In the latest episodes of “Time Bandits,” the titular gang no longer satisfies their hunger by chewing sticks, but instead munches on sandwiches, the latest craze in Georgian-era England, supposedly invented by none other than the Earl of Sandwich.
Long afterward, the series’ young hero, Kevin Haddock (Kal-El Tuck), is in contact with the richest man in history, Mansa Musa. Kevin and his eponymous companions, led by Penelope (Lisa Kudrow), were celebrated and hunted, narrowly escaping death many times.
Historical accounts are often full of absurdities and miracles.
But this series is less about action and more about the famous friends that Kevin, Penelope and the others meet over time – all historical figures from places and times that the series’ co-creators, Iain Morris, Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, would like to visit.
More specifically, Clement told Salon, most of them were on his 12-year-old’s bucket list. “I just asked my son, who is also a history buff – a history nerd, you might say – ‘If you could go anywhere, where would you want to go? What would you like to see?'”
So it’s thanks to him that the series takes us aboard the 19th century pirate ship Zheng Yi Sao and into the Trojan War. Other suggestions came from the series’ historians and writers, who included a stop at the Harlem Renaissance in their journey, as well as this week’s accompaniment of Mansa Mua, who was said to be the richest man in history.
“So he’s an obvious target,” Clement said.
Historical accounts are often as full of ridiculousness as they are of wonder. Terry Gilliam used this idea in his original Time Bandits, the 1981 classic that Clement, Morris and Waititi expanded upon. Given Gilliam’s immensely creative sensibility, one might assume Clement grew up on Monty Python’s Flying Circus, based on the similarities between the Pythons and his absurdist comedy style, epitomized by Flight of the Conchords and What We Do in the Shadows.
That’s not the case, he said in our Zoom conversation from his home in New Zealand. “I mean, I was only seven and I knew ‘Fawlty Towers’, which was on TV at the time,” he said. “I’m from the generation of ‘The Young Ones’ and ‘Black Adder.’ That was on when I was growing up.”
Fine, although I wonder if Morris, who co-created “The Inbetweeners” and has previously worked with Clement (on “Conchords”) and Waititi (with whom he wrote the 2023 sports comedy “Next Goal Wins”), wouldn’t argue that this proves that Clement was more deeply touched by the Pythons than he might realize.
“When you write a lot of comedy, especially in the UK, you often get, ‘That’s too Pythonesque,’ or ‘That’s too surreal or weird,’ or ‘These jokes are too weird,’ this, that and the other, and you should try to make it a little less weird,” Morris noted in a separate Zoom interview.
Adapting “Time Bandits” with Clement and co-creator Taika Waititi allowed him to indulge his natural inclinations as a lifelong “Python” fan. “The joy of being able to write something where they say, ‘Great, that’s exactly the kind of weirdness we want,’ I think really pushed Taika and Jemaine.”
Taika Waititi in “Time Bandits” (Apple TV+)
But it also allowed Morris to play on his obsession with history, as seen in the confrontation between Kevin and the gang with the Earl of Sandwich over, of all things, her decision to eat a stolen pineapple. “A very close friend, Francesca Beauman, has written a history of the pineapple. Jemaine knows Francesca too,” he said. “And yes, the Georgian history of the pineapple comes from a book by a friend of ours.”
Beauman’s book is called The Pineapple, in case you’re wondering what the show’s strength is. Time Bandits is one of those rare shows that blends comedy and education so naturally that part of the joy is Googling for more information about the kings, commanders and criminals Kevin falls for.
The overall goal is to entertain parents with fond memories of watching Gilliam’s film as children and to inspire them to watch the show with their children.
“I love hearing about families watching movies together, and that’s exactly what we wanted,” Clement said. “And I think when people look for family movies, they often look to the ’80s because there were so many great family movies that came out then. Today, I think there are fewer movies that are appropriate for families, and so we wanted to capture that from that time and from the original film.”
Our vastly changed times have necessitated some changes. Clement’s “Pure Evil,” the antagonist who sends agents after Kevin, Penelope and their gang, exudes less slapstick menace than David Warner did 43 years ago. Warner’s demonic character would incinerate his minions with a wave of his hand, while Clement’s villain is a little more measured with his violence.
He makes some people explode, he assures me, as can be seen in one of the new episodes when a subordinate questions him. “I am the figure of fear,” he says with a serious expression. “Never correct me.”
You can and should admire the choice of costumes that Pure Evil works with, one of the many innovations that the series makes possible thanks to a more generous budget than Gilliam was able to muster at the time. But even Apple has its limitations, as evidenced by Clement playing Pure Evil alongside Waititi’s Supreme Being.
“We couldn’t bring as many people to New Zealand as we wanted for these relatively small roles, so we ended up doing it ourselves,” Clement explained. With the savings, he added, they were able to afford better costume designs and special effects.
Regardless, Apple’s money can buy more than Gilliam could afford. The special effects felt much more handmade because the crew had to make do with very little.
“I love hearing that families are watching together, and that’s exactly what we wanted.”
But the production of the series also brought other compromises. The film makes Evil’s goal to take over the world using personal computers, which were still a novelty in 1981. Clement, who chose his words carefully, said earlier drafts of the script were more critical of the technology. (Reminder: This show is brought to you by the makers of your iPhone.) Eventually, the writers shifted the focus of Pure Evil and that of Kevin’s parents to their stunted ability to deal with their son’s old-fashioned penchant for reading and learning.
Kevin’s parents also used to be more like Gilliam’s versions, he said, “just awful. But we were happy to change that, because in this version, Kevin and his sister Saffron (Kiera Thompson) save their parents, so we had to make them lovable enough to save them.”
Time Bandits (Apple TV+)
Another change from the original was less welcome when the series was first announced: Morris, Clement and Waititi decided to cast average-sized actors Rune Temte, Tadhg Murphy, Roger Jean Nsengiyumva and Charlyne Yi alongside Kudrow, rather than short people who played the original bandits.
Both insist that the show would always have characters played by little people. The problem was making sure they weren’t “backward portrayals.” These quotes are intentional – Peter Dinklage said this in response to Disney’s announced live-action Snow White remake, which went public around the same time that Time Bandits was taking shape.
“We actually talked a lot and read articles and stuff about what the set of the original ‘Time Bandits’ looked like,” Morris said. “We didn’t want to feel like, ‘Oh, they’re doing it again.'”
Clement added that one of the actors originally hired was short in stature, but he wanted to perform a play in England and not spend the entire production period in New Zealand. His role went to another cast member. “But we always planned for a mix,” he said.
For this reason, there is also a pair of inspectors who work for the Supreme Being and are played by two actors of short stature. Their supporting roles are to be expanded in the second season… this needs to be pushed further.
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This illustrates a common problem when one is too cautious when remaking an old film for a modern audience: overcorrection by omission.
Clement and Morris have acknowledged the complaints. Other feedback, however, has been inspiring. “‘Time Bandits,'” Morris said somewhat jokingly, “is the first thing my son has ever been able to see that I’ve done, because it’s not just constant smut, which is what I usually show.”
“The people who love or know ‘Time Bandits’ really love it, but I think a lot of people didn’t really know it or love it,” he added. “I enjoyed playing with it, and I enjoyed taking the best of the original and being inspired by people who have inspired me my whole life. How lucky to get the chance to use the word ‘Pythonesque,’ to use ideas from Terry Gilliam and play with them. And again, it’s a big responsibility.”
Clement agreed, citing the difference between Tuck’s version of Kevin as a movie hero as a prime example of their difference. But I think it’s generally the same theme that the thing you’re good at will one day find its place, or you’ll find your place for it if you keep trying.”
New episodes of “Time Bandits” stream Wednesdays on Apple TV+.
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