Review of Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero

Plot- The plot is straight-forward enough, even though we don't get a pilot and don't have a full origin story until near the end of the first season (and since this was greenlit for Season 2, that's why it has the ongoing + symbol). Penn Zero, and his friends Boone and Sashi, are selected to be "part-time heroes," meaning that they enter into other dimensions and save the world however the mission says they have to. Meanwhile, they have to contend with Rippen and his henchman Larry, a Part-Time Villain, who will become a full-time villain if he wins just one mission and defeats the good guys. Why were they selected to be heroes? Well, as we learn later (don't worry about spoilers here, it's part of the origin story), Penn's parents were actually full-time heroes who were accidentally sent to "The Most Dangerous World Imaginable" with no way of getting back and so each new mission is essentially training in hopes that they might find a way for Penn to be reunited with his parents. Characters- The characters here are really damn good. Penn, obviously, assumes the role of the hero, Sashi is the sidekick (which she chose for herself since it would mean she'd get to do all the kicking and punching and fighting), and Boone is...surprisingly, the Wise Man, a role which, at first, seems like an odd fit but he can usually pull through in a pinch when he has to. It's also kinda bizarre how--despite in the other realities--Rippen is the leader and Larry is his henchman, Larry is actually the school's principal and Rippen is an art teacher who constantly resents the fact Larry is his boss (especially considering how Larry sucks at being as evil, and is so incompetent he's usually a big factor in why they lose most of the time). There's also the characters in the various worlds they visit who tend to be pretty enjoyable and some like Sharif Scaly-Briggs even have their own stories. Enjoyment- This is a very enjoyable, very fun, and very entertaining series that makes good use of genre-savvy humor. Clearly, the creators know exactly what they're doing and enjoy it. Plus, to make things even better, it turns out that this series got a second season (and, even better, Pickle & Peanut is most likely cancelled on on hiatus with no news as of this writing that it was renewed for another season), and it promises for even bigger stuff to happen. Creativity- I can't even tell you how much originality and creativity went into this series, just from all the unique and amazing worlds they visit: a Western where livestock and horses are replaced by dinosaurs, Top Gun with dragons (with some dragons having names like Renegade and Blaze while others have cat names like Cupcake or Mittens), an alien game show to determine the fate of Earth (yeah, I know Jimmy Neutron did that first, but this is different), a world of clown cops, and this is ALL just Season 1 alone! Execution- Penn Zero is clever, funny, action-packed, entertaining, and most definitely worth a watch. I can't think of any reason you shouldn't be watching this right now unless you don't have Disney XD.