“Failure is not an option. Its a guarantee.” This is the slogan for a new half-hour animated series “Freak Show.”
The series, which features an unlikely collection of freak show performers who live double lives as substandard superheroes, debuts Oct. 4 at 10:30 pm on Comedy Central, after “South Park.”
“Freak Show” stars six Freak Squad members who, when not executing useless deeds for the Pentagon, work for a traveling freak show. No mission is too trivial or bizarre for the squad, which is lead by a junior parking attendant at the Pentagon.
They will do whatever the Pentagon asks of them, from reading an embassy meter in a dangerous war-torn country to turning the odometer back on the president’s Trans Am so it can sell for the highest possible price.
When the superheroes are off duty, they work for America’s last independently owned traveling freak show. The team tries to keep the small freak show from the grips of “Freak-Mart,” a corporate giant that desires to destroy them and the owners.
Members of the freak squad are (in no special order) Log Cabin Republican, who can transform into Burly Bear; Primi, the premature baby with the power of pinpoint projectile vomiting; The Bearded Clam, who is able to shoot blinding bitch juice; The World’s Tallest Nebraskan, whose power is to shrink up to six inches; and Tuck and Benny, the Siamese twins with the power of separation.
Executive producers David Cross (“Arrested Development” and “Mr. Show”) and H. Jon Benjamin (“Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist” and “Home Movies”) created the new series with production company Radical Axis (“Aqua Teen Hunger Force” and “Squidbillies”). The cast features the voices of Will Arnett, Todd Barry, Janeane Garofalo, Jon Glaser, Kristen Schaal and Brian Stack.
In the pilot, the Freak Squad is asked to collect the president’s favorite nut, perry nuts, from an embargoed country. The squad has to travel to a country controlled by the evil General M’Dinka Magoobi, whose primary export is human blood. With separate and combined powers, the squad is able to restock the president’s favorite snack, sort of.
“Freak Show” contains the same edgy humor as “South Park” and “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” but “Freak Show” has not found its much-needed equilibrium. The offensive material is not balanced with humor and quotable lines. The show has potential, but it is not a contender with current animated television.
The show’s catchphrase is an accurate view of the series. Failure may be its only option if the show does not improve.
