Antipodean Superheroes Cross the Bridge onto US Screens

New Zealand-made television series The Almighty Johnsons, which made its American network premiere this month, is reviewed in the Los Angeles Times and stands out according to Robert Lloyd, for its scenery, its 100 per cent “adorable” accents, for its “companionable” company, and because “the writing is decent, with flashes of sideways wit.”

“In the fullness of time, in the country of New Zealand, it occurred to James Griffin and Rachel Lang that what their country needed was a television series in which four brothers and their cousin, who is really their grandfather, were the human incarnation of Norse gods. These gods had at some time in the far past crossed the rainbow bridge from Asgard to go among humans, who scared them off to the Antipodes, where their powers and godliness have been in decline ever since.

“Reading ahead (the show has had three thoroughly recapped seasons back home), the plot promises to get complicated and apocalyptic – or perhaps I should say, Ragnarök-y – in a nevertheless personal way that should suit fans of supernatural soaps like The Vampire Diaries or Charmed. As in Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Xena: Warrior Princess, the epic and preposterous blend profitably with the commonplace and casual.”

The series is produced by South Pacific Pictures and stars Tim Balme, Emmett Skilton, Dean O’Gorman, Jared Turner and Ben Barrington.

Original article by Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, July 11, 2014.