"Kenny Starfighter" (1997) TV series

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Directors:

Carl Åstrand
Mats Lindberg

Writers:

Jonas Inde (writer)
Mats Lindberg (writer)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

3 May 1999 (Finland)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Kenny Starfighter, a dim-witted Galaxy superhero, comes to Earth to save his home planet Mylta from the evil lord Dr. Deo. To his aid are four kids, whose school is controlled by a bunch of very weird teachers.

Plot Keywords:

Teen | Space | Spoof | Kids And Family

Cast

Johan Rheborg	...	Kenny Starfighter (6 episodes, 1997)
Johan Stattin	...	Markus (6 episodes, 1997)
Josefin Edvardsson	...	Sofia (6 episodes, 1997)
Gabriel Hermelin	...	Tyrone (6 episodes, 1997)
Linus Samuelsson	...	Burken (6 episodes, 1997)
Lakke Magnusson	...	Biology teacher (6 episodes, 1997)
Sten Ljunggren	...	Principal (6 episodes, 1997)
Gunilla Paulsen	...	Mona (6 episodes, 1997)
Sten Elfström	...	Police officer (6 episodes, 1997)
Måns Westfelt	...	Col. Heinz / ... (5 episodes, 1997)
Emma Hanfot	...	Jacqueline (5 episodes, 1997)
Ulf Wahlström	...	Hempo #1 (4 episodes, 1997)
Aleksa Lundberg	...	Hempo #2 (4 episodes, 1997)
Carl Nordling	...	Hempo #3 (4 episodes, 1997)
Benny Haag	...	German teacher (4 episodes, 1997)
Sigrid Åhs	...	Sun Babe (4 episodes, 1997)
Tomas di Leva	...	Music teacher (3 episodes, 1997)
Camilla Henemark	...	School nurse / ... (3 episodes, 1997)
Viveka Seldahl	...	Memorymatic (3 episodes, 1997)
Magnus Ankarman	...	Johnny Skywatch (2 episodes, 1997)
Bo Ankarwall	...	Dr. Deo's assistant (2 episodes, 1997)

Runtime:

Sweden:28 min (6 episodes)

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Color:

Color

Quotes:

[Dr. Deo has been defeated, making all the teachers go back to normal again]
Principal: Oh, my head... what day is it? What's happened?
German teacher: I tink it vas teacher's party yesterday...
Principal: Well, that must've been fun, I don't remember anything.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Kenny Begins (2009)

"Måste hitta Kenny... måste rädda jorden!"

Such were the words spoken by Thomas Di Leva in what is possibly the cultiest cult show on this planet, or on Mylta for that matter. Johan Rheborg, fresh out of playing money-hungry cynic Percy Nilegård, stereo-loving Uncle Barbro ("There are no shortcuts to the perfect sound!") and the haunting Kaminmannen in "Nilecity" and "Percy Tårar" puts on a blond wig, blue contact lenses, a smooth tan and a suit made out of old Coke cans, and the universe will never be the same...

The show has a solid plot but it's really all in the characters and their reactions to the strange things that are happening around them. The casting director actually managed to find a group of kid actors who *gasp* DIDN'T SUCK! Yes, you might need to take a step back and absorb that for a moment. My favourite is Tyrone, he has a wicked hairdo! The cast is great all around with the aforementioned Rheborg and Di Leva, Lakke Magnusson as a brilliantly sleazy biology teacher ("Hate! Hate! Hate!"), Måns Westfeldt as a very evil, very smelly Dr. Deo, Sten Elfström as a corrupt cop, Camilla Henemark as a hot Evil Nurse and Sten Ljunggren as the school principal (haven't we all suspected our headmaster to be the root of all evil at some point? Seriously?). The kids who play the three unlucky punks who keep stalking Kenny (with painful consequences) are also really funny.

The versatile and great cast wouldn't be anything if it wasn't for the script and characters, though. Luckily, both of these are brilliant. Unforgettable lines, original and disturbing characters, and a tongue-in-cheek, off-the-wall sense of humour make Kenny Starfighter one of the greatest cult shows ever created. Seriously, it has zombies, Hairminators, sarcastic computers, evil teachers, flying vacuum cleaners and buses, flying telephone booths, trading cards with the power to destroy the entire world, and as a bonus, the moon gets turned into a grapefruit! Or is it an orange? A wickedly funny show which deserves respect in my opinion. Naysayers should be pumped full with a syringe of Mähälium - that'll teach 'em!

Oh, and it has an AWESOME theme song. Easily the best of the nineties.

"Fy fan vad bra!"