Comedy
Dead Boy Detectives
Dead Boy Detectives targets teens in style and story. But it comes with very adult, problematic content.
When you’re a child, it’s tough to convince your parents that you’re a responsible kid who is totally going to be a good dog owner. Imagine then, if you will, how much more difficult it would be to convince your parents that you’d be a responsible “sharkdog” owner.
That’s why Max decides to hide the talking Sharkdog—a half-shark, half-dog creature whom he stumbled upon while learning to paddle board—in his room. Because if a dog is bad enough, a dog with sharp teeth that can burrow through land and sea is even worse. But Max can’t keep the wild, loud and messy creature hidden forever, and it isn’t long until the whole town knows about Max’s best friend—including his parents.
Fortunately for Max, they let Sharkdog stay, and Season Two focuses on some new challenges.
At the start of the second season, summer is over, and Max must go to school—where pets (and especially pets like Sharkdog) aren’t allowed. Other problems abound, too, including the fact that the town aquarium has a keen (and perhaps sinister) desire to hire Sharkdog for a unique exhibit. And did we mention the threat of zombie fleas?
Sharkdogspreads chaos just as much as any animal that’s a combination of shark and dog can do. He leaves large, burrowed holes through the ground, eats all of the neighbor’s prized Brussels sprouts and generally causes havoc most moments he is on screen—havoc that’ll frequently throw Max into the deep end to clean up the mess.
In Season One, Max struggles with controlling the wild creature while also hiding the fact that he has Sharkdog from his parents. As such, we’ll often see Max lying and misleading his unaware family in order to keep his pet a secret. Eventually though, Max’s Sharkdog secret surfaces, and his parents allow the talking animal to stay as the family pet. This, of course, may give children the idea that if they simply lie for long enough, everything will turn out OK.
However, parents will be happy to know that Season Two helps to dispel that idea a bit. Whereas Season One often resolves with Max and his friends cheering about how they got away with hiding Sharkdog once more, Season Two turns a corner, often showcasing Max and Sharkdog apologizing when they do wrong. The two are a lot more likely to learn from their mistakes and grow to take responsibility for their actions. Sharkdog attempts to tame his wilder side, and Max grows into a more responsible pet owner—at least, compared to his Season One counterpart.
It’s likely that the lies of Season One will be the biggest concern for families wanting to check out Sharkdog. There’s also the slapstick violence and many occurrences of flatulence. Finally, the show also contains a somewhat mystical relationship between the town and the sea—Max references a myth about the sea supernaturally assisting the town founder, and we watch as the waters occasionally help Max in a supernatural way, too.
Generally, though, Sharkdog isn’t a show that’ll cause viewers to flee its waters in terror. Max and Sharkdog are chaotic, and they’ll causes a bit of mayhem on the screen, but the duo are more reminiscent of Calvin and Hobbes in the middle of a game ofCalvinball than scheming troublemakers.
Max’s parents won’t let him get a dog, so when Max meets Sharkdog (a half shark, half dog mix), he opts to hide him in his room. However, things quickly go awry when Sharkdog makes a lot of noise and fetches the personal items of Max’s neighbors.
Max accidentally hits his mother when opening a door, and Max also careens into a tree. Max lies to his parents. He tells Sharkdog a myth that involves the sea being controlled supernaturally through a phrase, and later, the sea does the same for him after he speaks the same words.
Sharkdog attempts to eat Max’s baby sister Mia (who is dressed in a fish onesie), a pet fish and a cat, the latter of which results in the family yard being destroyed. Mia bites at Sharkdog. Mia flatulates, and her parents reference fecal matter.
Max’s parents threaten to get rid of Sharkdog if Max doesn’t clean the house before they return—but Max spends the day having fun instead. On the first day back at school, Max discovers Sharkdog isn’t allowed in school with him, causing Sharkdog to worry that Max won’t be friends with him anymore. After Sharkdog’s wild nature causes dogs to fear him, he goes on a journey to learn how to be calm.
Max and his friends are intentionally splashed with a giant wave by a passing boat. Max and Sharkdog slip on a wet floor and crash into a wall, and Max also slams into a bench. Max narrowly avoids being buried in a cave-in, but is trapped inside the cave. Max lies to his parents, and he and Sharkdog practice yoga.
Sharkdog burps. Sharkdog makes a huge mess of Max’s family’s house, and he also rams into a boy. Sharkdog sends dogs literally flying when he tries to play with them. Sharkdog slaps Max; the two fall off a cliff.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
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.
