TV Retrospective: "Disenchantment" - Season 1

Scene from Disenchantment

There's something cheeky about the title of Matt Groening's first new series in close to 20 years. Following the success of The Simpsons and Futurama, the risk of making a series that would disappoint seemed apparent. While Disenchantment as a word means to be disappointed, it's a series meant to explore the new realm of fantasy. Having left his mark on the family sitcom and sci-fi satire, it's interesting to see him poke fun at a world from the distant past, playing up the tropes that define the genre. But the question is more about the title. Does the show leave viewers disenchanted to Groening's almost four decade career, creating his potential first flop for Netflix? The answer is no. While the show starts off a bit uneven, it quickly finds a groove that not only finds the Groening sensibility, but elevates it to a more ambitious and interesting style of storytelling than anything he's done before.

On its surface, Disenchantment looks to be an inferior form of more of the same. It has a lot of familiar voice actors from the other series, including the likes of John DiMaggio, Billy West, Lauren Tom, and Maurice LaMarche. It has the zooming establishing shots of Futurama's Planet Express headquarters. Even the archetypes at times recall characters that Groening has done before. However, it's important to note that the comparisons are only skin deep. This is a show that doesn't rely on any familiar structure to tell a story, instead relying on a fantasy setting that takes place in Dreamland, which features a castle on the top of a cliff on the other side of a waterfall (and currently has five village idiots). The early episodes are lacking in the penchant sign gag humor, but the show finds its groove in the characters, which are perfectly conveyed as three cliches of the fantasy genre.

Leading the group is Bean (Abbi Jacobson) as the rebellious princess who hangs out with demon Luci (Eric Andre) and a flamboyant elf named Elfo (Nat Faxon). This is the jumping off point for journeys in which they travel through the kingdom and into the forest, discovering a world that is a perverse mix of Renaissance stereotypes and Grimm's Fairytale characters. Everything is present in clever detail, showing a world where everything is a bit off from what is known. There's rabid squirrels, and the orphanage is called Little Orphan Annex. Despite being a Netflix series released all at once, it seems like the intent of the series is to nudge people into understanding the world, allowing the plot to take center stage for the first half before diving into ribald humor four or five episodes in. While this may be read as an error of the show, it's actually key to what makes the show work.

There is technically no ongoing story connecting the journey. Sure, Bean goes on adventures and has an ongoing woe over her dead mother. Elfo also has an identity crisis that leads to one of the show's first emotional moments amid slapstick and violence regarding elves fighting humans. But what makes the show work is what has made The Simpsons' early run an institution of quality TV writing. There's an emotional depth that becomes prevalent throughout the series, capturing characters who aren't just alcoholics and self-destructive because they can be. There's a dark subtext connecting Bean and her father (DiMaggio) to depression and a sense of inferiority - a perfect irony for the power they hold over the town. It helps to make the characters rich and compelling, making their wacky adventures feel somewhat grounded even as they fight a homicidal Hansel & Gretel and drain Elfo because elf's blood can allegedly hold some keys to eternal life. Even that, which starts in the second episode as an elaborate gag, begins to have a satisfying depth by the final third of the show when the quest for Bean to resurrect her mother becomes something hopeful. It's a quest for lost time, which even then leads to a darker, sadder reveal that her mother is maybe not the nicest person to live in the castle.

As a comedy show, this is some of Groening's sharpest and most enjoyable writing in several years. He feels rejuvenated by taking up a new world where he gets to design everything from the floor up. Even his character designs feel ambitious in ways that his other series never took a chance with, creating characters that are curvier, lankier, and even missing the recognizable overbite. It's because of this that even the more vulgar and off choices feel at worst interesting endeavors. But what may be the most exciting thing about the show is something that Futurama took awhile to understand, and of which has become the norm in the modern era. It's prevalent in the way that the story has several callbacks that build and connect, coming back in unexpected ways throughout the run of the show. By the end, the unassuming first half provides context clues and "one-off" characters that come to have a deeper meaning.

Is this show worth the wait? Considering that this is only the first half of the proposed first season, it does seem like a tease to call it fully successful. However, it's perfect evidence that Groening as a creator has evolved, bringing along Golden Age The Simpsons writers like Josh Weinstein and David Cohen to mix the familiar approach to humor and satire with a format that would appeal to the binge watching crowd. As a result, the show is going in directions that audiences who have seen the 700+ episodes of TV that Groening has created before and putting them on their toes. It's fun to have that unexpected flavor back for such a prolific, influential artist. If nothing else, the promise of a cliffhanger at the end of the 10 episodes suggests that the show has an even bolder, more interesting direction to go. Here's hoping that what lies ahead ends up being even more phenomenal.

Was Disenchantment worth the wait? Unlike more prolific TV show creators, it's interesting to see Groening return to the fold with only his third show in 30 years. If nothing else, it shows that there's something meticulous to what excites him about a project. All things considered, this isn't just a rehash of what audiences know. Much like the differences between The Simpsons and Futurama, there's a significant change-up in the fantasy series that feels like an old hat approaching the new millennium with a critical eye. Sure, the show is very funny and has all of the trademarks of his style. But it also has a love of fantasy's obsession with continuity and supernatural oddities in ways that are refreshing. It still has a way to match the cult-like fandom of Groening's other series, but then again they have hundreds of episodes and decades to back it up. Disenchantment is still new and waiting to be discovered. That alone makes it a special addition to the game.

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5