‘Danger 5’ Kills Nazis with Dinosaurs and Spy Movie Cliches

When you watch a new original web series (or an Australian TV-show-turned-web-series), it’s usually easy to describe it as “this show meets this show.” But good luck finding a simple way to describe Danger 5. Created by the same guys behind Italian Spiderman, Dinosaur Worldwide’s Danger 5 is a five-part action comedy series about 1960’s inspired spies fighting Adolf Hitler during World War II.

Last week the first episode – ‘The Diamond Girls’ – gets straight to the biscuits as spies Jackson, Tucker, and Pierre attempt to poison the Fuehrer. When their attack fails due to Hitler’s security team of diamond skinned women, their Colonel decides to make additions to the Danger team. Specifically, female agents Claire and Isla.

By the way, that Colonel has the head of a falcon and that’s only the beginning of the zany world the next four installments of Danger 5 explore. The trailer promises the series will be packed with action, robots, gold weapons, and Nazi Dinosaurs. DINOSAURS!

Beyond the draw of the bizarro characters, Danger 5 offers a level of production value not often seen online. Much like Italian Spiderman nailed the 1970’s Italian Cinema aesthetic, the new Dinosaur series pays careful homage to the 1960’s Spy genre with its elaborate set pieces, over the top fight sequences, and practical effects. It dances a fine line between retro and new media, using high saturated colors and off-sync sound to give the 60’s feel, but not enough to alienate audiences accustomed to high definition.

Falling back into the “this meets this” habit, Danger 5 is early James Bond meets original Star Trek. It’s Archer meets Team America. It’s the type of show I imagine Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds would enjoy if they lived in the web series era and need a break from killing Nazis themselves. If that’s not helpful, you can click here to see how the Dinosaur Worldwide website describes Danger 5.

But my best attempt at describing the program is “it’s everything I never knew I wanted in a web series.” Oh, it’s also AMAZING! But give it a watch for yourself. And if you find a better way to describe Danger 5, I’d love to hear it.