Review: Psi Cops “Alien Autopsy” ; “Bloody Mary”

Adult Swim Canada’s first full foray into original programming, Psi Cops, had a strong two episode premiere on Sunday night. The Vancouver-based series follows two paranormal investigators: unkempt Kydd (voiced by Chris Neilson) and flexible Felixx (voiced by Bart Batchelor), who also happen to be coworker friends forever (CFF).

The west coast setting is a fitting one for a show clearly inspired by The X-Files, which was largely filmed in British Columbia. The first two episodes follow a familiar monster of the week format, allowing the show to focus on each episode’s inevitable unravelling. Psi Cops is steeped in the aesthetics of 90s, but the breakneck pace of each 12 minute episode feels entirely modern. While this show moves to its own distinct rhythm, there are hints of Frisky Dingo era Adam Reed and Matt Thompson in the show’s silliest moments, which is not a bad place to be when you’re two episodes in.

Nelson and Batchelor are also the co-creators of the show. The two are long-time collaborators, a fact made apparent by the relentless repartee between their two characters – what gets them into trouble more than any supernatural entity is their unwavering blasts of support for each other’s half-baked ideas. They ricochet from plot point to plot point, often forgetting mid-escapade exactly what they are trying to achieve. While the lion’s share of lines are spoken by the two leads, some of the funniest lines are delivered by ancillary characters as they punch through the fog of conversational chatter.

Character motivations are explained through a kick-ass hard-rock theme song that explains Kydd’s tragic backstory, which explains that “aliens from my past are haunting me like ghosts, might as well be a vampire, cause it’s just me in the mirror, fighting the skeletons in my closet, with my friend.” Bonus comedy points for silly background jokes, like a character eating out of a can simply labelled  ‘CHUNKEN’.

The first episode finds the investigators capturing what is either an alien or an ugly old man, while the second episode sees the investigators attempting to summon Bloody Mary – an effort stymied repeatedly by their inability to look at their aging faces in the mirror.  It’s made clear early on that Psi Cops takes place in a world full of paranormal activity – it is only through sheer ineptitude that proof slips constantly through the agency’s fingers, despite their brash confidence in their own ability to solve the world’s greatest mysteries.

Team leader Chief Beef has complete faith in the duo, despite doubts from pretty much everybody else on the team. The other people populating their agency can be divided into two categories – those so blinded by obsession that they don’t notice that Kydd and Felixx are in no way capable of the most basic tasks, and those who are well aware but are too competent to squander time worrying about it. Co-worker Eric points out on his first day, and every subsequent day, that the investigators are morons, while child tech genius Bitsy finds it easier to ignore them than expend any of her energy engaging with their hi-jinks.

Kydd and Felixx mean well, but are not beyond even but even their smallest plans are frequently derailed by their own ability to keep track of their own actions. Even the smallest incident grows instantly convoluted in the hands of these hapless investigators. Just one example – when called upon to create new identities for themselves, Kydd chooses a pantsless gambler with a broken hand, while Felixx chooses to be a paranormal investigator named New Kydd, complete with a replica of Kydd’s moustache, made of Kydd’s hair held onto his face with his finger. These complicated back-stories become as difficult to manage as the attempt to cover-up the murder they are pretty sure they committed.

In its first two episodes, Psi Cops achieved a rare feat – a joyful ride with two characters who have the exact same energy –  at their core, these two are more Hank and Dean Venture than they are Mulder and Scully. If they weren’t so absolutely full of enthusiasm as they unintentionally destroy their lives, the constant nattering could be grating. Instead, it carries the show. Batchelor and Nelson are more than capable of the chemistry necessary to make two idiots chatting into a whole show, and the simplistic monster of the week format allows you to focus fully on the machinations of their failures. Whether the show will maintain this stand-alone structure or spiral out into some overarching plot remains to be seen.

It may have been a long time coming, but Adult Swim Canada’s first entry into the CanCon cannon is a worthy one. Based on the cohesive strength of these first two episodes, we can look forward to a lot more mayhem from team Psi Cops in the weeks to come.