Cleopatra 2525

I love Cleopatra 2525. The show moves like lightning, plot set up takes about 2 minutes and subplots, if any, are sketched in between bursts of gunfire. It's a show in which all extraneous elements have been stripped out, leaving you with a bunch of cute, underdressed girls running and shooting. Yes, sometimes it's incomprehensible, but when the show is on it's dynamite. In one episode Cleo relives the same scenario 3 times, a Run Lola Run in 22 minutes. The pace is breathless, Jennifer Sky is funny and adorable, the show is shameless (stripper transported into a future full of scantilly clad women is the kind of idea people come up with at 4 in the morning after a lot of drinking). It leaves you breathless. Anyway, I love "chicks kick ass" shows, and if Cleo isn't quit Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it's still great campy action. If only they would trash that horrible reworking of the song 2525. It has the most abysmal lyrics written ever by anyone.

After only two episodes, this Xena-meets-Barbarella post-apocalyptic pajama party hasn't had a chance to deliver much...it seems to lack focus, and the pacing is extreme--likely due to the 30 minute formatting. It's a little (okay, okay, a lot) cliche, but seems well-intentioned. The premise has promise, and I have high hopes based on the cast.

Gina Torres (Hercules' dynamic pirate queen Nebula), Victoria Pratt (Xena's Amazon queen Cyane) and Jennifer Sky (Xena's aspiring but capable young Amazon Amarice) have been Raimi/Tapert favorites for several seasons of Xena/Hercules, but so far they have been too busy screaming, grimacing and performing quadruple somersaults to act human yet.

XWP/HLJ regular Joel (Strife/Deimos) Tobeck also joins the cast as the maniacal Creegan...and yes, you can recognize him even through the Mardi Gras make-up and prosthetic chin. It's actually refreshing to see him as the Supreme Menace as opposed to his XWP/HLJ characters, who are supremely annoying (in a psychotic, endearing sort of way.)

And so, All Hail the Futuristic/ Ancient Madcap Epic formulas so beloved by the Raimis...in effect a sort of Pythonesque Terry Jones/Michael Palin tribute. And hey, there's a reason Sam Raimi sometimes credits himself as Alan Smithee, Jr., folks.

---By the Way, that theme music...what were they thinking?

ya know the concept of "guilty pleasures"? yeah, you have 'em, like admitting you watched - and enjoyed - goonies, battlestar galactica AFTER they reached earth, v the series, charlie's angels, starsky & hutch, the 1950s version of superman, or godzilla movies.

here's the ultimate in guilty pleasures. coupled with jack of all trades in a sam raimi action packed hour, this half hour slot is fast paced, easy to follow, and loaded with fun-to-watch scanlity-clad babes.

the man that brought us evil dead, xena, hercules, and the adventures of brisco county jr does it again with this 2000 update of charlies angels. we got charlie (voice) an unknown being that has the knowlege and the time to find people who need help, bosley (mouser) the gadget man, and three gorgeous babes that kick a** for a living.

and oh what a living!

Cleopatra 2525 is a very funny, entertaining show. You shouldn't take all the show seriously, but if you wanna have fun, that's your TV show. Being made by the producers of Xena is a quality guarantee, and Cleopatra 2525 isn't that different from Xena. The female warriors formula is brought to the future, where they don't have to fight warriors or gods, but dangerous robots which dwell in the surface, and the humans are forced to live underground. Along the two seasons of Cleopatra, they develop an interesting and funny underground world, and we get to know the three main characters: Cleopatra (Jennifer Sky), Hel (Gina Torres) and Sarge (Victoria Pratt). They all are different, but as a team, they work really well. The three main actresses appeared previously in Xena, like most of the regular/guest cast (there are some known faces from Hercules too, or from both shows). I specially liked the character played by Danielle Cormack (Ephiny in Xena), which is very different from any of her roles I previously knew. So if you liked Xena and Hercules, you'll love Cleopatra 2525. If you don't know them, try it: I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

On my quest to watch everything done by Sam Raimi and/or Bruce Campbell, I luckily stumbled over this pulp gem: finest sci-fi with more than just one touch of trash. Hot looking half-naked girls fight for the right cause - and the special effects look all trashy and marvelous, if that sounds good to you, this one is waiting for you.