“I’ll be back!” The iconic catchphrase is attributed to Arnold Schwarzenegger from his role in “The Terminator”.
Well, he’s back.
In a TV series on Netflix. “Fubar” has been among the Top 10 trending shows in SA in the past week.
And with a drawcard like Schwarzenegger, I’m not surprised. This is TV history for him.
The 75-year-old former governor of California is in his element in the action comedy, where he also shares executive producer credits.
And going by the ending of the eigh-part series, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a sequel. As far as TV offerings of espionage shows go, this one is a minefield of clichés. And as far as plots go, this one has a few holes.
Why are viewers enjoying it?
Well, Schwarzenegger, for one. He can hold his own and is fun to watch when he is doing so. Also, the makers have clearly thrown in eye-candy to heighten the appeal.
Basically, this is the kind of series you binge just for fun. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and neither should you.
At the heart of“Fubar” is a dysfunctional family.
CIA operative Luke Brunner (Schwarzenegger) has duped his family into believing he has a gym business that sees him travelling all over the globe.
His ex-wife, Tally (Fabiana Udenio), unable to find a job, works for him. But she smells a rat when business rivals start poking around.
Luke, on a covert rescue operation, learns that the undercover operative is his daughter Emma (Monica Barbaro).
And she’s got serious daddy issues. From resenting him for being an absent father and for leaving her mother.
Luke is thrown by the realisation that his daughter is in the business. And he is even more flummoxed when, in their efforts to track Boro Polonia (Gabriel Luna), a powerful arms dealer, he is forced to work with his daughter.
But this is easier said than done and so their superior, Dot (Barbara Eve Harris), a regional CIA director, sends them to therapy to thrash out their issues.
Let’s just say Dr Pfeffer (Scott Thompson), the operational psychologist Dot brought in to conduct Luke and Emma's mandatory joint therapy sessions, had his work cut out for him.
And he knew it from the get-go when he realised they were both “dickheads”.
Then there is Carter (Jay Baruchel), Emma’s nursery school teacher boyfriend. He’s blissfully unaware of her real job. But from a change in her behaviour, he starts noticing something’s off.
Other members of the CIA team on the case include Barry (Milan Carter) as Barry, the tech genius in the operation. He is also Emma’s godfather and Luke’s best friend.
He is caught between a rock and a hard place with the father and daughter at each other’s throats.
Then there is Aldon (Travis Van Winkle). He’s got that James Bond vibe about him. A snazzy dresser, he has no problem landing a date. But he isn’t keen on settling down. It’s more of a wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am situation for him.
Basically, he is a smooth operator and he knows it.
His BFF on the job, an androgynous Roo (Fortune Feimster), is protective of him. Especially from Emma, whom she hates for being a “spoilt daddy’s girl”. She yanks her chain for being a “princess”.
Roo also has hang-ups about her childhood and cases gone south, which she constantly brings up at every opportunity.
Then there is Tina (Aparna Brielle), an outside data analyst who is brought in to assist. She does that and more when she strikes up a connection with Barry.
But there is more to the googly-eyed affection, which is revealed towards the latter part of the series.
While all this chaos is unfolding for the agents, lines get crossed, and Luke also reignites his connection with his ex-wife, who has a boyfriend.
Not that Luke is concerned with the semantics of it all.
As I pointed out, this is by no means solid storytelling. It is on the amateurish side with lame action sequences, awkward confrontations and mind-blowing lunacy.
But there is an audience for it and they feel differently if the ranking of the show is anything to go by.
∎ “Fubar” is streaming on Netflix.