Christian Jacobs is co-creator of “Yo Gabba Gabba” which proved to be a big hit for Nickelodeon. With that success under his belt, he went about working on his dream show, one that he had been working on for over a decade, one based on his “day job” with his band The Aquabats.
Much of The Aquabats stage show and music is steeped in Japanese tokusatsu and super hero culture. You don’t need to know this to enjoy “The Aquabats Super Show. If you are familiar with shows like “Krofft Super Show” and “Banana Splits” you’ll recognize many of the elements here.
As a kids’ show “The Aquabats Super Show is reminiscent of the past with its mixture of humor, action, live action, animation and more. This is the sort of stuff I would see on Saturday mornings when I was a kid. The pace, however, is much faster.
Each of the five band members have their own specific trait. There’s Jimmy The Robot on keyboards, Ricky Fitness with super speed on drums, Eaglebones Falconhawk wielding a weaponized guitar, Crash McLarson on bass with the ability to gain in size and strength, and M.C. Bat Commander’s leadership.
If you’re looking for something that is sensible and linear then look elsewhere. If there’s an opportunity for a decent joke “The Aquabats Super Show” makes use of it. This includes material directly in the show or in various intersertials that take place. There’s a cartoon series of the Aquabats in their super hero adventures serialized and completely separate from the rest of the show. Then there are fake commercials and another animated short featuring the band’s mascot.
And music. Since The Aquabats are first and foremost a band, there’s music in every episode. Sometimes it’s from an album, but most of the time it will have been written specifically for the show.
The DVD set of The Aquabats Super Show Season One includes all 13 episodes on 2 DVDs, with 5 of the episodes featuring audio commentary. On the second disc we get more bonus features starting off with the unaired pilot episode which shows much of the show in its final form and also has an audio commentary. Then there’s a blooper reel and some behind the scenes videos which are staged, but amusing.
Season 2 starts up in a few weeks, so now’s a great time to catch up. You should be able to find a random episode on The Hub television network to see if the show’s mix of humor and action is for you or your kids. If it is, definitely pick up this DVD set.