Saturday, May 14, 2011

Saturday Morning's Forgotten Heroes: Teamo Supremo (2002)

The popularity of Cartoon Network's Powerpuff Girls inevitably would spawn imitators, but there was only one. Disney trotted out Teamo Supremo as a mid-season replacement on ABC in January 2002. There are some differences:

1. Teamo Supremo is made up of 2 boys & 1 girl. Rope Girl has a cowgirl gimmick. Skate Lad is a Latino skateboarder with braces. Capt. Crandall, the team leader, is a walking homage to James Thurber's daydreamer, Walter Mitty.

2. Teamo Supremo answers to a higher authority than the Powerpuffs. Higher as in, a hipster Governor (Martin Mull, Sabrina, The Teenage Witch). Next to him, the Mayor of Townsville is even more of a square.

3. Teamo Supremo may actually have gotten past kindergarten. I would guess that these kids are at least in the first grade.

The series spent parts of two seasons on ABC, but lately, it languishes in Disney's vaults, as it doesn't even see the light of day on boy-centric DisneyXD. Here's the open, in case you forgot this show even exists:



In terms of kindred spirits, I'd say the series owes some inspiration to the live-action Batman, what with the campy villains and over-the-top plotting. Unlike Batman or the Powerpuffs, though, the TS kids had more disposable villains to deal with, which in hindsight might've been a turn-off, leading to its demise.

Rating: B.

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