Astrid & Lilly Save the World

I just happened on this on YouTube. I find it to be delightfully campy, and I hope SYFY doesn't do its usual thing of canceling a show before it can even hit a stride. It's sort of reminds me of a B movie as a tv show.

High school best friends Astrid and Lilly are chubby outcasts at school who spend their nights patrolling their neighborhood with night vision goggles. The mean kids call them, the Pudge Patrol. It turns out that they are the chosen ones battling the forces of evil when a portal to the monster worlds opens. They need ten different monster parts to close up the portal.

This Canadian series is ten episodes and lasted only one season. It happily references Buffy and others. I like the best friends and their issues. The show does need some better side characters. The Canadian production has some limits. It's definitely not a big production. Despite whatever issues, the two leads remain compelling and I'm invested in their friendship.

For the people saying the show is just fat-shaming, you obviously haven't really watched it. Yes, Astrid & Lilly get picked on by their classmates, but they refuse to buy into the negativity. They constantly uplift one another.

For the people saying the show is not funny, I think you may be missing the point that it is spoofing teen shows. They are satirizing familiar tropes. The principal & teachers kowtow to the popular kids instead of mentoring them. The "nerdy" teachers are trying to get in good with the "popular" teacher. It's funny!

Is it the best show on TV? No. But it's entertaining & silly, and fun.

This is one of the best new series of the season. It will appeal to viewers who understand subtly and nuance... "literalists" will not understand much of the humor here.

I was delighted to see that the two Central characters are not the cliche anorexics that tend to inhabit other movies of this kind. These characters are far more real, and realistic, than most of the Stepford Wives type females who inhabit most Canadian television productions.

Most Importantly, the production has a positive message - all about loving yourself and treating others with value.

I cannot wait for future episodes.

It is a ridiculous premise, in the best way. I would have rated higher if not for the 80s style fat shaming. I feel like they could have easily made this show better without it. Otherwise I'd have rated an 8.