“I want a hot pocket so bad and it's all I'm thinking about.”

September 11, 2016 3:07 PM

Son of Zorn [YouTube] [Trailer] An animated warrior from a faraway island in the Pacific Ocean returns to Orange County, CA, to win back his live-action ex-wife and teenage son.

- Son of Zorn: The Strangest Comedy on Television [The Guardian]

“Zorn (voiced by Jason Sudeikis), an excessively masculine He-Man-esque cartoon character, is the defender of Zephyria and conqueror of the tribes of Agon. On his island nation, they don’t have concepts like consideration, empathy, pacifism, or “no shirt, no shoes, no service”. He decides to leave his island home to go to Orange County for his human son’s 17th birthday. When he gets there, he discovers his ex-wife Edie (Cheryl Hines) has a new fiancé (Tim Meadows) and that his son Alangulon (Johnny Pemberton) – who goes by Alan – isn’t quite the flesh-ripping, head-stomping mini-warrior that Zorn was hoping for. Wanting to be more of an influence in his son’s life, Zorn decides to get a job and stay in California, even though no one wants him there.”

- In ‘Son of Zorn,’ the Dad’s Dense, and Drawn That Way [The New York Times]

“There are plenty of jokes in “Son of Zorn.” There’s the one when Zorn’s ex-wife asks if he owns a shirt, and he says, “Does a Gryffian herdsman have nine anuses?” There’s the one when his son tries to convince a predictably chauvinistic Zorn that his new boss is, in fact, a woman, and Zorn replies: “No, son, you’re not listening to me. He’s my superior.” But the defining joke of this new Fox comedy, which gets a preview on Sunday before starting its season on Sept. 25, lies in its concept, not its punch lines. Zorn — a towering, red-haired, He-Man-style warrior with the voice of Jason Sudeikis — is animated. Everyone else — including his ex-wife (Cheryl Hines), his sensitive son (Johnny Pemberton) and his ex-wife’s even more sensitive fiancé (Tim Meadows) — is real.”

- ‘Son of Zorn’: An Animated Hero, Lost Among the Millennials [The Wrap]

“Have you ever wondered what He-Man would look like if he left Eternia and settled into suburban life? That’s kind of the vibe Zorn (voiced by Jason Sudeikis) gives off in the pilot. When we meet the character, he’s departing his comic book world of slaying evil-doers and doing other “manly” things in order to be with his human son Alan (Johnny Pemberton) on his birthday. But when Zorn realizes that his ex, Edie (Cheryl Hines), is engaged to another man (Tim Meadows) and his son all but hates him, he decides to stick around for a while and make a go of things. It’s as awkward and weird as you’d expect it to be, but there’s a hidden charm in Zorn’s complete ignorance about things outside of his world. Vegetarianism, for one. What it’s like to hold down an actual office gig without slashing your desk in a fit of rage. Or why it’s not kosher to whip out a sword during a pleasant restaurant meal with your son.”

posted by Fizz (27 comments total)

Trailer feels like an endless sea of cringe with nothing else going for it. I'm not sure I could handle that much awkwardness played that straight.
posted by StrikeTheViol at 3:48 PM on September 11, 2016 [4 favorites]

He doesn't strike me as a He-Man in suburbia so much as an American Dad in a furkini.

The integration of the animation is so flat and awful. The actors just stand there frozen. Roger Rabbit it ain't.
posted by Sys Rq at 4:46 PM on September 11, 2016 [7 favorites]

It's meant to be kitsch; low production values are a feature.
posted by acb at 5:00 PM on September 11, 2016 [2 favorites]

Just please bring back Thundarr The Barbarian but not ironically - just the original, insane post-apocalyptic adventure fantasy.
posted by GuyZero at 5:00 PM on September 11, 2016 [19 favorites]

Lords of Light! I second that motion, GuyZero.
posted by Catblack at 5:20 PM on September 11, 2016 [4 favorites]

I live in Orange County, so I'll tune in to a few episodes. However, please bring back un-ironic Herculoids along with the un-ironic Thundarr. Thanks.
posted by Huck500 at 5:49 PM on September 11, 2016 [3 favorites]

Well, I set the TV to record it. It may not be funny. It may not be good. The opening was marginally good and it either starts to rock or it doesn't - in the latter case I'll stop recording it. Either way, it actually puts a show on Sunday night from Fox that registers on my radar.
posted by Nanukthedog at 5:52 PM on September 11, 2016

Having him kill that highly-trained bird seemed pretty tone deaf. Of the writers/animators, I mean. I get that it's transgressive, but that's not enough for it to be funny, is it?
posted by amtho at 5:55 PM on September 11, 2016 [3 favorites]

I'd be more enthusiastic if this were on Comedy Central or Netflix instead of Fox. I don't think a broadcast network will take this concept into the truly weird places it would need to go.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:09 PM on September 11, 2016 [6 favorites]

You've got a good point there, Faint of Butt. If Zorn isn't flat out decapitating people in Orange County ("The men in the large truck were stealing your offerings to the round-metal-can god! They deserved to die.") and just generally being insane, then it's going to be a mild show. Might be worth a look, tho.
posted by Kevin Street at 6:33 PM on September 11, 2016 [2 favorites]

This was playing in the pizzeria where we ate. I was intrigued by the premise, but instead of highlighting absurdities of modern life or exploring fantasy tropes in an entertaining way, it was just an excuse to have a character who is "allowed" to say all the "politically incorrect" things because that is "funny" somehow. Hard pass.
posted by Scattercat at 6:49 PM on September 11, 2016 [6 favorites]

I'd be more enthusiastic if this were on Comedy Central or Netflix instead of Fox. I don't think a broadcast network will take this concept into the truly weird places it would need to go.
Or adult swim, or even FXX or whatever it is called now.
Unfortunately, I agree this will be the downfall of the show. It needs to be as weird as it can get, and that won't happen in the network that keeps going with the rotting corpses of The Simpsons and Family Guy for their Sunday block.
posted by lmfsilva at 6:55 PM on September 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

Just please bring back Thundarr The Barbarian 

Demon dogs! That would be awesome...of course wait a few years and it might be too much like real life :/ Can we get Paul Linde to play Thundarr? That would be fun.
posted by sexyrobot at 7:01 PM on September 11, 2016 [2 favorites]

I watched about half of it before it got a leeeeeeetle raunchy for 7 p.m. on network ('cause my kids are still awake). I laughed several times, and I love Cheryl Hinds, but then it started getting very -- well, what Scattercat said: "it was just an excuse to have a character who is "allowed" to say all the "politically incorrect" things because that is "funny" somehow." I'm there for the weirdness of a cartoon barbarian living in the O.C. and having awkward relationships; but really not there for tired tropey sexism.

I'll probably watch a couple episodes to see if it lands more into the weirdness or more into the sexism ... but definitely after the kids are in bed, lesson learned, streaming it is.

"Have you ever wondered what He-Man would look like if he left Eternia and settled into suburban life?"

He'd look like PRINCE ADAM. Jesus, The Wrap, have you never seen an episode of He-Man?
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:22 PM on September 11, 2016 [9 favorites]

They cast Knives Chau as a waitress in this?

I'm sad now.

That actress is cool; do something cool with her.
posted by selfnoise at 7:32 PM on September 11, 2016

Will watch anything with Artemis Pebdani. This doesn't look too terrible. Reminds me of Space Ghost Coast to Coast.
posted by tippy at 10:07 PM on September 11, 2016

They cast Knives Chau as a waitress in this?

I'm sad now.

You think that's bad? They're using the very funny and talented improviser and comedian Dan Lippert as the on set stand in for Zorn. It's nice he's getting paid and all, I guess... Some good stuff here.
posted by Anoplura at 10:07 PM on September 11, 2016

I think I'd just rather have Space Ghost reruns. I'm old.
posted by doctorfrog at 11:57 PM on September 11, 2016 [4 favorites]

it was just an excuse to have a character who is "allowed" to say all the "politically incorrect" things because that is "funny" somehow.

I'm guessing somebody told FOX's executives that the big new millennial subculture is this thing called the "alt-right", who combine transgressive political-incorrectness with a love of memeable pop-cultural kitsch, and this programme is aimed at least partly at becoming a cult phenomenon among them.
posted by acb at 3:26 AM on September 12, 2016 [2 favorites]

I'm guessing a pretty good chunk of Fox's executives are part of the alt-right and wouldn't need to be told.
posted by blucevalo at 4:08 AM on September 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

I'm guessing a pretty good chunk of Fox's executives are part of the alt-right and wouldn't need to be told.

I imagine they'd be more mainstream Republicans/WSJ readers, and not in touch with what's cool on the regressive corners of Reddit. The whole point of the alt-right, as distinct from generic bigots/authoritarians, is the cachet of internet-era meme culture incomprehensible to Teh Olds.
posted by acb at 4:51 AM on September 12, 2016

Well, they probably have interns for that.
posted by Artw at 6:22 AM on September 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

Pac-Man or Super PAC man? - A compulsive pill-popper and anti-ghost activist breaks free from a maze and returns to Orange County, CA, to join a political action committee set up to support a presidential candidate. But how will his paranoid belief in the supernatural and addiction to pharmaceuticals affect his role in conservative politics? He'll ... probably be fine.

Duke Nukem's House of Lords Question Time - A hard-as-nails gunslinger leaves the Bootylicious Strip Club in Downtown LA forever when he is appointed Leader of the House of Lords (and Lord Privy Seal) in a conservative British government. But how will his fondness for fatal violence support the UK's Brexit strategy? Uh ... well, at least he's not Nigel Farage.

Mario in "Time to Plumb" - What if Mario gave up his ape-baiting, princess-rescuing and kart-racing hobbies and concentrated on his plumbing career? Then he'd really be "in the shit!" But the money's good, so whaddaya gonna do.

Jenny on the Block - a small grey, 2x2 block escapes from the world of Tetris and comes to New York, where it just rests on a sidewalk in The Bronx. Jennifer Lopez sits on it, just taking a moment for herself in a busy day. Not much else happens.

Solitaire Un-confinement - what if the playing cards from Windows Solitaire came to OUR world! Then they would be ... playing cards. You could play games with them, I guess? I dunno.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 7:19 AM on September 12, 2016 [7 favorites]

I was expecting worse. I'll probably keep watching it because I like most actors involved (Sudeikis, Cheryl Hines, Tim Meadows, Artemis) , but the writing could be tighter, although it's hard avoiding the same jokes as Robot Chicken, who do a lot of "cartoons in every day situations" skits. But two bits stood out, the equivalent of the dangerous convertible muscle car (Alangulon obviously loves), and :
"Fighting for my homeland and making sure Voltazor doesn't get his hands on the Staff of Quib"
"The Staff of Quib is just a stick"
"Yeah, but it's our stick!"

(But, dunno, one thing that tires me in fantasy is how every object is some sort of powerful sacred magic amulet, here they seem to be killing each other for a stick)
posted by lmfsilva at 7:30 AM on September 12, 2016

Will try this, but I doubt anything will ever completely take away the pain of Adult Swim failing to pick up Korgoth of Barbaria.
posted by prize bull octorok at 9:44 AM on September 12, 2016

It was interesting-ish, for a first episode. I'll wait for the rest of them before I make up my mind. It could easily be great or awful depending on the writers.
posted by tommasz at 11:16 AM on September 12, 2016

It seems like maybe a better idea for a series of sketches than a show?
posted by Artw at 11:22 AM on September 12, 2016