Agent of HINDER (part 20)
Super Sunday: Ben From Planet Earth
A human is in a science accident and finds himself teleported to the planet Hurch. Though the Hurchans have the technology to travel in space, Ben has no idea where in the universe Earth is, so his prospects of getting home are pretty grim. Luckily, some nice locals agree to let Ben live with them until a solution can be found. Comedy ensues.
On Earth, things were not going Ben’s way. He was sure he was going to lose his funding if he didn’t start showing results on the science work he was doing, so he panicked and rushed it and messed up, only to find himself on the planet Hurch. In some ways, he liked Hurch a lot better than Earth, which makes sense considering it is a virtual paradise. Though he bumbles through his attempts to connect to the Hurchans, he is eager to impress them, because he doesn’t actually want to go home.
Leebo is a fun-loving Hurchan who has volunteered to look after the human guest who appeared in his home one day. Though sarcastic and quick to mock Ben’s foibles, Leebo is extremely nice and already sees the stranger as his new best friend.
Nusterwold is a stodgy civil servant who has finally found a purpose in life: making sure that the human doesn’t mess up Hurchan society. Most Hurchans are pretty happy that their world is a paradise, but Nusterwold always felt that some danger would make life more exciting, and then this human came along and with him came the possibility that something could go wrong. Now, with supreme diligence Nusterwold keeps watch over the human, preparing to punish any wrongdoing.
Shalekky is a scientist who wants nothing more than to research Ben and his alien world. Shalekky is apt to showing up uninvited and asking all sorts of questions. Ben actually doesn’t mind the attention and will offer things like hair or blood samples as enticement to get help from Shalekky, often helping distract Nusterwold.
Blipples is the wacky neighbour.
What we have here is a situation I call, the Reverse Meego. In the standard Alien Comes To Earth sitcom, the idea is that the wacky alien figure, your Alf or your Mork or your Meego (Blessings Be Upon Him), comes to Earth and we get to see the outsider fail to act ways we consider normal. Maybe, in the end, it actually teaches us a little bit about ourselves. Ben From Planet Earth has a problem: the human audience would not know what to expect from the alien society any more than Ben would. I feel like this would be a frustrating show to watch. It might find an audience after it is cancelled, but it would definitely be cancelled.
And the Hurchans would totally be puppets.
Beekeeper Review: Astro City’s Beekeeper
The world of Astro City is rife with superheroes and villains, so it is no surprise that there is one who called himself “The Beekeeper”. As ever, the superhero universe Beekeepers don’t get too creative with their names.
This Beekeeper was active in the 60s as a super-criminal. Using a weapon called a hive-scepter, he was able to control bees to do his bidding, and was probably able to fly given those big wings on his back. We don’t know how successful he was as a criminal, but we do know he ended up getting caught and spent time in prison. After that, he gave up the life of crime, became an entomology professor, and lived a normal life until he was in his eighties. At some point, he seems to have sold one of his hive-scepters, which was a mistake, because someone used it to frame him for some crimes. When the police came to investigate, the octogenarian reacted poorly and got back into costume and fought back. It’s sad that it happened, but it does say something about his fighting skills that it took a lot of police to bring him in, even in his advanced age.
Astro City’s Beekeeper has only had about three pages of screen time. Sure, he gets to boss around bees and fly, but we don’t know what else he’s got. Did he have a whole beehive-themed lair? He could have. We just don’t know. We don’t even know if he actually kept bees for non-crime purposes. The fact he ended up teaching suggests that he knows about them, though. I always dock a point for beekeepers who turn to evil, it’s a sign that they can’t contain their Beekeeper Rage, but it is a shame that I have to do it for this guy. He stayed on the straight and narrow for decades between his initial crime spree and when he was framed. But still, he has to lose that point for villainy.
3 Honeycombs out of Five. Given Astro City’s nature, we could learn more someday. I don’t expect it, but I can dream.
Agent of HINDER (part 19)
Super Sunday: School for Anomalies
At a special learning centre for supernaturally-powered children, called the School for Anomalies, Claire Lincoln teaches a class of students aged six to eight. They constantly get into amusing and strange scenarios.
Reggie has the ability to see beyond the physical world. She can see ghosts and auras and other invisible stuff. She has no control over her powers, so she gets overwhelmed without her pair of special glasses to make things easier. She’s a bit nervous and shy and is the newest kid in the class.
For some reason, not known to his perfectly normal parents, Deshaun is able to transform himself in demonic ways. He’s the class “brain” and is always eager to learn and volunteer himself for extra credit work. He has been the most welcoming to Reggie.
Tabitha has the classic superhuman abilities. She’s nearly indestructible, superhumanly strong and fast, can jump clear across a football field, and is probably going to get stronger as she grows. She thinks of herself as the queen of the class. Most of her classmates don’t buy into it, but she can always boss around the younger kids.
Charlie has somehow acquired the ability to transform his body into living diamond. It’s unclear how he gained this power, and it seems a coincidence that his surname is also Diamond, but he is actually one of the best kids in the class when it comes to using his powers. He’s bad at all the other school stuff, though, like reading and math.
Lizak doesn’t actually have any supernatural powers that a Lizard Person doesn’t usually have, but in human society, being a Lizard Person is a supernatural power in itself. Liz was a bit of a handful for her adoptive human parents, so they opted to ship her out to the School for Anomalies. She became friends with Tabitha and seems content in her role as her sidekick. But is she?
The origins of Krug are not known to Krug, nor to his adoptive parents, nor to anyone else. This little monster just seems to have turned up one day. Though the humans who discovered him were loving enough to take him in and care for him, they realized their limitations and when they learned of the School for Anomalies they took the opportunity to send him there, in the hopes that someone would be able to help him out. As it stands, Krug is not doing great. He has problems with authority and enjoys picking on the kids he sees as weaker than him.
Alkazar Vela, a cyborg wizard, is the founder of the School for Anomalies, and teaches the oldest class. He has a secret ulterior motive for founding his school: he wants to create an army of superhuman soldiers to help him take down his enemies. But he’s starting to get attached to his students (and the teachers who work for him), so will he come to regret turning the kids into soldiers?
Yeah, this one is more of my own self-interest in world building than an actual setup for a sitcom. The best I can spin it is that it might work as a parody of superhero shows.
