Earthworm Jim (TV series)

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This article is about the animated series. For the video game series, see Earthworm Jim; for the character, see Earthworm Jim (character).

Earthworm Jim is an animated television series which ran for 23 episodes in 2 seasons from 1995-1996 on the WB Network, based on a video game character created by Doug TenNapel for the 1994 video game Earthworm Jim. It follows the adventures of an earthworm named Jim, who is turned into a superhero by a robotic super suit. The series maintained much of the absurd and surrealist humor of the original games as well as introducing its own features. Most of the episodes revolved around one of Jim's many villains trying to reclaim the super suit, or otherwise causing mayhem through the galaxy, or some sort of problem Jim is faced with, such as returning his neighbors eggbeater, or finding a new power source after his suit is depowered. Every episode also ends with a running gag consisting of a cow falling out of the sky and crushing a character (the original game ended with this same joke). The show also often broke the fourth wall with many characters often talking to the audience and the narrator.

Many of the characters from the games were made into main characters for the show. Peter Puppy becomes Jim's sidekick and friend and Princess What's-Her-Name his love interest. Many villains from the game, including Psy-Crow, Queen Slug-for-a-Butt and Professor Monkey-For-A-Head, also recur throughout the show. The series also created many of its own new characters, such as the Galactic Heroes League, a group of wannabe superheroes including the Hamsternator and Lower Back-Pain Man. The series also introduced a major new villain named Evil Jim, an evil duplicate of Earthworm Jim, who went on to be the main antagonist for the game Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 the Galaxy. The series also inspired the later game Earthworm Jim 3D.

The series was released by MCA/Universal Home Video on four VHS volumes in 1995, all of which are now out of print. Included episodes were:

  • "Bring Me the Head of Earthworm Jim" and "Sword of Righteousness" (Volume 1)
  • "Conqueror Worm" and "Day of the Fish" (Volume 2)
  • "Assault and Battery" and "Trout!" (Volume 3)
  • "The Book of Doom" and "Egg Beater" (Volume 4)

Each VHS tape also included a short behind-the-scenes "Cartoon School" segment, which covered various production topics including storyboarding and voice acting. Despite the show's popularity, there are no current plans to release the show on DVD.

A line of action figures based on the show were released. A second line of action figures was planned, but was ultimately canceled. One color variant of the Jim action figure was available only through the VHS copies. For a short time Taco Bell also released toys based on the series as part of their Kid's Meal line. The two Earthworm Jim comic book series tie into the TV series directly.


Contents

[edit] Voice actors and their characters

[edit] Episodes

[edit] Season one

1. "Sidekicked" (9/9/1995) - After Peter botches one of their adventures, Jim begins looking for a new sidekick.

2. "The Book of Doom" (9/16/1995) - Due to a printing error, Jim's pop-up book contains the secret to universal destruction, which Evil the Cat seeks to possess.

3. "Assault and Battery" (9/23/1995) - Jim must find a new power source after his super suit is drained.

4. "Day of the Fish" (9/30/1995) - Bob the Killer Goldfish attempts to steal Jim's super suit.

5. "Conqueror Worm" (10/7/1995) - Due to a photocopy machine accident, Jim creates an evil duplicate of himself.

6. "Upholstered Peril" (10/14/1995) - Professor Monkey-For-A-Head creates sofa monsters that are so comfortable, people become mindless zombies.

7. "Sword of Righteousness" (10/21/1995) - Jim finds an enchanted sword who begins training him in what it considers the ways of a true hero.

8. "The Egg Beater" (10/28/1995) - Jim loses his neighbor's eggbeater and takes her on a journey to recover it.

9. "Trout!" (11/4/1995) - After receiving a postcard, Jim sets out to see the legendary Fur-Bearin' Trout.

10. "The Great Secret of the Universe" (11/11/1995) - Evil the Cat steals Jim's snow globe, which contains a beast who knows the Great Secret of the Universe.

11. "Bring Me the Head of Earthworm Jim" (11/18/1995) - Psy-crow and Professor Monkey-For-A-Head team up to defeat Earthworm Jim by replacing his super suit with a weak duplicate.

12. "Queen What's Her Name" (11/25/1995) - Princess What's-Her-Name finally overthrows her tyrant sister Queen Slug-for-a-Butt.

13. "The Anti-Fish" (12/2/1995) - Jim must save the Great Worm Spirit from being consumed by its arch-enemy: the Anti-Fish.

[edit] Season two

14. "The Origin of Peter Puppy" (9/7/1996) - Jim and Peter travel through Peter's subconscious to try to discover the reasons for Peter's transformations.

15. "Opposites Attack!" (9/14/1996) - Evil Jim attempts to create evil versions of Jim's friends, with less than stellar results.

16. "Darwin's Nightmare" (9/28/1996) - Bob discovers a way to hyper-evolve himself to higher lifeforms.

17. "The Exile of Lucy" (10/5/1996) - Psy-Crow overthrows Queen Slug-For-A-Butt, but quickly proves to be an even worse ruler than her.

18. "Evil in Love" (10/26/1996) - Evil falls in love and teams up with Malice the Dog.

19. "Hyper Psy-Crow" (11/2/1996) - Psy-crow overdoses on coffee and becomes hyper-powered.

20. "Peanut of the Apes" (11/9/1996) - While Professor Monkey-For-A-Head tries to de-evolve people into monkeys, Jim tries to introduce "viewer interactivity" on the show.

21. "Lounge Day's Journey Into Night" (11/16/1996) - Jim and Peter switch roles as hero and sidekick, while Evil tries to destroy the universe by making a pair of dime-store lounge singers sing a cursed song.

22. "The Wizard of Ooze" (11/23/1996) - Jim and Peter are transported to an alternate dimension akin to The Wizard of Oz.

23. "For Whom the Jingle Bell Tolls" (12/14/1996) - Queen Slug-For-A-Butt tries to brainwash Santa Claus.

[edit] Trivia

  • In "Hyper Psy-Crow", the true form of the Great Worm Spirit is revealed to be Doug TenNapel, the series creator.
  • Two villains from the original Earthworm Jim video game were never featured in the show (Major Mucus and Doc Duodenum), and none of the new villains from Earthworm Jim 2 (Pedro Pupa and Flamin' Yawn) appear in the series. However, one episode features a living filing cabinet similar to those in the Earthworm Jim 2 level "ISO 9000". A small figurines of Major Mucus was packaged with the Psy-Crow action figures, suggesting the character would have eventually made an appearance on the show.
  • The series introduced the name "La Planeta de Agua" for Bob's planet. (which should actually be "El Planeta de Agua")
  • In "The Wizard of Ooze" Professor Monkey-For-A-Head plays a game of chess with the "Tin Reaper". This is a play on a scene from the film "The Seventh Seal".
  • Peter Puppy often recites a modified version of the famous Litany against fear from Frank Herbert's Dune series to control his transformations: "I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death that brings total oblivion".

[edit] Airing History

In The UK it was a replacement for Sonic The Hedgehog (SatAM), another animated series based on a video game, on Channel 4 in 1996.

[edit] See also


[edit] External links

Earthworm Jim
Games: Earthworm Jim | Earthworm Jim 2 | Earthworm Jim 3D | Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 the Galaxy | ClayFighter 63 1/3 | Earthworm Jim PSP
TV series: Earthworm Jim (TV series)
Heroes: Earthworm Jim | Snott | Peter Puppy | Princess What's-Her-Name
Villains: Psy-Crow | Queen Slug-for-a-Butt | Evil the Cat | Professor Monkey-For-A-Head | Bob the Killer Goldfish | Evil Jim
Other topics: List of Earthworm Jim characters | List of Earthworm Jim locations | List of Earthworm Jim items
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