Everybody knows one, is one, or is sibling to one—that charismatic, over-achieving golden child. If you’re not the one, then you’ve got to deal with the one that is the one, don’t you? For example, imagine being any Baldwin brother other than Alec. Imagine being any Williams sister other than Venus and Serena. Or imagine being the younger, less sophisticated, less respected brother of Darth Vader.
Well imagine no more. Instead, Behold! The lamer side of the Dark side….
Chad Vader is an emotionally complex person. Though he has all of the powers that his brother Darth does, he is unable to master them as Darth has. Still Chad tries very hard to be seen as a forced to be reckoned with, but to no avail. He, like Will Smith’s Hancock, is also “the only one of his kind” –which makes him vulnerable and lonely. Combine that with the daily lack of respect Chad endures as Day Shift Manager, and it is easy to see why he might be a wee bit depressed.
Chad Vader the series is no less emotionally complex. The eight webisodes of Season One address the mundane issues of motivating itinerant convenience store employees as well as delving into the deeper family/societal issues of finding one’s true self in a world of high expectations.
Series creators Matt Sloan and Aaron Yonda are Wisconsin natives. They hooked up in Madison, WI around the turn of this century, thus proving that it is from the heartland where we often get our heartiest laughs. After cutting their comedy teeth on the local scene, Sloan and Yonda took their love of Star Wars spoofs west to L.A.
Their Hollywood foray has thus far born much fruit. Chad Vader first splashed on the scene during its successful run in the highly competitive Channel 101 series competition. Chad Vader received the highest accolade possible, there, Prime Time status. Two other Sloan and Yonda comedy series have also garnered the coveted Prime Time slot at Channel 101, McCourt’s in Session and Fun Rangers. These guys are two to watch on the Internet.
The content is why I rate Chad Vader a DotComDish “T” for teens. Despite its that profundity, it manages to remain laugh-out-loud funny. I look forward to Season Two. So surf on over here and see what you’re missing.
