Reviewed By: Pugilist
Hero Envy is the web series put out by GlintofHope.com and details members of the gamer/slacker generation. Spewgilist.com has been reviewing this series since 2005.
Does anyone remember Realistically Speaking and the promise it laid out? Well I do. The two Realistically Speaking episodes were damn good. We can certainly see that foundation in Interlude. Hell, we can see that Interlude is, truly, the pinnacle of the series to date. Alright, by now everyone who reads my reviews should know that I don't do "Best Ever" declarations as I find them both short sighted and strident.
Well, this is the exception. This is the best damn episode they've done to date.
All of the episodes are fun to watch. Some kick your ass, some tickle your fancy, this one takes you out for dinner, molests your dreams, and leaves you on the curb with no cab fare; but in a good way.
Made in the genre of VHS's Behind the Music which is a serious slant on the classic "This is Spinal Tap" and a genre of which we have seen perpetuated lately in such series as the great British series "The Office" and the US series too, Interlude is presented as "Behind the Hope" and tracks, through narration, interviews and "found" file footage, the story behind GlintofHope.com and the resultant Hero Envy Series.
We start this episode with Wally and JD on the couch having a pleasant talk. Pleasant as ground up, punched in the face, and fed through the grinder that is JD's filter of the world. And then there's a break, the crew comes in to congratulate the actors on the scene, and we slip into the "Behind the Hope" portion of the show. And my dear God, I nearly fell out of my chair so many times I decided it was safer to sit on the damn floor.
We have commentary from Brian LeTendre and Matt Herring of Secret Identity Podcast, we have interactions with the ACLU, we have Mike, John, Kurt, and Keith expose their "real" personalities. We have commentary from the GOH lawyer, James Martin, from Chris Benoit, the GOH stuntman, Phil Labonte, Rock Star, Rob LaQuerre, personal trainer, and we learn the real role of Etrane. We also see an appearance from Akita Kurrysawa, who had a pivotal role in the development of the Hero Envy series and their recently release feature film, Geekzilla. Wrapped around all of this is hilarious commentary by Michael Mooney.
The entertainment is non-stop in this episode. There is never a slow moment, never a dragging line. Hell, I'll have to go back and watch it a 3rd or 4th time to see if I can spot any production issues because I was too busy laughing my ass off and wondering what threshold they would storm next, what line they would obliterate, what "Dear God, did that just happen?" scene would unfold to try to spot anything. What's more, any time there are more than two of the crew together, there is something going on that is unrelated to the conversations taking place. It was never distracting but at times it was a "SHIT! Did he just do that?" moment.
You know what I'm talking about Etrane.
If you've never seen an episode of Hero Envy, do not start with this one because you won't appreciate it nearly enough. Rather, watch any three (3) previous episodes and then set aside the 31 minutes and eight (8) seconds to watch this episode from start to finish. Trust me on this one, it is exactly that good.
In my previous reviews I've talked about what I've liked and disliked in each episode and then ended by giving a score. I can't do that this time. I can't give this episode a score. All I can do is acknowledge that this was a flawless execution of episode 20 and acknowledge it as a 10.
Now, of course, here's the rub. We've glimpsed the best they've done to date; going forward it will be the standard against which they and the series will be judged. But, in all honestly, I'm not seeing this as a problem. The entire GOH family has shown that they can step up and take on tough challenges and, at the very least, succeed. I'm certain we'll look back a year from now and say "'Interlude' was a great episode, but it doesn't compare to episode 28, they really nailed that one."
Great job guys, you have impressed the hell out of me.
And readers? Don't trust me, see it for yourself:
http://www.glintofhope.com