Time Bandits: Season 1

While they've definitely been a bit hit or miss, you can't deny that Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement have for the most part been great servants to comedy film and TV. There are places where this Kiwi duo excel and places where they tend to stumble, and if the years have proven anything, it's that pure comedy is where their forte lie, rather than imbuing drama, animation, or action with comedic undertones.

This is precisely what drew me to Apple TV+'s Time Bandits. This is a comedy, a family comedy show might I add, that is a modern take on the 1981 film of the same name from Terry Gilliam. Effectively, it's about a ragtag group of individuals who, using a powerful map, travel to different key and important moments in time to steal valuable historical artefacts. Or at least that's the elevator pitch, as the true narrative has far more serious undertones surrounding good and evil vying for power over one another.

The point is that this story isn't a challenging one to follow at all, and that's by design. As I mentioned a moment ago, while this is a comedy series with lots of Waititi and Clement flair, it's also a series designed for all ages, both in tone and in message. Every episode takes the team to a new section of history, where the young protagonist Kevin played by Kal-El Tuck reels off some factoids to satiate the uneducated rest of the Time Bandits crew. It's not an educational overdose, rather just silly titbits that surprise. What is more ruthlessly crammed down your throat is the underlying message of each episode, which could be simply not to steal or lie to your friends, or could be an take on key societal issues of today, such as spending less times on phones, being less reliant on technology, or appreciating history to a greater extent. While some of the former messages can become a bit tiresome as the episodes roll on, the latter messages are rather hilariously depicted with adults being the biggest offender on these fronts and not youngsters as we usually see in most media where kids are glued to screens and adults reminisce of days passed.

Whatever the case with the messages and the core narrative, the comedy, timing, and delivery in Time Bandits is up there with the best of Waititi and Clement's creations. I would go as far as saying that the humour used here and the way it's delivered reminds of What We Do in the Shadows, by effortlessly entertaining with snide remarks, witty comments, daft antics, and great performances from the varied cast.

As you would expect, Waititi and Clement are some of the best at bringing their characters of the Supreme Being and Pure Evil respectively, to life, but Lisa Kudrow also delivers a charismatic Phoebe Buffay crossed with Captain Jack Sparrow performance for her character of Penelope, while Rune Temte thrives as Bittelig, Roger Jean Nsengiyumva excels as Widgit, and Tadhg Murphy rounds out the crew as Alto. The core cast are excellent together and make for some hilarious scenes and moments, but it's not all sunshine and rainbows as the character of Saffron played by the young Kiera Thompson does become a bit obnoxious to follow, especially when she takes centre stage and crams her teenage lingo down your throat. While it's funny to hear a caveman explain YOLO, hearing a teenage girl talk exclusively in Yorkshire slang loses its charm very quickly. Thankfully, Rachel House's demon Fianna steals the show time and time again with a bathos-heavy portrayal of a core villain. It's very Waititi and Clement, but it works without a hitch.

As anyone who frequently watches Apple TV+ productions will be aware, Time Bandits also has the same great cinematography and set quality. This is a beautifully shot show, especially when physical sets and locations are used over green/blue screens and heavy VFX. I'm not going to tell you that the VFX scenes are great, but they're really no better or worse than the VFX-heavy scenes we see in most other productions these days.

Time Bandits won't blow you away, but it is a thoroughly entertaining watch for all ages. It's hilarious and fun, easy and charismatic, striking and nostalgic. If you're looking for a show to watch with kids or youngsters, a show that as a functioning adult you can actually enjoy, Time Bandits is a great option and one that won't eat up huge sums of your time either, as it brings a 10-episode run that pushes around six hours in duration. Hopefully it won't get canned before a second season is made... Unlike the also charming Willow.