Space Dandy is a show that has never walked away from the chance to throw convention out the window. Their structure is malleable, and there are no rules, as the show loves to take a concept and really, really indulge itself in it. This is a show that basks in the opportunity to find a kernel of an idea and tug and tug at it until… In an episode rife with alternate universes, mirror versions, and a Möbius strip’s worth of realities, let’s talk about the huge bombshell that everyone’s going to be talking about: Space Dandy used to be a space truck driver. In typical Dandy fashion, the episode starts off innocuously enough with an alien identification attempt gone wrong (maybe if they had put some antennae on the cow…), but pretty quickly into things, a Cosmic String is pulled, yanking Dandy and co into an alternate universe meeting alternate versions of themselves. This in itself would make a more-than-fine entry into the series, and have plenty of fodder to play with. Naturally then, this idea needs to be blown up and taken to the furthest degree possible (at one point, a Cosmic String from a character in a comic book is pulled, with the crew proceeding to enter the comic book’s universe, and it’s one of the best things that the episode does), and by the episode’s half-way point, we’ve met almost a dozen different iterations of Dandy, QT, and Meow. These are also far from lazy attempts at spins on the crew. There are truly inspired ideas being played with here (Space Ninja Dandy, Space Inspector Dandy, Big Dandy, She Dandy, Mascot Dandy, an insane Michael Jackson-esque Dandy, and the absolutely, beyond ridiculous Triangle Dandy are some of the highlights, if you didn’t catch them all). I think one of Space Dandy’s strongest assets has always been its gorgeous art design and, “I Can’t Be the Only One, Baby” may be one of the best examples of this. More than enough time could be spent getting into the mileage the show gets out of the concept that there’s a dimensional fray going on with the Cosmic String, and that in a world where there are an infinite number of universes, every conceivable possibility has now become a reality. Space Dandy seems to be at its strongest when it barrels down a space mountain with an idea, and while this may fall a little bit short than the show’s dabbling with zombies or time loops in the first season, it’s still very, very well executed. We even get to the point where the narrators from the different universes are arguing over each other, over who is telling the story correctly, and vying for control. After going to a place like that with the episode, it’s pretty much infallible to me at that point. There are some weak spots in this very busy premiere episode though, with the main one being that the story itself is pretty thin, and at no point is there really any sense of danger going on here (as soon as Boobies becomes transformed by the fray into a men’s muscle club, the Dandys ad infinitum spring into action to correcting things). There’s too much time spent just playing in the chaos that’s going on, which is grade-A chaos, so this is far from really being a problem. But some increased sense of urgency here, which even could have been done through seeing a series of all the different Dr. Gels (together or separately) trying to form some attack against the Aloha Oe crew. Then again, we see about ten different sets of characters from different universes, so you can’t be that upset here. There’s also a bit of a lack of a deeper message going on here, such as what the presence of all of these different universes is saying about choice, selection, and pre-destiny. We see all of the Dandys working together in the end, but it doesn’t feel like it’s out of having learned anything, but rather them all being the same person and having the same opinion. The episode manages to stick this easy ending wonderfully though, and after the universe is tidily cleaned up, we’re quickly informed that even though all is well, all future episodes of the series will deal with the Emo Universe’s Space Dandy and crew (something I would be entirely fine with); the only take on the cast that manages to be sadder and less impressive than ours. The show even goes so far as to re-do the entire title sequence with this skewed, depressing version of the crew which is pretty perfect, and culminates in this Dandy’s catchphrase, “I wanna die.” But if we’ve learned anything from this episode, it’s that even if he dies, there’s still an infinite amount more ready to soldier on. Because as far as we know, there are an infinite number of universes, with an infinite number of you’s that could have enjoyed this episode in an infinite number of ways. Because you just as easily could have clicked a Cosmic Link that would have taken you to a review from another universe, or another review from another universe… Because as far as we know, there are a bottomless number of universes, with a bottomless number of you’s that could have enjoyed this episode in a bottomless number of ways. Because you just as easily could have chosen a Cosmic Link that would have taken you to a review from another universe, or another review from another universe… Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all news updates related to the world of geek. And Google+, if that’s your thing!
