Distributor: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Episodes: 10
Duration: 42 minutes (per episode)
Krypton: Season 1 (DVD) – Series Review
While we can expect another reboot of the DC Universe movies because of the failure of Justice League at the box office, DC is still going strong when it comes to their original series. Sadly, it means that movies such as Aquaman, Wonder Woman and Shazam will likely never get a proper sequel, as Ben Affleck is already being replaced as DC Universe’s Batman. Poor choices from the creators aside, the DC franchise did spawn some new series recently such as Titans and Krypton. We were lucky enough to discuss Titans some time ago, and now we have the chance to discover the history of Krypton, which is actually quite interesting.
The story of Krypton revolves around the events that took place 200 years before the destruction of the planet. It shows us what happened to the El family, how they lost their privileges and were thrown into the slums. The story starts out with the society of Kandor city being taken over by a religious zealot, who preaches that the Kryptonians are the only sentient beings in the universe. Val-El (Ian McElhinney) states to have proof of other beings in the universe, and that Krypton is in danger. He is forced to give up his beliefs, but refuses to do so, which ends with him being sentenced to death. His family and his grandson, Seg-El (Cameron Cuffe), are stripped of their privileges and their family name.
The series fast-forwards to Seg becoming an adult and surviving in the slums by haggling officers out of their money. While he is used to being a low-ranked citizen, him preventing an attack on Kandor city’s religious leader grants him the privileges of becoming a member of the Vex family. While this is a great honor, it’s also the same family that condemned his grandfather to death. To make matters worse, he is forced to become bonded with Nyssa-Vex (Wallis Day), while he is actually in love with someone else. Making things overly complicated, he is contacted by Adam Strange (Shaun Sipos), a time-traveler from Earth, to tell him that Krypton is in danger and that if Seg doesn’t prevent what is about to happen, his grandson, Kal-El, will never be born.
Compared to series such as Titans, the flow of Krypton is a lot slower. The series is more political than many of DC’s other series or movies, but it works for this type of series. Most of the time there’s one specific problem per episode, which intertwines with the bigger plot of the season. There’s a bit of action to be found in each episode, but for the most part, this series is actually fairly docile. There are proper love stories to be found here, even with the somewhat odd nature of relationships and birth politics on the planet of Krypton, which will become clear when watching the series. Overall things are well-crafted, but some fans might argue that the series is somewhat slow compared to other DC productions. Things remain interesting, and while there are a few slower-moving sections, you’ll be wondering about what is going to happen in season 2, which means the series does captivate the viewer.
The acting performances of the first season of Krypton are outstanding. The cast comprises a few faces that will appear during the course of every episode. The lead, played by Cameron Cuffe, is doing a formidable job at playing one of the famous El family. Nonetheless, it’s hard to link the character of Seg-El to Superman, but still, you can find yourself in the depiction of this character. Another lead character in the show is Lyta-Zod, played by Georgina Campbell, who plays one of the descendants of the Zod family, but also Seg-El’s love interest. Sadly, now that Seg has once again been restored to becoming a part of the ranked community, he is now bound to Nyssa-Vex, who is portrayed by Wallis Day. More important roles are performed by Shaun Sipos, who plays the messenger of what will happen in the future. Blake Ritson will play one of this season’s evil characters, namely the fearsome Brainiac. Other and supporting roles have been cast with care, and while there isn’t that much to go around on what actually transpired on Krypton, the cast makes a believable picture of Superman’s home planet.
You’ll have a few extras to view when purchasing the DVD box of Krypton. You can watch a (dated) Comic-Con panel, which is always nice to get some thoughts about the series. Other than that, you’ll have the standardized deleted scenes and a gag reel to enjoy. If you wish to learn more about how the series was created and the thought process behind the creation of the relatively unknown world of Krypton, you’ll have two features spanning over forty minutes in total. The special content is quite fun to view, and it adds some value to the physical edition.
Conclusion
Krypton: Season 1 is actually another decent start of a DC series that taps from a somewhat unutilized potential, namely the planet Krypton. Fans of Superman or even other DC shows and movies will have heard of Superman’s planet, but even so, not a lot is known about how life worked on Krypton. This series touches that subject and actually spins it to a decent narrative and origin point of the Man of Steel. While some may consider this series a bit too political or even slow, you’ll find yourself invested in the series as the season progresses. This one is certainly worth a try, but we do hope it doesn’t get milked dry like other DC series.
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