The whole “Most Dangerous Game is Man” angle has become increasingly popular lately, whether it’s through a horror or comedic lens, typically with some degree of social commentary baked in. Future Man takes this route with its Diecathlon game show competition that was teased at the end of season two. However, the series wisely calls out its valid comparisons to Running Man and gets critical of the premise. This comedy knows how to take enough unexpected risks to still make this familiar angle feel unique.
This new setup is a glorious way to take these fantastic characters and throw them into a problem that’s somehow even more extreme than getting launched forward or backwards through time. They’re subject to a number of death games and the screen is overloaded with visual gags that poke fun at the abundance of game shows and how people have been conditioned to consume media. All of this is taken to an absurd extreme since it’s thousands of years in the future.
There are some extremely clever setups that revolve around a critical self-awareness surrounding television and entertainment as a whole. This again taps into that darkly satirical Running Man (or even Idiocracy) energy and while it’s hardly void of death and horror, it focuses on the comedic aspect of it all as life has fallen into this much of a cesspool. While this Running Man structure is the starting point for this crazy season, in many ways these episodes become a larger celebration of the films from Schwarzenegger’s ‘80s oeuvre with the unpredictable direction that this season takes. Each episode almost becomes a different genre pastiche as characters are flung to a completely different scenario and adopt different personas in order to adapt.
This last season still plays around with familiar tenets from the series like time loop shenanigans and secret puppet masters, but in new ways. It explores the inevitability of time, fate, and how some greater events cannot, or rather should not, be avoided. Josh’s commitment to his friends and his dedication towards his cause is tested for the last time as he must finally figure out what he wants in life as he prepares for an end to adventures and a normal life.
Wolf and Tiger are pushed in similar ways as they search for a renewed sense of purpose. Everyone gets broken down and rebuilt numerous times over. Future Man has fun as it plays around with new dynamics between its characters as they learn who they are as individuals and as a team. This final season is really all about the loving family that’s been built between these unconventional individuals and that acceptance can come from unexpected places.
