Main cast: Daniel DeSanto (Jimmy), Lawrence Bayne (The Avenging Phantom), Alyson Court (Kirsten), Colin Doyle (Gordon), Colin Fox (Archaeologist), Joyce Gordon (Old Lady), Frances Hyland, Paulina Gillis (Zola), David Hemblen (The Vaultkeeper), and John Kassir (The Crypt Keeper)
Director: Laura Shepherd
In The Avenging Phantom, poor Jimmy feels that everyone, from his sister Kirsten to the dog down the street, bullies him ragged. His hobbies consist of comics and bottle collecting, and this leads to him somehow wishing to life the Avenging Phantom from one of his comics to take revenge on all his bullies.
I don’t know about anyone else, but if I had the Avenging Phantom on my side when I was a kid, I’d probably be a much happier person today with a few galaxies under my heel, and that would be an awesome thing indeed.
However, because this is a kiddie show and hence probably bound by some moral code or something, this segment tries to backpedal by showing me that revenge is a bad thing, a very bad thing. Bad, bad, bad! Kiddies, don’t do it! Let the bullies pummel you all instead so that you will grow up into adults with deep-seated issues!
Still, it does let Jimmy get away with what he does here and even blatantly points out that taking revenge on his bullies makes the kid a more confident person, so I suppose there is some subversive element to the whole thing. I’m on to this show!
Next up, Myth Conceptions. No, there is nothing naughty about this episode, especially nothing about conception of any kind. Sorry, kiddies!
Instead, we have the usual stereotypical smarmy archaeologist fellow that encounters a young girl named Zola while wandering down a tunnel. He assumes that she is a local that comes to bother him, and he has her tell her the story of the Medusa.
Gee, I wonder what the twist of this segment is…
This one is pretty predictable, although I suppose the target audience may not get it so that’s alright. The archaeologist fellow is pretty idiotic and mercenary in his hammy, cackling glory, but the scenery chewing can be adorable now and then.
All in all, this is a dumb segment, but it’s dumb in a brainless fun way, unlike the painful kind of brainless some of the past episodes can be, so I’d have to say this one is alright.
Indeed, both segments are alright, and in the context of this show, that makes them awesome.
