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TV PREVIEWS
Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire, Thursday 9pm, BBC Two 
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If fans of the umlaut were salivating over the prospect of Sacha Baron's new film Brüno, then new six-part BBC Two fantasy comedy Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire should have them in raptures.
The son of a blacksmith and a stay-at-home mum, title character Kröd (played by Grange Hill alumnus Sean Maguire) is a buff 'n' bearded freedom fighter with a sword that keeps catching alight, who's more likely to call his foes "dick" than anything else.
His band of warriors include his girlfriend Aneka, a promiscuous Pagan Cheryl Cole lookalike who's prone to bouts of unnecessary acrobatics. She uses her sexual skills "against" her enemies, both to defeat them and to extract important information, like what time it is ("We were standing underneath a clock!" protests Kröd, not so sure about all this).
Then there's Zezelryck, a warlock whose magic skills frequently fail him (particularly in hostile work environments); former slave Loquasto, the brawn of the operation, whose oddly-moulded nose and ears conspire to make his face resemble a misshapen swede; and finally innuendo-literate Bruce, the camp boyfriend of Kröd's late mentor.
Together, the group set about defeating evil Chancellor Donold David Dongalor (Matt Lucas, having an amazing time), a tyrannical despot who wants to put his province back on the map after the disappearance of its lucrative sex tourism industry.
It's deeply kooky stuff and although the opening credits and tongue-in-cheek adventuring might remind TV geeks of cult US series Firefly, in tone, it's more similar to early '90s kids' show Maid Marian and her Merry Men, but with a ton of smut thrown in. At times the sheer silliness of the whole enterprise threatens to topple it, but some assured performances and an inventive script make Kröd Mändoon… more memorable than you might have expected from its daft title.
by Will Parkhouse, Wednesday 10 June 2009
Picture: BBC
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