Bandits isn’t Monty Python, but it’s clever and actually does get engaging as it goes on. The kids will love it, and you’ll get a chuckle or two.