Battle Counters by John Chisham and Christian Loveless is a humorous adventure about friendship, family and being the best counter, poking fun at a very specific genre of kids television.
A light-hearted and wholesome comedy that like the TV shows that it is based on, is fun for the whole family
Growing up in Letterville, Cal Counters (John Chisham) always wanted to be the best counter. After a sudden bout of exposition by his grandfather (Christian Lvoeless), he embarks on a journey to Countovia to defeat Count Numbers and avenge his family’s legacy.
This show is set up to poke fun at the game shows like Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh - TV shows where the society and its social and culturalhierarchies revolve around a game with a very specific set of rules and is often battle-based. This show is stereotypical but in that way that we know it’s meant to be a stereotype, and that’s what Chisham and Loveless’ comedy is built on. It’s satire, it pokes fun at a genre that we most likely have nostalgic inclinations for, yet have the maturity as adults to be able to deconstruct it whilst still enjoying the references to source material that the jokes and humour stem from.
Chisham and Loveless play their roles with gusto, committing to the bit and the purpose of their respective roles. There’s a slight cheesiness to Chisham’s character. The entire characterisation is very surface-level character, but because that’s the whole point of the character, it does really fit with the genre that the pair is trying to replicate. Loveless plays every side-character that Cal Counters encounters on his journey, and whilst he is aided by a variety of hats and accessories, Loveless changes his entire demeanour with every character, playing these archetypal side-kicks for all they’re worth.
Battle Counters is a light-hearted and wholesome comedy that like the TV shows that it is based on, is fun for the whole family.
