Superman on Television

Krypto The Superdog: Episode Reviews

Season 1 - Episode 5: Dog-Gone Kevin/The Dark Hound Strikes!

Reviewed by: Felix Vasquez

Actors & Roles this episode:
Samuel Vincent - Krypto
Alberto Ghisi - Kevin
Nicole Oliver - Kevin's Mom
Brian Drummond - Streaky the Cat
Tabitha St. Germain - Andrea/Melanie
Scott McNeil - Ignatius/Ace the Bat Hound

Dog-Gone Kevin

Written by: John Loy
Directed by: Scott Jeralds

Now, I've been very optimistic and also very faithful in believing that this would be a pretty fun cartoon, and judging by the first episode, I was pretty surprised that this was actually an entertaining cartoon despite being targeted towards pre-schoolers, but this episode was just - annoying to say the least. Now (gets into nerd mode), far be it for me to nit pick about every little inaccuracy about Superman lore (because I do), but this episode had a lot of plot holes and sheer inaccuracies regarding logical plot turns. The story starts off pretty good... While distressed about trying to prepare for a birthday party for his friend Andrea, Kevin takes a look at the present he got her, a mysterious red gem, and accidentally mysteriously switches bodies with Krypto. What is the mysterious red gem? Well, it turns out to be red kryptonite. Red kryptonite? Who knew Kryptonite was so easy to get? And what I found pretty irritating is that, to discover where the gem came from, Kevin looks it up on the internet which made no sense. Why would one of Superman's weaknesses be on the internet for anyone to see out in the open? Wouldn't Lex and the government want to keep it under wraps for their own use? I mean this is still Superman's reality.

And what's worse Kryptonite presents yet another multi-faceted use, and my question is: does red kryptonite affect Kryptonian breeds differently? Or does red Kryptonite boast many uses like green does in "Smallville"? Regardless of the lapses in Superman logic that bog down the story, it does end up being pretty funny as Kevin must get used to being Krypto, and vice versa. There are some funny sequences including Andrea's party where Krypto begins acting like a dog licking people and running around on four legs, and Kevin as Krypto experiences same mishaps while wagging his tail and blowing a couple away, but otherwise the inconsistencies keep coming, the primary one being, how did they get back to their own bodies if the Red Kryptonite necklace was meant as a present to Andrea? How did he get the necklace back, and how did they switch bodies back? Regardless, it's a pretty lame episode I couldn't help but nitpick at it relentlessly.

The Dark Hound Strikes!

Written by: Paul Dini
Directed by: Scott Jeralds

While flying over Metropolis on patrol, Krypto receives a sound wave from his super hearing and is nearly hit by a flying batarang that whizzes past him. He follows the batarang and happens upon a mysterious figure atop a building and clashes with none other than Bat Hound who finally makes his first appearance on the show. Bat Hound, dressed in Batman's cape and cowl, and equipped with his own utility collar (hilarious!) is scouring the city alongside his maste - ahem, partner, looking for sources and snitches for information to the Joker's upcoming heist which Batman and he are investigating. I was never sure what exactly the heist entailed (pun not intended), but it had something to do with a dog show, and money, and deals with rigging a local dog show, but other than that there was really nothing else to the plot which seemed pretty small-time for the Joker's taste, however the two hyenas that work for the joker were pretty funny villains, as Bat Hound, who is comically dark and grim, and Krypto fight alongside each other to put a stop to their scheme.

The relationship between Krypto and Bat Hound really manages to reflect the general sensibilities of their masters Superman and Batman as Bat Hound is serious, and Krypto is friendly. But the main flaw of the show still is that it just can't seem to get off the ground as being an extension of the Superman lore rather than focus solely on Krypto. I love the references to the DC universe, but this is about Krypto, and I want to see him get into his own adventures with his own villains like Mekanikat and more colorful foes. This is still just stuck in the tongue-in-cheek references which just make me want to see Superman.



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