Danger 5, the Australian action comedy series that first aired on SBS One in 2012, has become a cult favorite for its absurd humor, including the infamous "sit down gun" – a shotgun fired into the ceiling by a bird-headed colonel to hurry a meeting. The show, created by Dario Russo and David Ashby, revels in deliberately poor dubbing, Nazi dinosaurs, and a premise where an international team of heroes attempts to kill Hitler every episode.
A Fever Dream of Eurospy and 80s Excess
The first season is a pseudo-60s Eurospy comedy set in an extended World War II, with cartoonish Nazi villains. The second season transforms into an 80s Miami Vice-style extravaganza filled with sex, drugs, shoulder pads, and bodily fluids. Out of context, it's a fever dream, often seen in gifs like "Sensible Chuckle" magazine or Ilsa shooting an enemy through a phone. But the full show includes Nazi dinosaurs, cocktail recipes, poorly dubbed dialogue, and yellow SBS subtitles, making it greater than the sum of its parts.
Commitment to the Bit
Created after the viral success of their web series Italian Spiderman, Russo and Ashby embraced budget constraints and early TV dodginess. Sets and footage are recycled, miniatures are obvious, and human-animal hybrids are clearly guys in masks. The acting is hammy, and every episode ends with a fake ad for non-existent products like pre-lit matches or "Das Fuhrer: The Boardgame." Unlike lesser shows that wink at the audience, Danger 5 plays it straight, delivering genuine storylines where heroes face Hitler in mind control labs, Atlantis, or a cardboard box metropolis.
Sharp Critiques and Legacy
Despite its politically incorrect moments, including unfortunate blackface in the first episode, Danger 5 uses absurdity to critique spy-genre tropes, especially male entitlement. Ilsa (Natasha Ristic), the chain-smoking, vodka-drinking agent, is the show's Bond-like figure, while Jackson (co-creator Ashby) pursues her obsessively, imagining her as a sexy deer he can never catch. The show ended with a Power Ranger-esque space battle over a decade ago, and Russo has since directed The Fox, a film exploring similar themes of talking animals and male entitlement. Danger 5 is available on Foxtel and Binge in Australia, Tubi in the US, and Netflix in the UK.
