Review of THE ALMIGHTY JOHNSONS

THE ALMIGHTY JOHNSONS - episode 1-3.

Comedy, Norse gods, mythology, 2011

AXL's (Emmitt Skilton) twenty-first birthday has arrived, but this will not be an ordinary celebration. First, a meteor shower lights up the sky, and then the harbor turns blood red. These are significant omens. After that, Axl nearly gets run over by pretty young woman named STACY.  She apologizes and Axl invites her to his birthday party. Later, while they're getting to know each other horizontally, she pulls a dagger and tries to kill him--again. Fortunately, an earthquake, intervenes and saves Axl's life, though Stacy gets a chance to escape.

What's going on? Axl's brothers have the answer, and the next day they all get together. The brothers have interesting abilities. Anders (the god Braggi) can persuade women out of their clothes like magic. Ty (the god Hod) can chill a wine glass just by holding it (he repairs refrigerators for a living and his hobby is ice sculptures.) Mike (the god Ullr), the oldest and most responsible, can track down almost anything and can win all games, but he keeps these skills secret because he had abused them in the past.  The brothers explain to Axl that they all are reincarnated Norse deities--god of games and the hunt, ice god, etc--and that Axl is actually Odin, the leader of the gods. Axl is skeptical, but he has no way to explain how Mike always wins in rock-paper-scissors. Then the brothers, and cousin Olaf, who is really Axl's grandfather, take Axl into the woods, have him strip naked and hold up a sword.  Lightning covers him and initiates him into godhood.

Let's face it. These gods have puny powers. To bring them into their fullness, Axl must find his true love, the goddess Frigg. But there are obstacles. To recognize that an apparent mortal woman is actually Frigg, Axl has to sleep with her; he's gonna be a busy boy. Meanwhile, Stacy is one of a group of goddesses who want to rule the world themselves instead of having Axl and his brothers do it. They're trying to kill Axl. In addition to the near auto accident, they shot Axl with a heart-shaped arrow, (and now Axl has two hearts on x-ray,  an important detail for an Odin incarnation.) 

And for unknown reasons, all this takes place in Australia.

This is fun stuff. The premise and situations are laughably absurd, and the actors play them well. Emmitt Skilton in particular portrays Axl as a likable lout who can never quite understand what's going on. Poor Odin. Apparently, this is another series that was almost canceled, but fans wrote in and saved it. I understand why it generated such enthusiasm. The shenanigans of Axl and his brothers are entertaining and will get your pulse up to a jog.  I give it +++.