The League Of Freedom (Not pictured: Brad) (Courtesy of Crackle)
Man, I really like Seth Green. Sure, there’s a lot of residual Buffy man-crush in there, but, dammit, he was great on Buffy. And I’ve liked him in other places, too. But left to his own comedic devices, he’s apparently far too susceptible to the influence of Family Guy boss/buddy Seth MacFarlane, and this internet superhero series he co-produced has way, way too much MacFarlane in its comedy DNA. Bryan Cranston and Keegan-Michael Key can’t but elevate the proceedings somewhat, but I can’t imagine ever watching any more than required for this AV Club review.
From the thing:
Although not involved in SuperMansion, the fingerprints of Seth Green’s Family Guy pal Seth MacFarlane can be seen pressed into the plasticine comic antics here as well. Apart from Key’s vocal similarity, American Ranger channels the MacFarlane comic style of saying offensive, button-pushing things (at one point, telling President Obama that he won’t tell anyone he saw him using the drinking fountain) before winking and walking (or, here, flying) away, content with having things both ways. In addition, SuperMansion’s superhero parody is spotty—for every pointed deconstruction of genre cliché (Black Saturn turns Batman’s relentlessness into self-important bullying much of the time), jokes more often aim for the most obvious cultural marker and blast away. (The very first shot in the pilot pans past a presidential museum case with “Bill Clinton’s ballgag” inside, for example.)
Blech.
