"Men in Black: The Series" (1997) TV series 1997-2001

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Writer:

Lowell Cunningham (comic book)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

4 October 1997 (Canada)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Sci-Fi | Action

Plot:

The continuing adventures of Agents K and J as they deal with problems with extraterrestrials in New York City.

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Men In Black | Mutant | Giant Monster | Alien Intelligence

Awards:

1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Jennifer Lien	...	Elle (38 episodes, 1997-2000)
Keith Diamond	...	Jay / ... (33 episodes, 1997-2000)
Gregg Berger	...	Kay / ... (27 episodes, 1997-2000)

Also Known As:

"Men in Black: The Animated Series" (Australia)

Runtime:

Canada:25 min | USA:30 min (including commercials) (53 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Australia:PG | USA:TV-Y7

Company:

Amblin Entertainment

Quotes:

K: Real good there Sparky
J: Sparky? What happened to Slick?
K: You're going to have to work your way back up to Slick.

Movie Connections:

Spin off from Men in Black (1997)

Men in Black comes out flat

I remember watching this series back when it premiered in 1997 during Kids WB's infancy and I've watched it progressively become worse. The show began decently enough - re-establishing the partnership between Agent J and Agent K that made the movie so memorable. The voice actors, particularly Keith Diamond as Agent J deliver their lines admirably. The writing was and still is relatively top-notch, with a healthy dose of humor.

The rest of the series is extremely flawed. While the character designs are okay, the colors are extremely drab and lifeless, VERY characteristic of Sony animation. The soundtrack just drones on, particularly the monotone theme. Danny Elfman's movie score is WAY better. Heck, they even brought over an instrumental version of Will Smith's catchy but forgettable rap song that played during the closing credits. Why couldn't they use the original movie theme? But the soundtrack is the least of the series' problems.

While the series does right to bring back Agents J, K and Elle as well as Zed, some of other character additions are questionable. The Worms? They were mildly funny break room puppets in the arcade, but their squeaky voices and obsession with coffee in the series is definitely pushing it. It wouldn't be half as annoying if they didn't build ENTIRE EPISODES around them. Jeeves? Maybe, but if he keeps selling contraband to alien terrorists, why doesn't he get arrested? The head-shrinking thing was funny just once. Frank the Pug? Why?

The show fails to be fully faithful to the movie - it seems like the MIB shoot first and ask questions later in the animated series. As a result, the slick image of the MIB from the movie is totally lost. Sometimes it's a wonder that they blow so many things up and get into firefights and are never noticed.

The new characters are just plain bad. Agent Elle's partner Agent X is just terribly annoying. Elle was way better as a lab technician. And what's up with her personality shift? She's gone from the cool personality in the movie and up until season five to a crazy hothead. Even more annoying is the over-happy new alien lab technician. Someone should blast that moron with a noisy cricket.

Men in Black: the series may be decent enough for little kids, but for older viewers, it's certainly a far cry from Batman: The Animated Series. While is does try to add some coherent continuity and decent storylines, it's extremely disappointing for fans of the movie like me and cartoon enthusiasts.