The Apple TV+ seriesTime Bandits, created byJemaine Clement,Taika Waititi, andIain Morris, just finished its first season and there’s still no news about whether it will return for a second. The show, which is based on the1981 film directed byTerry Gilliam, tells the story of Kevin Haddock, a kid who’s obsessed with history. His history nerd tendencies cause him to be isolated from the other kids at school and even his own family. Centering a show on a child actor is always a risk, but lead actorKal-El Tuckis wonderful as Kevin. He can handle the deadpan humor very well and also gives Kevin a real underdog vulnerability. Kevin’s ordinary life becomes fantastical when he joins a group of time-traveling thieves led by Penelope, played by the always-greatLisa Kudrow. Kevin finds out that the Time Bandits stole a map from the Supreme Being (played by Waititi) which allows them to travel to points across history.Fans ofTime Bandit’s goofy time travel antics should check outDC’s Legends of Tomorrow, developed byGreg Berlanti,Marc Guggenheim,Andrew Kreisberg, andPhil Klemmer.
Like Kevin inTime Bandits,the characters onLegends of Tomorroware underdog outcasts. When Captain Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill) recruits them, he claims it’s because they’re all legends in his time. But, by the end of the first episode, it’s revealed he picked them because they have no impact on the timeline whatsoever. The cast ofLegends of Tomorroweven includes two characters who, like the group inTime Bandits, are only interested in time travel for the potential thievery.Wentworth MillerandDominic Purcell, reunited afterPrison Break, play Leonard Snart and Mick Rory. These characters were both villains onThe Flashand only agree to join Rip Hunter’s team to try to steal valuable historical artifacts.
‘Legends of Tomorrow’ Features an Ensemble of Underdogs
Thecast ofLegends of Tomorrowchanges each season, as new heroes join and others leave. The only two characters who are in every episode areCaity Lotzas Sara Lance andAmy Louise Pembertonas Gideon. Sara originally appeared onArrowas the sister of Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy), the Black Canary, and her superhero persona is the White Canary. She has a wonderful arc, starting off as someone who’s not much of a team player, then eventually taking over the role of captain from Rip Hunter. Gideon is the ship’s computer; she isn’t always a notable presence on the show, but she’s a lot of fun and eventually even appears in the flesh. Sara and Gideon are joined by an ever-changing roster of crew members, but the common denominator is that they’re generally not considered heroes in their own time.The show focuses on characters who are losers, morally ambivalent, or both.
Legends of Tomorrowutilizes different period settings well, including some of the samehistorical settings asTime Bandits. The Legends explore the prohibition era in Season 7’s “Speakeasy Does It.” Just like in theTime Banditsepisode “Prohibition,” they become bootleggers, meet up with jazz musicians, and deal with gangsters. In Season 4’s “Nip/Stuck,” they experience an avalanche in the Ice Age, just like the characters onTime Banditsdo in Episode 7. Just like onTime Bandits, the historical periods of the week inLegends of Tomorrowmake for great set pieces and nerdy quips. Like Kevin, the character of Nate Heywood (Nick Zano) is a history expert who’s excited about the chance to share his knowledge. But, both characters find that what they’ve read in history books isn’t always the truth, which leads to both humor and conflict. While it often fits the “time period of the week” format,Legends of Tomorrowalso breaks awayat times andexplores other sci-fi/fantasy concepts. Because it has longer seasons thanTime Bandits, it has room to explore many different things, from alien encounters to fairy tale creatures.
‘Time Bandits’ Review: Apple TV+’s Reimagining Falls Short of the Original
The series revives the cult classic with mixed results.
‘Legends of Tomorrow’ Is Different from Other DC Shows
New viewers may findLegends of Tomorrowto be a little too serious in its early episodes. The Arrowverse series started off as a more traditional superhero team up with a similar tone toArrow. But, as it went on,Legends of Tomorrowembraced a broader comedic toneand the pathetic nature of the characters, rather than trying to make them traditional superheroes.Legends of Tomorrowstarts to truly embrace farce in the excellent Season 2 finale “Aruba.” By the Season 3 episode “Legends of To-Meow-Meow,”the show is outright cartoonish — in an enjoyable way. In that episode, John Constantine (Matt Ryan) and Zari Tomaz (Tala Ashe) try to fix the timeline but keep causing goofy changes, like turning all of the Legends into puppets. The characters also break the fourth wall by saying the Flash and Supergirl called them about the annual crossover episode, and it was a hard pass. This episode marksLegends of Tomorrow’s full transformation into a whacky comedydistinct from any other Arrowverse show. Once it embraces the more zany and irreverent tone, it starts to feel a lot likeTime Bandits.
One major strength ofLegends of Tomorrowis that it has more interesting and entertaining villains thanTime Bandits. InTime Bandits, Waititi plays the Supreme Being like someone who’s bored of his Sims and wants to start over. It’s an interesting concept but is fairly flat. Meanwhile, Jemaine Clement is Pure Evil, who is fun but generic. Neither of them compares toLegends of Tomorrow’s Damien Darkh, played byNeal McDonough. He’s often over-the-top and his villainous plan is often so complicated it’s silly. But, he’s always entertaining and has some real menace when he needs to. Additionally,Legends of TomorrowSeason 5 gave us the Fates, a group of Greek Gods who could bend reality.
With only 10 episodes ofTime Banditsout and no news about Season 2, fans are already missing the whacky ensemble and time-travel adventures.Legends of Tomorrowhas over 100 episodes, and they’re all available to stream on Netflix. Like most shows of that length,Legends of Tomorrowis uneven, butit has enough standout episodes and great characters that it’s ultimately a very enjoyable watch. It’s definitely worth checking out to fill the void if you missTime Banditsalready.
Legends of Tomorrow
DC’s Legends of Tomorrowis available to stream in the U.S. on Netflix.
Watch on Netflix
