Black Dynamite: Season 1

Michael Jai White's parody/homage to kung fu/blaxploitation films of the 1970's, Black Dynamite, makes its' way to the small screen via an animated series that originally aired on the "Adult Swim" progamming block of the Cartoon Network. Like the original film, the series is very over the top, but extremely fun -- especially for those who grew up with this type of fare at their local dollar theatre or drive-in.

The setup is pretty simple. Black Dynamite is a private eye who makes Shaft look like Bryant Gumbel, romancing the ladies while he keeps the hood safe from various nefarious elements, which range from your usual stuff like drug dealing ninjas to more wacky villains like a whacked-out Elvis; even Tricky Dick Nixon makes his presence felt. Perhaps the highlight of the series comes early on, when Black Dynamite takes on Michael Jackson, where the show manages to skewer one of the most played-out celebrities in a new fashion. All of the matters are presented in good humor -- though this production deals at times with some fairly heavy issues, the series never takes itself too seriously and the characters and humor have a wide appeal, at least if you're not a stodgy old-ass racist cracker.

But keep in mind that this is very much a TV-MA/R-rated series. There are no punches pulled when it comes to language or violence, even by Adult Swim's standards. Though, like many American series -- even those on cable -- the sexuality is a bit diluted, with any love scenes keeping the clothes on or using black bars to cover up the naughty bits. Even with that bit of self-imposed cultural censorship, this is a series that literally pulls no punches when it comes to finding ways to making the audiences laugh.

The first season has recently been released by Warner Home Video in a 2-DVD set. Both discs have five episodes which run around 22 minutes each. The picture is in a 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen format and looks good, while the funkadelick bass-heavy soundtrack is available in English Dolby 5.1 with optional captioning. Bonus features include the original pilot, a behind the scenes featurette, and commentary for seven episodes from various actors and crew involved with the production.

RATING: 7.5