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Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire
Score: 80%
Rating: Not Rated
Publisher: Paramount
Region: 1
Media: DVD/1
Running Time: 162 Mins.
Genre: Action/Comedy/TV Series
Audio: English Dolby Surround Sound
Subtitles: English

Features:
  • Deleted and Extended Scenes
  • Cast Interviews
  • Outtakes
  • Behind the Scenes with Kevin Hart

Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire is Comedy Central's first foray into the action-comedy scene, and an unusual British-American TV series venture. This series takes the swords-and-sorcery setting in a strange new direction as we follow freedom fighter Krod Mandoon (Sean Maguire) and his band of bumbling sidekicks through several adventures and all in the hopes of stopping the oppressive Chancellor Dongalor (Matt Lucas from Disney's Alice in Wonderland as Tweedledee and Tweedledum) and his lackey, Barnabus (Alex Macqueen).

Krod's party is comprised of a less than apt sorcerer, Zezelryck (Kevin Hart), Krod's Grobble (a pig-like human creature) servant named Loquasto (Steve Speirs), Krod's ex-girlfriend and super-warrior Aneka (India de Beaufort) and a rather flamboyant character, Bruce (Marques Ray), who joins the group in a most unusual manner. When we first meet Krod and his team, they are on a mission to free Krod's mentor, General Arcadius (Roger Allam, The Queen), from Dangalor's dungeon, but the rescue goes wrong and Krod is forced to leave his teacher's body behind. In his last breaths, Arcadius tells Krod that he has a destiny and the sword he carries (which occasionally bursts into flames) is tied closely to the prophecy of a "Golden One."

While the season is comprised of six half-hour episodes, the pilot is actually a combination of the first two, "Wench Trouble" and "Golden Powers" for an hour-long intro to the world and characters. It is in these episodes we not only get a hint at Krod's destiny, but we are also introduced to Dongalor's evil schemes to use an ancient artifact called the Eye of Gulga Grymna. With this weapon (once he figures out how to activate it), he will be able to rule over the land with an iron fist.

During the group's adventures, they will be sent out by the alliance of freedom fighters on various tasks like getting past an evil cyclops that swings both ways, yes, a self-named "Biclopse" (Jonathan Slinger) and a band of succubi as well as various bounty hunters and eventually uncover a traitor in the alliance. James Murray and John Rhys-Davies join the show about halfway through the season as great supporting characters and straight-men to the rest of the cast's comedic natures. Davies (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy) plays an awesomely powerful wizard, Grimshank, who delights in pointing out Krod's shortcomings, while Zezelryck is constantly impressed by his powers, and Murray takes on the role of a new love interest for Aneka as the dashing Ralph Longshaft.

While there aren't a lot of episodes in this package (it is a British series, after all), it packs a hell of a punch as it comes with a solid collection of extra scenes, bloopers, interviews and a behind-the-scenes featurette hosted by Hart. As for the value of this production, I was a little worried. It has been my experience that most British TV series, while hilarious, are short and often really expensive. I was surprisingly shocked to look up this release and find it costs the same amount as your average DVD movie. Even though there are only five shows (again, the first two episodes are combined into one) clocking in close to three hours, it really is worth the price. Of course, that is only true for those readers who are used to, and enjoy British comedy, because Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire has that in spades.



-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications
AKA Chris Meyer
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