Recap: SON OF ZORN arrives in “Return to Orange County”, but what will he find there?
Season 1, episode 1: “Return to Orange County”
Written by Reed Agnew & Eli Jorne
Directed by Eric Appel
[All photos courtesy Fox Broadcasting Co.]
We start our story on the Island of Zephyria in the South Pacific ocean. Zorn (voiced by Jason Sudeikis), Defender of Zephyria, is going home for his son Alangulon’s (Johnny Pemberton) 17th birthday (the titular Son of Zorn).
He thinks they’ll be happy to see him. His ex-wife, Edie (Cheryl Hines) isn’t. She lives with her son Alan and her fiancee Craig (Tim Meadows), an online psychology professor.
Alan, though happy to see his father is embarrassed by him.
Edie tells him that he hasn’t been around to be part of Alan’s life. So, Zorn gets an apartment and a new job selling soap dispensers.
Alan tries to hang out with his father, but Zorn is clueless when it comes to Alan’s feelings and he embarrasses Alan in front of Nancy (Ellen Wong), the object of Alan’s afections.
His boss, Linda (Artemis Pebdani) counsels him and tells him to reign in his passion and to feel empathy towards others.
So Zorn gives Alan a present, a huge death hawk to ride around on, showing that he has listened to Alan.
Edie isn’t happy about it, so Zorn kills the hawk.
Edie checks on Alan and makes sure he’s okay, reminding him that he’s not like his father. We pull out that Alan has cartoon legs, just like his old man.
Analysis:
Welcome to the pilot!
This is a perfectly functional pilot, characters are introduced. A premise is brought in. Nothing extraordinary. They did do a good job blending the animation with the real life elements. The characters look at the animation, they interact with it, as if it was there right in front of them.
The cast is good. Jason Sudeikis does a good Conan (The Barbarian, not the talk show host) type voice. Tim Meadows does a good job as the very grounded Craig, a perfect counterpoint to Zorn. Cheryl Hines does a good job as Edie. I wonder how Edie got with Zorn in the first place? Johnny Pemberton’s Alan is pretty good, but I think his character needs the most growth out of the cast and I hope to see that growth in the coming episodes.
So, what big questions do we have? Where is Zypheria in the South Pacific? We do see a real island sitting right next to it, Maybe it’s next to Hawaii? What is Zorn’s backstory? Who lives on an island full of monsters? Will Craig grow a spine? How does Alan having legs like his father affect him, will he become all animated like his father? Will Headbutt Man recover from the loss of his own son? Can we expect Zorn’s enemies to follow him to California?
Son of Zorn airs Sunday at 8:30/7:30 Central on Fox. It can also be found on Amazon Prime Instant Video and Hulu. For more information, visit the official website.
