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Cryogenically frozen in 2001 after her boob job goes wrong,
exotic dancer Cleopatra is revived in 2525 to find that the
world has become a very different place. Humans have been
driven underground by sinister beings known as Baileys. Cleopatra
joins forces with a pair of freedom fighters, Hel and Sarge...
Watching the action-packed eye candy that is Cleopatra
2525 is like having a superhero comic book on your TV
screen. The scantily-clad heroines would not look out of place
between the covers of a DC or Marvel publication, while the
recurring villain Creegan (Joel Tobeck) resembles a cross
between a glam rock star and Batman's arch nemesis, the Joker.
The
22-minute length of each instalment is also coincidentally
reminiscent of the typical page count of an American comic.
This brief duration results in some frequently breakneck pacing.
It is therefore advisable not to take your eyes off the screen
for more than a second or two, in case you miss any of the
splendid stunts or special effects.
The
first two episodes - Quest for Firepower and Creegan
- seem particularly rushed in terms of plot. So much so that
you may, at first, experience some difficulty in getting to
grips with the premise of the show. One would be forgiven,
for instance, for initially wondering whether the subterranean
realm inhabited by Hel (Gina Torres) and Sarge (Victoria Pratt)
is a physical location or a virtual simulation - I confess
that I was a little confused the first time I watched the
programme. The viewer is also left guessing as to the nature
of the Voice (Elizabeth Hawthorne) inside Hel's head until
the second episode, when a few clues are finally offered to
us. The episodes Flying Lessons and Run Cleo Run
are far more comprehensible by comparison.
At
the other extreme, the storyline of Mind Games is rather
slight, even for its brief duration.
It
comes as no surprise that the strongest plot amongst this
collection of seven episodes is that of the two-part tale,
Home and Rescue (which have been edited together
for this volume). The double-length duration allows for a
weightier story to be developed in between the usual whiz-bang
action sequences.
Throughout
the series, the creative influence of Executive Producer Sam
Raimi - and others who previously brought us Hercules
and Xena: Warrior Princess - is clearly in evidence,
not only in the glamorous action and adventure, but also in
the tongue-in-cheek humour. Take, for example, the reason
why Cleopatra (Jennifer Sky) got frozen in the first place,
or the character's constant spouting of 21st-century slogans
and words of wisdom, which are familiar to us but not to Hel
and Sarge.
There
are sadly no special features on this DVD, but nevertheless
this volume offers plenty of escapist fun.
Richard
McGinlay
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