Jack of All Trades

JACK OF ALL TRADES is mostly fun and spectacle, in the twenty minutes of each episode we have great slapstick as only Bruce Campbell can do, great swordfights, really bad ( but funny, often politically incorrect ) one-liners, talking parrots, jokes about the french and to summarize it, it can be very immature. But good executed. So a whole lot of fun. It's comparable to Brisco County in the fact that modern inventions are often used as deus ex machina, but it is not as emotionally. The whole setting reminds more of the Wild,Wild West Movie than of Brisco. The guests are great fun, for instance Verne Troyer as Napoleon goes where Mini-me of Austin Powers not even dared to.

Watch it for the fun of it.

yes people will complain about the cheesy dialogue or the predictable plots. but its Bruce Campbell doing what he does best. The shows main fault was the plots were too rushed. It should have been a hour long like Xena and Hercules. Oh well it will always be better than that dismall Cleopatra 2525.

I am yet again impressed with the stuff that Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell come up with. This is a silly and immensely entertaining show. It by far has the BEST opening theme song I have ever heard or seen. Bruce is the most entertaining ham to come along in years. His guest appearances on Xena and Hercules were the best episodes they ever made. I can Hardly wait to see a film with Raimi, Campbell and frequent collaborators, the Coen Brothers, working together in another film. Maybe some Briscoe County movies could be in the future!!

"Jack of All Trades" is the latest collaboration of cult duo Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi. I watched it today after the awful "Cleopatra 2525," which is packaged with Jack into an hour show. Sure, Jack of All trades was funny. Bruce Campbell rarely disappoints. The musical opening credits were catchy and hilarious, so I was looking forward to the show. It's another sound-effects filled romp into an exagerrated past with witty dialogue and inaccurate facts, like Hercules and Xena have recently become. Sure, maybe the show is flimsy and the sets are cheap, maybe the effects are bad and nothing is remotely similar to reality. But who cares? Good stuff for Campbell fans.

Jack of all Trades chronicles the misadventures of Jack Styles (Bruce Campbell), a US special agent who is shipped off to the island country of Palau Palau in the year 1801. His mission there? Team up with a British agent and, together, thwart the occupying French forces that have taken over the peaceful Pacific island community.

Jack soon discovers that in order to get the people of Palau Palau behind him, he must pander to their beliefs. Dressing up as a Zorro-like avenger known as The Daring Dragoon, Jack fights off the French, pirates, mad scientists, the Marquis de Sade, and various other wacky villains.

The show incorporates historic figures into each show, even if they weren't around in 1801, when the series takes place. Most notably included in the series are Napoleon (played by Mini-Me, Verne Troyer), Lewis and Clark, the aforementioned Marquis de Sade, Benjamin Franklin, Blackbeard the Priate, and the seemingly mad King George.

The series lasted only 22 episodes, but each one gets funnier and funnier. Its a true shame that the series didn't nab a second season, as the characters were all truly coming into their own by the time the show was canceled.

If you're looking for Three Stooges-style slapstick, insane alternate history, and a very healthy dose of Mr. Campbell, check out this DVD boxed set. Its well worth the inexpensive price tag.

Viva la Jack!!!