Hey everyone Mazer here and today we are talking about the peacock original series Twisted Metal. Specifically, episode one as it is the only one, I currently have access too.
Twisted Metal is a fast-paced, vehicular-combat game heavily inspired by the Mad Max trilogy. Co-created by legendary developer David Jaffe (God of War), it quickly became a cult hit that spawned several sequels including Twisted Metal Small Brawl and my personal favorite; Twisted Metal Black.
Gameplay consists of players taking control of a wide variety of colorful drivers and pitting them against one another in a battle-royale setting. What made Twisted Metal so much fun was that the battles did not take place in arenas but public spaces. You would battle through Los Angeles, Paris, even Antarctica. The world was your playground. And each game in the franchise raised the bar. We got more vehicles, more weapons, more arenas, and more chances to destroy everything in our path.
As the games evolved so did the combat. Every car played differently – some faster, some slower, some able to take more damage, some able to give out more damage, etc. Levels would become destructible – giving the players the ability to destroy buildings, Ferris wheels, and even airplanes. In Twisted Metal Black these destructible environments would give way to hidden areas which would almost double the size of some maps.
However, there was more to Twisted Metal than the combat. Like Mortal Kombat before it, Twisted Metal contains a shocking amount of lore and continuity. While several characters only exist within their specific game, there are those who survive and continue on. Most notably the Kanes; Charlie Kane, Marcus Kane, and Needles Kane. These three, along with Calypso, would play a pivotal part of the franchise’s storyline. And while I would love to do nothing more than talk about how their stories intertwine, I am here to discuss Twisted Metal’s latest in-CAR-nation; the Peacock Original Series.
This is our review of Twisted Metal Episode One.
[WARNING: SPOILERS]
WLUDRV
The episode begins with, what else? Narration.
Our narrator is John Doe and explains to us that a computer virus is responsible for wiping out all modern technology including the wireless communication, power grids, and even online porn. In order to protect themselves, cities around the country exiled their criminals before erecting gigantic walls around their borders. Those on the inside were stuck on the inside and those on the outside were stuck on the outside.
Now in order to survive the apocalypse the cities needed supplies. That is where John Doe comes in. He is a “Milk Man” – a driver who delivers supplies from one city to the next. John Doe has been a Milk Man for most of his life and he drives a heavily armored 2003 Subaru that he affectionally named Evelyn.
John Doe is good at what he does. He is an expert driver, a crack shot, and has survived more deliveries than most other Milk Men in his territory. This success has not gone unnoticed, however, as he is soon invited to a meeting with New San Francisco’s COO, Raven. She offers him a job; to go to New Chicago to pick up a package and deliver it to her within ten days time. In exchange, she will grant him citizenship to New San Fran. But if he is even a second late in the delivery, the deal is off.
John Doe agrees.
Meanwhile, along the Nevada Border, a purple hearse is desperately trying to escape pursuit of a heavily modified police cruiser. The hearse belongs to a pair of unnamed siblings played by Richard Carbel and Stephanie Beatriz while the cruiser is being driven by the relentless Agent Stone who is being played Thomas Hayden Church.
It does not take long for Stone and his deputies to destroy the hearse and capture the siblings.
Stone then explains that he is trying to restore law and order to the wastelands. And in order to do so, he will punish any crime, no matter how small, with extreme prejudice. He offers them a choice. If either one takes their own life, he will let the other go. The brother volunteers and quickly executes himself before his sister can intervene.
True to his word, Stone releases the sister but not before branding her with his sheriff’s badge. He warns her to stay out of trouble least she suffers his wraith a seco nd time.
Back in California, John Doe is seeking a map to New Chicago. He visits an old friend, a gas-station attendant named Tommy. Tommy provides John Doe with directions but warns him of the dangers waiting outside of California. The biggest of which being along his route in the city of Las Vegas. John Doe does his best to reassure his friend before venturing back out on the road.
He is able to make it to the outskirts of Vegas before being ambushed by the unnamed sister. She lures him out of his car at gunpoint with the intent of stealing his Evelyn in order to pursue Agent Stone.
He tries to calm her down but the sound of music interrupts him. And not just any music. It is the jingle of Sweet Tooth – a polka-dotted ice-cream truck driven by none other than the psychotic clown-masked killer Needles Kane (played by wrestler Joe Seanoa and voiced by Will Arnett). His maniacal laugh fills the air as the screen cuts to black and the credits roll. End of episode one.
Our Thoughts
Now what I say, I say as a hard-core fan of the Twisted Metal franchise. I absolutely love the direction the studio is going with this. They realized that Twisted Metal is an insane property that should never be taken too seriously. I mean, this is a franchise where a bunch of lunatics shoot at one another from inside crazy vehicles all in the hopes of getting their one wish granted by a burned man in a suit. The cast includes homeless men, killer clowns, race-car drivers, construction workers, a shadowy demon, the literal embodiment of death, taxi drivers, stoners, and in one game, a man in a gimp suit. The series has always had a twisted sense of humor to it and it is this humor that the show embraces like a straitjacket.
I mean, right off the bat we get a car chase that takes place inside of a God-Dang shopping mall. How Twisted Metal is that? Not to mention that the cars all look like they belong in the Twisted Metal universe – with armored plating, mounted machine guns, and rocket launchers on the roof. What I especially enjoyed was the colored smoke trail that came out whenever a rocket was fired. For those of you who don’t play the games, the missiles of Twisted Metal are all color coded; purple for homing, red for power, and orange for fire. It was a great attention to detail that I absolutely loved.
As far as the story goes; I am digging the apocalyptic take that the writers are going with. At first, I was skeptical about the whole ‘delivery man’ premise but it seems to work really well. It makes sense that the characters of Twisted Metal would be in control of their own territories. This way we can be organically introduced to them as time goes by. I am really excited to see who else John Doe runs into over the course of his journey.
Speaking of, let’s talk about the characters. Anthony Mackie is wonderful as the fast-talking John Doe. He is charismatic, charming, and a delightful smart-ass. He’s a fantastic choice for our main character and I really find myself rooting for him.
On the other side of the coin, we have Neve Campbell playing the COO of New San Francisco. At first I found her performance to be a little rough around the edges. However we soon discover that it is because she is pretending to be someone she is not. I still have some reservations about Neve’s performance but for now, I want to see more before passing judgement.
As for Thomas Hayden Church as Agent Stone and Stephanie Beatriz as the unnamed sister; I feel we don’t have enough screen time to judge either one of them proper. As of right now, Church seems to be nailing it as the corrupt Agent Stone whereas Stephanie is doing a good job at playing an angry, troubled person with a mysterious past. Hopefully both characters stick around so that we can get to know them a bit better. Only time will tell.
Finally let’s talk about the series’ mascot Sweet Tooth. I don’t know what kind of sorcery the showrunners did to pull Needles Kane from the games into the real world but they did it. He looks fantastic. Exactly like his video-game counterpart from Twisted Metal Black. His size, his movements, his mask; they are absolutely beautiful. I cannot wait for the next episode where I can enjoy Needles in all his live-action glory.
What we loved
Now if you’ll forgive me, I am just going to go on a little tirade on all the things I loved about the episode.
- I absolutely love the car combat. While we didn’t get much of it, what we did see is on point.
- Paying John Doe in car parts and weapons instead of money. It makes sense! What purpose does money serve in the wasteland.
- It isn’t afraid of getting violent. Blood, guts, and gore baby!
- The cars are BEAUTIFUL! Shadow, Outlaw, and Sweet Tooth all look like they came straight out of the video game. Even Eveyln, who is a new car, is wonderfully done.
- The show seems to be mixing the dark humor of Twisted Metal 1 and 2 with the characters of Twisted Metal Black. Raven, John Doe, Agent Stone, are all characters in Twisted Metal Black. Whereas Sweet Tooth’s design comes from his Black incarnation.
- The humor is on point and isn’t afraid of going dark.
- Two words: Baby Seal
- Despite being only 30 minutes in length, they did a great job creating a believable world that can exist in the Twisted Metal universe. I want to see more!
And there you have it. As it stands, I am very happy with how Twisted Metal is being portrayed. This is a franchise that never took itself too seriously and I am glad that the showrunners are playing up to the games’ tongue-in-cheek humor. Now let’s hope that the other episodes are just as strong. Stay tuned as we will be covering each episode as we watch them! Hope to see you then!
Vehicles/Characters in this episode:
- Evelyn (John Doe)
- Shadow (Quiet and Loud)
- Outlaw (Agent Stone)
- Sweet Tooth (Needles Kane)
