Of all the TV and streaming superhero shows, "The Umbrella Academy" may, as of yet, have best figured out how to translate the success of cinematic comic-book adaptations--particularly that of the Marvel Cinematic Universe--into small-screen episodes. Albeit, the MCU is already like a TV show, or rather, a return to the cinematic serial format before TV came to dominate that form. "Flash Gordon" (1936), to "Star Wars" (1977), to "Iron Man" (2008). So, like The Avengers, the Umbrella Academy consists of several gifted heroes who ultimately team up for an apocalyptic climax, but along the way, they break off into side adventures. Sure, the home and school for orphans backstory is more reminiscent of X-Men, but the pacing has MCU written all over it. The most important element, really, methinks further demonstrates the influence of a particular entry in that franchise, "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014)--another surprise hit based on a not-so-well-known comic.

Basically, this boils down to playing all of the fight sequences to popular music, which also often feature long tracking shots amid the stunt work and special-effects explosions and make-up. Of course, soundtracks have long underscored such moments, but there it was to build tension. Now, the music is lyrical and comedic. Frequently, it's diegetic; the source of the tunes from a record player, headphones, a live musician or what have you being put in the scene. We're encouraged to be amused by the absurd excess of it all, as well as to enjoy the traditional awe at the drama. Having just seen the second season of "The Umbrella Academy," I suspect the reason it's receiving better reviews than the first go around is because of the greater focus on pure fight sequences to pop melodies. Otherwise, if anything, there's less investigation into characterizations, and the plotting is simpler, with, of course, the whole thing largely being a rerun anyways of the same time-traveling apocalyptic scenario--just now set in the 1960s instead of the 21st century.

I do love, however, that the family members' entries into 1960s Dallas is in an alley adjacent to a movie theatre. Check out the cinematic aspirations written on the marquee here: from what I could read, it's supernatural horror films--zombie, werewolf and vampire sort of stuff. The meta context of the first season is more compelling, though. There, we had a supposedly "ordinary" sister, Vanya (Ellen Page), who wrote the book on the family's past, which we see in flashback scenes. This story competes with another book, written by her father, a sort of archenemy for the children as they reflect on their troubled upbringing. It contains the first season's big plot twist and is lost for a time in the possession of the current-day baddie. Plus, there are the comic books glamorizing their kiddie team superheroics. There's a nice shot of a window display for them, which Vanya ignores in favor of purchasing a typewriter to write her "real" story. Moreover, Vanya is not only an author, but also a violinist--laying the groundwork for the climactic fight-sequence score. Vanya is the pivotal role here.

In the second chapter, on the other hand, she's as unimportant as everyone besides the space-and-time jumper, Five (Aidan Gallagher), whose battle for editorial control of the timeline against the so-called Commission entirely takes center stage. At least, they dropped the Yiddish, which in one otherwise seemingly throwaway line from the last episode of the first season was justifiably criticized for perpetuating anti-Semitic stereotypes of secret organizations out for world domination. The show already has Roswell aliens and shooters on the grassy knoll for the assassination of President Kennedy; it need not get any more in the weeds of conspiracy theories. Plus, the show otherwise does a fair job of diverse representation, with a melting-pot assemblage of orphans with heritages spread throughout the continents, at least two queer main characters and a second season that includes the Civil Rights movement as a subplot. I just hope that next season they give us a real plot twist where the world isn't foretold to end within a fortnight.