Men in Black: The Series

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Men in Black: The Series
Genre Animated series
Starring Ed O'Ross
Gregg Berger
Keith Diamond
Jennifer Lien
Jennifer Martin
Country of origin United States
Language(s) English
No. of episodes 53 (List of episodes)
Broadcast
Original channel Kids' WB
Original run 1997 – 2001
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Men in Black: The Series (informally MIB: The Series) was an animated television series that aired on the Kids' WB for four seasons from 1997 through 2001. Reruns ran briefly on Nickelodeon's SLAM! block in 2002. It was also on Canada's YTV.

The show featured characters from 1997's science fiction film Men in Black, which was based on the comic book series The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham, originally published by Aircel Comics.

MIB: The Series was made by Adelaide Productions Inc. as a half-hour series airing on Saturday mornings originally and then moving to weekdays.

Contents

[edit] Premise

MIB: The Series was based on the 1997 blockbuster Men In Black and continued where the film left off. This was not without some minor changes. Agent K remained an agent and partner to Agent J. Agent L was moved to the lab inside Men In Black Headquarters. The headquarters itself was no longer under the ventilator building of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, but now at what looked like a disused area under LaGuardia airport. These differences are possibly addressed in one episode of the series, where it is revealed that every so often some writer or Hollywood-type learns of the MIB and makes a movie about them. (In the flashback reflecting the movie shown in this episode, the actors playing K and J much more closely resemble Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith.)

The show had varied writing in its episodes. Some episodes were based on the plot to the film, and brought back characters like the Bug, and Arquillian aliens. MIB: The Series itself had a long running plot where the Men In Black fought Alpha, a former MIB chief who had turned maverick with greed and previously had been Agent K's friend and mentor. He returned numerous times and his appearance grew grislier each time with the help of the 'Cosmic Integrator', a device that let him combine alien appendages to his own body.

Some plots, like the plots with Alpha, were more serious, while others were more whimsical in nature. This included a Halloween episode with alien phantoms on another plane of existence, and a holiday episode where criminal Drekk kidnapped Santa Claus (the elves were really aliens)

Jay: "You mean... Santa's... NOT an alien?"

Kay: "Only the elves are slick"

Jay: "Then... what's Santa...?"

Kay: "Let's just say that there are things even higher than MIB".

Ultimately, the basic plot was for the MIB to protect the Earth from harm, and this extended into keeping galactic peace throughout the galaxy. Technology, as well as intergalactic politics and peacekeeping were a focus, along with common criminal activity on a science fiction level.

There were differences in appearances in the characters in the cartoon. First, Agent L had blond hair and a different hairstyle. Second, Agent K's face didn't have as much wrinkles in the early episodes, and in the mid and late episodes, wrinkles were not on his face at all. Third, Agent J did not have a moustache. Zedd in the movie had black hair and a goatee, where as the Series he has all white hair and no goatee and his eyes are dramatically shaded in to give the impression that he does not sleep much if at all and enhance the bags under his eyes. Furthermore, in terms of names, Bob's brother's name was pronounced differently in the movie, more like Gililililikdub, rather than UziumBWANK.

Besides Agent Kay, the founding members of the MIB are Agents T, H, Q, and Dee.

In one episode, it was revealed at least one NYPD officer and a female civilian remembered Agent J as Detective James Edwards when all memory of his former identity supposedly had been erased.

In the series finale, 'The Endgame Syndrome' a full scale attack on Earth forces the MIB to be revealed to the general public, albeit briefly, as when the MIB are addressing the citizens of Earth, Jay points out that everyone on Earth is watching them at that moment, prompting Zedd to neuralise the entire planet, making them forget the events of the invasion & MIB's existence.

[edit] Characters

Along with Agents Jay, Kay and Elle (L), the show included a larger cast of regular and semi-regular characters. Some were based from their film counterparts while others were new additions to the MIB Universe.

Characters to return from the film:

  • Agent Kay
  • Agent Jay
  • Elle (Agent L)
  • Zed
  • Jeebs the Pawnshop Alien
  • Edgar Bug
  • Frank the Pug
  • The Worm Aliens (The Worm Guys)
  • Arquillians
  • Baltians
  • The Twins (*Indistinguishable, sounds like Gililililikdub* and Bob)

Additions to the program:

  • Alpha a.k.a Agent A
  • Aileen
  • The Worm Emperor
  • Agent X
  • Dr. Zan'dozz Zeeltor
  • Agent U
  • Klah'Mikk
  • The Bugs in Edgar's family, including his twin brother Edwin and the Queen.
  • The Fmecks (The evil warmongering counterparts of the Arquillians)
  • Troy the symbiote

[edit] Cast

[edit] Episodes

See List of Men in Black: The Series episodes

[edit] DVD

Sony Pictures Entertainment released the first season in Australia as two separate volumes (the first containing seven episodes, the second containing six) on July 4, 2007. The same volumes were released in the UK on July 16. There are no plans for a US release as yet.

[edit] External links

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