SERIES PREMIERE: To this point, and it’s been 20 years now, the modern Marvel storytelling universe, outside of the comic-book and graphic novel world, has consisted of new movies, starting with such tentpole titles as
The X-Men and
Iron Man, and more focused second-tier TV series, the best of which have been Netflix’s
Jessica Jones and
FX’s
Legion. Now, because of COVID-19, the newest phase of Marvel projects to roll out has been delayed and adjusted. Instead of a new film to launch the new cycle of stories, the momentum now falls to television – specifically, to this new nine-part miniseries from Disney+.
WandaVision takes two minor superheroes from the recent
Avengers movies, Wanda (a.k.a., in the comics, the Scarlet Witch) and Vision (the synthetic android that once provided the voice, and brains, of Tony Stark’s artificial intelligence)
, and throws them into a vintage, black-and-white sitcom world, not unlike
The Donna Reed Show or first-season
Bewitched. Why? How? When? All good questions. And in the three episodes provided for critics,
WandaVision answers none of them. But boy, is it intriguing. Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany reprise their Wanda and Vision roles, and have fun fitting into the conventional sitcom genre. But on this series, there’s a sinister motive behind the benign and artificial framework, and it’ll be fun to see what happens as this very odd TV couple begins to question and challenge its artificial environment. For now, we see them cycle through decades of television sitcom styles. By episode three, they’re no longer in black and white – but they’re still trapped in a TV “reality.” For my full review on NPR’s
Fresh Air with Terry Gross, listen to today’s show, or
visit the Fresh Air website later tonight. And for a full review here at TVWW,
see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower.