Review of "Super Indian"

On the way back from G2E in Las Vegas, I finally listened to Arigon Starr's "Super Indian." As you may recall, it's a series of five-minute radio plays recorded as part of Native Voices at the Autry.

The plays are a cross between an old-time Superman serial and Garrison Keillor's "Prairie Home Companion." That describes the format and also the content. The humor revolves around funny names and voices, puns and verbal miscues, and rez-based slang.

The plots involve Wampum Baggs, the master villain, sending someone to take over the Leaning Oak reservation. This minion could be a giant Indian robot or a New-Age enchanter using crystals. Super Indian, his sidekick Mega Bear, and his talking dog Diogi ("D-O-G") inevitably thwart the bad guy and send him scurrying back to Baggs.

I tend to favor humor on the other end of the spectrum--i.e., intellectual humor a la Woody Allen--so I didn't appreciate "Super Indian" as much as I could've. Maybe it's an "Indian thing," because my pal Victor found it "cute" and "entertaining." Let's go with that opinion for now.

P.S. I don't know if something's wrong with the CD, but the sound was a problem. Some of the voices were significantly louder than the others. Even at full volume, we couldn't distinguish everything that was said. That hindered my enjoyment of the production.