Comedy
Dead Boy Detectives
Dead Boy Detectives targets teens in style and story. But it comes with very adult, problematic content.
Some people live their entire lives with genetic abnormalities and deficiencies and never know it. Others know that something isn’t quite right. And it can make for a difficult life. But what if there was a way to correct the issues that stemmed from these irregularities?
That’s what geneticists Alex Sarkov and Sydney Burke wanted to do. So, they created an experimental program for the parents of genetically abnormal children. In the program, parents signed off to allow both Sarkov and Burke to experiment on the genetic code of their children, in the hope that any divergences would be corrected through stem-cell research.
Both doctors promised that their work would be worth the parents’ and children’s time; that the only thing they would do is use the children’s own stem cells to correct any problems. But that was a lie. Instead, they infused their “test subjects” with artificial DNA as a sort of human experiment and told them to take medicine that would help them for the rest of their lives. But, unfortunately, the artificial DNA used was prone to genetic mutation.
Now, years later, there are some people who have side effects and want answers.
Graphic novelist Juan wants to know how he became the sort of person who wakes up randomly in fields, covered in blood with dead animals strewn all around him. Future geneticist Abbi seeks to understand how her off-the-chart pheromone levels have the power to make any person weak in the knees. And musical anarchist Tilda needs to figure out how to stop her ultra-sensitive hearing abilities from ruining her career.
In other words, they’ve become (respectively) a Chupacabra, a Succubus and a Banshee. Who would have thought? These three really have nothing in common, except that their lives have been permanently altered and they want to get back to normal as fast as possible.
But that won’t be easy. They can’t find Sarkov; it seems he’s gone into hiding. But they do find Burke, and she tells them that these symptoms they’re experiencing may never go away. In fact, these superpowers have so overwhelmed the three of them that they’re not fully human anymore. Some may even call them monsters.
No one likes to admit that they’re a monster. But it’s a fact that these three can’t hide no matter how hard they try. And the more they learn, the more they realize that these demented experiments have touched far more people than they thought–for better and for worse.
The Imperfects is a TV-MA rated series in its first season of 10 episodes. The show begins by featuring Juan, Abbi and Tilda, the three main characters I’ve told you about above. But as the show expands, many more “people” come into play, and most of them are monstrous in some form or another.
Some have X-Men-like superpowers, while others are just plain evil. While sexual content is mostly implied thus far, violence and profane language run rampant. Blood, mutilation, proposed torture and scientific “experiments,” can get gruesome very quickly. Then, of course, there’s the show’s frequent profanity, where a whole lot of harsh language is causally thrown around.
That leaves this sci-fi, want-to-be horror series feeling like a muddled cautionary tale that never really needed to be.
Tilda, Juan and Abbi panic when their geneticist gives them a placebo medication, and their symptoms increase for the worse.
Juan, against his will, turns into a Chupacabra and kills multiple animals and nearly kills a man. Each time, we see the dismembered animal or human and witness tons of blood. Also gory, a doctor works on an assumed cadaver, cutting his chest open (we see plenty of blood and hear whirring bone-saw sounds) and examining his intestines. As he lies dead on the table, he comes back to life.
The name of Tilda’s band is “Itchy Nipples.” Tilda and her boyfriend make out, and sex is insinuated as the camera pans away. Tilda says that plenty of people have asked her to sign their body parts, once referencing male genitalia.
Tilda and others drink hard liquor, take shots and consume wine. Tilda references cocaine consumption and raising her middle finger in a song she sings and chants “I can’t believe I’m not dead!” She later tells a music producer that singing her anarchic songs is one way she knows that God exists.
God’s name is misused once. The f-word is used nearly 15 times and the s-word is heard three times.
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
Dead Boy Detectives targets teens in style and story. But it comes with very adult, problematic content.
An elf mage contemplates on connection and regret as she watches her human friends grow old and pass away.
