Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
When we talk about streaming culture, we’re usually enthusing about what’s new, but one of the best things about streaming is how it’s made old and obscure cult hits available to a new generation. Presenting Cult Corner: your weekly look into hidden gems and long-lost curiosities that you can find on streaming.
We’re in the midst of a D&D revival. Not in real life — on our TV screens. For a long time, the role playing game Dungeons and Dragons has been used in pop culture as a sort of shorthand for intense geekiness. Do you need to insult a character or show off how socially inept he or she is? Just mention they play D&D and call it a day. Not only is this treatment of Dungeons and Dragons trivializing to fans of the game and the game itself, but writing off this role playing game has also robbed us of some really compelling pop culture moments. As Seeso‘s HarmonQuest proves, onscreen D&D can add a lot of humanity and a lot of fun.
The most popular and recent example of onscreen Dungeons and Dragons has occurred in Netflix’s new sci-fi series, Stranger Things. We’re first introduced to our four protagonists as the boys battle one another in the dungeons of their imaginations. It’s a sweet scene that establishes their friendship while smartly pointing out each boy’s flaws. Later in the series, the boys realize they have to work together to save Eleven — just like they have to when they’re playing D&D! Yes, it’s cheesy, but it’s also an incredibly sweet and relatable moment. You completely understand how the characters came to that revelation. However, Stranger Things isn’t the first major show to incorporate Dungeons and Dragons into its plot. NBC’s cult comedy Community famously had not one, but two D&D-focused episodes, both of which were two of the most humorous and emotional episodes of the series. Keeping this trend of onscreen D&D in mind makes Dan Harmon’s latest series that much more delightful.
Simply put, HarmonQuest is an animated Dungeons and Dragons game. There are three main players in each episode, all of which are either accomplished comedians or writers — Dan Harmon, Erin McGaffey, and Jeff B. Davis. The show also features a guest comedian as its fourth player. This fourth player rarely has any idea about what’s going on, and guest stars have ranged from Paul F. Tompkins to Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Chelsea Peretti to Silicon Valley’s Thomas Middleditch. All of these often-clueless people are controlled by the series’ Dungeon Master, Spencer Crittenden.
On a surface level, it’s a funny and incredibly nerdy watch. Seeing really funny people do anything is often amusing, and the show’s animation goes a long way to underscore its ridiculousness. Often epic fights will drag on for minutes as the four players argue over something insignificant, like exactly how much war paint a character is wearing, while the bad guys stare on, unmoving. But for all of this show’s absurdity, HarmonQuest does an excellent job of portraying a huge appeal of Dungeons and Dragons.
As you watch the group clumsily battle disaster after disaster, you’re also watching these four people bond. More than playing a video game or watching a movie together, this group is forced to share an experience together. Sure, it’s an absurd experience that they have to imagine (we don’t, thankfully), but it’s one that forces a group of friends to work together and communicate away from real world complications. It’s a type of interpersonal bonding stripped from social and economic class, and that in itself shows why role playing games are so popular and important.
The series is far from perfect. Either you’ll heartily embrace everyone’s stilted and confused dialogue or hate it. After all, the show’s dialogue is taken from the group’s real conversations, and actual conversations tend to be a lot bumpier than what a screenwriter can come up with. Also, because of its unscripted nature, the series can be really funny or kind of boring. HarmonQuest can be described as the former more often than not, but there are slower moments. However, if you want to see an innovative show that demonstrates acceptance and relationship building in one of the nerdiest ways possible, welcome to your new obsession.
Photos: NBC, Hulu, Seeso
