MARVEL’S DELIGHTFUL HOMAGE TO VINTAGE SITCOMS
▶ Reimagining of comic-book superheroes in a 1950s-style series is spot on, writes James Mottram
The show is ‘shot’ in front of a studio audience. There are even fake advertisements halfway through each episode
WandaVision Director: Matt Shakman Stars: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany
Marvel’s first attempt at prestige television, WandaVision, is wild, weird and at times ingenious. Taking two characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Wanda Maximoff and Vision, and reimagining them in a 1950s-style American sitcom, it’s a world away from the planet-saving superheroes who have dominated cinemas in recent years. Nevertheless, the show, which arrived on Disney+ last weekend, is essential viewing for any fan of the MCU.
In the series, created by Jac Schaeffer and directed by Matt Shakman, Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany reprise their respective roles as Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch, and Vision. In the films, they fell in love and in this new series, they’re a couple, moving into a new home in the American-as-apple-pie town of Westview. It’s exactly as you’d imagine, with white picket fences and roses in the garden.
The big touchstone here is Bewitched, the 1964-1972 ABC sitcom that starred Elizabeth Montgomery as a suburban homemaker with magical powers. Likewise, Wanda and Vision still have the special abilities they last used to battle
evil overlord Thanos. She has telekinesis and he is a sophisticated android with vast intelligence. But, desperate to fit into their new neighbourhood, they need to hide their skills.
The first two episodes (there are nine in total) smartly set up their new lives. Wanda gets to meet next-door neighbour Agnes (Kathryn Hahn), who brings her over a houseplant by way of introduction. Vision works for a company called Computational Services Inc – he has absolutely no idea what they do (and neither does anyone else), but his processing
powers are so great, their productivity has improved 300 per cent since his arrival.
The plot of the first episode revolves around a mysterious small heart marked on their calendar. When Vision realises it’s for a dinner date with his new boss Mr Hart (Fred Melamed) and his wife (Debra Jo Rupp), Wanda prepares a meal to impress and hilarity ensues. Fortunately, her unearthly abilities allow her to levitate pots, pans and plates – all very helpful in her ambitions to become a domestic goddess.
Shot in black and white – although there are splashes of colour along the way – the homage to vintage sitcoms is spot on. There is an animated Bewitched-style intro and the show is “shot” in front of a studio audience, who even whoop if Wanda and Vision kiss or cuddle. True to form, there are even commercials at the halfway point of each episode – including for a ToastMate 2000, a sparkly new domestic appliance courtesy of Stark Industries, the company eventually owned by Iron Man, Tony Stark.
There will doubtless be other references to the MCU along the way, and there are some strange, unsettling touches, too. In the second episode, Wanda and Vision go out into the street, where a manhole cover starts shifting and a beekeeper, complete with bees buzzing around him, emerges. The suggestion is that Wanda has created this entire alternate reality around them for reasons yet to be revealed. The credits even tease the possibility of villains from the Marvel comics making an appearance.
Smartly, the show delves into themes typical of 1950s Americana. Here, conformity is the key, as Wanda and Vision try and fit in (every time he leaves the house, Vision must switch his synthetic red face into a “normal” one, allowing Bettany to act without the need for his usual Vision make-up). Jokes are even made about Communism, sewing some delightfully subversive seeds.
In the second episode, they are ingratiating themselves in the community further by performing at the local talent show in aid of Westview Elementary School. They do a conjuring act, with Vision calling himself “Illusion”. But after he eats a piece of chewing gum – Vision does not need food – he starts to malfunction. Only Wanda’s quick thinking saves the day.
The writing is superb, with era-appropriate language. Hahn’s Agnes uses phrases such as “crackerjack”, and Vision’s colleague excitedly exclaims “Gee willikers”. Likewise, the music is entirely fitting, with The Coasters’ famous bop Yakety Yak getting an airing in the first episode. Yet it’d be wrong to simply call WandaVision a pastiche. The impression so far is that this will deepen relations between Wanda and Vision and shed further light on their relationship.
At the heart of it all are two superb performances from Bettany and Olsen, who both look like they’ve been schooled in classic American sitcoms such as 1951’s I Love Lucy and 1961’s The Dick Van Dyke Show. Olsen in particular nails the naive innocence that came with such shows, while Bettany’s comic chops get a real workout here.
While it is a show about two Marvel characters, it’s important to note that it also works as an entertaining sitcom in its own right. Who knows? Maybe it’ll even start a revival of 1950s fashion and reruns of classic shows.