Review: 'Almighty Johnsons' brings Norse gods to Syfy

Syfy adds to its slate of foreign-born series at 10 p.m. Friday with “The Almighty Johnsons,” this one from New Zealand, where it aired for three seasons.

I first ran across the show a couple years ago when I was Googling actors from “The Hobbit.” Dean O’Gorman (Fili in “Hobbit”) stars as one of the Johnson brothers (and grandfather), who are all incarnations of Norse gods who fled Scandinavia centuries earlier and settled in New Zealand.

At this point, they have but a shadow of their powers. But that may all change when Axl Johnson (Emmett Couling Skilton) hits his 21st birthday and finds out which god he is. I don’t want to spoil it, but if he is able to complete an important quest, all the Norse gods will regain their full abilities.

Of course, there are people who want to stop him. They seem to be Norse gods, as well, so I think that would be against their self-interest. But I only got one episode for screening, so I must be missing something. (OK, I got some spoilers from the Wikipedia entry — interesting.)

Dean O’Gorman (Syfy)

O’Gorman is Anders Johnson, the incarnation of Bragi, the god of poetry. So his power is useful in seducing women and running a boutique PR company. Also in the family: Mike, who’s Ullr, the God of skill, hunt and duel (don’t bother challenging him to Paper, Rock, Scissors); Ty, who’s Hodur, god of winter and darkness; and Olaf, their grandfather who looks to be in his late 20s because he’s Baldur, the god of rebirth, and ages very slowly.

The Johnson family doesn’t have a monopoly, though, and there are other gods scattered around town. We’ll meet them as the series progresses. We see a few goddesses in the pilot.

It’s hard to tell much from just one episode, but it seems like a fun show. The acting is a bit uneven, but it’s an interesting premise that’s similar to “Lost Girl” in tone. It’s dramatic but has its comic elements. The boozy Olaf’s good for a lot of that.

The family dynamic is strained, so there’s plenty of tension there, and there’s lots of plot potential in finding the other gods. The first episode doesn’t show just how many outside the Johnson family know each other. Axl obviously doesn’t know the ones trying to kill him in the pilot.

It’ll definitely be going on my Tivo.

One note for those didn’t wait for official U.S. distribution: Broadcast standards in the U.S. and New Zealand are different, so there’s some frontal nudity blurring and f-bomb silencing in the Syfy cut. I don’t know if there are further trims.

Emmett Couling Skilton, left, goes through the ceremony to become a Norse God with the help of Tim Balme. (Syfy)