All hail Major Victory and his shiny pants!
 
At a first glance it is easy to believe that this programme is a true reality TV show. Comic book legend Stan Lee has whittled down thousands of hopefuls to just twelve, with contestants dressing up in their own superhero inventions and set challenges to prove their worth.

With every reality show, a grand prize awaits the winner and Lee’s production is no different. The winning superhero will see his or her character immortalised in a Dark Horse Comics publication written by Lee, as well as an original movie to be aired on the Sci-Fi Channel.
 
Lee’s parody ticks all the boxes on the list of what makes a reality TV show. The concept itself is not as far-fetched as other reality programmes broadcast in America, meaning sometimes it’s difficult to believe that it is a parody. You may find yourselves getting sucked into the show and reminding yourselves that it’s not real!
 
It is obvious where the laughs were meant to come from within this show. Everything from each character’s persona to the camera shots and individual interviews seemed to be exaggerated for comical effect. Unfortunately the constant tongue-in-cheek gags fell flat for the majority of the series.

Quite often, the characters ended up looking too fake, cheesy and contrived. For Major Victory, this worked and a few giggles came from the hilarity of his character (check out his run during the first challenge!). Even Feedback’s cheesy-edging-on-scary eye-popping grins at everything Stan says raise a few sniggers.

However, this does not make up for the performance from the rest of the ‘contestants’. Perhaps if new heroes were brought into the mix or if the programme had more twists, it might have spiced things up a little more. Instead, it seemed like the same ol’ same ol’ American reality TV series.
 
Each episode starts with the line - “Somewhere inside all of us lives a hero”. These mighty words emanate from Stan “The Man” Lee, creator of Spider-Man, X-Men and The Hulk (to name but a few).

Lee is a major high in this series. His head-teacher come father-figure role in this show is both endearing and amusing in places. But even Lee’s presence can’t save the day.
 
When Stan Lee says, “Welcome to what will become the adventure of a lifetime”, his words fall a little short regarding this series. Although a few laughs are uttered, it just feels like this series could be so much better than what it is – which is like any other reality TV show you see in America these days.

Altogether now…Excelsior!