SEGA vs. NES in Video-Land

There is a new internet only show being developed in Astoria New York called The New Adventures of Captain S, produced by PBC Productions. This production company is made up of a few 20-somethings stationed in NYC trying to make a name for themselves in the acting/directing industry. One of the members is Tonawanda’s own Brett Vanderbrook, who plays the titular Captain S, aka Chad Williams, in the show. Brett has been making headway in the field, most recently doing stand-in work for Michael Haneke’s remake of his own spectacular film Funny Games.

Captain S revolves around a group of high schoolers trying to get through the years before advanced education. S is a true gamer and connoisseur of the Sega Genesis. After being recruited by the Video-Land Gods to fight for the prosperity of the world’s code, S finds his life being integrated into the games he plays as he has to not only save the sanctity of his gaming lifestyle, but also his friends who get mixed up in the battles. With great villainy, show writer Devon Riley plays the enemy Nes, complete with powerglove, trying to prove that the Nintendo Entertainment System is the superior to Genesis.

This show is a complete callback to the early/mid 90’s “rad” aesthetic, the time when the systems were in their prime. Maybe you have to be Brett’s and my age to appreciate what they are doing, but I believe it can resonant with anyone who had lived and experienced the birth of video games as we know them today. Sure the show is pure cheese, filled with overacting and corny TGIF sitcom final moral lessons, yet I think they know this and are attempting to hone that feel to get their message out. Captain S is an enjoyable way to spend some free time and get a good laugh in the process, remembering the time when you could just sit back and play a good game of Altered Beast. Besides the shows themselves, with their homage to 90-nostalgia (the final scenes harkening back to “Inspector Gadget” and Dr. Claw sitting at his computer screen), we are treated to extra features as well. These extras provide the biggest laughs of the bunch, and with the “Full House” serenade and Connect Four commercial, the laughs are big.

Hopefully S can keep thwarting Nes’s plan to steal Video-Land’s code for Game Genie, eventually making all gaming safe once again. The site has the first 4 episodes ready to be viewed. So, next time you have a little time to kill, check out the 12 minute episodes and remember back to the good ol’ times. I’ve always been a huge supporter of Nintendo, but in honor of the show will say…SEGA!!!

The New Adventures of Captain S

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