If you’re a shredder and don’t normally tune in to Disney XD (Disney’s “boy-centric” channel) you should. Why? No not for the countless re-runs of robot warriors or Japanime, but for their new show for Disney XD called “Zeke & Luther.” It’s about two kids who dream of becoming professional skateboarders.
Now, I know what you’re thinking and at first I was a bit worried worried as well. We all know every time people try and do a skateboarding anything for the mainstream, it sucks. For example, “Gleaming The Cube”, “Skate”, and who could forget the summertime skate-abortion titled “Grind.” But the show’s creators were smart and they created a show that’d work with or without skateboarding thus making the skateboarding just an added bonus. Zeke and Luther are both hella funny characters and their world employs even wackier oddballs who provide constant hilarity and lots of conflict for the boys. All good things you want in a show, right?
Now that isn’t to say it doesn’t have its moments that make you go “uh-oh.” Like they call a fakey ollie a “reverse ollie.” But we’ll write that up to them trying to help the non-skate audience to understand. On the positive side they also play with skate lingo in fun ways by first using the proper lingo like “krooked grind” and then calling it a “Krook Monster.” Kinda like how some people call it a “boneless,” others a “boneless one.” Or “360 flip” to some, to others “tre-flip” or “three flip. So points there for creativity. Last week they had me rolling with “nollie corn grab” which of course is when you nollie and mid-flight steal someone’s corn on the cob. Hilarious.
And points on the guest cast. They really have some good ones. Like the rollerblader who wears midriff showing muscle shirts and short shorts. Or the ever angry ex-astronaut across the street who hates them kids! We all had one of them in our neighborhood growing up. Heck, I remember a guy who’d call the cops on us any time we skated on his street. Apparently the sounds of ollie’s being popped and rails being slid were too much for him, but he had no problem with the basketball bouncing his own kids were doing in their driveway. I’ll get back at you one of these days Mr. Pimental!
Back to the show. Check it out fools! Watch it with your kids, watch it by yourself, watch it while putting together a new board and scratching your dog’s tummy. Cuz for once there’s a decent scripted show on TV with skateboarding in it and by the way it’s going, it’ll be back for season two. No sense falling behind.
Skate or die!
