The Plot:
The basic premise for the series is as follows: a muscled manbeast like creature named Killface is building a massive nuclear rocket propulsion system. With it, he hopes to drive the entire Earth directly into the sun. Of course, he needs some completion funds to get things rolling, and he hopes a little direct marketing will help. Meanwhile, Awesome-X, the local crime fighting crusader, has just done away with the last arch villain. Without a foe to face, he's become irrelevant. Upon returning to his day job as Xander Crews, multibillionaire owner of a major multinational conglomerate, he starts running the company...into the ground. It tries to create a new nemesis by genetically altering a coworker, turning him into a giant lobster. Before long, Killface's publicity machine kicks in, and Crews gets a great idea - he will revitalize his business by creating action figures of himself and his new foe. All he needs are Killface's permission, and a signed contract. Also involved in the shady shenanigans are Crews' Chairman of the Board, Stan, his goody two shoes reporter girlfriend Grace Ryan, and the Xtacles, Awesome-X's right hand henchmen. For Killface, it's his son Simon, his girl Friday Valerie and his sexy servant Sinn that cause the most grief.

Here is an overview of the storylines offered in the 13 episodes included on this DVD set of Season 1:

"Meet Killface" - in which our skeletal villain looks for a way to market himself.
"Meet Awesome-X" - in which our superhero becomes Xander Crews, desk jockey CEO.
"Pimp My Revenue" - in which Killface and Awesome-X become enemies.
"XPO" - in which money makes Crews pursue Killface for the licensing rights to his action figure.
"Kidnapped" - in which Killface decides to abduct Crews and demand a hefty ransom.
"Emergency Room" - in which everyone ends up horribly injured and in the hospital.
"Meet Antagone" - in which newshound Grace Ryan ends up infested with radioactive insects, becoming an evil villainess.
"Blind Faith" - in which Awesome-X is penniless and Killface is sightless.
"The Odd Couple" - in which Xander moves in with Killface.
"Flowers of Nearl" - in which a once again kidnapped Xander is replaced by his retarded twin brother.
"The Grate Escape" - in which Killface's son Simon is held hostage by arch criminal Torpedo Vegas, and Crews helps the fiend rescue him.
"Penultimate Fighting" - in which Killface and Crews must battle to the death.
"Thrust Issues" - in which things try to go back to normal.

The DVD:
Frisky Dingo is the perfect example of a 'larch' style satire. Remember the moment in the classic Monty Python sketch when an ongoing slideshow depicted the now notorious tree without a single frame of familiarity of contextual reference? That's how this show functions. We recognize its (forest) familiarity, but have no stinking idea why it's frequently freaked out elements are part of the parody. As a spoof, it's singular and surreal. As a commentary, it's garbled and half swallowed. And yet you find yourself laughing despite the disconnect. Frisky Dingo (a play on the proposed original title Whisky Tango 6) is also a lot like said timber in that it begins from a simple premise - good guy vs. bad guy under classic comic book themes - and then branches off into all kinds of ancillary and unrelated antics. Killface may be an evil megalomaniac, but he spends more time cleaning Simon's spilled cereal (the mumbling youth loves to torment his father by dumping his breakfast all over the floor) than plotting his exploits. Similarly, Xander Crews - and his Awesome-X alter ego - does very little crime fighting or corporate wheeling-dealing. Instead, he fixates on the kind of minutia that would drive a normal person to depression...or drink...or a deadly five state killing spree.

It's clear that creators Matt Thompson and Adam Reed (responsible for the Adult Swim hit Sealab 2021) are interested in deconstructing the whole superhero/super-villain mythos. But they do so in ways that both embrace the archetype and completely rewrite the rules. It's not a new approach - most of the post-modern irony oriented work that passes for humor today uses this kind of comedy as a smarmy, smug retort. But Frisky Dingo has enough sass and verve to get away with it. Maybe it's the unique design employed. Many of the scenes look like pop art graphic novel pages come to life. There is a heavy reliance on bold black outlines and deep shading to give the kind of detail typically missing from your new fangled cartoon product, and yet most of the action is kept very simple and unsophisticated. There are nods to anime, a touch of Saturday morning stupidity, and references to the gross out scatology that keeps South Park and Family Guy afloat. In essence, Frisky Dingo is a real kitchen sink production. It picks and chooses from several styles to achieve its ends.

In the end, we wind up with something both knowledgeable and nonsensical, easy to follow but tough to fathom. Because these episodes follow a single story arc - funding the Annihilatrix and the destruction of Earth - it's hard to get into individual installments. Instead, DVD is the perfect medium for the show, as it allows for the entire two hour plus run (each segment is about 12 to 14 minutes long) to play out like one big manic motion picture. It also helps the constant character flux feel more organic and natural. For those wondering if it compares favorably to other Adult Swim fare, here's an easy evaluation: it's not a classic like Metalocalypse or Aqua Teen Hunger Force, but it beats such questionable content as The Venture Brothers (funnier in theory than in practice) or Moral Orel (ditto). In fact, as a total concept, as an idea of limited returns, Frisky Dingo definitely maximizes its results. One could easily see this show becoming a one note knock on the already self-mocking superhero genre. And with the clipped British bent of Killface and the proto-fey hissy fitting of Xander Crews, the entrance into this material is oblique to say the least. But Thompson and Reed get what they are going for, and that translates into a welcome, if often very weird, experience.

The Video:
Looking bright and colorful in its 1.33:1 full screen transfer, the DVD version of Frisky Dingo is a joy to behold. The details are dense and the contrasts carefully controlled. There is almost a 3D quality to the image here, a real 'jumping off the screen' quality overall.

The Audio:
On the sound side of things, the Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0 mix really does the job. The dialogue is always discernible, and the musical backdrop clear and dynamic. There is no real attempt at atmospherics or immersion, yet the general presentation is definitely TV friendly and focused.

The Extras:
None, sadly, which is a shame. Adult Swim usually does a better job with its digital packaging.

Final Thoughts:
Easily earning a Highly Recommended rating, Frisky Dingo remains an entertaining enigma. On the one hand, it clearly wants to mock and ridicule the standard heroes and villains ideal. It wants to take bravado to task and make mincemeat out of demagoguery. But there is also an entire inside joke quality to the series that frequently flummoxes its own designs. To call it unique would be an understatement. To think it easily accessible or instantly likeable is foolish in its own right. However, Frisky Dingo is not a dada-esque descent into pointless self-parody. Instead, it's a show that has ambitions above and beyond its meager animation foundation. What those aspirations are remain a mystery, a conundrum concocted out of a familiar TV type. There's a lot to enjoy here. There's a great deal to question as well.

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